Hey,
I am looking for your opinions on tires as I require new tires shortly. I have a 2003 F150xl supercab 4.6l 4x4. I am looking for something that is low on highway noise (don't want a hum) has a nice ride on the highway, won't affect gas mileage but also has an aggresive look (not asking for much). I live in the middle of Candada and so it has to be good in the snow and ice. The recommended tire size is 235/7016. It currently has 245/75/16 wrangler ats (tires are cupped). I am looking at going back to a P rated tire 255/70/16. I have been looking at:
Nokian Vatiiva - don't know much about them, only sold by only one store here - Kal Tire (no competition - don't think thats a good thing)
Micheling LTS M/S or AT2 (not very AT looking)
Goodyear Wranglers Silent Armour (last good years cupped?)
I like the looks of the BFG AT KO's but don't need load E and I think they would affect gas mileage and be to loud for me.
Most of my driving is city/highway and would only play a little once and a while.

Your experiences and thoughts would be appreciated. Would hate to spend $900 to be unhappy with the tires. Thanks

 

Had the Michelin LTX M/S's as OEM on my '02 van, and replaced them with the same. Not aggressive looking, but quite decent in the snow (with a posi), very quiet and even wearing. After about 30 years of driving either a full size pickup or van, I have to say that these are the best compromise. The AT2 looks promising for a little more gnarly tread design.

I actually got a set of 30x9.50x15" Firestone Destination A/T's for the van, and with the slight increase in size and the move to a truck tire, lost a full 2 mpg. I also have a 4.6, and I could feel the additional drag of the tires on the freeway--would downshift to 3rd when I had the cruise on, on freeway bridges that I often cross. Firestone has a 30-day money back guarantee, and I returned them after I calculated what 2 mpg would cost me over the life of the tires--lost about $50 on mounting and balancing, but Costco had $60 off on the Michelins at the time.

You may not find the Nokians there, but www.tirerack.com has tons of individual user reports on just about every common tire; I wouldn't buy tires mail order, but as a research source, it's great. Except the great reviews for the Firestones there led me to try them.

If you're after the best gas mileage, I'd go as close to the original size as possible, maybe a 245/70x16 as a compromise (if they make 'em). The 4.6, pushing a big truck, is darn good for efficiency, and if you mess with that balance, the engine works a lot harder and kills mileage.

George

 

I also had some good year wranglers that cupped for some reason, I rotate religiously and when they get past half way used up they are awful in snow and ice. I went with P rated Toyo Open Country AT's, they were only around $140ea. (265/70/17) and look really good IMO. So far I have around 8K miles on them and they are wearing better than just about any tire I have had, and I have had just about all of them.

Here is a pic of the Toyo tread:

http://www.buildadiesel.com/images/Open%20Country%20AT

I also had the 235/16's stock and going bigger will make the truck look a whole lot better. I went all the way up to 285/17's (33's) and have now settled on 265/70/17's which look good and don't rob a ton of power. I have 3.55 gears and with the 265's my effective gear ratio is around 3.31, I wouldn't want it much lower or it works the engine too hard.

 

i bought Bridgestone Duelers and am very happly with them after 30K miles. No road noise, look somewhat agressive, wear very good. I spend 90% of the time on the highway, but when off road you lock it in 4 x 4 and they climb straight up. i have 265 x70 x17.

 

I have a Y2K 4x4 Scab w/ 5.4 and I LOVE my BFG All-Terrain A-T KO's. I got over 85K on the first set, and just installed the second set last month to go up into the great white north snowmobiling.

These are by far the best AT tire for snow and medium off road conditions I have ever experienced. Mine are load range C's and I do not find them any noisier than the Goodyear ATS's (also load range C's) that came on it new. The traction in any condition is sooo much better with the BFG's than the Goodyears its unbelivable. IMO you can't go wrong with the BFG's.

 

I have had good luck with uniroyal and goodyear

 

I like the BGF Long Trail T/A's myself. Work great on my truck. Sam's club has a good price on them.

 

i like the michelin ltx's,they ride good,wear great,no road noise,but if youre lookin for a more aggressive look,then id take a look at the bfg's all terrain ,i have them on my 86 f250 and they wear good ,rides a little compromised,and a liitle road noise but they have a good balance between aggresive look and performance

 

Galaxi641
I like the look of that Toyo. Do you get much road noise or reduction in mileage. I would have expected you would have lost alot of mileage going from a 16" all the way up to 265 17's? Is most of your driving city?

Thanks

 

I love my Nitto Terra Grapplers! Very aggressive look without too much noise. Have been getting excellent wear, and they're hard enough that they don't affect my mileage enough to be noticable, and that's with a 33" tire.

 

 

bridgestone dueler at revos..........i've had michelins, goodyears on many ford trucks.....they don't come close to the bridgestones......very quiet.......best tire by far on dry.....rain and deep snow.........

 

I got 75k miles on the OEM Wrangler RT/S. They weren't noisey and gave good traction but the majority of the miles were on-road. I rotated them every 5k miles.

I'm now on my 2nd set but went with Wrangler AT/S to get that more agressive look. They are louder but not by much. I'm nearly at 125k miles now (almost 50k on the 2nd set of tires) and they look like they'll make 75k easy.
The Wranglers have worked out fine for me......

 

I have Nokian snow tires. They are great in the snow and wear like iron, but are quite noisy. Don't know how they would be off road. I use different tires in the summer on my Ford. That's really the best solution, particularly if you plan to keep your truck for long.

If that's not realistic, I would recommend you consider the Goodyear Silent Armor. They are off road AND rated for severe snow (with the snowflake on the mountain symbol). I have not seen this combination elsewhere. I bought these for my other truck (Chev), in an attempt to have a true all season tire. They've been great through the winter. If I decide they're not so good in summer, then I'll buy new tires (and wheels) as I've done in the past.

PS: My Goodyears are "E" and are still very quiet. Don't know if they would have the cupping problem, but I guess that if there was a previous problem, they would have worked to correct it on their latest tire.

 

I would high recommend Goodyear Wrangler AT/Ss. Ive got those on my truck and I like them. They are good in mud and snow and dont really make much noise at highway speeds.