It's almost time for new tires on my '05 6.0L PSD X, so I thought I'd check in here first. I'm not trying to start the "Who makes the best tire argument?" I'm just looking for some real world opinions on what you guys have tried, and what you liked and disliked. I do mostly city and highway driving, I also tow my 10K pound toy hauler. I live in Wisconsin,so winter traction is very important also. Let's hear what ya got.

 

I've got Michelin LTXs. Here's what I know. They don't do well in sand (there's a funny story behind that, but I'll save it for later), I've always had traction in the rain, despite my heavy foot and at 20k miles, they're about 1/3 worn.

 

Last Thanksgiving I put on 285-75-16 BFG's TA-KO's from Sam's. Be sure to go with an "E" rating since you will be towing. The tread is somewhat aggressive, yet the tires are fairly quite.

The tires replaced a like set, but they were on there when I bout the Ex a couple of years ago, so I do not know the history. Lost the Passenger side rear to an explosive blowout on I-44 in SW Missouri. Not a pleasant experience. There are certainly other appropriate tires, but the 285's work for me - I may go to a tire with a slightly smaller rolling diameter the next time around due to the fact that my axles are 3.73's, and I could use a little help in the power/engine revolution delivered to the asphalt.

 

I replaced the OEM BFGs at 15,000 miles with Michelin LTX load range E A/S (street) tires. Got 70,000 miles out of them before I replaced. Still not worn out so I mounted them on an extra set of X rims I got off EBay. Probably can get another 15,000 to 20,000 miles out of them. Good in the snow when new but as tread wears down to about 1/3 left, snow and rain performance deteriorates.

I replaced them with Michelin LTX load range E A/T (mud & snow) before last winter. Excellent snow & rain traction with very low road noise. If you live where you get snow i would get the A/Ts. If you live without snow the A/S is probably the way to go.

I have Michelins on my ZO6, VW Jetta and X. In 45 years of driving, I have never been disappointed with Michelin tires and I have had a lot of them and driven a lot of miles. A little more expensive, but IMO, well worth the money.

If you purchase, I highly recommend you consider The Tire Rack.

DSMMH

 

I replace my BFG rugged trail T/A last August. My truck had 72,000 miles on it. The tread on the replaced tires still had some tread but the sidewalls were getting dry rot. Tire dealer thought they may have been the originals. I thought about going with a different brand but read some threads where X owners changed brands and it totally changed the towing characteristics, so I stuck with the same tires. They do well in the snow (Minnesota) and are pretty quiet until 72-75 mph. Then they start to howl.

 

Had the Firestone Steeltex or whatever it is it was changed to. Didn't care for them much. Michelin LTX, load range E are all that is Michelin available for my truck for a reasonable price and they are much better.

 

I have had excellent results with my Good Year Wrangler Silent Armours. I hava 285s on my X now and they have about 55000 miles on them. They will last me through the summer but will need to be replaced for winter. By then they will have 65000+ on them. They are by far the best tire I have ever used in the snow, and they last as long if not longer than any other tire I have used. I would highly recommend them, just be sure to get the load range E for towing. Just my real world experience. Hope it helps.

 

I've got 285/75's in Mickey Thompson ATZ's and absolutely love them. They are fantastic in sand and rain - a little noisier than other tires on the highway but the look and the traction are worth it to me. I got load range D tires and tow a 30ft Sea Ray at about 10,500 lbs with no issues. The important thing is to realize what the load capacity is on the tires you are looking at - some D's are rated just as high and you only need 65psi vs. the 80psi in load range E's. ALL tires have to be at their max air pressure to get the maximum load rating of the tire.

I'm a Michelin dealer and we have had fantastic luck with all of their models on many different applications but there are other tires out there which may be a better fit. Most of the LTX series tires are rated at ~3085 lbs per tire at 80psi in E rating. Just for comparison - the MT ATZ's in D are rated at 2910 lbs at 65 psi. There are 8 plies in a D rating and 10 plies in an E rated tire so there is a bit of additional strength in the E. The reviews on Tire Rack are a good resource and it is good to see how the tires you are looking at do in various situations - especially the snow you need to handle.

 

I'm a die hard BFG fan...

Prior to my lift, I had Michelin LTX M/S tires on and as da X-man put it, they don't like sand or any off-road adventure.

Since switching to BFGs, I have much better traction in the rain, sand, off-road and on-road. For all terrain tires, they're also some of the quietest...

If you plan on towing, as many before have suggested: 285/75/16 load range "E" works best.

 

I replaced the Yokohama Geolander's which were OK but were only D rated. Had the Michelin LTX AT2's in 285/75 size with the E rating installed, would have went with just the LTX but they are not available in 285/E's only D's. Last winter was one of the worst winter's we've had since 95/96 as far as snow fall and these AT2's performed very well, so well in fact that I bent my front bumper slightly on the passenger side blowing through snow banks........ what a blast. They are quiet and perform well towing my Travel Trailer.

 

I was actually thinking about the Silent Armors because of the Severe Service rating for the Wisconsin winters. They are however, a bit expensive. The Mickey Thompsons were my second choice.

Fordboy, where did you get your Goodyears from and how much did you pay for them? How is the road noise?

Tdappleman, same question, where'd you get them and how much? Are they the ATZ or ATZ Plus?

 

My brother owns a Goodyear Store, so I got a good deal, $700 for all 4 out the door.

 

I'm a MT dealer as well so I got them direct from my distributor. I got the ATZ's - wanted the more aggressive tread. They have been great so far - about 9k miles and almost a year on the truck.

 

I noticed that the ATZ's in the D rated are only 100# different than the E rated at 15psi less air pressure. The thing that I'm wondering is if I'd be better off with the D or E? My toy hauler is around 10K, but it has around an 1100# tongue weight! Which way would you go?

 

Im running 305/75/16 33's Bridgestone Dueler A/T. There are starting to chop up a bit, but I tow 7800 camper and double tow with a golf cart. The tires are bit noisy for taste, but all in all they have been decent!