Help me choose please

First off I wanna stay under $100 if possible

1. Performance, Highway or A/T-
The Expy will never be going off the road so other than great wear/traction is there a reason for A/T tires?
Highway tires have moderate rating
Performance- My choice but Im concerned with the weight of the expy is it going to cause excessive wear. How are the sidewalls going to hold-up?

I've read rating about my choice of performance tire "Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 and they seem to be pretty great with Suburbans and other big SUV.

So I got it narrowed down to 3 choices

1.Firestone Firehawk Indy 500 -performance $85
2.Yokohama Geolanders H/T-S G051 -Highway $109
3.Kuhmo Venture AT 825 - A/T $90


F Y K
<TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 border=0><TBODY><TR><TD vAlign=center align=left width=180 height=20><INPUT onclick=submitSort() type=radio value=8 name=sortValue>HANDLING RATING </TD><TD align=middle height=20> 8.5 </TD><TD align=middle height=20>8.6 </TD><TD align=middle height=20>8.0</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center align=left width=180 bgColor=#dcdcdc height=20><INPUT onclick=submitSort() type=radio value=9 name=sortValue> DRY TRACTION</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#dcdcdc>9.1</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#dcdcdc>9.1</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#dcdcdc>8.7</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center align=left width=180 height=20><INPUT onclick=submitSort() type=radio value=10 name=sortValue> WET TRACTION</TD><TD align=middle>8.5</TD><TD align=middle>8.7</TD><TD align=middle>8.4</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center align=left width=180 bgColor=#dcdcdc height=20><INPUT onclick=submitSort() type=radio value=11 name=sortValue> SNOW TRACTION</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#dcdcdc>7.7</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#dcdcdc>7.9</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#dcdcdc>8.7</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center align=left width=180 height=20><INPUT onclick=submitSort() type=radio value=12 name=sortValue> RIDE COMFORT</TD><TD align=middle>8.6</TD><TD align=middle>8.4</TD><TD align=middle>8</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center align=left width=180 bgColor=#dcdcdc height=20><INPUT onclick=submitSort() type=radio value=13 name=sortValue> NOISE COMFORT</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#dcdcdc>8.7</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#dcdcdc>8.3</TD><TD align=middle bgColor=#dcdcdc>7</TD></TR><TR><TD vAlign=center align=left width=180 height=20><INPUT onclick=submitSort() type=radio value=14 name=sortValue> WEAR</TD><TD align=middle>8.6</TD><TD align=middle>8.6</TD><TD align=middle>8.5</TD></TR></TBODY></TABLE>
F Y K

 

What size tire are you going with?

 

stock- 265/70/17

couldnt be able to squeeze on a 275/65/17 on stock rims could I?

 

Yes, you could get a 275 on the stock rim, it's only 10mm wider than the stock tire. My question is why are you considering a performance tire? I came from driving a SVT Focus with H&R coliovers and Kuhmo MX extreme performance tires and then I get this big heavy truck and I realized very quickly that you can't drive them the same way, at all! The only thing a "performance" tire is gonna do on your Expy is give you poor wet traction and wear out very quickly. I am running the Goodyear Eagle LS and it is a very good street tire, but I don't think it falls in the performance category, and I don't think they would be in your price range. I would consider a good highway tire or standard L/T tire to give you the best wet traction and treadlife.

 

Im considering a performance tire because of handling. Better control of a 5000lbs vehicle is deff a plus. Also the firehawk is the only one I see that coming in our size. I use sumitomo on my sebring and they are an ultra high performance tire and the way they handle is amazing. Im not expecting the Expy to handle like the Bring.

 

Well, like I was saying though, you will not really need the handling benifits of a performance tire in a 5000lb vehicle because you won't be able to push it to that limit anyways. I agree that the handling will be better, but the ride will be a little harsher and you will wear through tires a lot more often. But hey, if you can deal with that, then Max-performance or Ultra-high performance all the way! I would love to throw some Kuhmo MX's on there, but I know I would probably never really need them, and wouldn't want to be buying new ones every 8-10K or less. That's about the mileage I got on my MX's on a 2500lb Focus... (of course, there were all those track days and aurocross events!) You may have to bump up your price range a little or comprromise on your criteria. I wouldn't pick from between only 3 tires based solelyon price, this is the only contact between your truck and the road, that cannot be compromised...

 

im basing it on price, reviews, ratings

 

To firm up the handling and handle the weight of the Expy, I'd go stiffer sidewall not lower sidewalls. The Kumho AT 6 ply minimum (LT or C load rated) would be my choice. I've heard good things about those AT in the Jeep crowd.

I've gone from P rated to C loads on all my trucks. Huge difference in decreasing the wallow going down the road and the sidewall folding on corners.

 

I went ahead & ordered the Kumho A/T. Couldnt really find a bad review on them other than road noise.

 

sorry, wrong thread

 

Let us know how they work out. Gotta be better than those factory Conti's.

 

I got the trusty ole Goodyear RT/S on there now. The Front are starting to run bald and are way out of alignment. My brother in-law gave me a set of used Conti's but I'll use those as a temp. back-up if necessary.