Need tires for the beast. I'm going to run 265s.

I know there are many tire threads on this board, but my needs may be a little different from the typical Excursion owner's needs.

I tow light loads and only casually. Meaning maybe I'll rent a u-haul to trailer a bike somewhere. So I don't need the top towing tire.

Primary concerns are snow/ice traction and quiet ride. Since I only drive this truck seven or eight thousand miles a year, the tires I get now may be the last I get for a while.

Between the Wrangler Silent Armor and the Michelin LTX II, which would you get? Or would you get something else?

Thanks.

 

Since you threw in snow/ice...... B F Goodrich.

 

While I don't have an Excursion....I do have some SDs and F-150s that I've ran a variety of tires on over the years.

By far the best tire I've run in the snow so far is the Goodyear Silent Armor.
I have the Pro Grades on my 07 F-350 (325/60R18) and the standard Silent Armors on the 99 F-150 (275/70R17).
I've ran BFG AT KOs on my 01 for a few winters when it was smaller as well.

The Silent Armors grip very well in the Chicagoland winters (I'm in N. IL by the WI border).

I think I have ~30,000 miles on the Silent Armors on the F-150 with more than half tread and I have 28,000 on the Pro Grades on the F-350 with about half tread (truck tows heavy and hauls heavy a lot).


I haven't run the Michelin to compare them.

 

Timely post...I am evaluating the same two tire alternatives and have similar driving profile. However, I have been pretty happy with the OEM BF Goodrich Rugged Trail T/A's...nearly 84,000 miles on them and still have decent tread depth (sidewall cracking is more the problem). I am leaning towards the Michelin LTX AT2's based on ride comfort, road noise survey ratings on the Tire Rack site? Look forward to the everyone's response!!

 

Thanks for the responses. I think I'll go ahead and order the Silent Armors at Sams.

 

When I was tire shopping I read all the reviews on TireRack. I saw that the SA's were really good with traction on ice/snow/mud so that was one of my reasons for getting them. I also saw that the noise and comfort were really rated high. I never did compare the Michelins though just compared the SA's with BFG's.

I haven't driven more the 4 miles at a time since I got mine so I cant make a judgement. I will be traveling 300+ miles this weekend so I should be able to get a good feel for them.

 

Tires for Sam's and tires from the Goodyear store are likely 2 different tires. All those big box stores get products made to their own specs. I would check around if I were buying them.

 

Good point. Here is the spec from Sams Club. I'm pretty sure it's an E rated tire with a "service description" of 123R.

Tire Size: LT265/75R16
Service Description: 123R
Sidewall: OWL - Outlined White Letters
Material Number or MSPN: 748746189
Rim width: 7.0-8.0
Section Width: 10.43
Overall Diameter 31.65
Tread Depth (32nds): 16
RPM: 656
Max Load: 3,415@80
UTQG Rating:
Treadwear: 520
Traction: A
Temperature: B


Description from the Goodyear site is below. Everything seems to be the same, considering that some of the numbers have been rounded.

<table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="95%"><tbody><tr bgcolor="#999999"><td class="hdWhite11pt" width="15%">Tire Size</td> <td class="hdWhite11pt" width="8%">Load Range</td> <td class="hdWhite11pt" width="13%">Service Description</td> <td class="hdWhite11pt" width="9%">Sidewall</td> <td class="hdWhite11pt" width="9%">Approved Rim Width </td> <td class="hdWhite11pt" width="11%">Meas. Rim Width </td> <td class="hdWhite11pt" width="9%">Section Width </td> <td class="hdWhite11pt" width="11%">Outside Diameter </td> <td class="hdWhite11pt" width="13%">Max Load </td> <!-- remove comment if they want to trun MSRP back on <td width="11%" class="hdWhite11pt">M.S.R.P.*</td> --> </tr> <tr class="ODD"> <td class="hdGrey8pt">LT265/75R16 ♦</td> <td class="hdGrey8pt"> E</td> <td class="hdGrey8pt">123R</td> <td class="hdGrey8pt">OWL</td> <td class="hdGrey8pt">7.0 - 8.0</td> <td class="hdGrey8pt"> 7.50</td> <td class="hdGrey8pt"> 10.5</td> <td class="hdGrey8pt"> 31.7</td> <td class="hdGrey8pt"> 3,415 @ 80</td></tr></tbody></table>

 

I have no clue how well they do in snow, but I've been extremely happy with my Toyo Open Country AT's.

They wear really well, are very quiet, and the traction (especially in the rain), were as good as the Michelins I had before them.

Stewart

 

I used to run exclusively Goodyears, until I realised I was paying for junk. Never had a set that I felt were quality. Thats just my .02, but I have run some Michelins and those things were great. Personally, anymore I like BFGs.

 

So these Goodyear Silent Armor are crap cause I was really looking to purchase them soon. All my driving is on road so which are a better set. I wanna go with 185s!

 

Little known fact -- The Goodrich Co. stopped tire production in 1986, so Michelin makes and markets the tire still using the B F Goodrich name.

 

I wouldn't call them crap, I love my 2 sets I currently have.

 

I don't know about the Silent Armors.....but I know most of the other tires that Sams and Wal-Mart carry are their own tire as mentioned.

So, you can only go to a Sams or Wal-Mart for warranty issues vs. a Goodyear Store.

Like I said, I don't know for sure in the case of the Silent Armor....just know that about other tires since the shop I use is a Goodyear shop

 

Part of the reason I'm buying the tires at Sams is that there are so many of them, and the customer service there is no-hassle.