Help me choose a new AT/Highway Tire

Would the Michelins be good in heavy snow? We get snowstorms where snow piles up on the road over 2 feet and the stock rugged trails won't cut it. The Michelins being a "mud and snow" tire, would they offer any advantage over the Rugged Trails we have now?

 

NOTE: The Defender LTX M/S Highway All-Season tire is NOT a dedicated winter / snow tire. It does NOT meet the severe snow traction requirements and is NOT branded with the three-peak mountain/snowflake symbol (3PMSF).

Its called that but its really not certified.... That quote is from the tire rack description.

 

As far as heavy snow goes, I'd have to defer to some of our northern friends BUT anything that particular BFG will do the Michelin will do better. Look for the snow flake rating. The GY tires are generally excellent in the snow.
https://tires.tirerack.com/tires/All Terrain With Snowflake

 

Agreed on the all season tire. Find an AT with a snow flake rating.

 

If your concerned with snow performance I’d seriously consider the Yokohama g015. They get great ratings on tire rack and I haven’t heard anything bad about them from anywhere.

 

Any differences between the Michelin LTX A/S and the Costco Michelin XLT A/S?

 

Go with Michelin. It doesn't matter what model Michelin you get from your list because they are great tires and will be perfect for your truck.

 

I wouldn't go with BFG rugged terrains. I do highway driving too and also want. A quite AT tire but those Terrains are a little noisy vs the factory Rugged trails and do worse in the snow and rain. Tread life is good but the Trail is better hands down in my opinion. The trails lasted me 58,000 and still had tread and were fine in snow and rain. The terrains were as noisy brand new a set the trails with 58,000 and only got worse with mileage.

 

I'm finally getting my tires. Michelín X LT A/S from Costco. $70 off with 1¢/tire installation. $798.63 OTD.

I'll make another post with the feel vs the Toyos review.

 

I just put on the Geolanders , good for 4 seasons, quiet ,38lbs,$70 rebate

 

So I've had my new Michelins for a week and a half. I gotta say, these are way quieter and softer.
They certainly weigh more than the Toyos but the thread left on the Toyos may have been a factor.

In terms of acceleration, I feel like the Toyos definitely hooked better but the low thread might have contributed to that. On the Michelins, you get this slingshot feel when you take off. A funny thing that happened, giving a right turn in an intersection with the Michelins, I had wheel slip. I was light on the throttle, It might have been that they were slippery from lube or too fresh for the pavement haha.

In terms of handling, the Toyos were way better. The Toyos was point and shoot in the direction that you wanted. The Michelins you turn and guess where the vehicle is going and then you adjust accordingly. The Michelins have not seen rain or true dirt trails so I don't have a say. But from my previous experience of having a set of very similar Michelins(on my 4Runner) with the same thread pattern I can say that they certainly perform very well in the rain in terms of driving. I used to have a couple of slips in the rain with the old 4Runner tires vs the Michelins. I have the same expectation with these Michelins on the Taco. My old Toyos did not slip once.

In terms of deceleration, the Toyos were better at stopping because they were lighter and had a short thread so the tire did not give much flex. The new Michelins feel very spongy when stopping. They both grip a good amount but since the Michelins are soft, you get this funny cloud like cushion sensation.

In terms of ride quality, the Michelins are way quieter. They certainly absorb more road shock which give you a way better ride on the highway. They make the Toyos feel as if they were just balloons on wheels.

In terms of MPG, I would have to call this one a tie. I really did not notice a difference in MPG. If any, the Michelins might give you less MPG because of the added weight but I would say that it is negligible. (I bought the same size as the OEM)

Overall, I am very happy with these. These tires don't give you driving performance. They aren't slicks to stop and go. These were truly made for ride quality in which I wouldn't blame them. They are made for a truck/small SUV application and they give you that complete experience of comfort.

Thank you all for the feedback and I hope this whole tread will help someone one day to decide on which Highway tire they might go with.

 

Is there a big difference in road noise between the Michelin Defender MS vs. the Michelin AT2?

 

I can't specifically say yes or no to this, however, I had the defenders and now I have Cooper AT3s, which are more aggressive tires than the Michelin AT2s. While I can tell that there is an increase in road noise, its really a negligible increase. If I had to make a guess, I would say that the AT2 would probably be even less than that.

 

While Goodyear likes to occasionally rename their tires in order to keep people thinking that they're new, the tires I'm running currently (and have been for more than 100,000 miles) are currently called "all terrain adventure". The ones I've got are load range "E" that they refer to as "pro-grade". Nice thing about these ones (vs the non-E version and most other all season tires) is that they've got the mountain-snowflake symbol. Given current tread remaining, they should easily go for at least another 50,000 miles.

 

45,000 miles. Buying new tires was an agonizing experience. But thanks to the discussions and advice in numerous TW threads I gave up and went with Goodyear Wrangler AT LT245/75R16 to replace the OEM Dunlop AT20 Gran Trek P245's. The thread "Stock Tacoma Off Road Capabilities" got me started. I have a stock, plain SR 4X4 and the OEM tires have taken me through all sorts of trouble. I do trail building, so getting close to a work site on an old log road is part of the adventure. Some of my friends with bigger, "badder" 4X4s were standing by to help and were a bit impressed that a basic
Taco could handle pretty tough situations. Never got stuck. So between about 30 percent gravel/ ruts and mud roads and the rest highway driving, the compromise was to get decent traction and keep road noise to a minimum. Hence the LT Goodyear Wrangler AT.

So after first 275 miles I lost 1 MPG going from the OEM P type to LT tires. No noticeable change in road noise at any speed. Tech warned me the new tires may buss or shudder for first 100 miles or so. No problem with that.

If price is no object, go with the Michelins . . ..
New Shoes
Off Road Fog

 

I've had a 2013 TRD off road and I replaced the BFG rugged fails with the Michelin LTX AT 2 and the ride difference was amazing and I swear I gained a mile or 2 per gallon after switching. I live in one of the snowiest cities in the US and I live at the top of a big hill. I could get up the hill in 2wd on the Michelins were as the rugged fails I had to peu her In 4wd. I was impressed and thought it was an excellent tire.