Tire Recommendations

[SkunkedAgain]

I didn't want to hi-jack the other threads, so here goes. I've got an 2007 Ranger with 65,000 miles running the stock Wrangler RT/S tires. I could make it through the winter with them but I'm slipping in 4-wheel drive - still drove great in the 17" storm the other week. While I've never noticed bad traction, I've read lots of venom about the Wrangler RT/S tires. I may still go with what I know has worked, but am considering the following:

BF Goodrich T/A KOs

Michelin A/T2

Michelin M/S2

All seem to have good reviews. The BFGs have a very aggressive tread, so I'm a little concerned about tire noise since the Ranger isn't a quite truck on the highway. I do lots of snow driving, either going ice fishing or driving up north. I also tow a newer 16'5 Navigator during open water season, so I need a tire with great all-around qualities. Anything that I do off-road is just gravel road or anything that a standard truck tire can handle (i.e. no mudding).

Any recommendations on the tires? I was shocked to notice online that the Michelin tires were both cheaper than the BFG tire ($138 per vs $168 per).

[DRH1175]

From What you are picking from. I would go the Mich at/2 hands down. I have them on my durrango and have over 30k on them they still have over 80% on them and have been the best tire I have ever purchased for a truck period! They are quiet, and a pleasure to drive with. The bfg's are good if you want the best traction but are quite noisy, wear fast and will kill your mileage. I would never spend my money on the rt/s as they are a very below average tire IMHO at a premium price. They are what I had on my durrango before the mich. And honestly night and day difference in every aspect. And while the Mich ms/2 are a agreat wearing and riding tire. the traction they have compared to the at/2 is quite a bit better.

[quickfish6]

Look into Goodyear Wrangler Silent Silent Armor. Great Tires that last a long time! Or you could look at Wrangler Duratracs! Both are very good tires with a good warranty. Go take a look at them. The Silent armors have a 50 k mileage warranty but Ive seen a few sets now go to 65k and still have 5/32s left. Very good tire.

[caseymcq]

Were the BFG's you were looking at 245/75R16's? If that is the case, those tires might only be available in Load Rating E. That may make them a little spendier than a tire that has a lighter load rating.

I just happened to be online looking at tires the other day and noticed one site that had them for $148.

[BoxMN]

I know you didn't ask about others, but will mention what I put on my 1/2 ton 4x4. They are an off brand, but I like them a lot, and have about 40k on them and they still look new. They are Wild Country XTX by multi mile - do a search for multi mile tires and you will see the site. I used to buy the Goodrich a/t's, and had Goodyear, and still have a Desert Dueler on one truck, but these Wild Country xtx tires beat them for me. I use them for hunting fields in North Dakota, ice fishing, and just driving back and forth to cabin and any boat towing I do, and I find they have good balance between everything, and a much lower price. I also got the load rating D, and run them at about 45-50 psi. Works well for me. But also have the desert duelers h/t's on a Trailblazer, and I pulled out two superduties from North Dakota mud, haha! I made sure to get pics of that

Anyway, just another potential option. The Kumho a/t's are good too, for another lower cost but great tire option. Good luck, sorry for rambling.

PS, I got them from a place down in Chaska, and they were good at dealing with me to get a good price that worked, after a bunch of comparison shopping.

[MuleShack]

I would go with the michelins.

I plow snow and have tried all kinds of tires. The BF goodrich rugged trails last a long time and get pretty good traction and are "reasonable" in price. I would not go with the KO's because they are going to wear faster.

I have tried the Bridgestone's and they will wear out in a year with any sort of use.

Have tried the Dunlop Radial Rovers and they have good traction but they wear a little quick too.

The Good years that I have tried wear fast, but I have not tried the silent armor. All the tire shops that I talked to say that the good years wear pretty quick.

The tires that I have now are the Michelin LTX M/S2 and with all this snow we have had, I got great traction, minimal spin and best of all have not gotten stuck.

From what I found is that you DO get what you pay for. You can either get a cheap set and replace them after 30K or get a more expensive set and replace them after 60K.

[311Hemi]

Two people have mentioned that the BFG AT KO's wear fast and I am curious, what mileage did you get out of yours?

The set I just replaced lasted 75,000 miles. 36k of that was on a 1500 4x4 and the rest was on my 2500 4x4 diesel. IMO they wear pretty good and provide good winter traction. I don't find them noisy, but maybe I am just used to them since they are the only tire I have run on my past 4 vehicles.

[fishfearme]

I had a 2005 Ranger and if the performance with the stock Goodyears was acceptable a comparable tire is the BFG Radial Long Trail. A lot less $$$! I got a set of 4 for around $500 out the door. They are quiet, wear good and have decent traction. When I sold my Ranger the BFG's had 50,000 miles on them and there was still 8/32" tread left.

[SkunkedAgain]

Well I bit the bullet and got the Michelin M/S2 tires. I did want the A/T2 tires but they weren't in stock where I went and besides the tread difference, they both seemed to get really high marks.

Time for the road test!

[MuleShack]

Two people have mentioned that the BFG AT KO's wear fast and I am curious, what mileage did you get out of yours?

The set I just replaced lasted 75,000 miles. 36k of that was on a 1500 4x4 and the rest was on my 2500 4x4 diesel. IMO they wear pretty good and provide good winter traction. I don't find them noisy, but maybe I am just used to them since they are the only tire I have run on my past 4 vehicles.

This was about 5 or 6 years ago on a 3/4 ton that pulled a large lawn trailer all summer and plowed lots of snow driven by an employee but they were worn down in a year and a half and between 35 and 40K. Once I get bad results from a tire, I don't go back. Like I said, my results could be skewed but it wasn't a favorite.

[spearchucker]

I've had good luck with the Coopers that Fleet Farm sells.

[Big Tom]

I have run Goodyear AT's on my half ton. I have gotten between 55-60K out of them. I don't use them til the bitter end though. The are noisy but have excellent traction. I got my last ones w/o white walls for %135 at Wally World two years ago.

[MnIceman]

I second the Cooper discovers. I have them on a 98 Dodge 4x4 and they are great. I have BF rugged trails on my 06 Dodge 4x4 and they are OK. I have a set of Blizzaks on another set of rims for the 06 that can't be beat on icy and snow covered roads.

[SkunkedAgain]

Well I have to say that I'm disappointed with the Michelin M/S2 tires that I put on the truck. They honestly get about the same traction that my stock Goodyear's were getting after 60,000 miles. I get a bunch of wheel slip in 2wd and am wishing that I would have waited an extra day to get the A/T2 tires. Oh well.

[G.J.]

I'm not sure if it's too late or an option for you but if your not happy with the tires have you tried asking if you can return them and get the other ones. Been shopping myself and reading a lot of reviews and came across a few negative ones where the person hated the tires but was happy with the retailer b/c they took them back and let them get something else. It may not matter anymore but you can't go wrong with the BF Goodrich AT. Just got 66K out of a set of Bridgestone Revos on my F150 and was very happy with them in muddy fields, snow, wet roads and hiway driving. Although either of those would be a safe bet the new shoes are going to be Goodyear Dura Tracs for my ride. Check them out if you can get a return on your purchase. Never hurts to ask.

[MuleShack]

Well I have to say that I'm disappointed with the Michelin M/S2 tires that I put on the truck. They honestly get about the same traction that my stock Goodyear's were getting after 60,000 miles. I get a bunch of wheel slip in 2wd and am wishing that I would have waited an extra day to get the A/T2 tires. Oh well.

I guess it is possible they have different tread patterns between the E load range and C load range tires buy my guess is weight is also an issue.

I have mine on a 3/4 ram diesel with E load range and I love these tires, no slip (except on ice) and awesome traction when in 4wd and plowing.

I have found that not trying to spin is key with these wheels because they do have the long straight channels on them. applying even acceleration proves to be the best for traction for my use. (of course my truck probably has 3-4,000 lbs extra weight for traction too)

[SkunkedAgain]

The Ranger is a light truck for sure, so I'm sure that has something to do with it.

I'm not going to return the tires though, as I've already put miles on them and it's not the tire retailer's fault. I requested these tires so I'll take the responsibility for them not performing to my satisfaction.

[motley man]

Coopers at fleet farm

[Kyhl]

Late to the party but my vote is for BFG AT's.

I keep going back to them on every truck I've owned and they have always been a great tire for me.

I've never used a Michelin truck tire but every time I've bought a car with Michelins I am amazed at how bad they are. Their car tires have to be the worst traction of any big name tire. I don't know how they stay in business.

I've never made it more than a year on Michelin car tires before throwing them out for something better. Sometimes with less then 10k miles on them.