Best tire brand? 2003 2500HD 2WD tow vehicle

[z28racergirl]

Hi everyone,

I have a 2003 2500HD (see sig) and I need tires. Truck has about 67,000 miles, and is primarily used as a tow vehicle for an enclosed car trailer. I'm looking for something that's quiet, gets the best gas mileage, and is appropriate for the rig. I'm also planning on going back to the "stock" 245/75/16 size. The previous owner put oversized knobbies on for driving over sand dunes. My prior 2003 that I had new in 2003-05 had the stock "tiny" tires on it and got better mileage and drove quieter on the highway, which is where I drive. I'm assuming the tires make that difference.

Besides wondering what you pros think what might be the best fit for me because of the ^above^ criteria, I'm wondering if you could impart a little knowledge about load ratings? Tire Rack's website "tells me" to shop for load E. Is that correct?

Tires I'm looking at:
BFG Radial Long Trail T/A - recommended by coworker with "similar" truck $127/ea http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=Radial+Long+Trail+T%2FA&partnum=475R6LONGTTAOWLE&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes
General Grabber HTS - Best Seller at Tire Rack $123/ea http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=Grabber+HTS&partnum=475SR6GRHTS&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes BUT I'm not a lemming; just because it's a Best Seller at TR.com doesn't mean it's the best choice for me. I've never used/bought General brand tires.
Kumho Road Venture APT KL51 - Kumho makes great high performance tires (from my personal experience) and have a great price, $105/ea - I'm really leaning toward this one and I'd like to know if anyone has had poor experiences with this tire for this type of truck http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Kumho&tireModel=Road+Venture+APT+KL51&partnum=475SR6KL51&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes

So I thank you in advance and I look forward to your replies and insights.

Christine

[NutNbutGMC]

...I need tires. Christine
Michelin..

[jbplock]

Michelin..

Same here .. Michelin X Radial LT's (http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?dest=5&item=175136)have treated me well .. they run quiet and wear well .. had over 55k on my first set before changing out for a second set .. if I didn't live in the snowy northeast I would have kept running them for a while longer ..
:)

[DickWells]

I agree. Michellins. Well, anything but GY Tracker II's, really. I bought four, and had two replaced right away, then finally gave up and just waiting to finish wearing them out. They are not round. At 40-50 mph they just rumble all over the place. Feel like they have tread separation, but don't. Thank goodness they smooth out above 55.
Dick Wells:)

[z28racergirl]

But does anyone have experience with the Kumhos? Sure you like the Michelins but can you tell me that for $56 per tire, they're *that much better* than the Kumhos? That's a large chunk of change.

Thanks for the replies.

[NutNbutGMC]

In my humble opinion, you'll get what you pay for, or in any case of tires, what you don't pay for as well (although this is an ageless debate just as is any brand loyalty).

They are that much better in the long run and all during the run... I get an average of ~65k miles per set with an excellent ride and handling satisfaction.

I have never ridden on Kumohos. No need to for me. I feel that the additional money put into the initial purchase will far exceed your expectations with the lesser priced tire.

Best Regards,

Nut

$0.02




But does anyone have experience with the Kumhos? Sure you like the Michelins but can you tell me that for $56 per tire, they're *that much better* than the Kumhos? That's a large chunk of change.

Thanks for the replies.

[moss6]

I used to be a staunch believer in the Michelin's, then year's ago went the French were pulling some of there renouned pu**y antic's against the USA, I got mad and swore to never buy another French corperation product. Anyway it came time to replace tires, I did some research and bought a set of Bridgestone Revo's.
I have been extremely pleased with them and am on the fourth set. The Revo's out perform the Frenchy's in every aspect; traction, wet traction, mud traction, mileage and noise. I think Bridgestone has a real top of the line product in the Revo.
Randy

[Heartbeat Hauler]

Michelin..

X2
The michelin LTX M/S are great road tires that meet your specifications. And, if you rotate them and use proper inflation rates you will get tons of mileage out of them.

JP

[rogers]

Buying tires is a personal kind of purchase. One person may love a set of tires and another hate the same set. It depends much on use, hwy speeds, cornering speeds, tire maintenance, etc.

That being said I will try and point out a few things about the tires you are considering based on what you said in your first post.


The Kumho will be the quietest on the road based on tread pattern. Has the deepest tread of any (a full 1/8th). Lightest of any (may improve ride quality slightly). Most revolutions per mile. Made in Venezuela.

The General is the only one with any kind of treadwear warranty. Is the heaviest of any. Second quietest tread pattern. Made in Mexico.

The BFGoodrich is the second lightest. Has the largest "footprint" (could hurt mileage). The fewest rotations per mile. Made in the USA.

The Michelin has nothing remarkable to report, kind of middle of the road on everything.

Just to add my personal opinion to the rest of the noise, of the tires you are considering I would buy the Kumho. I have a set of Michelin on the truck right now, I don't really like them. They are long wearing, but snow and wet performance is not to my liking. Plus you could almost buy two sets of the Kumho for the price of one set of Michelin. Although, the generals are tempting too! Hope you get it figured out before we all make your head explode.:rolleyes:

[Mark Rinker]

Michelins. I get 50-60K out of each set, and tow 90% of the time.

[Kennedy]

X2
The michelin LTX M/S are great road tires that meet your specifications. And, if you rotate them and use proper inflation rates you will get tons of mileage out of them.

JP

Agreed

I'm presently running the LXT AT2 on my 2005 and they are very nice tires as well, but they like to grab stones. I ran these all last winter with the plow and found winter traction to be great with these even w/o ballast.

[ToddMeister]

That is the only thing I don't like about the LTX M/S, too, they tend to throw a lot of stones...but I don't run gravel roads that much anyway.




Agreed

I'm presently running the LXT AT2 on my 2005 and they are very nice tires as well, but they like to grab stones. I ran these all last winter with the plow and found winter traction to be great with these even w/o ballast.

[Luis]

Just put on my second set of Cooper ATR's. Got 56k out of the last set. Could have gotten a few more K's out but I needed a front-end alignment.

[JohnC]

I used to be a staunch believer in the Michelin's, then year's ago went the French were pulling some of there renouned pu**y antic's against the USA, I got mad and swore to never buy another French corperation product.

But today the French are more American than America...


The Kumho will be the quietest on the road based on tread pattern.... Made in Venezuela.

What more can I say?


Just put on my second set of Cooper ATR's...

Well, all I can say is my last name is the same as one of the brands mentioned above, so, how could I go wrong? Had about 10 sets over my lifetime and never disappointed.

[CoyleJR]

I agree with Luis and John C. Cooper ATR tires provide good fuel mileage. Additionally, they are quiet, provide great wear mileage, and most importantly, they are made in the USA. My current set of Cooper ATR's have 45,000 miles on them and should provide 10 to 15,000 more miles. I pull a 38' 5th wheel nearly everyday and the tires have never let me down.

[carco]

Look hard at Cooper!! Good tread patterns, good traction, excellent tread wear, a USA company, one of the few US companies in the tire business. Have run and sold several sets and very happy.