Sorry Henry I didn't see your question until now.
Funny you ask.. I made an appointment to get my tires mounted at VIP in Farmington ME. They mounted the same size and kind of tires on my gray FX 20's a few years back without scratching my wheels. So I get there, they take 2 wheels off my truck. Then the manager comes in the waiting room and says "we cannot mount those tires without scratching your wheels.
So I called Picture Perfect Tires in New Sharon which is about 15 minutes north of Farmington. They said they could do it so I drove over there and they did an outstanding job because they didn't scratch my wheels. Also, it was $32 cheaper than it was going to cost at VIP. From what I've read on the forums...the black FX 20's scratch easier than the gray FX 20's.

 

I never had coopers before, some day I'll have to give them a try. This time I went with Good Year Wrangler Adventurer with Kevlar. I have 12,000 miles on them, so far so good. I'm easily swayed toward American products

 

I have recently put Goodyear Fortera P245/65 R17 on my 09 Eddie Bauer Explorer 4x4. It is mostly for street use. It is a comfortable reasonably quiet tire with good traction in the wet. It is my wife's vehicle so it doesn't go off road anymore.

I traded my 20'" rims for some 18" rims from another F-150. The 20" had P275/55 R20 Pirelli OWL tires. Nice ride but passenger car tire.

The 18" rims have Michelin P265/60 R18's. This is a smaller tire and requires 5.1% more revolutions to go a mile than the original tires (read gas mileage). Both the Pirelli and Michelins are OEM supplied tires which an old time Ford service advisor told me they are softer and won't wear as long as the replacement tires. I suppose that is done so the new vehicles are quieter and smoother.

I want to go to an LT 275/65 R18 load range E tire which is similar size to the origninal 20" Pirelli. I am looking at Michelin LTX M/S 2 with 70K tread guarantee (pricey) BF Goodrich Rugged Terrain T/A or an equivalent Goodyear Fortera or Wrangler All-Terrain.

The BFG are the least expensive. Goodyears next and top price is the Michelins. I go offroad a couple times a year in muddy two tracks and several times a year on wet moldy boat ramps. W

hich would you choose? Advice?

 

SBV45,

I had two sets of the Michelin LTX M/S 2 with 70K tread guarantee on my Expedition and got over 70000 miles out of the first set, however I traded the Exped in for a 2014 F150 with the 20" Pirellis before the second set was worn. When the Pirellis are worn I already plan to replace them with the 20" Michelin LTX M/S 2. From my perspective the price of Michelin LTX MS2 vs other brand tires is well worth the ride, performance and treadwear. I rotate my tires every 7.5 to 10k miles. We have three other vehicles in our family, all with Michelins (Defender, MXV4, MXM4). For our driving, the only tires I am not very happy with is the Primacy MXM4 as they do not have the same life as the other Michelin tires I have.

 

I had the LTX M/S2 on a couple trucks, those were great tires in every case except, they were not good in the Mud & they were a little stiff riding on bad roads. They easily go over 70,000 miles.

I had BF Goodrich Rugged Terrain's on several trucks. They are a good all around tire, not as good in the snow or rain as the MS2, however they are much better in the mud. They last about 55,000 miles.

I have Good Year Wrangler Adventurer with Kevlar now. These tires get great traction in all conditions including mud and snow. I only have 16,000 miles but so far so good. On grooved surfaces like bridges these tires are a little noisier than the other tires. These were actually the cheapest tires when I bought mine. There was a mail in rebate plus the Ford dealer was pushing them.

I put E rated LT tires on a truck before and hated the ride. Those tires were way too stiff unless the truck was loaded up. I won't get them again our roads are just to crappy.

Good Luck.

 

The BFG's and Michelin's are good tires, but i'm thinking of pulling the trigger on a set o 285/60/18 Goodyear Duratraks, the only thing holding me back is the price.

 

I should b e pulling the trigger by spring. As of now it's between the LTX M/S and the Rugged Terrains. The Rugged Terrains are heavily used around here by the local PD's according to one tire dealer. The price difference is significant but it seems as though the designed tread wear is too.

 

I hate the tires that came on my truck. They are Goodyear Wrangler SRA, 275.65.18. They are awful! I have 20,500 miles on my 2013 STX scab 5.0 4x4 (3.55 limited slip). I've had 2 flat tires; i accidentally hit a dead animal and punctured one; it had bones sticking out of it. When roadside asst showed up and dropped the spare, I could not believe how worn the road-tires looked in comparison to the spare. A few months later, i picked up a roofing nail that was super-short. It could not have been an eighth of an inch long and it punctured right thru the meat of the tread! How thin are these tires! Moreover, that was at only 17,000. Additionally, i have noticed a definite reduction in ride quality and wet-traction. I read a post earlier in this thread where the owner only got 32,000 out of his. I'll be lucky to get there I think (I do tow a 19', 3500 lb boat and a pop-up camper that weighs 2,300 lbs). Ford's roadside asst rocks though. They use your cell phone to locate you and were there in 15 min (in rural KY just outside Murray) the first time and 30 min (in metro Louisville) the second time. Very impressive! It's a good thing since the tires are junk. Interesting note, my spare was not balanced at the factory when they built the truck (Kansas City, MO). I could tell on the 300 mile trip back from Murray. My dealer, Oxmoor Ford, balanced it for free for me though (good thing since it was on the truck again soon after). I doubt it was a mistake at the factory though; Ford must not balance the spare! Shame on you Ford! You should provide a balanced spare tire and wheel considering what these trucks cost.

 

I am waiting to see how the Michelins LTX M/S on our 10 lasts on our backroads (sharp rocks and a few pot holes however sometimes our backroads are better then the highways out here) LOL.
I have BFG rugged terrains on our chevy van and they seem to have been a good tire so far.
Personally on our 10 I plan to run the new TA KO2 (for looks and the ruggedness of them). I have ran the KOs (before the 2s) on many trucks and like them so that is another reason.
Trav

 

Really, I've had 3 sets of SRA's all of which went over 55,000 miles. They are a soft tire with a nice ride. They are not that good for towing or hauling heavy loads. I think they are better suited for an SUV than a Pickup.

I think my M/S'2 had magnets in them due to all the flats, but really that's more a function of where I was driving at the time, than the tire.

 

Hum, good to know. I have taken a few long trips towing a heavy car-hauler too. Towing could be the culprit. The only other thing I can think of is due to how long the truck goes between oil changes (although I did the first one at 5,000 just to be safe, I'm getting nearly 10,000 mi before the intelligent oil life says to change the oil); therefore, the tires have only been rotated twice in 20,000 mi. I rotate the tires at every oil change.

 

I have the Firestone destination at's on my superduty and they are preforming great and are really quiet but they only have 5k miles on them so far, also have cooper discoverer at3 tires on my durango and they are great, have about 30k miles on them with alot of tread left and they preform well in every terrain for me.

 

I just put a set of Bridgestone 840 on my truck, They sure do whine a low speeds.
Removed Michelin that came with the truck, they were quieter.
I have always had good luck on the F250,that I had with Firestone

 

I really like the looks of the Destination A/T but the Firestone dealers won't budge a nickel and I won't pay the price.

 

We have the Firestone Destinations on our Escape. They ride nice and get good traction in all weather conditions. I would buy them again.