Oh no, tires again!

[Different Drummer]

Been reading all I can find on the forum, but I am not finding exactly the information I seek. There is a lot of information on off road, all terrain etc., 3 Mountain Peak ? snowflake but not much that relates to my type of driving and tire needs.
I have just over 40,000 miles on the original Wrangler SRA's. They have worn evenly and served their purpose OK. Plenty of tread depth remaining and I was going to take them to 50,000 miles.
Today I get a puncture in the right rear. Was able to get home with a couple of stops to air up.
Good news is that it was an unbelievable nice day, I was able to get home and do the work in my own driveway and I got to learn the ropes on the spare tire carrying mechanism.
So I figure I might as well go ahead and get new tires now.
I am looking for suggestions preferably based on personal experience but any and all comments are welcome.
Here is the important stuff: 2WD 1500 Laramie LSD 275/60R/20, driven nearly exclusively over the road. Never tow and no winter ( snow, slush ) driving. The truck is basically a touring vehicle. Wet weather performance is important to me.
I am trying to decide on some nice replacement tires.
I have researched some Bridgestones, Falkens and Michelin. All I know though is what I read.
Give me your thoughts.
Thanks,
DD

 

[Different Drummer]

Been reading all I can find on the forum, but I am not finding exactly the information I seek. There is a lot of information on off road, all terrain etc., 3 Mountain Peak Snowflake but not much that relates to my type of driving and tire needs.
I have just over 40,000 miles on the original Wrangler SRA's. They have worn evenly and served their purpose OK. They have a reasonable amount of tread depth remaining and I was going to take them to 50,000 miles.
Today I get a puncture in the right rear. Was able to get home with a couple of stops to air up.
Good news is that it was an unbelievably nice day, I was able to get home and do the work in my own driveway and I got to learn the ropes on the spare tire carrying mechanism.
So I figure I might as well go ahead and get new tires now.
I am looking for suggestions preferably based on personal experience but any and all comments are welcome.
Here is the important stuff: 2WD 1500 Laramie LSD 275/60R/20, driven nearly exclusively over the road. Never tow and no winter ( snow, slush ) driving. The truck is basically a touring vehicle.
I am trying to decide on some nice replacement tires.
I have researched some Bridgestones, Falkens and Michelin. All I know though is what I read.
Give me your thoughts.
Thanks,
DD

 

[Lee955i]

I'm just amazed you got that kind of mileage out of the Badyears! At 30K mine were sketchy in the dry and downright dangerous in the wet!! Nursed them to 35k before a nail spoiled the fun and gave me an excuse to get rid of them. Trying the Cooper Discoverer HTP and have no complaints so far.

 

[Taylor513]

For your purpose if you want a great ride go with the Michelin's. If you want it to be more aggressive looking go with an A/T. There is information on information about every A/T everyone has ran on their Ram on here. If you plan on keeping it stock and continuing to just drive the truck, not doing any off-roading, towing, etc and just want a plush comfy ride my choice would be the Michelin's.

 

[Luau_Pig]

The stock tires weren't great but I got 61k out of a set before switching to BFG KO2s. Excellent traction but developed quite a bit of road noise for an AT tire. Only got about 10k out of em before that truck got totaled.

On the current rig I switched form stock to Falken AT3 a couple weeks after purchase. Got spoiled by good traction. I'm liking the Falkens alot more. Got about 11k on em so far and they are as quiet as the day I bought em. They are wearing great and handle well. Last tire rotation the tread depth was reading unchanged from new. My wife has told me I am a grandpa driver though and I tend to get alot more life out my tires than most.

 

[AFMoulton]

I second the Michelin LTX M/S. 70,000 miles easily out of that tire with your driving.


2018 Ram 2500 6.4L 4x4
Amsoil SS 0W-40

 

[kurek]

Heh michelin defender ltx is always the answer if you don't have a specific need for off road tires or winter tires

 

[Amos]

Another vote for Michelin defender. Use them on my wife’s Durango and will on my GC when it needs new tires.

 

[Different Drummer]

I'm just amazed you got that kind of mileage out of the Badyears! At 30K mine were sketchy in the dry and downright dangerous in the wet!! Nursed them to 35k before a nail spoiled the fun and gave me an excuse to get rid of them. Trying the Cooper Discoverer HTP and have no complaints so far.

I guess my driving style is pretty easy on tires. Plus I watch pressures and keep them rotated. Or, Maybe I was just lucky.
I forgot to list the Cooper's in my reading list. Are yours pretty quiet?

 

[Different Drummer]

For your purpose if you want a great ride go with the Michelin's. If you want it to be more aggressive looking go with an A/T. There is information on information about every A/T everyone has ran on their Ram on here. If you plan on keeping it stock and continuing to just drive the truck, not doing any off-roading, towing, etc and just want a plush comfy ride my choice would be the Michelin's.

You are referring to the "Defender LTX"?

 

[Different Drummer]

Looks like a lot of support for the Michelin Defender LTX. I am a little surprised of no mention on Michelins sidewall weather checking though. Maybe they have got that under control since I was buying tires for a MH 10 years ago. Back in those days I considered a Michelin tire that was 100% highway. It was a fleet tire called something like "commercial ribbed" or something similar. I tried to find it today but had no luck.
I would be content with a P metric to keep weight down. I am guessing the LT in LTX stands for light truck. Probably a heavier tire but I can live with that.

I think both the Falken and BFG mentioned are probably a more aggressive tread than what I need. Road noise drives me crazy. Especially after several days of long distance driving.

 

[tron67j]

How did you like your tires? It seems as if they served you well, maybe compare those again with others. Knowing your current ride, it might be an option to go with what you know. I also look at sites like Tirerack, you can read real world reviews of tires, although every person and truck is different so have to take that into consideration. You sound as if your use eliminates truck tires, aggressive tread designs, and want to stay with a good road tire. My last Ram was 2wd 2003 2500, drove it until last year, Goodyear tires worked well for me, went with lesser mileage warranty for a softer compound that was both cheaper and minimized road noise over tire lifetime. I also had good luck with firestones. I never tried Michelin on my trucks, had really bad luck with them on a number of vehicles that had low profile tires where road noise would just become unbearable after about 20 to 25,000 mi. While that may not be applicable in considering truck tires because they have more sidewalk, it just kept me away from them. Good luck

 

[turkeybird56]

Well, since u say no off road, U need a tire for road performance and handling,. I personally have Falken Wildpeak AT3W's on truck. I did not go E rating, not towing that much or heavy, went with C rating. Great riding tire and minimal noise.

Now the Michelin Defender LTX and Coopers AT's are comparable also. The only thing U get with the Falken AT3 is a slightly stiffer ride. But U got a heck of a lot more tire surface on the road. As an alternate, had TOYO HT's on wife's Ford F150 4 X 4. They rode very well also.

My biggest concern would be adherence to road, especially in rain.

So, IMHO, the Falken, LTX (Michelin), Cooper Discoverer or Toyo's fit yer style.

ADDED: I did the AT3W because I do at times pull a Stock Trailer with a Hossie and/or hay. Need a tire that will pull in sand and wet grass, and not sit there and spin forever like them OEM Goodyears. Also, FYI, none of the tires cheap. Look for a Buy 3, get 4th free. I actually got my tires from Dealer, all 4 mounted, balanced, etc for $836.00 out the door. U shop around U may be able to beat that price, but worked for dis ole BOIRD.....

 

[Lee955i]

I guess my driving style is pretty easy on tires. Plus I watch pressures and keep them rotated. Or, Maybe I was just lucky.
I forgot to list the Cooper's in my reading list. Are yours pretty quiet?

Yes, so far, but i'm not sure how helpful that is as I only have about 2K on them..

 

[Different Drummer]

How did you like your tires? It seems as if they served you well, maybe compare those again with others. Knowing your current ride, it might be an option to go with what you know. I also look at sites like Tirerack, you can read real world reviews of tires, although every person and truck is different so have to take that into consideration. You sound as if your use eliminates truck tires, aggressive tread designs, and want to stay with a good road tire. My last Ram was 2wd 2003 2500, drove it until last year, Goodyear tires worked well for me, went with lesser mileage warranty for a softer compound that was both cheaper and minimized road noise over tire lifetime. I also had good luck with firestones. I never tried Michelin on my trucks, had really bad luck with them on a number of vehicles that had low profile tires where road noise would just become unbearable after about 20 to 25,000 mi. While that may not be applicable in considering truck tires because they have more sidewalk, it just kept me away from them. Good luck

No complaints on the wear or how even the wear is. Of course we are looking at 5 or ? maybe 6 tire rotations.
I will say one negative was lack of drive wheel traction an just about any surface. Anything loose, wet or grassy required careful throttle control.
After reading some of the reports on the SRA's though, I can't help but wonder if I got the odd good set! LOL Looks like the truck will be with me for a while so if I can get a premium tire I will be OK paying the premium price. But like anyone I hate it when I pay the premium an the product falls way short of being a premium product.
Honestly wet weather performance and road holding ability rates considerably above longevity to me. If I am looking at a 500-600 mile day and it is raining much of those miles stopping for the day or reducing speed dramatically is not on the options list.

 

[MRFREEZE57]

have 47k on my truck with the original goodyears, they look like can go another 5k but am looking at something else come replacement time. would like something for the occasional snow we get. so far the Cooper AT3 or the Michelins have my attention.

 

[ram1500rsm]

Continental HT or Michelin LTX will be dependable options for the road.

 

[aces-n-eights]

I would second the vote for Continental Terrain Contact HT. I recently replaced Michelin tires on our car with Continental tires and was immediately impressed with the reduction in tire noise. I don't know if this will translate to your truck, but i will definitely consider Conti's when i need tires for the truck.

 

[Different Drummer]

Well, since u say no off road, U need a tire for road performance and handling,. I personally have Falken Wildpeak AT3W's on truck. I did not go E rating, not towing that much or heavy, went with C rating. Great riding tire and minimal noise.

Now the Michelin Defender LTX and Coopers AT's are comparable also. The only thing U get with the Falken AT3 is a slightly stiffer ride. But U got a heck of a lot more tire surface on the road. As an alternate, had TOYO HT's on wife's Ford F150 4 X 4. They rode very well also.

My biggest concern would be adherence to road, especially in rain.

So, IMHO, the Falken, LTX (Michelin), Cooper Discoverer or Toyo's fit yer style.

ADDED: I did the AT3W because I do at times pull a Stock Trailer with a Hossie and/or hay. Need a tire that will pull in sand and wet grass, and not sit there and spin forever like them OEM Goodyears. Also, FYI, none of the tires cheap. Look for a Buy 3, get 4th free. I actually got my tires from Dealer, all 4 mounted, balanced, etc for $836.00 out the door. U shop around U may be able to beat that price, but worked for dis ole BOIRD.....


View attachment 226816 View attachment 226817

You have my needs and what I am after pretty well figured out. The Wildpeak AT3W is the Falken tire I was considering. ( mentioned Falken in OP ).
It just seemed more aggressive than what I am looking for. Yes, it would solve the rear wheel traction that the Goodyears lack but perhaps at the expense of ride and NOISE!! I can live with the stiffer ride but admittedly I will say I am the noise police. Road noise drives me insane.
Reason is, I have high frequency hearing deficiency. The low frequency of road / tire noise has the feeling of being amplified to me. I guess this is because of the lack of the competing high frequency sounds. As example I have much difficulty hearing the little ladies voice ( high frequency ) because it is drowned out by the waterfall like sound of road noise ( low frequency).
So, noise is an issue right up there with wet road surface performance. Ride and tread life probably next as long as I could get 50,000 miles out of the tire.

 

[tron67j]

No complaints on the wear or how even the wear is. Of course we are looking at 5 or ? maybe 6 tire rotations.
I will say one negative was lack of drive wheel traction an just about any surface. Anything loose, wet or grassy required careful throttle control.
After reading some of the reports on the SRA's though, I can't help but wonder if I got the odd good set! LOL Looks like the truck will be with me for a while so if I can get a premium tire I will be OK paying the premium price. But like anyone I hate it when I pay the premium an the product falls way short of being a premium product.
Honestly wet weather performance and road holding ability rates considerably above longevity to me. If I am looking at a 500-600 mile day and it is raining much of those miles stopping for the day or reducing speed dramatically is not on the options list.

I had same problem on my 2wd, there is just no weight back there. I put 2x4s behind and in front of rear tires, bed had slots to hold them. Put 300 pounds of sand tubes there, made all the difference in traction and braking.