The Impossible Tire Question

[GRAYWOLF]

So I have asked everyone at every tire shop I could talk to. I have posted on various forums through the years, but it seems as though no one has an answer...
I am in the market for tires again. The tires that came on the truck were crap after a couple thousand miles. I replaced them with 305-50-20 Nitto 420 and they went to crap around 6k miles. By "crap" I mean they get hard and lose traction. They perform great at first, but a few months later I have difficulty taking off from a stop on asphalt. I am not talking about standing on the gas like a drag race, just standard acceleration (for me...I am typically the first to react to the light change).

Anyway...my question is...what tires offer traction longer than other brands. Every review only looks lat how long the tread lasts, which typically means the rubber is hard (meaning less traction).

Edited to add...this is a pavement only truck, I live in suburbia...no offroading in my area...No need for AT/MT

 

[06 Dodge]

Soft tires do not have a long wear life but they do have great traction, if you drive like the majority of the drivers I was around this spring in the DFW area the only way to get more life out of your tires is to have better control your right foot and stop being the first one off the line at the light...

 

[GRAYWOLF]

I get off the line to get away from the bad drivers. They are all over the place around here, just like every major metropolitan area.
When tires get hard with half tread left, they are worthless...I have to replace them before they wear down because they have no traction. It isn't that I am taking off all that fast, I am just paying attention to when the light changes.

 

[bcbouy]

different seasons require different tread compounds.that's why i have 3 different sets.1 for winter, 1 for spring/summer and 1 for when i'm towing my travel trailer.no such thing as a do all unicorn tire.even my atv and my side by side each have 2 sets.

 

[jejb]

Try some Michelin LTX's. I've had several sets over the years. They never seemed to lose any traction as they wore. I put a set of the AT3 version on my 22 with about a 1000 miles on it.

 

[turkeybird56]

Toyo's AT be fine also. I run Falken AT3W's which is a heavier M & S rated tire. But also, control of the skinny pedal may be needed some also. Your gonna have to go into at least a light AT tire to get where you wanna be. Michelin LTX, some Coopers may work. I found the Toyo's on my wife's F 150 were pretty nice also. But this is all just IMHO.

If U gotta stay away from any AT tire, U gonna end up with soft street tires and they just not gonna last if U are WOT at every light. But yer wallet and ride OP. Do as U see fit.

 

[wrigley]

I had a couple Jeeps in the past and had very good luck with Cooper tires. This one in particular.

 

[nlambert182]

I had a couple Jeeps in the past and had very good luck with Cooper tires. This one in particular.

This. I'm on my 3rd set. No complaints whatsoever.

The Michelins are nice if you don't want A/T tires. I put those on my wife's Armada and my son's Acura. Zero complaints with either.

 

[CraigS41]

Try going to LT (Light Truck) tires. I do that when the stock tires wear out

 

[CanuckRam1313]

Michelin Defender LTX M/S
I'm running LT295/65R20 and they are smooth, quiet, and great in wet/rainy road conditions.
The other bonus is that these tires take very little weight to balance them out.
Mine took between 0.75 and 2.25 OZ per tire on a road force balancer.

 

[Jim S]

Soft tires do not have a long wear life but they do have great traction, if you drive like the majority of the drivers I was around this spring in the DFW area the only way to get more life out of your tires is to have better control your right foot and stop being the first one off the line at the light...

That's BS. I hardly EVER spin my tires and those crappy Bridgestones on the rear went BALD bt 36K. Fronts were ok, just the backs.

 

[Daw14]

When they start to get hard is the sign to start turning them into smoke . This helps get to the next layer of soft tire .

 

[Travelin Ram]

Drag radials sounds like your solution.

More seriously, Michelin.

And what tire pressure are you running? Placard is for max GVWR. I hardly ever run the rear tires on a pickup at placard pressure.

 

[turkeybird56]

Drag radials sounds like your solution.

More seriously, Michelin.

And what tire pressure are you running? Placard is for max GVWR. I hardly ever run the rear tires on a pickup at placard pressure.

Too funny, but ne way, I run my Falken M & S ATW3's at 38 psi. But with temps today, start driving, bet that cold temp go up to like 45 psi when hot, lol.

 

[gwilburn]

You need to look at the tread depth... if you have 20" tires and buy "P-metric" (which is what most half tons come with), the starting tread depth is terrible (like 12/32"). I finally bought Falken Wild Peak AT3 in "LT" rated. Same size, but the starting tread depth is 18/32". They ride a bit more rough, but I can tell you they're the best wearing tire I've had. They hold great in the snow pulling a trailer. No hydroplaning.
Goodyear, General, Michelin LTX M/S, Michelin LTX AT2, Hankook Dynapro, Cooper, etc. were ALL JUNK! Never got more than 25,000 out of any of them. Granted, all were P-rated tires... You can't have the best of both... it's all about compromise.

Good luck - but I'd start by looking at tread depths and wear ratings.

 

[bolivarshagnasty]

Replaced stock Goodyear Eagles with threads showing at 26k. Discount tire offered Pirelli Scorpions for my 22's on 2021 Ram Limited. Love the tires. Good bite on wet pavement, better on dry pavement. Very happy with these. Have 47k on odometer means 21k on Pirelli's. Lots of tread left. Feel like I can get 40+ out of these tires.

 

[jws123]

I had a couple Jeeps in the past and had very good luck with Cooper tires. This one in particular.

I had one bad set of these but have them on my jeep and new truck abuse the hell out of them hell I dont even rotate as much as I should lol and they hold up and grip well

 

[turkeybird56]

You need to look at the tread depth... if you have 20" tires and buy "P-metric" (which is what most half tons come with), the starting tread depth is terrible (like 12/32"). I finally bought Falken Wild Peak AT3 in "LT" rated. Same size, but the starting tread depth is 18/32". They ride a bit more rough, but I can tell you they're the best wearing tire I've had. They hold great in the snow pulling a trailer. No hydroplaning.
Goodyear, General, Michelin LTX M/S, Michelin LTX AT2, Hankook Dynapro, Cooper, etc. were ALL JUNK! Never got more than 25,000 out of any of them. Granted, all were P-rated tires... You can't have the best of both... it's all about compromise.

Good luck - but I'd start by looking at tread depths and wear ratings.

BOIRD just luvs his Falkens. Wear ok, ride well for a M & S tire, no hydroplaning, holds road well, and did well in both -5F and now 108 F temps. Just my opinion, but the Lt M & S tire for me is great. Helps when pulling a trailer in grass, field, getting out of mud within reason of course. Again, just what works for me. And, the RAM house sell 3 and the fourth for $1.00. So I was $836 out the door.

 

[RD Holland]

My backs on my 2019 were kaput at 20k. I went with Michelin as I found them to be great tires on my 2001 2500. The tires it came with had poor traction, especially coming out of my subdivision where there is a bit of a rise entering the busy road. Wet traction was a nightmare. However, my wife has a AWD Pilot and it's traction just ran circles around my 2019 RAM. Until I started turning on the "auto 4WD" anytime the road is wet. Also, the rear tires are what went bad. And, they were completely hosed on the inner areas (bald and starting to separate). There is no realignment possible for them. I pull a 21 foot bass boat and the tire guru told me the issue is most likely just the tongue weight and cheap tires. I never had such an issue with Michelin tires and I hope the new ones don't show that issue. He also said he worked for years and years at a Dodge dealer and said even though the tires they put on may look like those you can get at a tire store, they are not really the same. He said Dodge told him one time "We sell trucks, not tires." He mentioned that a lot of smart buyers made them pull off the stock tires and install good tires. Guess I wasn't one of the smart ones.

 

[MENACE RAM]

X2 on the Michelin Defender LTX Tires.