I'm shopping for tires, planning on buying a set of all-terrains in the next week or two. I don't really know squat about tires, other than what I've just learned in the past few hours. I've never owned a 4x4 vehicle and done much off-pavement driving, either, so I've always just bought whatever on-road tires the tire shop recommended. This will be my first set of tires I've purchased since I bought my (used) Latitude last summer, and this time, I'd like to make a more informed decision. I'll likely be purchasing these tires online, from either tirerack.com or simpletire.com
99+% of my driving is on pavement in either dry or rainy conditions. It doesn't snow in my immediate area (Northern California), but I occasionally visit a few places up in the mountains that may have snow in the winter. I also try to go camping at least a few times a year, and I like to find some relatively remote places to camp. (Dirt roads tend to keep the crowds out, and I actually like to enjoy the peace, quiet and solitude nature provides, without a bunch of obnoxious college kids getting belligerent and blasting shitty music. Fuqk me, right?) My in-laws just got a little place <5 minutes from the Tahoe National Forest border, so I'm really hoping to get out and explore that area this summer. So while these tires will live a mostly domesticated life, they need to be able to perform when it's their time to shine. I won't be doing any real heavy-duty off-roading, mostly just the average un-maintained, rural dirt road type stuff. I like an aggressive look, although aggressive performance is much more important. I've narrowed it down to a few choices. What are your guys' thoughts on these tires I'm looking at?
Cooper Discoverer A/T3 (these come with a rebate from Cooper in the form of a $70 Visa gift card)
Toyo Open Country A/T II
Yokohama Geolandar G015
Kumho Road Venture AT51
I've heard a lot of great things about the BF Goodrich KO2, but it's about $15-30 per tire more than any of these others. Is it worth the difference?
Another thing I'd like your opinion on is tire size. Currently I have the stock Firestone Destinations in 225/65/17. Though around the forum I'm noticing a lot of people are running larger tires. Would I benefit much from jumping up to say, a 245/70/17? With those tires I referenced, the price difference is about an extra $5-10 per tire. Why should or shouldn't I spend an extra $20-40 to go a little bigger?
225 * .65 = 146.25
245 * .70 = 171.50
I understand the mathematics of it, but how do those numbers translate into real-world performance? Or affect other considerations, such as speedometer calibration?
Thanks in advance for any insight you guys can give!
99+% of my driving is on pavement in either dry or rainy conditions. It doesn't snow in my immediate area (Northern California), but I occasionally visit a few places up in the mountains that may have snow in the winter. I also try to go camping at least a few times a year, and I like to find some relatively remote places to camp. (Dirt roads tend to keep the crowds out, and I actually like to enjoy the peace, quiet and solitude nature provides, without a bunch of obnoxious college kids getting belligerent and blasting shitty music. Fuqk me, right?) My in-laws just got a little place <5 minutes from the Tahoe National Forest border, so I'm really hoping to get out and explore that area this summer. So while these tires will live a mostly domesticated life, they need to be able to perform when it's their time to shine. I won't be doing any real heavy-duty off-roading, mostly just the average un-maintained, rural dirt road type stuff. I like an aggressive look, although aggressive performance is much more important. I've narrowed it down to a few choices. What are your guys' thoughts on these tires I'm looking at?
Cooper Discoverer A/T3 (these come with a rebate from Cooper in the form of a $70 Visa gift card)
Toyo Open Country A/T II
Yokohama Geolandar G015
Kumho Road Venture AT51
I've heard a lot of great things about the BF Goodrich KO2, but it's about $15-30 per tire more than any of these others. Is it worth the difference?
Another thing I'd like your opinion on is tire size. Currently I have the stock Firestone Destinations in 225/65/17. Though around the forum I'm noticing a lot of people are running larger tires. Would I benefit much from jumping up to say, a 245/70/17? With those tires I referenced, the price difference is about an extra $5-10 per tire. Why should or shouldn't I spend an extra $20-40 to go a little bigger?
225 * .65 = 146.25
245 * .70 = 171.50
I understand the mathematics of it, but how do those numbers translate into real-world performance? Or affect other considerations, such as speedometer calibration?
Thanks in advance for any insight you guys can give!