New Tires

[EcoDieselJolene]

I'm going to need some new tires pretty soon. I'm debating on weather I should go with highway or A/T tires. 95%+ of my driving is on the road. I don't tow or haul very often, and when I do the weight is fairly low. I need tires that'll get me out in the snow once in a while, through some dirt/mud once in a while, and then back and forth on the roads daily.
My mains concerns are cost, comfort, capability, longevity, and fuel economy. Jolene wears 275/60R20s.
I know tire choices are subjective and people will have varying opinions, but I'd like to get some real life feedback from folks about what has worked (or not) for them.

 

[TC Diesel]

HT will be your best MPG/Longer life/less road noise. Comfort is directly related to Tire Spec and PSI.

 

[EcoDieselJolene]

I figured as much, but I keep hearing good things about certain A/T tires relating to noise and wear. Terra Grapplers, in particular, but those are very pricey. The pirelli Scorpion A/T Plus looks good, and is priced pretty well.
Tire spec? Can you be more specific?

 

[BoostN]

Falken Wildpeak AT3 is a nice tire for the money.

 

[EcoDieselJolene]

Falken Wildpeak AT3 is a nice tire for the money.

Thanks. I'll check them out.

 

[TC Diesel]

I figured as much, but I keep hearing good things about certain A/T tires relating to noise and wear. Terra Grapplers, in particular, but those are very pricey. The pirelli Scorpion A/T Plus looks good, and is priced pretty well.
Tire spec? Can you be more specific?

Dig deep into the tire spec Passenger or Truck on or off road, look at the footprint and squirm of the tire What's the Ground pressure PSI VS tire pressure, Example 1500Lbs Ground pressure = 40PSI 2500Lbs ground pressure = 65PSI Etc. if the tire is HWY (HT) it likely will NOT have a shoulder designed to clean out debris, were A/T tire will, the HT will last longer and get better handling on Pavement or concrete, the A/T will squirm on hard surface's will wear faster and less traction...... Why do I know all this because I Todd have tested tires on our Pulling/Race trucks. Another consideration is spinning Some tires get better traction when spinning, Like the Bridgestone A/T that tire sucks on hard surfaces but spin it in off-road Snow/mud at correct speeds its one of the best tires for off-road spinning or snow. Stay away from off road tires unless you do off roading. My preffered HT was Toyo until 2018 when I received 4 bad CTS , Toyo was no help even to Me, So I dump them for Michelin Defenders.

 

[EcoDieselJolene]

Good info. Thanks.
On my '16 1500 (RIP), I fitted some Sumitomo Encounter HTs, and they did pretty well.
I think I know the obvious choice for me is HTs, but deep down, the A/Ts look cooler.

 

[John Jensen]

Falken Wildpeak AT3 will fill all of your needs. Probably the best tires I've ever owned for all the conditions one can encounter. Specially for dirt and snow traction and stick to the pavement in rain.

 

[EcoDieselJolene]

Falken Wildpeak AT3 will fill all of your needs. Probably the best tires I've ever owned for all the conditions one can encounter. Specially for dirt and snow traction and stick to the pavement in rain.

They look good, but they're a little pricey. I'm trying to stay around $225ish/tire.
I'll keep checking - maybe I'll find some on sale.

 

[Augiedoggy]

I have had 2 sets of the 4 ply g2 terra grapplers now... breifly I had 10 ply tires and did not like the ride or mpg. the G2s are quiet and have a smooth passenger tire like ride. I have not had highway tires on my truck to compare. the 4 ply tires generally get better mpg than 10 ply due to much less weight but the trade off is weight handling if you do a lot of towing and hauling... I had to haul a 1,300lb skid of brewer grain this week and the truck handled great. just for reference... My truck has 295/70/18 tires and the 10 ply version weighed 71lbs a tire... the 4 ply version weighs just over 50lbs a tire. when it comes to wheels you do not want the extra rotating weight. Our 1500 trucks came with the 4ply from the factory for mpg and better ride quality.

 

[Solivares72]

I'm going to need some new tires pretty soon. I'm debating on weather I should go with highway or A/T tires. 95%+ of my driving is on the road. I don't tow or haul very often, and when I do the weight is fairly low. I need tires that'll get me out in the snow once in a while, through some dirt/mud once in a while, and then back and forth on the roads daily.
My mains concerns are cost, comfort, capability, longevity, and fuel economy. Jolene wears 275/60R20s.
I know tire choices are subjective and people will have varying opinions, but I'd like to get some real life feedback from folks about what has worked (or not) for them.

I personally have use the wrangler A/T and had been very good tires for the price, it has the right traction all the time but I do live in the south so we do not see much snow or black ice, but on wet surface respond very well, and dirt roads are no issues for this tire.

 

[EcoDieselJolene]

Anybody have experience with the Cooper Discoverer AT All Season 115T? How about the Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus?

 

[TC Diesel]

I had Pirelli's on 2018 Summit, was happy to replace them With Michelin Defenders.

 

[EcoDieselJolene]

I had Pirelli's on 2018 Summit, was happy to replace them With Michelin Defenders.

Huh... They've got really positive reviews. Glad I asked!

 

[BoostN]

With tires, you get what you pay for I believe. Even buying a nice mid grade tire is well worth it over some cheap knockoff set. So much is riding on your tires ya know...

 

[EcoDieselJolene]

I've been doing lots of looking and learning, and I'm strongly leaning to the Kumho Crugen HT51. It is well reviewed and looks like it would suit my needs very well (although they won't look as cool as the Terra Grapplers or the Wildpeaks). I've been using Kumho tires off and on for years, normally their GT tires on sedans, and they've always served me well. But, this is a different tire and different application.
Have any of you had this particular tire on your Ram 1500? If so, how'd it do?

 

[DownSouth]

I've never heard anyone complain about the traction, noise, longevity or ride of a set of Michelin Defenders. We've had them on all of our family Rams for more than ten years and won't ever change. When we add a new Ram to the family, the first stop is at Discount Tire to have the new junk remove and a new set of Defenders installed - within the first 200 miles of ownership.

 

[EcoDieselJolene]

I've never heard anyone complain about the traction, noise, longevity or ride of a set of Michelin Defenders. We've had them on all of our family Rams for more than ten years and won't ever change. When we add a new Ram to the family, the first stop is at Discount Tire to have the new junk remove and a new set of Defenders installed - within the first 200 miles of ownership.

I had them on a Mountaineer and an Expedition. They're great tires, but they don't seem worth the premium to me.
I get it - folks love the Defenders, and for good reason, but they're outside of my budget.

 

[TC Diesel]

Then save Up $$$ it's the only surface that controls the ground Forces on any roadway vehicle.

 

[EcoDieselJolene]

Then save Up $$$ it's the only surface that controls the ground Forces on any roadway vehicle.

But there are other good or really good tires that aren't as much.
I appreciate all of the feedback, but I'm probably not going with the Michelin tires.
I'm notoriously frugal when it's an option.