Which tires, which tires, which tires... - Wheels and Tires - Tech Section

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Do Not Touch The Trim!

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So after only about 20 years, I'm gonna have to replace the tires on my Ranger. They've got some cracking in the sidewalls (nothing too major but I don't like it). Probably still 80% tread on them as they've only seen about 20k miles since I got 'em.

I like the NEXEN tires I got for my Explorer & I'm leaning towards that brand again, but I can't decide on which type to get.
They'll be 31"x10.5"x15" but I don't know if I want the "mud terrain" or the "all terrain" tires for the ranger.

Here's a pic of the current tires from a few years ago:

I like the more aggressive look of them & they're not that loud and they ride pretty nicely too.

Looking at these for the more aggressive option:

Or these for a slightly less aggressive look:

The MT's look pretty similar to what I have now but i'm wondering if the AT's will have an even better ride.

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Posted: Thu Dec 14th, 2017 03:21 am

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Undrstm8ed
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Ride quality should be about the same, noise may not be.

A lot of controversy can be slung around in this subject. I run my MT's which for me are reasonably really quiet for such huge lugged tires. I actually hate that WRRRRRRrrrrrrrrrrrr noise of lug slap running down the road TBH.

But I love the more aggressive look and my DynaPro MT's have given me an amazing amount of mileage of any tire I've ever owned.. keep in mind I don't buy tires for mileage but more for performance reasons; usually in the case of grip or stickyness.

Now my 8 year tire selling/installation friend will argue hes not been hindered by any terrain yet in his BFG AT's.. and everything we've done together.. I havent seen him have an issue myself. MY MT's have gotten me into some issues in silty sand - wasnt aired down and when I stopped and jumped back on the throttle she just dug in and deep. Then again 3.08 gearing, single tire fire at the time.

Outside of looks, do you need an MT in your neck of the woods? do you hit any difficult trails that would require an MT or plan to?

If not I'd stick to the AT's as you seem happy with them, i'd just tuck the white lettering inside..

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Posted: Thu Dec 14th, 2017 04:38 am

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chris

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So after only about 20 years, I'm gonna have to replace the tires on my Ranger. They've got some cracking in the sidewalls (nothing too major but I don't like it). Probably still 80% tread on them as they've only seen about 20k miles since I got 'em.

Good grief - over here they reckon that we will soon have legislation that tyres must be no more than 4 years old!

The rubber hardens over time and exposure to UV rays - cracking in the sidewall would be a MOT failure (annual vehicle test).

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Posted: Thu Dec 14th, 2017 06:10 am

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JAMMAN

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I bought tires for my Dodge truck when I had it that were 9 years old. Dude upgraded his hummer and I bought his old tires. they were awesome.

My opinion on yours Terry? I personally only buy blackwall but that is just me. A new tire even of the road type has decent traction on snow and rain and I'm not cool enough to need the growling when I drive.

Just me though.

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Posted: Thu Dec 14th, 2017 02:20 pm

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Do Not Touch The Trim!

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The tires i got for the expo are white letters but i wanted somethin different on it & put the white to the inside. i like the look... thinking i might stick with white out on the ranger.

I definitely don't need the mud traction unless we get another 3ft of snow i have to deal with, but i do like the more aggressive look of the MT's, they're nearly the same tread as my old AT's.

Only offroading I do is driving down in the yard to pull out a bush once in a while lol.

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Posted: Thu Dec 14th, 2017 02:31 pm

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Undrstm8ed
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Sounds like AT's are the ticket to ride..

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Posted: Thu Dec 14th, 2017 08:49 pm

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Mike69

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Terry, I love the look of RWL so all of our vehicles have them out. IMHO I would go for the AT's. I went with Cooper Discoverer AT-3 on my Ranger & my wife's Explorer Sport.

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Posted: Thu Dec 14th, 2017 09:07 pm

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Do Not Touch The Trim!

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AT's are on order ;-)

Looks like they should arrive Dec 26th
Hope we don't have ten feet of snow then...at least not until I get the new shoes on so I can test them out.

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Posted: Fri Dec 15th, 2017 09:46 pm

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MaDMaXX

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They shouldn't have any real grip problems for generic use, i ended up with a more aggressive tyre, but one that is known for not buzzing as you drive.

Sure enough, i found excellent grip in the snow just recently as well as zero buzz noise, i'm happy.

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Posted: Fri Dec 15th, 2017 11:07 pm

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black06xlt
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im a huge fan of bf goodrich all terrain ta. they last forever and excellent traction and handling on and off the road

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Posted: Sun Dec 17th, 2017 11:21 am

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CBB9M
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Wished I'd gotten in on this one sooner. Recommendation would be for the BFG All Terrain KO2, specifically the second generation. After four sets of the first gen and now using the second, it's worth noting that the ride is better and the level of interior road noise plummeted, the difference is amazing. Other observations: quieter on the outside with the window down (look at the tread pattern designed to discourage noise generation) and during a quick stop or leaving a red light, they are "chirpy" and loud when this happens.

Edit: Tread life experiences has been 55,000-72,000 miles and they don't develop wear patterns like some truck tyres will (it's a curse when that happens :( ).

Last edited on Sun Dec 17th, 2017 11:23 am by CBB9M

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Posted: Wed Dec 20th, 2017 04:17 pm

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Do Not Touch The Trim!

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New tires got installed today!!
Pics to come when my hands thaw out... had to wash all the blue crap off the white letters & i'm frozen!

So far I like 'em, only put about 5 miles on them, but they ride much smoother than the old tires, not very much road noise either.

Now i'm gonna have to get my butt to work on making the rest of the truck look good enough to warrant these new shoes.

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Posted: Wed Dec 20th, 2017 04:38 pm

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mhoward
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buggman wrote: Now i'm gonna have to get my butt to work on making the rest of the truck look good enough to warrant these new shoes.
Well, based on the pic you posted earlier in this thread, you don't have much work to do. :)

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Posted: Wed Dec 20th, 2017 08:35 pm

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Do Not Touch The Trim!

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lol, that's an old pic from about 4 years ago.

the wheels are all dirty now & more paint is flaking & i've had the fender flares in the garage since 2014.

Interior looks rough too, no radio bezel (got one modding but got busy with other stuff), explorer console is in parts waiting for more mods.

Like the old saying goes the cobbler never has shoes himself.
I'll get there one of these days though HA!!

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Posted: Wed Dec 20th, 2017 08:40 pm

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mhoward
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Well Terry, I have faith you will get it back up to snuff! :)

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Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2017 12:57 am

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Do Not Touch The Trim!

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Finally pics for your drooling pleasure...

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Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2017 12:59 am

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MaDMaXX

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I want your wheels. Give them to me.

Those tyres look pretty aggressive with the tread design coming that far down the side, and i personally like white lettering on the outside for trucks ;)

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Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2017 09:14 am

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mhoward
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Nice tires, Terry! Those should grab snow pretty good.

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Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2017 10:14 am

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I have been debating this very thing. Mine are not completely worn down, but they are low, and I have argued myself out of replacing using the 'but 4x4!'argument for a while now. They are old enough that they aren't as soft as they should be. Not rot or cracking yet, but on a wet surface they spin easy. Before I drop 800 to 1000 on some, I want to be sure I like them I guess. They will be on for a while, as I have only put about 20k on these in 5 years.

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Posted: Thu Dec 21st, 2017 10:52 am

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Tsquare
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Nice wheels Buggman. I would like some alloys but I am too cheap.

My steel spokes are pealing and has some surface rust. On the next tire purchase I plan on walnut basting each wheel and painting. It will be a year or so as I have over half my tread on my current tires.

Last edited on Thu Dec 21st, 2017 10:53 am by Tsquare

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Posted: Thu Jan 25th, 2018 10:39 pm

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2004 fx4 level II
enough said!

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well? how are they now? did you drive it in good snow yet?? wat size u get? i never heard of them are they cheap? never mind on size think 31's?

Last edited on Thu Jan 25th, 2018 10:49 pm by 2004 fx4 level II

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Posted: Thu Jan 25th, 2018 10:42 pm

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2004 fx4 level II
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sorry to say i love bfg! never had any problem with them in all kinds of weather

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Posted: Fri Jan 26th, 2018 01:58 pm

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Scrambler82
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I'm too late but I too would have suggested BFG AT KOs !

Terry, you got what you liked... done deal !

Next time check out the BFGs !

Ltr

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Posted: Fri Jan 26th, 2018 07:25 pm

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Do Not Touch The Trim!

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i honestly haven't got them dirty yet... we got a good bit of snow in the past few weeks but i didn't get the truck out to play in it. it's all i could to to dig the explorer out ha!

they weren't the absolute cheapest but certainly not the most expensive either.

one thing i found out the hard way... if you get tires from walmart now, they will not install them if they're not the oem size that came on the truck.
not the end of the world as there's a good shop locally that charges about the same as walmart for mounting, etc.

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