I've been thinking of replacing my 18" Contis with the GoodYear Wrangler AT/S in the 275/65/18 E load range. I've always heard bad things about the AT/S's, but anything that is more aggresive has got to be better than the Contis. They are 1.3 inches shorter than the contis and 0.1 inches wider than the Contis. They still handle 3400 lbs each which is plenty for me.

Anyone run these tires in this size on an '05 or '06? Any trouble balancing them on the stock 18" wheels. I'm still trying to maintain a relatively smooth ride on the highway so if anyone has a bad experience with these particular tires, please let me know.

Thanks!

Chris

 

I ran the previous generation of ATS's for 6 years in size P305/70R16. I believe the ones you're considering are new to the market within the last year or so and are the "latest" generation with Kevlar in the sidewalls.

My ATS's lasted 40k miles per set, excellent traction, smooth quiet ride, could be hard to balance, and expensive. I've since switched to Toyo's

 

DMP.... Did you have good luck with the ATS's in the snow? That's the primary reason I'm getting the new tires.....

Thanks!

 

So far I've put 7500 miles on the 18" Wrangler AT's with my 05 F350 PSD CC 4X4 LB. The tire shop did need two tries to get them balanced to eliminate high speed vibration (good ever since). They ride nice with no noticeable road noise from the tires. I did have to get my speedometer calibrated for the tire size as it was reading to high along with the odometer. Have driven in snow, ice, mud and gravel and the tires seem to be performing well. I must admit though that in 2 wheel drive it's not hard to spin the tires in any slippery situation. Not sure how they will wear but I'm definetely happy so far.

 

I suppose you have to weigh the difference of $80 per tire with poor traction (conti's)against $250 per tire with "better" traction (Wrangler). I'm going down to Les Schwabb tomorrow morning to have my new Conti's mounted .
Well, they're gonna sipe them so I will know after the next snow fall how the Conti's work with siping. Hopefully better. I'll post the results.
Tim

 

I never had a complaint with traction on any surface. One year I got pulled over and told to go home because we were in a "snow emergency" and he could write me a ticket. Being mouthy that early in the morning I told him it was a snow emergency for HIM because the state bought him a Dodge Ram and not a Super Duty. As I recall that storm was 14 inches of snow with extensive blowing and drifting.
My complaints were price and as duMAURIER noted, they can be hard to balance. I typically had a mix of rim weights and tape weights to get them to balance because there's only so much room on the rim. As a comparison, the same size Toyo's (LT305's) took three ounces or less.

 

I put on the Wranglers 2 weeks ago and they have been great in the snow. We got 6 inches of snow yesterday. Truck goes fine in 2 wheel drive where I had to use 4 wheel with the Contis. Have not taken them on a long trip yet but I am very happy so far.

 

I have a 05 f350 srw, 4x4 6.0 ,and replaced the conti's at 1500 miles because of them being a highway tire instead of a " at " tire, I have the goodyears on the truck and can say nothing bad about them. I use the truck as a snow plow truck and have good luck this year in the snow and ice. When I ordered the truck I paid for the at tires and got the conti's, just a footnote my dealer was of no help to me in the replacement or the cost of the new tires. go figure.

 

My dad has them on his 03 Harley truck and says there great. Thats what I wanna get when these Cont wear out.

 

I've hated all the Goodyear tires I've had. They came on three vehicles I've purchased and went out of round on each of the three vehicles. Only on two were they Wranglers, and they were Wrangler ATS'.

 

I've heard over the years that people have trouble keeping the Wrangler ATS's in balance. I am going to talk to the guy that I buy them from and let him know that I'm going to be looking for him to stand by these tires even if that means sending them back to Goodyear b/c he can't get them to balance without 8 grams of weight.

I still think it's a better solution than the Conti's.

duMaurier - Did the dealer correct your speedometer? How much did they charge?

To anyone that responded that they do have the 18" tire, do you notice a difference in the 1.3 inch smaller tire than the Conti? Does it make the truck hide harsher?

Sorry to ask so many questions. I'd just hate to spend good money on tires and then not like them.

Thanks!

Chris

 

chris, I have about 5000 miles on the goodyears and no problems, they are the 18 " tires. What you have heard about not keeping in balance, is kind of like heard of, could of , should of. The only thing I did not like is that they are pretty expensive. But I guess you get what you pay for.

 

Chris I had them on my 01 Superduty and had noproblems at all. I bought them at Tire Barn and they have free balance and rotation every 5k miles . Goodyear is good tire and they wear well. I havn't heard of the ATS having a balance problem . I can tell you the cooper tires I had were junk and wore out fast.

 

cterrysgd,
The dealer did adjust my speedometer at no charge to me. After contacting Ford Canada and Continental Tires I argued that the supplied Conti's were not the AT tires that I had paid extra for. I'm not sure who paid for them but I received the Wrangler AT's at no additional cost.

 

I have 20,000 miles on a set of AT/S's. They were a big improvement in snow and slushy/muddy roads. I notice an improvement on rainy highways, too.

Different size than yours ........ on my 2002 SD ....... big improvement over the "All Terain" tires that came stock.

Kinda expensive, and I am not getting the greatest in tread wear, but that is a sacrifice you often have to make for dry road performance. No balance problems.

Jim