Help me pick new tires for my F-150

2013 F-150 3.5 Ecoboost SuperCrew, RWD.  Use case:

- It's my daily driver and 99% of it's miles are on paved surfaces. I'd like it to be as quiet and comfortable as practical.

- I use it to tow my 8x20' enclosed race trailer.  I use a WDH, the trailer and everything in it probably weighs around 6,000 lbs.  Tongue weight around 700ish?

- A couple times a month I drive on gravel/dirt roads, often muddy, but that's as much offroad capability as I need.

-  I live in Atlanta but drive it north to OH/PA for family holidays so it needs to have some winter traction.

It currently has Hankook Dynapro AT2 passenger rated tires.  Overall they've done OK, but they're down to the wear bars and the wet traction is terrible.  Ride is acceptable, a little crashy over bumps.  Never had any issues with towing.  My rear axle GVWR is 3850 lbs.  Passenger tires seem to have load capacities around 2400 lbs; even with a 10% safety factor, they have more capacity than the axle itself.  Light Truck tires may be overkill but sometimes overkill is nice when it comes to towing and hauling.

Which of the following options would you consider?

#1-  a good passenger all-season like a Michelin LTX.  Would be quiet and comfortable, but not great traction on dirt roads and snow/ice.

#2- another "poser" AT tire like a Yokohama Geolandar or Continental TerrainContact A/T.  Seems like they have managable ride and road noise, with better traction in dirt and snow.  Plus they look cooler, which isn't a primary factor but I'm vain enough to admit that it matters.

#3- a true all terrain LT tire, like a BFG KO2.  I'm generally a guy that likes to be over-equipped for things, but they weigh almost 15 pounds more per tire and will be much stiffer compared to a passenger tire.  I'm assuming that they'll be quite a bit noisier on the highway.  Great dirt and snow traction, truck guy cred, look awesome.

Right now I'm leaning towards #2 but I wanted to see what the hive had to say.

#1, in fact I was coming in to recommend that exact tire. The Expedition is currently wearing it's second set. They are fantastic tires, quiet, long-lasting, stable, with good all-season traction. Just a very high quality product, as you'd expect from Michelin.

Our use case is almost identical to yours, except we live in Michigan so snow traction is more important.

But I do get the vanity thing. Eventually when we move my wife into a smaller DD and I take over the Expedition, I want to replace the factory 20" wheels with some 18" F-150 takeoffs, and I may go the "poseur" AT route when I do. Ostensibly for better winter traction, but mostly for looks. 

For my Prius Fleet I have been buying Falken Brand tires and I have been very please.  I have seen others here say positive things about the Falken AT3 but I have not had them.  I buy my Falkens at tirebuyer.com and their prices are always very good.  

I had Michelin LTXs on my truck for the entire time I had 15" wheels on it.  I wish I could find them in a size that would work with the Lightning wheels and my speedo.

Go with them.

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

Dont underestimate the traction of a good Michelin or Bridgestone tire  in less than prime weather . It may not be as great as a Blizzacks but it's miles better than the average all season  

I had a similar use case as you for my E250 and Curtis recommended the Conti in an E load range. I absolutely love them. Quiet, drive well, I haven't gotten stuck yet in a 2WD van in the dirt without a LSD. They look good too, though not as rugged and butch as the K02s or Toyo, Nitto, or Goodyear.

If you want everyone to think you've got a brass pair, go with the K02s. BFG must sell 10 sets for every other tire. I see them on every Wrangler, Sprinter, truck and SUV. To me, they are the stance tire.

Thanks guys. I had a set of LTX's on my old Tahoe and they were the bee's knees, but I lived in Texas at the time and didn't worry about things like towing or winter weather. I kinda agree with CyberEric that KO2's are the tire of choice for hardparkers everywhere.  Look cool and very capable but I'd rather not sacrifice on noise and ride quality just to be "that guy".  

ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) said:

#2- another "poser" AT tire like a Yokohama Geolandar or Continental TerrainContact A/T.  Seems like they have managable ride and road noise, with better traction in dirt and snow.  Plus they look cooler, which isn't a primary factor but I'm vain enough to admit that it matters.

 

I'm in the same boat - I drive a lot of road miles in my Silverado and as we used to say in high school - dude, your 4x4 has the same tires as your mom's station wagon.  I might go with #1 as I drive a lot at high speeds as the highways around Chicago most are going 75-80mph.  

If it says anything, my entire fleet (see signature) is running on the Michelin LTX's. No complaints with wet road or snow performance.

The LTX MS2 is the one. It's mud and snow rated. M and S. Offroad capability isn't great but it will be great in longevity, comfort, and wet traction. 

I've seen quite a few sets of the earlier ltx ms go over 100k miles with little reduction in performance close to the end. I had a set on the 2003 dodge got 108K miles.

Bridgestone makes good tires but all of their street tires will have less off road traction than the MS or give up everything else big.

For your uses it really is the best option.

The KO2 is a great tire but it's way too aggressive for your use.

Any thoughts on the difference between the LTX MS2 vs. the Defender LTX?  Only difference I found in the specs on Tirerack is that the Defender has a little higher load rating, 2400 vs. 2200. 

In reply to ShinnyGroove (Forum Supporter) :

I'm a little behind but it looks like the Defender MS is replacing the MS2.

Also it's not snow rated. I would have sworn it was. It doesn't have the snowflake. We only get it once or twice a year in TX but mine were always great in it

I sound like a broken record, but you are like the 5th person to ask a question for which the answer is Continental TerrainContact AT.

It is specifically designed as an A/T for soccer mom SUVs who spend 95% of their time on pavement but need rain/snow/light offroad every once in a while.  I've have a set on my Fordzda Branger for 2 years now and I will shout it from the rooftops.  They are quieter than the H/T rib tires on my 1/2 ton van.  Don't know how, don't care.

I have given them a pretty good workout offroad and they are great.  Not slickrock/moab great, but every bit as good as any other A/T in offroad situations, but they are so stoopid quiet on the highway.  In fact, I have never heard them.  Wind and engine noise is always louder than road noise.

Also need to add.... I had the Dynapros on my previous truck, a 2002 F150.  They were just terrible in the wet, terrible in deep snow, and I never really tried them in something off road.  They were loud, cupped terribly if I didn't rotate at every oil change, and I never liked them.

Perhaps some help from the project car (truck) section of our site: Understanding the Difference Between LT Truck Tires and P-Metric Car Tires

In reply to Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) :

In tireracks ratings the Defender LTx out scored the continental on every category except noise comfort and the off road section. It's personal ratings so take them with a grain of salt but overall a higher percentage of LTx buyers said they would buy again than the continental buyers.

I wasn't a continental fan for a long time but they have come a long way recently across their whole line, and I will say the Continental is for sure a good tire.

The question comes down to are you willing to give up something in your 99% use for your 1% use

I have the Defender LTX on my Tacoma and CX5 as summer tires. They have performed well in all conditions. I towed my pontoon and lately my boat with the Tacoma with no concerns. Since relocating further south this year I am contemplating selling my dedicated winter tires and wheels and using the LTX year round.

Cooper Discoverer AT3.  As soon as my wife's Jeep arrived I ordered a set of these in one-size-larger than it came with and we are very pleased.  They are aggressive enough to go off road but very quiet on the road.  Also very reasonable in price.

My RAM 2500 has LTXs that the PO had just installed.  I must admit these ride and handle very well.  We drove the truck from CT to IA and back this summer and the tires don't look like they traveled 10 feet.  My bet is that with rotations I can get 60k miles out of them, which would easily justify the price.

I have run the MS2 and currently have the Defenders on my 2011 F150. The MS2 was great in the snow, I lived in NY and was able to drive to work during snow storms no problem, couple times with 6"+ on the roads. I was surprised at the grip they had in 2WD and 4WD. I have Defenders now because I think they are phasing out the MS2 because I couldn't get them in my truck's size. Both have been great, the only difference I have seen is the Defender seems to be wearing less than the MS2. In NC there is a ton of worn, rough pavement and they are very quiet.

I have a 2011 F150 and am just now replacing the original Hankooks that have 90K miles on them with some Cooper Discoverer AT3s. The Hankooks were fine most of the time, but I've been stuck a few times that I really shouldn't have been, like in a grass yard that had been rained on the day before when they had 10k miles. The Coopers should handle better and should outlast the Hankooks, since they have a better tread rating. They also have a higher speed rating, which isn't really relevant since my truck is governed to 99MPH.

I run Michelin Defender LTX's on both my current vehicles, and the other suv I sold.  My Armada, which does roughly 20k/year, 4,000 of of which is towing  a 23 foot camper, is now at 50,000 miles on the tires. Its still got about half the initial tread depth remaining. I live on a dirt road and pound many miles at speed on loose gravel, and run these through Michigan winter. I'm completely sold on them.   Quiet, capable and efficient, still wearing evenly, still have great traction. I expect i'll hit somewhere around 90K miles before I toss em. 

  Knobby tires do look better on trucks than these more highway oriented tread patterns, and i do wish I could lift it, tear off the running boards and put some beefy tires on....... but my reality is the same as yours, my rig spends it's time primarily on the highway, not forging streams in the Rockies. 

Great feedback guys. Right now the Defender LTX is my leading choice, followed by the TerrainContact A/T. I definitely prioritize highway manners over looks, and it seems like the LTX doesn't give much away to the A/T tires in terms of grip or towing/hauling capabilities. Will continue to research. 

I have run the LTX, KO2, and Discoverer AT3 on my trucks and the Geolandars on a small SUV. The LTX is a fantastic all around tire, pretty much my benchmark for a truck tire (as long as you dont ask too much of it offroad). It does well in the snow as well, but it will have trouble getting purchase in sticky mud or wet grass (like pulling a trailer out of a yard after it rains). It is also nearly as good now with ~70% wear as it was when it was new. The KO2 is an OK tire, but does not have the level of on-road grip as the LTX, and its snow traction is not as good as most people would expect (but I also get my tires in a pizza cutter size, 235/85r16). I found a better alternative to be the general grabber, it did everything the KO2 did at a cheaper price point and I have no complaints about any general tires that I have ever run. Also along similar lines, the wrangler duratrac was a much better A/T tire than the KO2 was in every way. Even on highway, the duratrac was much less noisy than the KO2 and provided better traction despite looking much more aggressive. The AT3 was an OK tire at best, offroad traction was decent, and it wore like a rock, but the ride also felt like a rock, and the on road grip was just OK, it also was the loudest tire I had ever run, and I couldnt seem to keep balance once it wore past 50%. I would not run them again. The geolander AT G015 are a new set that we got about a year ago, and so far they have been quite good all around, snow, rain, highway, light offroad. I would not consider this a poser tire at all, it just works. It does well everywhere and I would say they are somewhere between the LTX and Duratrac in performance and Im very happy with them. 

TR7, how does the highway road noise of the Geolandar compare to the LTX?  

Another vote for the LTX, I have them on a 2015 jeep Grand Cherokee. 20" wheels

Have great road manners, wear evenly and slowly, can't tell much worn after 20k on them. We tow a 4500lbs travel trailer with it, with the Michelin at 42lbs.

Have done different off road trails in Colorado and Big Bend Texas and they have good traction. Surprised me at what they've climbed.

Have also driven on plenty of soft Texas beaches (Matagorda, Padre Island etc) and even at those 42lbs and dragging belly (until I raise the air bag suspension) they pull it through everything. 

Haven't driven deep mud with them. 

Good luck