Need recommendations for SUV all season tires NF

[Tomcat]

I've had a 2007 Ford Explorer Eddie Bauer 4 X 4 since Mar 2007 (Michelin Cross Terrain tires (P235/65 R18) were OEM supplied tires). Tread depth was 4/32" after 20,000 miles. Complained to Michelin and arranged for a new set of Michelin Latitude Tour HP tires (P235/65 R18 104 H) at 50% off. Tread depth on those tires is currently 4/32" after 21252 miles (95% highway driving at legal speed limits, no towing, no plowing).

 

I'd appreciate obtaining some new tire recommendations from you guys for my vehicle (odometer is at 50,000 miles and I typically keep vehicles 15 years) that provide very good dry braking, very good wet braking, good to very good handling, no hydroplaning, low noise, low rolling resistance, longer tread life (i.e. 50,000 miles) and a reasonable ride. Winter driving characteristics are of no concern because I switch to Blizzaks on their own rims each winter.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Jay

[bow slayer]

I have a 2008 ford explorer eddie bauer. I can tell which tires to stay away from,Cooper CS4. I bought a pair 3 years ago and have had nothing buy problems with them holding air. I have replaced the valve stems on each tire twice,had them tested by dealer on 3 occassions and all was fine. Yet they still leak,every 2 weeks or so I have to add air to at least 2 of them. Time for new ones now,so I am also looking for new set.

[BowSlayer101]

We have michelin x-ice xi3's on both the minivan and suv and use them year round, 3rd year right now and never failed, driving down ice roads, great for winter and summer use, no issues whatsoever, switched to michelins 8 years ago and never looked back, cooper is not what it used to be, stay away from them. Had michelin latitude all season, can't remember the exact model but were also good, lasted 5 years of all season heavy use. Michelin is probably the best tire out there that you can get, pricy but well worth it.

[irishfield]

Gotta stop drifting through the corners Jay!!....

 

Goodyear Wranglers on Leah's 2003 sport trac... it's second set of these in 188,000 Km and I think the first set on it went on about 120K. The current set on it.. good for the rest of the vehicles life or 60K which ever comes first.

 

My '11 F150 has Wrangler ST's on it... 57,000 km so far and 10/32 tread left at last service in Feb.

Edited May 12, 2014 by irishfield

[Muskieman]

I must say that I put 140k Kms with the Expedition on my 17x33 x12 Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ , best tire I've ever had , they're still being used on a modded Suzuki Sidekick that lives on Sandy Island on Nipissing .

Rather expensive but what a tire !

Recently replaced them with a Sailun Terra Max , quite an inferior tire ... my Expy is dying after 429k Kms .

Edited May 12, 2014 by Randy from Sturgeon

[John Bacon]

I have a 2008 ford explorer eddie bauer. I can tell which tires to stay away from,Cooper CS4. I bought a pair 3 years ago and have had nothing buy problems with them holding air. I have replaced the valve stems on each tire twice,had them tested by dealer on 3 occassions and all was fine. Yet they still leak,every 2 weeks or so I have to add air to at least 2 of them. Time for new ones now,so I am also looking for new set.

 

Wouldn't issues with tires holding air most likely be an issue with the rims or installation rather than the tire itself?

[Muskieman]

^^^ YES !! ^^^

I have the same problem , aluminum wheels ?

They oxidize and leak at the bead , and since it's an Eddie that's probably the problem , get the tire popped off the bead , have the wheel sanded down and washed , re-seat/seal/balanced , I've had to do that a few times over the years ,don't be surprised of your rims bead seats are cracked , very common on the Ford aluminum wheel .. quick weld & grind job does the trick .

[irishfield]

Yep... Leah's Sport trac is a bi-weekly on air to 2 tires. Corroded rims that are a PITA to keep sealed. Has nothing to do with the tires... it's the Ford rims.

[cram]

Whoops -- for some reason i thought you wanted snow tires (which would've been weird this time of year). Editing/correcting my note.

+1 on the michelins.

Also tried continental cross contacts (based on recommendations from a couple of tire review sites) and the shop couldn't get them balanced. Switchec over to michelins and they've been great.

Edited May 12, 2014 by cram

[BillM]

Toyo Open Country ATs.....

Edited May 12, 2014 by BillM

[Tomcat]

Thanks for the comments everyone. I'm leaning towards replacing the Michelin Latitude Tour HP tires (UTQG tread wear rating of 440) with a set of Michelin Latitude Tour tires (part number 21436) that have a UTQG tread wear rating of 620. While no doubt a harder compound, Consumer Reports rates ride comfort as very good, noise as excellent and tread life as excellent. However, rolling resistance is only good compared to very good for my current Michelin Latitude Tour HP tires.

[Tomcat]

Gotta stop drifting through the corners Jay!!....

 

LOL Wayne. Made me think of my trip to the Gouin Reservoir in 2005 (4.5 hours of gravel road from just north of Mont Laurier). We had pulled onto a logging road entrance for a rest stop near a sweeping left hand turn for oncoming truck traffic (huge logging trucks fully loaded and traveling near 100 km/hr). As we watched one of those huge logging trucks come through that corner, his back wheels probably drifted 5 or 6 feet across the main road. I was glad we were off the road!

[Bernie]

Consider getting it aligned if you have not already. A good alignment saves tires.

 

As far as leaks are concerned, clean the bead on the rim to get all the corrosion off. I then paint the bead surface on the rim, then install the tire before the paint gets too hard. Keeps corrosion from reoccurring and seals the bead better. Bead sealer works, but not as well as the paint over time.

 

Randy, those Sailuns seem to work OK on my pickup, actually very impressed for the price. Time will tell for wearout, but the ratings are OK.

Edited May 12, 2014 by Bernie

[Headhunter]

As usual, I'll be that guy and say that I will never buy Michelins again! I bought their "SUV" tires for my 96 Jimmy. I ended up back at the dealer as the side walls started to crack, well within the 7 year warranty period. Was offered credit for those tires towards another set, which at the time seemed like a good deal. So many have said that Michelin were a great tire, so I thought maybe I got a bad set.

Flash forward a few years and the dang thing happened... spider cracking on the side walls. Rubber peeling off in chunks, off the side walls.

That was it! Given that the truck is on it's last legs, I had no desire to "put the best I can" on the truck.

Got some cheapo tires on it now and they seem to be working out just fine...

Michelin, you can bite me!

HH

[ch312]

All terrain tires are better all around than tires listed as all seasons...

 

Firestone Destination AT and BFG All Terrain TA/KO are very popular truck/SUV tires for many reasons.

[mike rousseau]

12 ply bf all terrains gave me almost 90,000knm

 

I now have 12 ply general grabber at2 ($400 cheaper for set) and they seem ok... They are a lot louder/vibrate more then the BF ATs... But I expect that from aggressive tires so I'm not complaining....

[BillM]

BFG AT's are the same tires from the past like 20 years, lol. A lot of better options out there and you're not just paying for the name.

[SBCregal]

You can never go wrong with the LTX m/s 2 by michelin. I had them on my safari and I kinda wish I put them on my current truck rather than the A/T type tires I went with. The LTX is quiet, wears well and stayed balanced while the General grabber at2 I bought is pretty much the opposite.

[Raf]

If the suv never leaves the pavement im not sure there's much point to an AT tire. All seasons will outlast, be queiter and a little better on gas than ATs will be.

 

I run the firestone destination ATs on my jeep and am happy with them should you decide to go the AT route. I hear good things about the AS version of them I think they are called destination LEs. No I dont work for firestone but they were a much better bang for buck than the BFGs

[Woodsman]

If you want to get good mileage out of your tires on an Explorer forget the "P" grade tires and pay the extra for "LT" tires.

[Hooked]

I had Goodyear Fortera's on my Toyota Highlander before, they were awesome. Quiet and significantly better on gas than the M+S tires I have on now. I'm looking for a set this week.

[ch312]

If the suv never leaves the pavement im not sure there's much point to an AT tire. All seasons will outlast, be queiter and a little better on gas than ATs will be.

 

I run the firestone destination ATs on my jeep and am happy with them should you decide to go the AT route. I hear good things about the AS version of them I think they are called destination LEs. No I dont work for firestone but they were a much better bang for buck than the BFGs

 

The huge difference between all seasons and all terrain/all weather tires is the latter offers tires that are snowflake rated meaning they're suitable for freezing temperatures and winter driving. All seasons are only meant for spring, summer, and fall as they use a different rubber that gets too hard in cold temps resulting in much less traction. When it comes to winter driving the average stopping distance for all terrain/all weather tires is much shorter than any all season tire will offer. I think it's 25-30% shorter stopping distance IIRC...

 

 

The BFG TA/KO's maybe cost a bit more than some other options, but many people report up to 100,000 kms before needing to change the tires. They're quiet, offer excellent traction all year, and wear like iron which is why they're so popular.

[Freshtrax]

Michelin at2. On the f150. Super crew. 98k so far lots of tread left.

[Raf]

 

The huge difference between all seasons and all terrain/all weather tires is the latter offers tires that are snowflake rated meaning they're suitable for freezing temperatures and winter driving. All seasons are only meant for spring, summer, and fall as they use a different rubber that gets too hard in cold temps resulting in much less traction. When it comes to winter driving the average stopping distance for all terrain/all weather tires is much shorter than any all season tire will offer. I think it's 25-30% shorter stopping distance IIRC...

 

 

The BFG TA/KO's maybe cost a bit more than some other options, but many people report up to 100,000 kms before needing to change the tires. They're quiet, offer excellent traction all year, and wear like iron which is why they're so popular.

Im aware of all that. The op said he has dedicated snows and is looking for a quiet low rolling resistance tire - making any arguement for noisy higher rolling resistance AT tires which are not as good as dedicated snows in the winter, a losing one. Edited May 13, 2014 by Raf

[35Wailin]

I've got an '06 Envoy XL that I installed a set of Hercules Terra Trac AT II on. I've only had them six months, but they have better traction than the Goodyear Wranglers that were stock or the CTC Total Terrains I installed four years ago, Time will tell on durability. The Goodyears were replaced about eight months after I bought the truck used. I got four years out of the CTC tires. The Hercs were better in the snow and seem to be better in the muddy places I need to go so far. I don't do any extreme stunts with this vehicle as it is a daily driver and the only vehicle in my yard that can carry the whole family, but it does take me in the bush to hunt and fish as well as tow my travel trailer and boat.