Recommendation for new tires

Looking for 295/70/18 AT tires, any help ?

 

I would stick with a good name brand with a good tread warranty. Plenty to choose from - mild AT to more extreme.
https://www.discounttire.com/fitmentresult/tires/size/295-70-18

 

Cooper at3 xlt have received great reviews. They'll be my next tire purchase.

Lots of people have Nitto Ridge Grapplers, but say they get very loud the more they wear. Great looking tire, though.

 

My General Grabber ATs have done everything I every asked of my Bridgestone Revos and Toyo OCs I used to have, but cost 200 less installed and lasted much longer. But I am approaching 5 years on this set so I don’t know what prices look like now.

My other sets were maybe 40-45k mile tires tops. These Generals still look deep enough at 40 that they’ll probably need to get replaced for dryrot considerations before wear. Otherwise I’d guess over 60k of life in them.

I’d never have considered them but a salesman swore they’d do everything the better known brands do much cheaper. And I don’t regret listening to him.

 

I'm pretty sure I'm pulling the trigger on the Cooper's this weekend myself **** edit, bought Falken Wildpeak AT3 due to size parameters, warranty and snow rating etc ****

After a lot of research, reading, pestering a few members, they seem like the safest option.

 

I loved my general grabber atx's. Traded the truck in with 50K on the tires and still looked like they had 20K more to go. I am deciding between them again and the falken wildpeaks. I let my local mechanic decide for me.

 

60k tread warranty is a huge bonus, as well.

 

I want the ko2 ordered and waited for 3 weeks and called them and they told me they don’t have it.

 

Not the size you mentioned, but I have a brand new set of the new TOYO Open Country AT3 in LT275/70R18 for sale. Will take a loss on them.

 

I have those Cooper XLTs, you will like them. Great traction, quiet and look beefy but handle and ride like a more mild tire.

 

That is awesome to hear

 

No grapplers for me, it’s way to loud

 

That’s the tires on the raptor right ?

 

No idea, I dont follow info/updates on any Ford products.

They are street friendly AT tires, 60k mileage warranty, beefy looks, large outside lugs for off road traction and good siped tread for wet and snow performance.

 

Anyone running Wildpeak AT3W? Photo would be great ! Thanks

 

If super smooth onroad is desired plus off road capabilities: Michelin LTX AT2. I've had Duratracs and the Michelins were better off road and just as quite as any road tire, sweet stuff!

 

IDK about now, but Raptors used to come with a 315 / 75 / 17 C-load BFG AT KO2...this info may be outdated.
I chose the BFG AT K02 E-rated (285 / 75 / 17) and i question my choice to not go with with the Cooper AT3 XLT. BFG's have not balanced well after several tries and i get steering wheel wobble from 52mph - 63 mph or so. Great off-road and look great, but every time i travel those speeds i am reminded that they aren't what i hoped for.

Good luck with your choice.

 

im a fan of the wrangler duratracs, have them on my tundra and 4runner

 

Questions like this are just about impossible to answer without knowing what your intended usage and priorities are. Severe snow? Off road? Rocky two tracks? Road noise? Mud? The perfect tire depends on how you want to use it. I just bought Duratracs myself. I've also used General Grabber ATX, BFG KO2, Cooper AT3, Cooper Discoverer ST, Toyo AT2. They all have their niche.

 

Wow that seems like a vast experience to me.

Do you mind sharing which niche you assign each of the tires you listed, interested in knowing. And if you could name an all around winner would be the cherry on top. TIA

 

Love the Cooper ST MAXX, it’s probably a little more of a hybrid tire, more dirt than street, but not full mud.. for its Offroad prowess, the tire is super quite on road.. I really only like Cooper tires though so I am biased... also heard good things on the AT3 XLT.. I have one as my full size spare for the truck

 

Certainly. Let me preface this with the statement I don't consider myself a tire expert, nor am I in any way arguing with or discounting other members experiences with certain tires. This is merely an observation of my experiences with many different brands, under a variety of conditions.

First of all, I only buy tires that are severe snow rated (3 mountain peak symbol). I do a lot of winter driving in adverse conditions, but studs/true snow tires aren't really an option for my application with either my personal vehicle (Tundra) or work vehicle (1500 Silverado). Severe snow rated tires get this rating through an independent analysis that assigns a traction index rating to the tire. I've yet to find a severe snow rated tire that didn't perform rather well on the highway. Keep in mind, snow conditions vary a LOT.

Second, you have to establish what your priorities are. My first and foremost priority is to not end up in the ditch, upside down during a winter storm. My second most priority is a tire that will perform in off road type conditions in mud, snow, and rocks. I'm not overly concerned with treadwear, so long as I can expect 40k miles or so.

I'd put the General Grabber ATX, Cooper AT3 (haven't used the newest ones), BFG KO2, and the Toyo AT2 all in the same class. I liked the Toyo the least out of these. The rubber compound was hard and snow traction was mediocre. I don't think the set I had was severe snow rated, but honestly it's been long enough since I had these I don't remember. Contrary to a lot of the opinions on KO2s, I really like these. I have found them to be very good on snowy highways. They are mediocre in deeper snow and mud IMO. The Grabber ATX is very similar to the KO2. I've been very happy with them on snow highways. They are decent in mud, but lack much in the way of lateral traction (to be expected due to the tread design).

I've also had several sets of Duratracs and Discoverer ST (not the ST Maxx). The Duratracs have been improved over the years IMO for snow use. I don't know if the rubber compound is different than when they first came out. I didn't really care for the Discoverer ST in the snow unless it was siped, then it was quite good. Both are very good on gravel and rocky use. Also are both good in the mud and deep snow, but obviously won't compare to a true mud terrain. I think its now the C/T, but I also had a set of Toyo M55s years ago. Similar to the ST in that it was really good on gravel, pretty good in snow, mud, and rocks, but not all that great snowy highways without additional siping.

As I said, I just put Duratracs on my Tundra. I want a tire that is capable for off road use and hunting trips in inclement weather. I personally think the Duratrac is one of the best options for this that is also severe snow rated. There are number of tires that would serve very well, possibly better for off road use, but aren't severe snow rated. Among the ones I considered were the ST Maxx, Mickey Thompson ATZP3, Toyo RT, and Toyo CT. However, none of these have much siping and none of them are severe snow rated (see my first priority). A friend of mine has ST Maxx on his work vehicle. He loves them in the mud, shale, and all around mountain/desert use, but said they are sketchy on snowy highways.

If I was looking for something without much off road use, I'd go with something like the Grabber ATX, KO2, Toyo AT3, or the Falken Wildpeak AT3W. I strongly considered the Falken and AT3, and I don't think you could go wrong with either. Both have a lot of siping, have really good tread depth, and are severe snow rated.

At the end of the day, there is no free lunch with tires. When you gain performance in one area, you give up performance in another. You can't have a really good mud tire that performs really good on snow and ice. The alternative is also true. Tires that stand up to heavy rocks and gravel are probably heavier lug tires with a harder rubber compound, and won't perform as well on snow and ice. A tire that has lots of siping and softer rubber to grip in snow and ice likely won't hold up as well to heavy rocks and gravel. Pick your poison based on what your priorities are.

 

I have Duratracs going on Tuesday. Cant wait to see how they perform in the snow vs the LTX AT2's

 

This is exactly what I (as well as many others here) was interested in.

Nice short list I don't see a "wrong" choice with any.

In my case I coudln't care less about snow, South Floridian here, but my priorities would be:

Rain and wet pavement performance.
Noise
Thread life
Sand performance would be a bonus.

And I've only had 3 60K miles KOs sets in the past.

Thank you for your thorough response.

 

@betotundra

Duratracs were great this morning

 

I bet they were... Cheers!

 

I’m going back to the Michelin’s in that size. KO2’s were good, Toyo AT2’’s were horrible (no wet traction, spins from every stop). I do 80%highway so I’m looking for better traction and quieter.

 

Do it
Cooper at3 xlt
Great ride no noise 60k warranty

 

Am running the Cooper AT3 XLT’s on mine for the last near 20k miles. Have been extremely happy. Roll very smooth, quiet, have been wearing excellent, perform great in all conditions, and look fantastic.

Had KO2’s on my last work vehicle for 60k miles. While they wore better than any tire I’ve ever had, couldn’t wait to get a new rig due to how loud and hard to balance they were. Wet weather was not the greatest with them, but they did great in snow.

 

Just got Toyo Open Country AT3's installed a few weeks ago after having to damage out a set of brand new BFG's (wouldn't balance lots of vibs at 60-70). Liking them so far, 1000 mi on them now. I will say they are louder than BFG's but feel more solid and seem to have more grip, especially when wet. Tire shop steered me away from the Wildpeaks saying they wear quickly compared to higher end tires. I have ran BFG's on my Tahoe and other vehicles and never had issues but the set they sold me was defective so they wanted to upgrade me to Toyo's