Which tires are people using to get at least 60K and good handling from?

I just switched from Toyo Open Country AT3’s to Cooper Discover AT3 4S’s. After about 30,000 miles the Toyo’s started to get loud. They were still decent tires, but it was annoying, so I switched to the Coopers. I have less than 500 miles on them so far, so not much to form an opinion, but I will say this- they are silent compared to the Toyos, which weren’t that loud compared to other AT tires.

 

Just ordered the Michelin Defender LTX at Costco for my 3rd Gen. I’ve been running Cooper Discover AT3 on my 1st Gen and have had no issues.

 

Admittedly a dumb question on my part ... but I want to learn ... so:

How does a tire with more miles and less tread on them get 'louder'?

 

I don't think it's a dumb question. I've wondered it myself. Part of the answer has to do with the shape of the worn tread, because rotating often can help.

 

To reinforce what's already been said: I immediately felt a substantial improvement in on-road handling, cornering, and braking when I went to Michelin Defenders. And they handle rough forest and farm roads just fine, rolled around Death Valley easy peasey too.

 

I do rotate my tires religiously. Maybe the increased noise is due to harmonics?

 

The OEM Toyo A31 tires are one of the best tires I’ve ever had on a Tacoma. I’ve had Open County, BF Goodrich, Hankook, and they’re right up there with them in terms of street handling. The fact they came OEM is pretty sweet.

once mine wear out, I wouldn’t hesitate to buy them again

 

I'm running LT275/70R 17 they are 18/32 tread depth new. I think they are a load range D, iirc. So 8/32 of tread wear over 45k.

 

Definitely not the stock Firestones that's for sure

 

One of the first things I did on my truck was delete the firestones. Firestones are the worst!!

 

I got a good 45-50k or so on a set of Cooper Discoverer AT3s (this was a pre 4s set). Could have gotten more but replaced them anyway. I have these tires (the newer 4s version) on both of my trucks right now.

 

Defender LTXs on mine here via Costco. There is no comparison, especially comparing to the stock Toyos. Those things got flat out dangerous on our Florida summer daily downpour wet roads right at about 24K miles. Lots of spinning at stoplights giving it average throttle and off and on sliding. I lost confidence even with 7/32 still on them and could have likely lasted another year even though me and the truck might not have.

BTW they are $150 off installed at Costco right now, just happen to see that in the ad email today.

 

I’ve been a fan of KO2’s on every 4WD vehicle I’ve owned. They look great, not too noisy, have a really great off-road rating, do really well in the snow, and ride really well.
If you’re looking to get 60k you might struggle with BFG’s but it isn’t unheard of to get that out of them. Regular rotation & maintaining proper inflation will ensure you get the best possible mileage out of any tire; without those two things you can forget about any tire wearing well.

 

I put 50K on KO2s E-rated. Just before I changed, very loud and below Lincoln head penny test. Didn’t like snow and ice traction with these tires. I think 50K is good mileage for tire life for any AT tire. I now have Kumho RT52s P-rated and I hope I get at least 50K, and I expect much better snow and ice performance.

 

I replaced the toyos with 265-75-16 gy ultraterrains. I like them and was able to sell the toyos since I took them off shortly after purchase.

 

Tread on outside often forms hard corners on the front corner or back corner of the treadknob