currently the truck has Michelin LTX M/S tires but the Spare is a BFG Rugged Trail TA...which tires are the factory tires?

 

the BFGs were as i've seen alot of them. mine also has a BFG spare.

 

BFG's came stock. Seems that's the tire EVERY ex came with.

 

2000-2002 MY 2wd trucks came with Firestone Steeltex R4S tires...4wd trucks came with Firestone Steeltex A/Ts...

2003-2005 MY 2wd or 4wd came with Pirelli Scorpion STRs, but for the most part they came with BFgoodrich Rugged Trail T/As....

 

My '01 has a Firestone Steelex Spare, looks factory direct.

 

I'm going to my own thread for a minute and ask what tires you recommend...I have LTX M/s and DO NOT like them. The BFG's are $165 a piece here plus stems and installation. I ahve had Mastercraft Courser CTs on other pickups...anyone tried these on an X? do they cause wandering?

 

What don't you like about it? I thought those were the cat's meow?

 

They are a VERY hard tread and I have slipped in the mud and dirt with them already in the short time I have had the truck. Plus the set I have is not a matched set...three LTX M/S and one LTX M/S2...this is a MAJOR factor in the trucks wandering all over the place. They are starting to dry rot so I might as well replace all of them before I blow one pulling the camper with a truck full of the family...

 

I have the Steeltex ones, I think and they are harsh, IMO. Anyone know what the best set would be?

 

If you're going to be playing in the mud every now and again, I'd highly recommend some BFG All-Terrains. I'm now on my third set and these tires haven't let me down yet. Whether driving through some mud, sand, or even the rain, these tires have always had a good grip on whatever terrain I happen to be on. The 265s and 285s come in load range "E", but if I still had stockers on, I'd go with the 285s.

If you're mainly on the road and you need a decent hybrid of BFG All-Terrain and on-road manners, go with BFG Rugged-Trails. They handle well, ride well, and last an exceptionally long time. jdadamsjr ran his stock BFG Rugged Trails to 100K without a problem and never had one complaint about them.

 

I think that 2002-2003 was around the time Ford and Firestone split up when each blamed the other for all the Exploder roll-overs the media hyped up at the time.

Too bad, I was raised on Fords and Firestones. I think the problem was actually a combination of people driving SUV's like they did passenger cars, not checking their tire pressures regularly, and the media looking for a story. Now SUV's are built on car platforms and called "crossovers" and Tire Pressure Monitoring Systems are common.

 

Sorry for this but Rugged Trails suck. I have a set of factory size LTX M/s and they can have a little slippage. I also have LTX A/T2 in 275/65/18 LRE and those are much much grippier and superior to the M/s. I used to sell tires as a Michelin/BFG/Toyo/Conti/General and many other mfgr dealers. I always wanted the LTX m/s but was dismayed by the lack of grip. Maybe the m/s2 has better. Teh BFGH A/t Ko's would be great but I have heard much about the lack of consistency in longevity of tire life. To ghet only 30k out of tires that were giving 90-100k is very dissappointing.

Just my 2 cents and humble, experienced opinion from the retail side of the tire world.

PS when I bought my Ex, it too had rugged trails and they chopped badly, maybe poor maintenace by previous owner and weak shocks. But I couldnt get them to wear or ride better after alignment and shocks iunstalled.

 

We've got Firestone Rugged Trails on ours and they are wearing like kevlar. I'd say they look about half used up with over 60k miles on them, and they are perfectly even. I want new tires, but these things just won't wear out fast enough.

 

I have the Michelin LTX M/S tires and they suck! My factory spare is a Firestone Steeltex? Always heard Michelin's were great, wrong! Will probably go with BFG next time.

 

OK now for an update...I just returned from a 1200 mile trip that was hair raising to say the least, so I have determined that the odd ball LTX M/S2 tire HAS to go!

My plan is to replace all 4 tires so that I have a matched set.

But that leads me to two questions:

1. Since I have have had bad luck with the LTX M/S what is the best tire to get? I'm thinking about Michelin LTX A/T 2, BFG AT TA KO, or BF Goodrich Rugged Trail T/A...or is there a better choice I have not thought of?

2. I have stock rims and will keep stock rims, who has some experience with putting 285/75/16 tires on the stock 16x7 rims?

If you have some actaul experience with this let me know...I know we all have opinions, me to, but I need some actual experience before I go out and spen close to $1000 on new tires.