Opinions on a new tire purchase

[jmc921]

For a street tire I’d recommend the Michelin Defender LTX. I have them on my RAV4 and love them.

Everything I read on this forum agrees that the Defender LTX is a good tire. My personal experience with the Kumho's (about 20.000 miles now) has been very good. The clincher for me when I bought these was the price difference. Today, on Tire Rack, the Michelin's are $245 and the Kumho's are $175. When I bought mine, I found them on Walmart.com for $125 so it pays to shop around once you decide on the tire you want. Just MHO

 

[Quick_Shifter]

Everything I read on this forum agrees that the Defender LTX is a good tire. My personal experience with the Kumho's (about 20.000 miles now) has been very good. The clincher for me when I bought these was the price difference. Today, on Tire Rack, the Michelin's are $245 and the Kumho's are $175. When I bought mine, I found them on Walmart.com for $125 so it pays to shop around once you decide on the tire you want. Just MHO

Sometimes you have to be careful with that. I know pepboys does similar things where they will be way under priced and you end up with 2 generations of tire with different tread. Just had a guy in a few weeks ago getting wheels and wanted to keep his tires. When I pointed out that the tread pattern was different (Same falken at3) he was a little upset. Called pepboys and they said they cant do anything because he got a great deal

 

[tap4154]

Sometimes you have to be careful with that. I know pepboys does similar things where they will be way under priced and you end up with 2 generations of tire with different tread. Just had a guy in a few weeks ago getting wheels and wanted to keep his tires. When I pointed out that the tread pattern was different (Same falken at3) he was a little upset. Called pepboys and they said they cant do anything because he got a great deal

That's interesting. I have 30,000 on my stock Wranglers and they have a ways to go, but I've been looking around and was thinking about getting Cooper Adventurer H/Ts at Pep Boys.

I have two wheel drive, and just drive highways, and I could have those installed under $500. I've read they're very similar to the Cooper Discoverer H/T, but made for Pep Boys.

If I go that route I'll make sure and check out the tires before they mount them, and check the dates.

Edit: after looking around at reviews etc I'm going to have some Cooper Evolution HTs put on tomorrow. $709 out the door

 

[Quick_Shifter]

That's interesting. I have 30,000 on my stock Wranglers and they have a ways to go, but I've been looking around and was thinking about getting Cooper Adventurer H/Ts at Pep Boys.

I have two wheel drive, and just drive highways, and I could have those installed under $500. I've read they're very similar to the Cooper Discoverer H/T, but made for Pep Boys.

If I go that route I'll make sure and check out the tires before they mount them, and check the dates.

Yes a lot of distributors have their own branded stuff too so you cant shop around. I would check to make sure they are the same and I would also check that they dont scratch up your wheels installing them

 

[tap4154]

Yes a lot of distributors have their own branded stuff too so you cant shop around. I would check to make sure they are the same and I would also check that they dont scratch up your wheels installing them

Yeah I work in the appliance field and I know that often the stores get slightly different model numbers, so it's hard to compare. Even bed mattresses are like that. I just have the stock steel wheels so I'm not that worried about them.

 

[jmc921]

Sometimes you have to be careful with that. I know pepboys does similar things where they will be way under priced and you end up with 2 generations of tire with different tread. Just had a guy in a few weeks ago getting wheels and wanted to keep his tires. When I pointed out that the tread pattern was different (Same falken at3) he was a little upset. Called pepboys and they said they cant do anything because he got a great deal

That's a good point and something to be aware of but the ones I got on Walmart.com turned out to be the correct tire so I guess I lucked out. Thanks for the insight.

 

[CincyZach]

Everything I read on this forum agrees that the Defender LTX is a good tire. My personal experience with the Kumho's (about 20.000 miles now) has been very good. The clincher for me when I bought these was the price difference. Today, on Tire Rack, the Michelin's are $245 and the Kumho's are $175. When I bought mine, I found them on Walmart.com for $125 so it pays to shop around once you decide on the tire you want. Just MHO

It's always smart to shop around. As far as going with an off brand or something comparable, I think that depends on the individual and what works for them. I buy the Defender because I know it's a good tire and I'll be happy. If I buy an off brand I may be happy with it or I may not and then I'm back looking at new tires way before I want to. I'd rather spend the extra $280 up front and be done with it. At the end of the day it's what works for you and makes you happy

 

[jmc921]

It's always smart to shop around. As far as going with an off brand or something comparable, I think that depends on the individual and what works for them. I buy the Defender because I know it's a good tire and I'll be happy. If I buy an off brand I may be happy with it or I may not and then I'm back looking at new tires way before I want to. I'd rather spend the extra $280 up front and be done with it. At the end of the day it's what works for you and makes you happy

Good point but Kumho is not really an off brand. To me, you are paying a premium for the Michelin name. Basically, I feel like they're good but not that good to justify a hefty price premium but it is a safe purchase and you are getting a good product.

 

[Glen OS]

I just ordered Yokohama Geolander A/T GO15. They will be replacing Falken WildpeakA/T3. I do like the the Falkens and have them in my 95 K2500 plow truck. They did great on my drive to and from Maine last week. I would recommend them. I got almost 30k miles on them. I never get even close to the mileage warranty on tires. I do drive aggressively and mostly high speed highway. I do rotate and balance them. So I tend to pay more attention to wet and dry performance.
I am trying the Geolander because of a higher speed rating, H vs T and higher mileage warranty. 60k vs 55k.
Will see how they do.

 

[CincyZach]

Good point but Kumho is not really an off brand. To me, you are paying a premium for the Michelin name. Basically, I feel like they're good but not that good to justify a hefty price premium but it is a safe purchase and you are getting a good product.

Hey as long as we are both happy at the end of the day all is good!

 

[acskgibson]

Out of your list your looking at the cooper at3 gets my vote one of the best tires i have had personally.

I second this choice

 

[tap4154]

I had the Cooper Evolution HTs installed today, and I'm super happy with them! Really a nice ride, very quiet, and I love the tread design.

If I was much younger, I would get A/ T tires just because they look cool, but this is a practical choice, considering 99.9% of my driving is on asphalt, and rarely in snow. Will be interesting to see if the mileage improves or not, from the stock Wranglers.

$702 out the door. I got them at an independent tire dealer that I used for my motorhome tires, which has been in business in the area since 1969. They always seem to get fresh tires, and they have the best price. These were made in the middle of June 2020.

My motorhome tires were only about 3 months old when installed. It's much more important on a motorhome, because often the tires will age-out before they wear out. I went to America's Tires a few years ago for another vehicle, and they were trying to sell me tires that were manufactured two and a half years ago.

These come pretty well reviewed, for a budget highway tire.

https://tiredeets.com/cooper-evolution-h-t-review/

 

[JohnnyMac]

I second this choice

I third it. Lots of good, quality tire choices out there, but Cooper (and subsidiaries like Mickey Thompson, Mastercraft, **** Cepek a couple others) is an American company that makes its tires in American factories with American workers. If given the choice, buying American is not a bad thing.