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Replacing stock tires.. Best bang for the buck?

15K views 32 replies 25 participants last post by  titan14 
#1 ·
I have an 08 with 28K miles and the tires are already almost bald.. Need to replace and looking at damn near $1K for tires!!

Discount Tire is having a promotion with some rebates right now so was looking for some advice..

Cooper Discoverer H/T Plus - $640.70 - Rebates = $505.70 total.

Pathfinder Sport S A/T - $662 - Rebates = $577 total.

Pathfinder All Terrain - $693 - Rebates = $558 total.

Cooper Discoverer ATP - $778 - Rebates = $573

After putting the above four figured I'd just see if there is any advice in general before wasting my time putting all the deals! LOL

Tire Products - Discount Tire Direct
 
#2 ·
The cooper HTs are a good tire. I run them on an old suburban we have. Good quality
 
#4 ·
In the end you get what you pay for in most situations. You can spend the money on a good tire and get a good amount of life from them or buy a cheaper tire that won't last as long. Keep in mind what your tires will be used for, if your going to do light offroading, you'll want a more aggressive tire. If you are in an area were weather is a factor, consider the weather rating. The less aggressive the tire generally will give you better mpg, but I'm not sure that's always the case. Seeing as you have very few miles, if you don't drive it much, maybe you go for looks or what you can afford. I had Goodyear sra's that came on my 06 and they were garbage, poor traction in anything but dry conditions. When I bought my 15, I ripped them off in the first 5k and replaced them with duratracs. I could not be happier with that decision.
 
#5 ·
Thanks for the reply.. The low miles are from the original owner.. I've only had it for about 3 months..

I think it's between the Cooper Discoverer ATP, the Cooper Discoverer H/T Plus, or the Cooper Discoverer A/T3..

They are all around the same price.. I live in Ohio so we get some snow.. I drive about 20 miles or so a day for work, round trip..
 
#7 ·
Do you love your Titan, or not so much? I don't know about all of the 4 wheel drive homies out there or what tires they run, but I have a 2 WD CC that has the stock Goodyear Wrangler SRA. I've already done the research and then some. Next year she's getting a set of new Michelin's. Didn't even think twice. The absolute best tire out there, car or truck or 18 wheeler or anything. It's gonna run me about 1,300 out the door. No problem. You get what you pay for.
 
#8 ·
I've been running nothing but Cooper AT3 (or predecessor AT, AT2, ATX...) for over 15 years on our fleet of 6 to 8 pickups and run them on my Titan as well. Excellent quality and price. I'm amazed how well they wear. All the ones at work are load range E. I run the P265/70R18 on mine.
 
#9 ·
OEM SR-A's are crap tires, I took mine off at 500 miles and swapped them out for Firestone Destination AT's, it was a good tire, but not aggresive enough for me, those lasted about 10k miles. On my second set of Duratracs, best all around tire I have ever owned, have about 2k miles on the second set, currently sitting at 68k miles, but there going to cost you about $1400, but rotate them regularly and you'll get 60k out of them
 
#10 ·
Sad to see someone just focusing on cheapest. Tires are a big deal, good tires make or break the truck IMO.

My Toyo MT's served for 10 years, 60K miles. They have dry-rotted before they could fail. Took off road abuse pretty well.

I ordered BFG KO2's from Discount Tire for $1060, which I consider to be a great deal. I was also looking at Toyo HT's (good MPG and highway ride but not so good off road) and Toyo AT2 (great tire, but not as highly rated as KO2 overall).

Not sure what load rating the OP's choices are, but all tires I considered are load range E, 10 ply type. And I also consider the reputation and longevity of a tire. I saw some guy at a Wal Mart parking lot last weekend with the crappiest old Chevy truck, disgusting truck with a set of destroyed, thread-bare tires in the bed. On that crappy truck was a set of brand new Michelin LT's. I had immediate respect for the guy because he knew the VALUE of a good tire is not how cheap it is up front.
 
#12 ·
Like the rest of them have said, truck tires aren't cheap. I always prepare to spend at least 1200 all said and done and am happy if/when I pay less due to promotions. Going for the cheapest tire is an easy way to not be able to stop when you really need to or trying to stretch out a couple thousand more miles when they're bald at 40k.
 
#13 ·
Know your not looking at them but I'd say give the kanati trail hogs a look. I got a pair on my truck and have been experimenting with them. Well over 15,000 on them and can't hardly tell. Plus it's a load rated E tire. Very aggressive tread for an all terrain tire. And they grip and dig like crazy. Was moving few weekends ago and was pouring rain. Ended up digging few ditches in the yard and didn't even try. Plus they clean out very quickly. Didn't cake up. And the price here for them at SAMs is 167 a tire. Just figured give you another option. Had a thread on here somewhere about them.
 
#14 ·
I've run a lot of tires in more than a million miles of driving in my lifetime. (I drove a truck, van, and company SUV for years, at about 55-60k per year.) My experience says there are brands which are good, and brands which arent. I personally like BFG, Bridgestone, Michelen, Kelly, Cooper, and Firestone, when it comes to truck tires. I've had several sets of Goodyears which weren't round, so I've sworn off of them. Dunlop used to make good tires, but the last set I had was not good, and gave me separations from 3 out of a total of 7 (including replacements under warranty). Folks have good results from Toyo, Nitto, and others, as well.

You don't have to buy the most expensive tire to get good ones. But you have to rotate them properly (which includes crossing them so all four tires get time in the highest wear position(s). Keeping an alignment and proper air pressure are a hard requirement, as well.

I'm running the original BFG TA/KOs in an E-rated 275/70x18 (OEM size for my T). So far, at 20k miles, wear is nowhere close to half. Noise isn't bad, but it's getting louder. Of course, it's about time to rotate so that will likely help a little with noise. Wet and dry traction are excellent, as is the limited snow traction I've seen with these, which is only a few days a year for the past two years. I made it up to my mountain deer lease and bounced around the snowy 2-ruts back in January, with no trouble at all. These aren't the sexiest, newest, or hottest tire out there, but they work great and wear like iron, so far. I'm fully expecting close to 60k out of them based on wear so far.
 
#15 ·
Personally, I only purchase Michelin or Hankook's for my trucks. The Hankook's are slightly cheaper than the Michelin's and have a similar tread pattern.
 
#16 ·
Depends what your looking for. I prefer a long tread life. Stock good- years barely lasted 30K. I then went to a cooper (CST maybe?) rated as a 70K mile tire. They lasted about 50K including a couple nice smokey burnouts.
I was a bit disappointed and now im running Toyo HT, and they are the best so far.
Michelin decent tire, but way overpriced. There are many good tires that cost less
 
#17 ·
Since tires are application specific....you need to decide what's most important to you, like titan14 said. After that, you have to decide which compromises you're willing to make. If you spend 90% of your time on the highway, an M/S or AT isn't going to service like an HT will. Cold weather traction is a function of sipe design and number, not big blocks. Take a look at any Blizzack. I tow a lot, so my application is quiet highway with max load bearing. Good luck and I hope you find what you're looking for.
 
#20 ·
I use to always buy A/T or Mud terrains but with this titan I do most, if not all, on road driving. The tires that were on it when I bought it were Toyo open country H/T and at their limit and needed to be replaced after 50k miles. We had a decent winter and, to my surprise, they performed awesome on ice even with barely a quarter inch of tread. I was so impressed that I purchased them again and drove through a big blizzard this past january. I literally drove through 24" of snow for about a football field to get out of our neighborhood which wasn't plowed to get to work. Out of 250 employees I was 1 of 5 who made it in to work. I now understand how much more important sipes are than lugs on a tire when it comes to ice and snow. From here on out I'll be buying these tires for this truck and our suv's in the future. I highly recommend Toyo Open Country H/T's.
 
#21 ·
If you are looking for an all-terrain, look at the Hankook Dynapro ATM; I have about 53k miles on mine over 6 years with about 6/32" tread remaining. These are the longest lasting tire that I've owned to date. The only issue from the vehicle sitting as a secondary driver for 2 different years in the last 6 years is that I'm starting to see fine cracks in the tread and expect dry rot to creep into the sidewall before long. That's just my fault from not drink the truck enough while daily driving other lease vehicles for both of those 1 year time periods (2011-2012 and 2015-2016).

However, like someone else mentioned above, if you want the best, get Michelin. Since my needs are changing and will need Highway All-Season tires, I'm buying Michelin Defender LTX M/S for my Titan. These have really good traction and handling ratings on Tirerack.com, and they are low rolling resistance, which might help with fuel economy. Depending on the road conditions, it seems as if Michelin tires were the most consistent brand for my other lease vehicles and other vehicle test drives compared to other brands.
 
#22 ·
I do not feel bad for you having to pay under 800. in Canada cost me over 1400 for my tires
 
#23 ·
It cost me the same here in the USA...stock size too.
 
#26 ·
Another vote for the Michelin LTX MS2. Super smooth and not showing any wear after 10k miles
 
#31 ·
I'll second the Yoks...

I had a set of Yokohama Geolander AT/S on my Sequoia from 88,000 to 140,000 LOVED THEM

Long trips(NY to NC 2-3X a year for 7 years), short trips... snow, mud, lawn, dry, wet(never hydroplaned)... They were AMAZING. They handled great, I'd almost say sporty. Quiet tire with great traction.

They were light weight... when I took them off and put the Falken Wild Peak AT/3W on.. the weight difference was noticeable >5lbs.

The only reason I didn't put Yoks back on was there was about $360 in rebates from DTD on the Falkens (Which looked BadA$$) The Falkens were a great tire for the price (I think I paid $530 for all 4 delivered...)..and I was real happy with them for sure... but the Yoks were a truly amazing tire from new to almost bald. Lowest TCO and best ROI of any tire I've used in 30 years of licensed driving. (The Falkens were a little squishy, and a bit noisier that the Yoks.. not awful, but noticable... still an amazing deal for a nice looking and riding tire)

They dont make the AT/S in a size for the Titan.. they do make a AT/G015, if you shop smart, I use Discount Tire Direct... with the current rebate, and their c-card, the Yoks are about $150 in 18" and 175 in 20"... even if you drive "Somewhat Spirited".. you'll see at least 55,000 very usable miles on them... The Falkens for our truck are $115 and $140 right now(same rebates/discounts) i cant speak to longevity.. sold the sequoia when i bought this Titan.

I have the SR/A on my truck now...when I put snows on(BlizzaKs).. I found one is almost new... the others are half gone (Thankin' that amazing dealer once again). Haven't driven many miles on them...they didn't seem too bad, but the size difference (tread depth) has me thinking replacement(unless i can find a used one with similar tread depth cheap)

When I do replace my summers.. it will be with the Yokohama (unless theres another amazing Falken deal)

I do strongly recommend Discount Tire... they match (in my case they have always done far better when i asked for a match) price, are SUPER fast.. and are just really nice folks. Must be a nice company to work for.. you can tell they are happy in their jobs.

The Goodys Fishn was talkin' about are amazing too... we have them on work trucks... they are bulletproof, grippy, and relatively quiet...and last forever... I just wouldn't get the extra $$$ in value back from how I use my tires.
 
#32 · (Edited)
My truck has the same Michelins on it. I bought the truck in July 2015 with 90k miles. Found the receipt in the glove box from the tire store, the Michelins were installed at 31k miles to the tune of $1400. I'm sitting at 110k miles now and they are nearing needing replaced. So yeah, they are expensive, but last forever.

That being said, I'm going with the Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza Plus. They are my go to tire for trucks/SUVs, been using them for years. Compared to the Michelins they ride just as good if not better, are quieter, and are 80k tires just as well. But at about $800 a set. They are great.
 
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