I need help selecting my new tires. I'm looking for a good All Terrain tire (in either 30x9.5 or 31x10.5). I only put 2,000 to 3,000 miles a year on this vehicle so I'm not too concerned with tread life. I want a tire that will be good in snow/ice primarily and still be solid in dirt, sand, etc. No need for a mud tire.

I've heard that the BF Goodrich All Terrains and General Grabber AT are solid in most conditions but have a bad tendency to hydroplane with a lighter vehicle ('95 Jeep YJ). I have always had good luck with Michelin but don't think I want to spend the money for the LTX A/T 2 since this isn't a DD.

Long story short (too late) does anyone have any experience with the Firestone Destination AT? From what I've read it's good in rain, good for snow, as good as can be expected on ice, and respectable off road.

1/22/2011 10:26:01 AM

Bridgestone Dueler A/T or Nitto Terra Grappler

1/22/2011 10:47:46 AM

The Nitto looks like a sweet tire but it doesn't look like they make it for a 15" rim.

Aren't the Bridgestones priced about the same as Michelins?

1/22/2011 11:46:14 AM

just put nitto trail grapplers on my truck. nice ride. not to loud. look good. kick ass in the snow. kick ass on the logging roads at the hunt club.

1/24/2011 8:46:02 PM

Well, it's not really a AT tire and not as aggressive as those previously mentioned, but Michelin LTX M/S are pretty hard to beat. I just put a set of 235/75/15's on my wife's XJ for ~$120 per tire. They ride like a dream and I've seen them perform very well on snow and light mud.

I had Bridgestone Dueler ATs on that XJ prior to these. Good tires and more aggressive looking tread, but for the same price I'd opt for the LTX M/S's.

1/31/2011 1:28:20 PM

Quote :

"Bridgestone Dueler A/T or Nitto Terra Grappler"

this.... don't listen to anyone else. these are the tires you want.
Drive great on road, drive great offroad.

The only thing i would mention is that my Goodyear MTRs were an all around better tire than any other MT/AT I've owned. So if you don't get one of the ones listed above get MTRs they drive better on the street then most other tires (even noise) and the on road traction is INSANE my wrangler would do stoppies with them (barely).

I WOULD NOT BUY BF GOODRICH A/Ts ever again.... I got one set cause i was broke and they lasted less then a year, road like shit, wore like shit (In a sawblade pattern yes i know this is typically indicative of worn suspension but my control arms were new and the car was aligned twice while i had them for a year and my next set of bridgestones didn't wear poorly at all) and were nosier than any tire i've ever owned.



List of tires i've owned in 31x10.5 R15
BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO Crap
Kumho Road Venture AT KL78 not bad at anything but not great at anything either.
Bridgestone Dueler A/T Drove like highway tires on road and like A/Ts off road
Nitto Terra Grappler Drove like HT/ATs but stickier on road and were better off road than above
Goodyear Wrangler MT/R drove like R compound street tires on road (seriously my jeep could out turn sportscars i had a friend shit himself when i was all over his bumper on a 360 exit ramp.) and drive better than most MTs i've seen offroad ( my little 31's seemed to have better traction than other 33x12.50s )

[Edited on January 31, 2011 at 2:17 PM. Reason : .]

1/31/2011 2:15:49 PM

Quote :

"The only thing i would mention is that my Goodyear MTRs were an all around better tire than any other MT/AT I've owned. So if you don't get one of the ones listed above get MTRs they drive better on the street then most other tires (even noise) and the on road traction is INSANE my wrangler would do stoppies with them (barely). I WOULD NOT BUY BF GOODRICH A/Ts ever again.... I got one set cause i was broke and they lasted less then a year, road like shit, wore like shit (In a sawblade pattern yes i know this is typically indicative of worn suspension but my control arms were new and the car was aligned twice while i had them for a year and my next set of bridgestones didn't wear poorly at all) and were nosier than any tire i've ever owned."

Everything he just said, except the exact opposite.

Say what you want about Radial All Terrain T/As, but I got 70k out of a set and my brother is closing in on 90k on the set he put on his 4Runner 5 years ago. Street manners were good. Terrible in the mud, but decent grip in dry conditions.

MTRs were great on my Wrangler, but the road noise was pretty bad. They hey only had 30k on them when I sold it, but I could tell they weren't going to go much more than 50k or so. Grip in the mud was leagues above any of the more "street oriented" all terrain tires I've ever owned, so it's a tradeoff.

The "sawmill pattern" wear you experienced could have been caused by the tire being out of balance as well. I assure you it's not a normal thing for these tires.

[Edited on January 31, 2011 at 2:33 PM. Reason : l]

1/31/2011 2:31:01 PM

True... they are the only set i had installed by NTB and they had lbs of lead on them. and when it was rebalanced and aligned it was also done by NTB. lol maybe they just didn't have a wheel balancer for offroad tires... All the rest were either done by Goodyear in Charlotte or Galloway's 4x4 in New-London

Don't get me wrong.. they started off as quiet hard tires that should have lasted forever... but finished 38,000 miles later as shredded sawblades that sounded like you would expect sawblade tires to.

My cherokee was really stiff the MTRs were on both the wrangler and cherokee and damn they were just really sticky tires...

1/31/2011 3:32:51 PM

my personal opinion is that ATs are kinda pointless. If you want offroad performance, they aren't very good there...and a regular light truck highway tire will do fine in any amount of snow you will ever see in NC (with 4x4). You don't need (or want) aggressive tread for sand, either.

if you want offroad performance, for most things you need an MT type tread.

[Edited on January 31, 2011 at 8:18 PM. Reason : ^ you're complaining about 38k tire life??]

1/31/2011 8:17:10 PM

ON A 31" HARD AS A ROCK ALL TERRAIN that's crap especially since the valley in the saw blade is to the cords @ 38k

1/31/2011 8:32:46 PM

Quote :

"I want a tire that will be good in snow/ice primarily and still be solid in dirt, sand, etc. No need for a mud tire."

you don't need an AT imo

michelin LTX M/S
firestone destination LE
bridgestone dueler AT revo

and the balder the better in sand.

1/31/2011 8:49:19 PM

Quote :

"and a regular light truck highway tire will do fine in any amount of snow you will ever see in NC (with 4x4)."

I'll second that. I drove to Snowshoe when the east coast got hit with that huge blizzard in Dec 2009 on some nearly bald Firestones. It was pretty sketch and it took 12 hours to get there (2:30 p.m. to 2:30 a.m.), but it was certainly doable. There was around a foot and a half of snow on the roads by the time I got to the cabin.

[Edited on February 1, 2011 at 10:04 AM. Reason : s]

2/1/2011 9:54:27 AM

I've got the Firestone Destination AT's, and they've been a very good tire in the ~3 years I've had them. I'm at about 45k miles and there's plenty of tread left, I know I'll have no trouble getting 60k out of them, possibly more. Offroad they are very capable, and they've gotten my bone stock blazer through most of the moderate trails at Uwharrie without any traction issues. They are a good investment if you actually do any appreciable amount of offroading, but there are definitely better tires for the money if you don't.

2/1/2011 10:09:34 AM

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Dunlop&tireModel=Grandtrek+SJ6&partnum=105R5SJ6&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

lol this will probably work better on snow and sand than anything mentioned...

2/1/2011 11:07:26 AM

i'm also in the market for new tires for my QX4. been looking at Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S. They get great reviews from TireRack, an Average Review of 8.2 vs the 5.8 for the Bridgestone Dueler H/T D689. I"m running General Grabbers right now which have been good tires in the snow, rain, ice, and dry pavement traction wise but I've had a hell of a time keeping them balanced, especially as the tread has worn. This is my list as of now. Any feedback would be appreciated.

Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S - $132/tire - 8.3 Rating
General Grabber HTS - $133/tire - 8.4 Rating
Kumho Road Venture APT KL51 - $135/tire - 8.0 Rating
Firestone Destination LE - $136/tire - 7.8 Rating
Pirelli Scorpion ATR - $150/tire - 8.5 Rating

2/1/2011 11:16:29 AM

I got my current tires from those used tire guys at the flea market on Capital Blvd. $125 installed for all four. They were all 90%+ tread when I got them except for one that was more like 80%. They're mix & match (2 Nexen Rodians, 1 Michelin, and 1 Firestone). For a 11 year old 4Runner with 155k they do the job just fine. I highly recommend checking with them for your beater vehicles or when the budget is just too tight to drop $500+ to pass inspection.

[Edited on February 1, 2011 at 11:36 AM. Reason : s]

2/1/2011 11:35:14 AM

god they better not hum much.. running 4 different frequencies of wahwahwahwahwahwahwaha would make me shoot someone.

2/1/2011 2:32:43 PM

Nah...They're all pretty quiet and I crank Slayer at all times when I'm driving it.

2/1/2011 4:22:14 PM

Lol... yeah both of my jeeps had big stereos to drown out the other noises.

i'm telling you... Norma Jean does the trick like no-other.

2/2/2011 8:25:06 AM

I have the Michelin LTX M/S on right now (and they're awesome for a daily driver) but am looking for something a little more aggressive. Based on price I'm looking at either the Kumho Road Venture AT KL78 or Firestone Destination AT. Probably go with the Kumhos since they are cheap and look like they're slightly more aggressive than what I have now. The Destination AT looks like it isn't too much different than the LTX M/S I have right now (admittedly I am basing that solely on looks).

2/2/2011 1:02:31 PM

why do you want a more "aggressive" tread?

have your michelins fallen short during any driving conditions?

[Edited on February 2, 2011 at 4:51 PM. Reason : adsf]

2/2/2011 4:51:19 PM

You might want to check into the new Falken a/t as well.

http://www.falkentire.com/Tires/Light-Truck-SUV/WildPeak-A-T-17

2/2/2011 7:20:45 PM

^^My current tires are great on asphalt and pretty good on sand. They're pretty good in snow, too, but don't grip very well at all off road. That's the biggest department that needs improvement; other than that I've been very happy.

2/3/2011 8:19:59 AM

^^ good call. i found these at Vulcan Tire for $121/tire which is awesome and it seems to get good reviews

http://www.vulcantire.com/wildpeak_at_t.htm#sizes_and_prices

2/3/2011 10:57:40 AM

well the firestones and michelins are the most expensive, and the firestones are hardly worth it. all of the other tires mentioned will be fine for a YJ and that many miles a year.

2/4/2011 7:47:19 PM

i've decided to go with the Kuhmo Mohave AT Kl-63. I've had Kuhmo tires before and were pleased with them. I originally wanted to go with the Falken Ziex S/TZ-04 but they didn't have them in stock at Discount Tire and offered me the Kuhmo's at the same price.

8/4/2011 9:47:02 AM

Kumho

It's only 5 letters

8/4/2011 9:59:49 AM

come on Pat...you know engineers suck at spelling

8/4/2011 11:06:26 AM

We run cooper discoverer atr's on my jeep and our suburban. I have been much more pleased with them off-road and mileage wise than I was with the stock tires. Snow 8" deep on roads was no problem, even with steep hills.

8/4/2011 4:08:18 PM

Quote :

"^^My current tires are great on asphalt and pretty good on sand. They're pretty good in snow, too, but don't grip very well at all off road. That's the biggest department that needs improvement; other than that I've been very happy. "

Then spend $100 on a cheap set of steelies, and mount some gnarly mud tires on them for when you want to go off-roading.

It's just like a hot sports car...you don't want to take interstate trips on R-comps, and you don't want to take your touring tires to the track. There are tires that will do an acceptable job at both, but not great at either.

Quote :

"my personal opinion is that ATs are kinda pointless. If you want offroad performance, they aren't very good there...and a regular light truck highway tire will do fine in any amount of snow you will ever see in NC (with 4x4). You don't need (or want) aggressive tread for sand, either. if you want offroad performance, for most things you need an MT type tread. "

8/4/2011 8:01:54 PM