Need Tire advice buy now or wait? P vs LT on silverado 1500?

[bikeoutback]

I have some Dayton All Terrains on the truck now that I put on 40K+ miles ago and according to my tread tester they are still in the green and legal but barely. I could tell last winter they were not as they were the previous winter, more slipping than I was used to on and off the lakes. The now vs wait is simply buy now or wait till a little closer to winter but I'll be replacing before winter this year. Will they go on sale again essentially?

I am currently looking at Cooper tires, heard nothing but good on them from other people who have them and they are on sale. I can get a set of 4 Cooper AT3 which are P rated for $175 per tire. They also have a set of 4 Cooper ATR LT rated tires for $178 per tire. Drive a 1500 Crew Cab Silverado 4x4. I do tow a utility trailer here and there and move furniture and what not. My heavier loads would be a load of wood here and there in the truck but otherwise it's typically loaded up with hunting, fishing and camping gear. I do drive gravel roads regularly as I live on one to start and travel them to get to places alot but do a considerably high amount of highway travel also. Should I consider the LT or just stick with P tires?

[ozzie]

I was told by a few different people in the auto business that if you will tow or drive with a load then go with the LT...I have firestone destination A/T's and this is the second set I have had and I can't complain. They are a beefy tire but they get me to where I am going and are a good tire in all conditions.

[crothmeier]

The P tires would be sufficient. LT just has a heavier ply sidewall, its up to you. check out the toyo open country a/t. ive had great luck with them lasting a long time. i am in the market for new tires as well before winter on 1500 silverado. currently have Hurcules something or other on it that i wasnt impressed with.

[Dave]

Sounds like your tires would be like new compared to the bologna skins on my truck. Gotta have it in 4X4 in order to drive on wet grass on a slight incline Don't haul a camper any longer so, I'm gonna save some cash and go with the P series.

[Bassman76]

I used to sell tires and have hankooks ATM tires on mine they have great tread life and great traction. If you dont do a lot of traveling with a heavy load save your money and go with the p metric tires. The LT just has more plys so that it can carry a heavier load. I would recommend Firestone destination AT or the Hankooks ATM The cooper and the Toyo are a fair tire as well not as good of traction but both ware great! If you want the best of both world Michelin makes a great tire but I cant get around the price. Good luck!

[cam7069]

Go with the michelin ltx m&s I have 88000 miles on them and still have plenty of tread for the winter. They are worth every penny!

[CAMAN]

You can wait a little bit, but just remember after that first snowfall the tire places are usually swamped for a week or two.

[MattL]

I have Michelin LTX AT2 tires on my Silverado. I've had them about 2 years / 45,000 miles and it looks like I will easily make it through the winter. They seem to be a very good tire and I got a heck of a deal on them at the time. I went from the "P" tires that came new on the truck to "LT" because I do a little gravel/off road driving and pull a large boat.

[amateurfishing]

have had coopers from FF, love em, great in blizzard with 4 wheel drive.

also if getting this season....the sooner the better, u want to give them a little asphalt wear and broken in b4 frost & snow, helps for when the real nasty stuff gets here.

[JohnMickish]

Go with the michelin ltx m&s. They are worth every penny!

+1

[PerchPounder]

Im putting Hankook ATMs on my '00 1500 next Tuesday. Had pretty good luck with the Sport Kings that are on it now but they weren't readily available locally.

[SpecialK]

Go with the michelin ltx m&s I have 88000 miles on them and still have plenty of tread for the winter. They are worth every penny!

+2

[bikeoutback]

Here is the thing the money savings is $12 on a set of 4 tires. The tech at FF said the ATR were C rated so it's not as if I'm jumping into an E rated tire. My dad says for the same price go with the LT tire as they would be a better tire so I'm leaning that route as one poster here did mention lots of gravel roads with snow and the switch to LTs was beneficial. I'm just worried about how much stiffer will it ride than the current P rated tires. Although the current low tires with low tread seem to ride not that great any longer anyways.

[BoxMN]

FWIW, I got D range LT's on my 98 k1500. This is my "hunting rig" and with bad springs and overload assist under bad springs, this is not a grewat ride But I will say, the tires are noticebly better when towing, and I run them at 55 pounds. Good in NoDak fields, northern MN trails and even when we had to go hopping rock piles to get to out of way ducking spot.

If I was only going to drive roads and tow a boat on highway, I would LT load range C, and if just grocery getting (like my Trailblazer) then P tires.

Good luck with whatever, truly it isn't going to really matter much, other than the D range LT's had deeper tread and tougher sidewalls which it what I liked.

[PurpleFloyd]

Go with the michelin ltx m&s I have 88000 miles on them and still have plenty of tread for the winter. They are worth every penny!

[Hookmaster]

+4

I got my second set of Michelin LTX M/S just before fishing opener this year. Had 84,000 miles on them and could have gotten through the winter, but with only having this truck 3-4 more years, I wanted to use most of the tread on the new set.

[Nozzlejocky]

I just put a set of Cooper AT3's on my Suburban and love them so far. Only dry or rain covered driving surfaces, but I'm sure snow will not be an issue. A coworker also has them on his Silverado and loves them. I researched the heck out of tires for about a year knowing I was going to buy this year. I basically narrowed it down to the Cooper AT3 or the Micheling LTX AT2. Another coworker has and suggested the Michelins. All in all, both great tires. My decision factor was price as the Coopers had significant rebates on them. In regard to the P vs LT debate, I ended up with the P tires as the only LT available for my size was load range E which is way to heavy for a 1500 Suburban. Had the load range C been available, I likely would have gone with them. To date I have about 2,000 miles on them and am impressed. Good quiet ride for such an aggressive tire, much quieter than I had expected. Good luck.

[Huskie]

I just put 4 bridgestone duelerss on my Silverado for a little over 6 bills, nice tires. They are running a buy 3 get 1 free at Sears, not a kenmore but a pretty good deal I thought.

[shizzy]

for the $12 I'd go with the LT's I doubt you will feel any difference in ride.

I'd rather have more tire than I need. That one time you do load the truck up and a tire lets go on you, that $12 is out the door.

[Islandlaker]

I too was planning on the Hankook dynapro ATM, I was scheduled to get them put on tomorrow at 10AM. Discount Tire called me to tell me they didn't have them in. Even though a week ago when I made the appointment they told me they had them in stock and set 4 aside for me. Were going to charge 728 to put 4 on. Well today at 6pm they call me to say they don't have them. I was pretty [PoorWordUsage] because I was did my research and that is what I wanted. Well they ended up giving me Yokohama Geolander A/T-S for the same price, though supposidly they are 20 bucks more a tire. They look alright but I really wanted the Hankooks, such great reviews. I can't wait around, going north for a couple weeks, and 2 of my 4 tires have slow leaks, and all the tires are low on tread. I am pumped for first snow fall to test them out.

[Northlander]

I was also looking at the Hankook ATM but found a good deal on 4 Cooper Discoverer AT3's. I got $75 off them plus a free front end allignment at Duluth Tire. So far so good. I thought they would be noisier than they are but I have very little road hummin. I think they will be great in the snow and so far they have been good in the rain.