It's almost tire time again for me. I bought a set of BFG Rugged Trail E-rated 265/75/16s that I've been running for over 60K miles now and they've still got a little ways to go. The only issue is that my front end apparently went out of alignment and the toe-out ate up the insides of the front tires on the last 5K rotation.I've read TONS of information on tires and I'm always a function over form guy, which makes it hard to wade through the "they look cool" recommendations I always come across. I've considered a 255/85/16 because I like the tall, skinny (I have 4.10s) aspect. However, I've heard horror stories about getting a flat and not being able to find a replacement fast. I've read good things about the Cooper s/t and the Toyo M55 but I can't afford the Toyos.It seems that the 265/75/16 is a very common tire size so that may drive my decision a bit. The Firestone Transforce A/T seems to be another good tire, but I can't find any mileage reports on it. I know the H/T will last a long while, but I don't really want a pure highway tire because I do a good amount of mountain dirt road traveling. What do y'all recommend in size and brand? I'm not looking to spend a whole lot, I got my BFG Rugged Trails at Sears for $700 with the road hazard warranty, and if it comes down to it I'll just do that again since they're wearing so well. Thanks!

I've had good luck with Cooper tires. I'm running the Cooper Discoverer AT3's now, and ran the Discoverer ATR's before that on my '04.5. Stock size…….LT265/70 17E.IIRC, I read a post here that said Cooper was recently sold though. Don't know how that'll affect tire quality in the future.

Last set of tires I ran BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/A KO's in 295/75R-16. They were quiet, lasted a LONG time, great off road and on road. I wanted a bigger tire foot print for off road so I moved up to the 315/75R-16 in the same tire. The 295's rubbed the lower track arm ever so slightly on full turn but fit well otherwise. The 315's definitely rub a good bit on full turns but otherwise have been VERY good tires. Excellent off road tires as well.

ive been running 285/75/16 kelly safari TSR's for a long time now. last set went about 45k and i actually replaced yesterday (still had 7/32 tread left, 18/32 new!) 

 

love them, very quiet, rides smooth, aggressive all-terrain, have not been stuck yet. wears very nicely with routine balance/rotations. 

 

how many of you "criss-cross" rotate instead of front to back?

I believe the "proper rotation" method is driver front to pass rear, pass front, driver rear. Or something like that. Assuming you don't have directional tires. I've always just swapped front to rear and called it good, never had any problems.

Still running the 235/85 R16 on both trucks and having zero issues. On rotation I typically just do front to rear. The only time I criss-crossed was if I was wearing rather strangely on the edges then I try criss-crossing to see if it corrects the issue. But I'll warn you most times you criss cross you'll notice the control and ride suffer till the tire wear back in again.

I just looked at tirerack.  There is 4# difference per tire going from 235/75/16 to 267/75/16.  I'm running 4.10s & would like to get engine rpms down on the interstate.  There isn't much difference in tire circumference (~32") so engine speed won't be effected much.  The main difference is price out the door.

 

Discount Tire price matches & charges $30 for install & lifetime balance.  Pay 10% sales tax but don't pay shipping.  It looks like ~$150 total purchase price savings to buy small and whatever 16# lighter total for all 4 tires would be.  Any idea on what 16# total will increase mileage?

There is a difference of near 5.5" in the diameter of the 265 versus the 235. The 265 will reduce your rpm and should help with mileage, how much I dont know. Others are better versed in this than I. The bigger around the tire the lower your rpm's will be.

I currently have the Cooper ST Maxx in 285/75-16 flavor and have done quite well after 12,000 miles. I wanted something that could handle offroad adventures, but still ride well. I read reviews on everything. The Duratracs are well liked as were the cooper AT3, but not much on the Maxx. I ended up going against my nature and took a bit of a gamble on the slightly more aggressive ST Maxx as I figured I'd rather take a mpg hit than get stuck somewhere super remote. The Michelin LTX that were on it before were down right scary on loose gravel roads. On the highway the Coopers are quite good with very acceptable noise. On their first road trip to Yellowstone (4,000 mi) I averaged 20.3 mpg fully loaded with a couple hundred miles of offroad meandering mixed in. They are a good compromise between an AT and MT tire.

seems Cooper 285/75/16 is becoming popular, I switched to these as well from the 255/85/16's that I was running for the last 3 years.

Edited January 6, 201411 yr by dracozny