Tires? What stock brand and type - AT/Touring?

Couldn't find much info on this, rather, just in relation to lift and larger tire sizes.

My questions:

What type of STOCK size tires are you gen1 guys running? I don't do a lot of off roading if any anymore to be honest due to time, but do do some camping during summer so it is nice but not a necessity to have AT tires. I still prefer AT tires but would also be fine with a good set of touring tires just for everyday driving and traveling on the freeways.

Any recommendations on tire types? AT vs. Touring?

Thanks everyone.

 

Michelin LTX M/S all season 265/70/16s is my default goto tire unless I get a great deal elsewhere. Right now I’m running Firestone Destination 3s that I got for $399 after discount.

 

This is my first set of road tires in forever.

Goodyear wrangler. 265/70R16



I don't know how much these cost as they came with these wheels, but going from the same size K02 to these made a world of difference on how the truck feels.

 

Been through it all on my 2002 Tundra.

OEM Crap Bridgestones lasted 15k miles and were dangerous by 20k!

Went the cool bro set up with Dunlop and then Firestone Mud Tires. Loud, heavy and wear was crappy. Those both combined lasted 4 years.

Switched to Michelin M/S upon a buddys recco. They still looked new at 70k miles. Changed due to age. Same with the M/S 2.

Now on the Michelin Defender LTX which is the 3rd Version of M/S 2.

They are very quiet and responsive. Tow/haul well as they are E-Rated in my 285/75/r16 size. Do well in sand and snow. Do very well in rain/wet. Extremely well on dry city/highway. Never had a balancing/wobble/out of round problem.

 

Toyo open country A/T 2 xtreme. 30,200 and counting...

 

Oooo is a tire picture duel!

 

Lmao. I think they are wearing well. There's a little discrepancy due to odo being off but.... anything to help.

 

So any feedback on whether AT vs. road/touring tires? I'm looking at these right now: Would also like some real life experience recommendations on the Road/touring tires too.

Thanks so far everyone.

 

Bridgestone Revos used to be popular with Toyota folks. Nice all around tire. Those General grabbers are a little more aggressive like a BFG KO2.

 

I've got the Grabber AT2 they're a meh tire, not terrible, not great. My next set will be Michelins.

 

I've run BFG ATs for forty years, on Scouts and Jeeps. Wonderful performance, road manners and tread life. Up 'til recently, when I found that BFG (Michelin) had been including an increasing percentage of synthetic material in the tread rubber. This makes them short lived (5 years max) and they become hard and slick. That hard and slick cost me a rear end collision, when I lock up all four on the Jeep TJ on dry pavement and slid into another vehicle.

My 2002 Tundra AC is 4 months old to me and I have been bringing it up to a high mechanical standard with the guidance I've had on this forum. Last step is new shoes. I wanted a softer tread, since I'm retired and unlikely to put more than 5K per year on the truck (at 97K now) - road performance is more important than tread life. What I found is that softer tires are still made, but only in the smaller sizes. There is nothing now made as grippy as natural rubber in our sizes. My tire shop said that the Michelin Defender LTX M/S offers the best now available, much better than new BFGs. So, that's what I ordered. They'll be mounted this week and I'll report back when I get 'em seated and can wring 'em out.

 

I’m an AT guy and have run almost everything except Coopers. However, I’ve run all the ProComp tires which are made by Cooper, if I’m correct. We’re talking many types of vehicles and probably 20 sets of tires.

My Top AT’s:

#1 Toyo ATII’s (I haven’t run the AT3’s yet)
#2 Nitto Trail Grappler ATII’s (Same company as Toyo, but US)
#3 Falcon AT3W, might go back to these after my Toyo’s wear out.
#4 BFG KBro2’s, I’ve run 5 sets and they hold up well, but I don’t think I’ll run them again. I dealt with multiple cupping issues and quick wear.
#5 ProComp AT Sport, looks like a Toyo lol.
#5 1/2 General Grabber AT’s. Similar issues as the KO2.

 

I read somewhere a bad review of the dueler alenza plus. But I had them on 4 street trucks and only recently went to an LT E rated. But, those Alenza plus P tires have a crazy wear rating and have held up better than any street tire for me in SoCal. Great traction and comfort. Fine wet, obviously not your off-road tire.

 

In terms of tire sizing the OEM size is 265 70 16 but if you wanted to go bigger which (I'm guessing your not) you can easily fit a 265 75 16 or 270/5 70 r 16. I bought my 05 with some Michelin street tires. no idea how old or how many miles. all I know is that it was long enough for the tread to start cracking but not enough miles to be really worn in. my guess is that it had something to do with sitting in the sunny and mild 110+ summer heat in Palm Springs. old tires out of the way, first thing I did was search this forum and the rest of the internet for good options and I landed on a set of Falken Wildpeak AT3W's in 265 70 r 16 112T SL. in english it means that it is in-between an e load and standard side wall 112 load rating = 2470 lbs per tire and a T speed rating = 118mph. The dash says 120 so I want my tires to be able to do 120. Price wise I can not complain. I paid $142 a tire in late 2019, but the price is up to $167 on simple tire as of 4/21. I really love these tires they have the snowflake with mountain rating which means that I can drive up to the local ski area without having to worry about tire chains. the siping on them is really good and I could not be happier with the wet weather performance. I might even dare say that they almost grip as well in the wet as the dry. Case in point, near my house we have this really but clenching steep hill( the fucker at least 45 degrees) anyway I was able to stop and go on that hill in 2wd in both the dry and during a downpour with only a bit of tire squeal. Otherwise they are quiet and have been wearing well. Even with a few miles worth of burnouts.Nice thing as well is that they come with a 40,000 mi tread life warranty. So far my favorite thing though is that I got a nail in my tire the week before last and I've just left in there since its not losing any air. Just pushed it in far enough so it wouldn't strike the ground and out of mind until I finally get wheels for it and subsequently 33's. I know this a love letter to these things and I hope this helps your decision making process. I just love my Falkens!

 

@wandering_boy reminded me, tires have a born on date in the oval. Make sure you don’t buy old new stock. It’s 4 digits week/year or year/week. I’ll check

week/year. This one is week 51 of 2007

 

Thats right. looking at June and July '19 for mine

 

Thanks for the feedback everybody.

I've yet to decide on a set of tires, but at the same time, not really in a huge rush.

This past winter, I ran a set of the Bridgestone Blizzak DM-V2's and they are, in my opinion, an absolutely amazing tire that is excellent for winter snow and ice grip but also super quiet as well. My only issue with them is they burn off fairly quick, but that's how it is with soft winter tires.

I'm currently running a set of Sumitomo Encounter AT's that came with my truck when I bought it last year. Sumitomo, from my understanding, is a Japanese tire company that also owns Dunlop and make tires for Goodyear and Falken, so they are supposed to be a decent set of tires. Prob with mine though, and maybe it's a bad/loose belt, is they shake the shit outta the truck as soon as you hit 75mph/120kmh - which is a decent cruising speed on the highway and I have swapped the rims, have had them re-balanced, swapped from front to back with no ture resolution. Note, none of these issues with the blizzaks, so I am thinking one of the tires is screwed somewhere and this is why I am looking for a replacement set of tires especially since I plan on using the truck as my highway cruiser.

Still on the fence with going with a full touring/road tire vs. an AT. I love the AT's and it's nice to have them for camping and the times I will need to go off-road, but at the same time, I'd love a set of good touring/road tires for the highway. Swaying towards the AT's though.

@Festerw, why do you like/not like the General Grabbers?

Thanks guys.

 

Stick with what you know and like is what I’m hearing. Maybe buy both sets of each type you already like and then swap them in when needed. Each tire type you are looking for seems like they are on opposite ends of a spectrum.

 

Toyo also but chose the H/T given 99.9% asphalt....4 years old, 30K miles with plenty tread left and very pleased with the ride !

 

I put LTX AT LT275/70/18 on in Aug of 20 and have already put 32,xxx miles on them and they are wearing great. Much better than the KO2 and Nittos G2o had. Just have to keep them rotated and I think I’ll easily get 60K out of them.