All Terrain Tires?

"Shoop" (shoopdawoop993) 10/28/2015 at 10:49 • Filed to: None

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I’m moving from worn out rotting 245s to 285s on my 08 GMC 2500hd (they’ll fit with some plastic trimming) and theres a lot of choices so I need some help.
The tire needs to be 285/75 r16 and have an E load rating.

I spend probably 85% of my time on the highway, so it needs to be a tire with good road manners at 85 mph. However I don’t tow barely ever, so sidewall rigidity under load isn’t that big of a deal
Anything will be an improvement over the shitty bald highway tires that are on it now, but I’d like something with a beefy looking sidewall and tread pattern.
I already have dedicated snows, that are going on over thanksgiving, so im not to worried about snow and ice performance.

To be perfectly honest, most of the time, they’d just be for show, but I would get good use out of them.

I’m also pretty pissed i just had to spend $800 to get pulled out of a “trail” 2 miles in the woods by a tractor, and since my dad will pay for tires, but not towing, Id like to avoid that again if possible.

Tires I’m looking at

GY Wrangler Duratrac

BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2

Nitto Exo or Terra Grapplers

General Grabber?

etc etc etc

I havent even looked into smaller manufacturers like ProComp or Dick Cepek, or Cooper/Mastercraft.

To recap, requirements in order of priority

285/75 r16

E load rating

Beefy Sidewall look

Offroad (dirt, rock, trails) performance

Onroad performance

Mud/sand performance

Towing Stability

Snow and ice performance

mpg (lol its not gonna get worse)/noise

I’m finding that I can’t really go wrong between BFG A/T KO2 and the Duratracs.

Right now I’m leaning toward the Duratracs cause GODDAMN LOOK AT THEM

MUHDICK

(This truck has a 2 in lift which mine wont have, they will still fit fine with trimming,minimal torsion crank, and a set of tie-rod sleeves)

The new KO2s do give them a run for the money

What experiences do you guys have? Anything to avoid?

OPPOsaurus WRX > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 10:53

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your probably better off using the snows for offroad stuff and just swapping back and forth to all seasons. I wore out my all terrains way before I should have because of all the highway driving I did.

Moves-Like-Senna > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 10:55

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I can’t tell you what to avoid, however, I can tell you that the BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2s are solid. I tried them out last time I was back on the family farm where the entire truck fleet has them now. Even with 2WD only (they do 2wd as no snow + more payload) it does surprising well at the trails/mines/mountains, never needed a tow. They were also silent on the highway (relatively speaking) and rather smooth.

64Mali > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 10:57

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Any off-road tire will wear much faster than a highway. I’ve had great luck with the General Grabber HT (highway) doing light off-roading in a 2wd Escape. That said the General Grabber AT-2s are pretty nice and severe snow rated for certain sizes. I’ve also had people rave about cooper off road tires.

The name brands will be a crap ton more expensive for not too much better performance for your requirements.

Also how/why did you get stuck and need a tractor?

450X_FTW > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 10:58

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I have the Goodyear ArmorTrac for my truck and I like them. They’re quiet, still have plenty of grip when I go up north to our hunting cabin. Saw less than 0.5 mpg hit over the OEM tires. They don’t come in your size but these are very close

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/findTireD…

HammerheadFistpunch > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 11:01

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Hey that’s my tire. I have 285/75r16 e rated dutatracs. Good tires

Nibby > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 11:04

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Try each of them out and see which one crushes the most bones over bodies.

Smallbear wants a modern Syclone, local Maple Leafs spammer > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 11:04

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Sidewall strength is a bigger deal than you would think. My stock tires (106 rating) they look like they are flat all the time and it’s really wandery in the highway. Ride is really bouncey. Wallows coming out of a turn.

My snows (109 rating) track better, ride better and handle smoother. And (bonus) look better.

I can’t wait to ditch the stock tires. I just switched to snows last week, but I smell a few smoke shows coming on next spring when I get the stocks back on. Or maybe I'll run them through the summer again and smoke them off in the fall.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 11:06

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The Cooper Discoverer A/T3 is a really cool tire, check it out. It is available in LT285/75R16 Load E.

They do great over the highway, I drove 255/70R17 Discoverer A/T3’s all the way back from SC to MI right after putting a 2” lift on our Commander. So far they’ve done great in rain, gravel, and dirt. Haven’t hit snow in them because we bought them in July. Haven’t really had any MPG problems, even with a lift at the same time.

They’re cheaper than other options too with a good treadlife warranty.

Luc - The Acadian Oppo > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 11:08

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Duratracs!Duratracs!Duratracs!Duratracs!Duratracs!Duratracs!

The best all around tire you can buy. I’ve had a set on my truck and I will never put anything else on a truck again.

Barely any road noise, FANTASTIC in the snow, even treadwear, ect

'Wägen, EPA LOL > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 11:09

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Give BrownDogWelding a shout... Loved his article on the changes he did with his truck including a set of Mickey Thompson Deegan 38 Mud Terrains. They looks disgustingly good.

http://oppositelock.kinja.com/jung-again-or-…

Snuze: Needs another Swede > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 11:09

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Back when I had my Ram, I had All Terrain TA KOs on it (not the KO2), but I was never really impressed with them. They were decent on the highway, but not so great in wet weather or off road. The tread pattern doesn’t look much different on the KO2s, so I’m not sure how great they’d be.

My dad always used to run the Michelin LTX tires, M/S on our crew cab (family “car”) and ATs on our other truck and his work van. Probably not as aggressive as you’re looking for, but they were fantastic on the highway and ok for occasional offroad use.

Last year our crew cab needed tires. My sister and I are both grown now so the truck doesn’t get used as often. A friend of my sisters is a Cooper/Mastercraft regional rep and talked my dad into trying a set of Courser AXTs. He figured since its used infrequently, he’d save some money over buying new Michelins. So far the Mastercraft tires have been fantastic! I use the truck a few times a year to go camping up in the mountains of WV and it is a night and day difference how easy it is to get up to camp with the AXTs vs. the Michelin M/S tires, and it still has good highway manners. They also make an MXT tires that is even more aggressive, maybe more along the lines of what you’re looking for.

HammerheadFistpunch > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 11:14

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Now im not on mobile I can actually provide some useful feedback.

Duratracs - they wear fast with a lot of weight, Im 5500 lbs and have put about 25000 miles on them and they are more than half way gone. I hear with large trucks they wear faster. They are really quiet and civil and wonderful tires for the highway, but they do get less so with age. I bought mine because I wanted the same things as you, I commute in my cruiser but I take it off road. That being said I have no winter tires and so the snowflake option and the reviews of their snow performance was excellent...and they are excellent in the snow.

When I do it again I will probably get Nittos, I hear they are getting very good, and that the Duratracs are so popular that their quality control is starting to slip. Don’t buy what ANYONE tells you about one brand being consistently better than another, while its generally true that good brands are more likely to produce good tires, its very much up to the batch or the circumstances surrounding YOUR tire not brand loyalty. i.e. ALL manufactures put out bad tires, and all manufactures go through cycles of good and bad.

I have a theory about fast food that somewhat applicable: if they have something new on the menu...get it because they haven’t become bored with making it yet. Same story with tires, in which case the KO2 are you safe bet as they are the new kids on the scene with everything to prove.

If your pop is paying, spring for the good stuff.

HammerheadFistpunch > Snuze: Needs another Swede 10/28/2015 at 11:27

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Were they the KO’s or the rugged terrains? I’ve made that mistake before. The KO’s are great, the rugged terrains are garbage. Similar tread pattern.

HammerheadFistpunch > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/28/2015 at 11:28

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any adventure testing on these yet?

Berang > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 11:30

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BFG’s mud-terrain km2.

I don’t anything about it, but it looks cool, and the Baja bug people say they have decent road manners. I’ve heard mixed opinions about General Grabbers from the same group, some love them others hate ‘em.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > HammerheadFistpunch 10/28/2015 at 11:31

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We’ve done dirt roads, gravel and grass fields (they were dry, so no mud).

I don’t want to do anything more than that until I re-attach the front wimpy skid plate.

brjklein > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 11:40

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Yokohama A/T-S are very nice. Great for on-road and can handle terrain. Less aggressive than a K/O but they wear better.

Shoop > HammerheadFistpunch 10/28/2015 at 11:50

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what do you have em on and how do they wear?

HammerheadFistpunch > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 11:52

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see my other comment.

Shoop > 64Mali 10/28/2015 at 11:57

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Hill + mud + front end caught up + straddling log

6 hours with a comealong I couldnt get my self out.

was about 2 miles down a trail like this

Snuze: Needs another Swede > HammerheadFistpunch 10/28/2015 at 12:03

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They might have been. They were stock H2 rims and OEM tires - I bought them cheap off a guy who was putting 24’s or whatever on his H2. My truck had steelies with 31” tires, H2s had factory 35” tires, and the bolt patterns are the same, Dodge just has bigger hubs, so I had a machinist buddy open them up a bit.

HammerheadFistpunch > Snuze: Needs another Swede 10/28/2015 at 12:04

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Looks like they were T/A KO according to tirerack.

THShorn92 - Left his car in America > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/28/2015 at 12:11

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This! I ran them in 265/75/16 on my old F150. Great tires. Spent alot of time on the road with them as well as some light off road use (Mainly mud and sand) and they preformed well. I don’t remember exactly how many miles I got out of them but they had good life. Also they were pretty quiet.

WiscoProud > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 12:13

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Both the Duratracs and KO2 are severe service rated for winter conditions, meaning you may not get as much mileage out of them as a regular tire (softer compound to help on ice). For that matter the General Grabber AT2 are as well.

If you were looking for a tire that would be used year round, including in snow, I would recommend any of those three. I've owned Duratracs and currently have AT2s. For mostly dry condition and a premium on looking aggressive, I would go with Nitto MT.

Birddog > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 12:14

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You really can’t go wrong with the BF Goodrich A/Ts. They’ve been evolving that tire for close to 40 years now. They’ve always been my go-to if I buy new.

I’ve heard good stuff about the Duratracs but I’ve never had good luck with GY tires so I never checked them out.

Dingers Ghost, Champion Jockey > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 12:15

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One thing to remember with beefy tires- make sure the alignment on the truck is good AND they get rotated often. You’d be surprised, but it’s not hard for tires like these to get some sort of bad wear if not taken care of. There’s a lot of rubber there, but it’s spaced far apart which helps it get unusual wear.

Benzed92 > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 12:16

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I had some Yokohama Geolander A/T, great on the highway up to around 70 (old wrangler wouldn’t go any faster), had good luck with them in the snow, relatively quiet, and never got stuck offroad either.

WiscoProud > HammerheadFistpunch 10/28/2015 at 12:17

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You’re right about the Duratracs. If you look at the complaints about them, they’re almost always from people with 2500 or larger pickups. Seems the softer compound doesn’t always play well with heavy vehicles.

I had Nitto Terra Grapplers on my LR3 years back, and while they were good on trails or in dry conditions, they were scary on ice. Deep snow they were fine, but when it got to regular icy road conditions, they left a lot to be desired.

Snuze: Needs another Swede > HammerheadFistpunch 10/28/2015 at 12:17

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I thought they were but I sold that truck years ago, so I wasn’t 100% sure. They weren’t bad tires, just not as good as I’d hoped. They did look good on the truck, and were good for highway cruising. I just thought they left a lot to be desired in wet weather. I also didn’t do any serious off roading in the truck, but the little bit I did left me kind of indifferent. I felt like they were adequate, but other tires would have been better.

WiscoProud > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 12:20

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It looks like you were sitting with the frame on the log. Tires are going to help you in that condition. If I were you, I would look into a 2" lift and getting skid plates. You can have all the traction in the world, but still be screwed if your oil pan or transfer case get hit.

HammerheadFistpunch > WiscoProud 10/28/2015 at 12:20

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yeah, fortunately, Utah doesn’t do ice as much as other places, mostly deep and packed snow given that our snow water density is pretty low.

WiscoProud > HammerheadFistpunch 10/28/2015 at 12:22

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They might be a good choice in that regard. For my conditions, I'm sticking with severe service rated from now on. I had duratracs on my Xterra in the same size you did and they were amazing.

HammerheadFistpunch > WiscoProud 10/28/2015 at 12:25

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yeah, they rock the house in the snow and ice. VERY impressive for an all terrain.

WiscoProud > HammerheadFistpunch 10/28/2015 at 12:27

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Yeah, they definitely straddle the line between AT and MT. I would have gotten them for my cruiser, but I wanted to try something new and the Grabber AT2 were significantly cheaper.

HammerheadFistpunch > WiscoProud 10/28/2015 at 12:28

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have you liked the grabbers? Im probably not getting D-tracs again for the expense.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > THShorn92 - Left his car in America 10/28/2015 at 12:31

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Having a capable tire that can control itself on the highway and not wear out in a week is awesome.

We’re really pleased with ours so far

WiscoProud > HammerheadFistpunch 10/28/2015 at 12:53

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I like them. They're wearing well and have great traction. Think of the tread as a more aggressive KO. They're not as aggressive as the DTs, but since I'm on the road more than off, that's not an issue. I have gotten through some impressive mud pits with them. They don't self clean as well as the DTs either, but it hasn't slowed me down at all.

TheOnelectronic > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 14:36

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Of those I’ve only used the Duratracs, but they blew me away. Excellent road manners, as well as great performance in mud and snow.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/28/2015 at 14:41

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I’m running Cooper Discovery A/T3 in 265/75/16 on my Silverado 2500HD. However, mine were 1) there when I bought it and 2) still decent for towing.

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs 10/28/2015 at 14:43

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Almost the same size as ours on our jeep. (man it’s overkill isn’t it? hahahaha)

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 14:45

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I’d avoid flat tires. Or square tires. I hear those aren’t as good off-road.

But really, look at the Cooper Discoverer A/T3. I run 265/75/16s on the Duramax, but that’s what was there when I bought it. I haven’t decided if I’ll keep those, or change sizes.

KusabiSensei - Captain of the Toronto Maple Leafs > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/28/2015 at 15:38

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Well, at least it means that the Chevy House can go through swamps. :D

BorkBorkBjork > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 16:49

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Get the TA KO2s, a 5 ton come-along, and some chains and straps. No tire is going to stop you from getting stuck, that just the nature of off-roading.

Shoop > HammerheadFistpunch 10/28/2015 at 16:56

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Hearing that I might go with the Cooper discoverer stt pro that just came out

Shoop > MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner 10/28/2015 at 16:57

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I might go with the Cooper discoverer stt pro that just came out

MontegoMan562 is a Capri RS Owner > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 16:59

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I’m all for those but don’t have any experience and don’t know how they will wear.

HammerheadFistpunch > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 17:02

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People outside of the US (South Africa and Australia in particular) swear up and down about the coopers, thought they definitely will be louder.

You can tell a Finn but you can't tell him much > Shoop 10/28/2015 at 22:28

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I had the BFG All Terrain KO’s. A lot of people around here went through a set of those. Only one set each because they were terrible, horrible tires. They were terrible in snow, terrible off road, terrible on road and cupped if you didn't rotate them every time you got fuel.

Shoop > WiscoProud 10/28/2015 at 23:09

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The problem is, a lift doesn’t help diff clearance with a solid axel. But if i would lift, I’d get some bigger wheels and tires. I like the flush, low lift big tire look

WiscoProud > Shoop 10/29/2015 at 10:04

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You’re right about the diff, but it does raise the frame, and it looks like that's what you're sitting on. Just a suggestion.