Tire Recommendation

[mikennola0515]

All:

I'm seeking a tire recommendation for my 03 2500HD (D/A, extended cab). Standard size is 245/75/16, E load rating. Leaning toward an all-terrain type, but open to suggestions. In this category and size/load, I've narrowed it thus far to the BF Goodrich A/T KO and Bridgestone AT Revo, both of which are heavily and generally well reviewed at tirerack.com. Pricing is very comparable locally (Dayton, OH), but not cheap.

My driving is generally pretty tame (seldom use the truck for heavy hauling/towing), no serious off-roading. Will pay for something that will last, but I assume tires of this category should last 40-50K miles?

Thanks in advance for any and all insights.

[NutNbutGMC]

My fav to date:

Michelin X LT 265.

I recently left the Mich M/S LT because of availability at the local Sam's Wholesale. The X was in stock, I took it. A bit more on the price but what a different tire over the M/S. A much nicer ride indeed. All terrain doesn't do much for the truck in my opinion. The X tread will do all that I could foresee for an already heavy machine, plus a smooth road ride.

I'm sold on the Mich X LT 265.

[mikennola0515]

I appreciate the feedback.

[DarylB]

My fav to date:

Michelin X LT 265.

I recently left the Mich M/S LT because of availability at the local Sam's Wholesale. The X was in stock, I took it. A bit more on the price but what a different tire over the M/S. A much nicer ride indeed. All terrain doesn't do much for the truck in my opinion. The X tread will do all that I could foresee for an already heavy machine, plus a smooth road ride.

I'm sold on the Mich X LT 265.

Ditto what he said. I've been sold on the Michelin's, even though they're pricey. I've been running Michelin LTX A/S 265/70/17 on H2 wheels for 40k + now. Over 50% tread left, great for a pavement pounding truck.

I even kept my old tires/wheels on the new 2007 from the 2002. Speedo is dead on (at least with the Camry ;))

Here's a picture for reference.

http://i5.photobucket.com/albums/y159/dwbussell/100_1226.jpg

[mikennola0515]

Any feedback on the new Michelin AT2's? Only 2 reviews last time I looked at tirerack.com

[SoTxPollock]

I went with the 235-85-16E Revos AT Bridgestones, they ride real nice, but do have a slight bit of road noise at medium speeds. One of my hunting buddies with a F-250 has 76 thousand miles on his right now and they aren't worn out yet, so I deceided to go with Bridgestone again, hope I don't regret it on mileage, let you know in a couple of years.

[Roy W]

I recently put 265/75/16 load range E Revos on my '05 Duramax. A week after they were installed I set out on a 3000 mile trip with my 32 travel trailer. The tires are very quiet, and wet traction is outstanding. They are a bit pricey at $210 per tire, but I searched around and found them for $880 out the door. Look on the Bridgestone web site, they did have a $100 rebate for a while. Because they are 265's on a 6.5 inch rim, you need to adjust tire pressure by looking at the tire footprint. Unloaded, 50 psi on the front and 45 psi on the rear is close.

[DA BIG ONE]

I go through tires faster than most because of damage that can not be repaired, I'm on second set of Goodyear silent armor AT great all around tire.

[mikennola0515]

I checked out the GY Silent Armor's last Friday based on tread design. Local GY shop wanted $870 plus tax including alignment. Seems a bit steep, but they do come with a 50K treadlife warranty.

[JohnnyR]

I recently bought Michelin LTX M/S, load range E, in stock size (245). Gotta say they ride rougher than the stock Bridgestones that came on it. I've had the LTX's before but don't remember them riding as rough as these, and that's at 50 PSI empty. Wish now I had looked at others and compared each for sidewall stiffness.

[mikennola0515]

This process is getting more confusing as I go:) This would be a good poll to run on this site.

[EdHale]

I had two sets of those exact tires on a '98 Suburban that I sold to my son in law law year. I put 100,000 miles on both sets. I did rotate and balance them every 5,000-6,000 miles without fail. Ed

[mikennola0515]

Which tires are you referring to?

[DIESELMAX403]

For your safety, don't put 265/75 16" E Rated Bridgestone A/T Revo's on factory 6.5" rims if you ever plan on towing or carrying heavy weight. I towed a 30' 8500# trailer with a heavy tongue weight and my back end was all over the road. I was on a long trip, so I reduced my trailer tongue weight by adding some water to my fresh water tank which was located to the rear of the trailer axels and I pumped up the tire pressure to 77 psi. After this, it was tolerable. Before my next trip I purchased some WELD 16x8 rims and haven’t had a problem since. The tires on the 16 x 8 rims ride and wear nice.


DieselMax403

[mikennola0515]

All:

Spent about an hour on Saturday looking at these three:

Bridgestone Revo's
Nokian Vatiiva
Michelin LTX AT2

The first two are very comparable in terms of tread pattern; the Michelin looks slightly less aggressive. Not even the salemen could give me an obvious recommendation. I searched over the weekend for anything I could find about the Nokian tire and could find no one who'd say anything bad about them.

Thanks to all past and future for input. The search continues:)

[More Power]

For your safety, don't put 265/75 16" E Rated Bridgestone A/T Revo's on factory 6.5" rims if you ever plan on towing or carrying heavy weight. I towed a 30' 8500# trailer with a heavy tongue weight and my back end was all over the road. I was on a long trip, so I reduced my trailer tongue weight by adding some water to my fresh water tank which was located to the rear of the trailer axels and I pumped up the tire pressure to 77 psi. After this, it was tolerable. Before my next trip I purchased some WELD 16x8 rims and haven’t had a problem since. The tires on the 16 x 8 rims ride and wear nice.
DieselMax403

I normally use a rear tire pressure of 60 psi when not towing, and I noticed about same thing as you the first time I towed after installing 265/75R16 tires on the stock aluminum wheels. Increasing rear tire pressure to 75-psi solved the problem, and I found the truck handled towing as well as when using 245 size tires. :)

Jim

[EdHale]

I was talking about Michelin LTX M/S, load range E, in stock size (245). I put 100,000 miles on two sets on a '98 Suburban 6.5. Great tires for me. I will put a set on my new '06 LBZ when the originals are worn out. Ed

[mark45678]

I have had 4 trucks with Michelin LTX AT 245-75-16E tire , made a desision to try the REVO this time..... If some one want to give me $700 for all 4 revos that have 7,000 miles on them they are yours ! Yes they do work good wet or dry but they are noisy and a 265 tire is just to wide for a 6.5" wide wheel . No question in my mind if michelin still makes the LTX -AT tire that what i will get next time. FYI one truck had over 103,000 miles on one set of tires.

[mikennola0515]

All:

A sincere thanks to all who provided input. I decided on the Michelin LTX AT2 and had them installed on Wednesday past (10/3). It was a very difficult decision, and one i hope not to regret as this was a heft purchase ($940 including alignment). Deciding factor was Michelin's reputation for quality and wear.

First impressions: Smoother ride, even with an empty bed (I did notch the rear's to 55 PSI like the fronts) than the old Firestones; better cornering on dry pavement. No experience yet with wet pavement, snow or off-road applications.

Again,

Thanks,

Mike

[Burl]

Michelin LTX is the way to go IMHO. I have had 3 sets of LTX that all went right around 90k miles per set on 1/2 ton trucks. I tried BFG AT on my last truck (2000 4x4 1500) and got about 80k miles. Currently running 4 BFG AT but if I could get them to fail all at the same time I would switch back to Michelin LTX and never look back. The BFG AT just don't seem to stand up as well to the additional weight of the 2500. I have replaced 2 at a time at different intervals (due to blowouts/failures). I have had several sidewall bugles and one total failure of the BFG AT and never seemed to have that problem with the Michelins. The BFG AT's seem like they would last around 70-80k if no sidewall issues which still is not bad but they are a little noisier that the LTX.

[mark45678]

All:

A sincere thanks to all who provided input. I decided on the Michelin LTX AT2 and had them installed on Wednesday past (10/3). It was a very difficult decision, and one i hope not to regret as this was a heft purchase ($940 including alignment). Deciding factor was Michelin's reputation for quality and wear.

First impressions: Smoother ride, even with an empty bed (I did notch the rear's to 55 PSI like the fronts) than the old Firestones; better cornering on dry pavement. No experience yet with wet pavement, snow or off-road applications.

Again,

Thanks,

Mike

Mike two years from now you will still be thinking boy these tires just dont wear out..... well maybe the back tires will get beat up from power but honestly I really wish I had a set instead of the revos , the revo is a good tire but I dont do much off road driving so aggresive tread isnt a good thing . best of luck ,keep them rotated and ballanced and they will serve you very well.

[EventingDad]

Any feedback on the new Michelin AT2's? Only 2 reviews last time I looked at tirerack.com

Got these we really like them..We haul a three horse gooseneck trailer. Put new bilsteins from Kennedy at the same time.

They are quiet on the road but do a great job pulling the trailer when we are off rode at a hose show.

[Troy]

I personally would stay away from the BFG AT. I had 2 sets of these tires and they both were shot at around 30K -35K. They also are fairly noisy at interstate speeds. I currently have a set of Michelin LTX AT with around 35K and they are only about half tread gone. I do pull a heavy 5th wheel and use the truck for a lot of dirt and rocky driving. So the tires are used hard. I keep them ballanced and rotate every 6K-8K. When these tires wear out I will replace them with the same tire if they are still available.

[mikennola0515]

After about a month now, I've now seen a few more conditiions:

* Excellent wet traction
* Still no real off-road or snow to report
* Some minor decrease in fuel economy vs old Steeltex AT's (this stands to reason as the old tires were harder with less tread, thus less rolling resistance, right?)
* no noise that can be heard over the engine

Tires ride very smoothly; I have been quite surprised at ride improvement. This was not really a factor in my decision as this truck will never ride as nicely as a half-ton (unless there's a ton of gravel in the bed:)).

At highway speeds I do sense some rear end sway; almost like the tires are holding but but the bed is floating. Not sure yet if this is something with which to be concerned or just a difference in ride.

All in all, I'd say I'm satisfied for now. Waiting to see how they perform in snow and how they wear.

[mikennola0515]

We got our first snow of the year here in Dayton, OH (about 3-4", and it came just before rush hour). These tires are a vast improvement over the Firestone Steeltex AT's (even when new, as I recall).

I took it very easy this morning, but experienced solid traction and straight, efficient braking.