On my 06 Nav with the stock chrome 18" rims I used the NITTO Crosstek Light truck tire ( semi-aggressive tread ) 275/65/18 ( listed optional size ) the light truck version tire gives an added ply to the sidewall ( total of 8 plies ) and increases ridgedness to structure to increase the load range to 3200 lb per tire as compared to the stock 255/70/18 passenger tire with load range of 2400 lb per tire . These ride great and stiffen up the truck a bit to give more control feeling .

 

Any advice for 17" highway tires that also have good traction in snow?

 

From what I read : stay away from Goodyear wrangler sra - many people used wrangler SR-A and said snow traction not good - goodrich was highly praised ; Hancook durapro got great reviews - pirelli scorpions did poorly on snow

 

Wrangler Silent Armour, Wrangler Duratrac

2 great, no awesome tires. Silent Armour isn't a very aggressive tread wise, but has excellent street/dirt traction

The Duratrac is a much meatier tire. I'm hoping to install those on my Expy in October. Very aggressive tread and they work excellently offroad in the mud/snow
that is the factory tire for many SUV's and small trucks

absolutely worthless excuse for a tire. I cannot say a single good thing about the SRA

 

You may want to check out the Michelin LTX M/S2. It's a great highway tire and the snow traction is superb. I have them on my F150 and I'm extremely pleased. They are quiet, smooth, roll forever, and the wet and snow traction is quite good.
I will warn you, they are a bit pricey, but worth their weight in gold. This is my 4th set of Michelins on 3 different vehicles.

 

ok I will check into tires in september I think. only 2 need replacement, the other 2 I dislike as they are pathfinders AT something from discounttires (from previous owner), really loud but too new to ditch.

 

I ran the BFG All-Terrain T/A KO (285/70-17) on my 2000 Exp. These tires did very well in the snow and I had 100,000 miles on them when I sold the truck. I'll bet they had another 10-15K left on them! I recommend these.

 

Is it ok to replace the 2 more worn tires only or do I have to go for 4?
Asking because I read that it may cause damage otherwise..

 

make sure they are all the exact same size. If you are running 2 different brands, try to get them with nearly the same tread depth.

also, run them in pairs (fronts, or rears only).

you won't cause any damage if you do the above. I've been doing it for years. I'm a fan of only doing 2 tires at a time. Saves a little cash...and with my driving style, I typically replace the rears alot . Then put the new tires up front (steering important to me) and older tires out back


the biggest thing to remember is that you have all 4 tires that are the same overall diameter. This will prevent ABS problems. On my Mustang, I ran staggered width tires, but the diameter was the same...car didn't know any better

 

Doesn't that logic fail the first time you rotate, you will end up with the tires on different corners you started with.

 

I personally don't rotate with the "Z" pattern. Most of my vehicles have had a LS in the diff, so tire wear is essentially identical. It's worked great so far for me. That and I usually also run directional tires, so the "Z" can't be used regardless

I just swap the fronts and rears and call it a day