LT Rated AT Truck Tires

[DonJuan]

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bump.

Looking for truck/SUV tires for a pavement princess that will be the primary tire. Priorities in this order: Winter traction (snowflake rating), wear, noise, cost.

275/60/20 if that matters. What I have so far -

Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S
Firestone Destination A/T2
Falken Wildpeak
Michelin LTX

If its a pavement princess I'd go Michelin LTX. Quiet and long wear life. Can do better for snow winter traction, but added noise and more wear is the trade off.

Maybe look at some actual All Weather tires? I had some Toyo Celsius on my previous family SUV and it was pretty decent in winter.

[ExtraSlow]

Michelin LTX is usually the answer to every question.

[jutes]

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If its a pavement princess I'd go Michelin LTX. Quiet and long wear life. Can do better for snow winter traction, but added noise and more wear is the trade off.

Maybe look at some actual All Weather tires? I had some Toyo Celsius on my previous family SUV and it was pretty decent in winter.

What’s the difference between “All Weather” vs a snowflake rated AT?

[haggis88]

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What’s the difference between “All Weather” vs a snowflake rated AT?

Pretty much the same as the difference between a regular A/T and an All-Season...the A/T will usually be more geared toward doing gravelly roads or muddy tracks and an all-season is for road driving

The Toyo ATIII is a good one that has a snowflake rating and as I mentioned, I quite like the Coopers too

If you're going to an LT rated on (what sounds like) a half-ton, it's not going to have as good a winter performance as a standard load as it will be much stiffer

[DonJuan]

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What’s the difference between “All Weather” vs a snowflake rated AT?

The "real" All Weather tires are more like an all season with a snowflake that does well in winter. Now please take that with a grain of salt as the tire market is flooded with manufacturers that have all weather ratings, 4 seasons, and many unregulated rating systems. Most are just all seasons with marketing, but some are decent.

All the all weather tires that I've seen are not LT rated, but all are less aggressive tread pattern for less road noise and wear.

The LTX has all the characteristics of an all weather tire.

@tirebob help out here? This all weather tire thing is a real can of worms.

[ExtraSlow]

P-rated vs LT-C vs LT-E is already controversial enough for half-ton or smaller trucks. Layer in All-season vs All-weather and it gets pretty weird and individual. There is not a widespread single answer.

[jutes]

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The "real" All Weather tires are more like an all season with a snowflake that does well in winter. Now please take that with a grain of salt as the tire market is flooded with manufacturers that have all weather ratings, 4 seasons, and many unregulated rating systems. Most are just all seasons with marketing, but some are decent.

All the all weather tires that I've seen are not LT rated, but all are less aggressive tread pattern for less road noise and wear.

The LTX has all the characteristics of an all weather tire.

@tirebob help out here? This all weather tire thing is a real can of worms.

Yeah maybe tirebob can chime in.

This is for an Armada for what its worth. Here in Southern Sask the snow isn't too horrific and usually blows off the frozen highways in the winter. This won't be for any deep stuff, just for mainly road and highway use. I know the answer is a dedicated snow tire, but trying to avoid it if I can for a good all-weather.

[haggis88]

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Yeah maybe tirebob can chime in.

This is for an Armada for what its worth. Here in Southern Sask the snow isn't too horrific and usually blows off the frozen highways in the winter. This won't be for any deep stuff, just for mainly road and highway use. I know the answer is a dedicated snow tire, but trying to avoid it if I can for a good all-weather.

Are 90% of the roads in Southern Sask gravel, or is it just where I've been?

I managed a couple weeks in the dead of last winter in a Ford Explorer on the stock all seasons down all the gravel shite that Esterhazy could throw at me

[DonJuan]

If not doing any heavy towing prob don't need the LT 10 ply and all the stiff ride from it.

[ExtraSlow]

I sure wouldn't want LT tires on an armada.

[jutes]

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Are 90% of the roads in Southern Sask gravel, or is it just where I've been?

I managed a couple weeks in the dead of last winter in a Ford Explorer on the stock all seasons down all the gravel shite that Esterhazy could throw at me

Yes 90% are gravel lol but normally frozen over with a layer of ice. I fired off a few quotes for the Michelin LTX and see where that takes me. The stock Bridgestone's are garbage even in the summer.

[DonJuan]

Nissan has this boner for Bridgestone that I hope I never understand.

[zechs]

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If not doing any heavy towing prob don't need the LT 10 ply and all the stiff ride from it.

I'd be curious how LT "c" tires would be versus LT "e" which most LT tires are.

I just put the Wildpeaks on the dirtymax, so I have no reference to give for winter tires. They are quiet relative to the diesel engine, but they definitely make some light noise. Quite comfortable, especially if you aren't someone that decides running 55+psi at all times is necessary.

But having owned a lot of trucks through lots of winters, the answer is winter tires for winter in the lighter trucks. Just not enough weight to get good traction with all seasons, including the LTX.

Open countries and duratracs rate "good" in winter, but having been on OC3's in the winter, I disagree with that.

I think Michelin has a more winter appropriate LTX designed for people like yourself. But LTX is definitely the go to.

[tirebob]

Sorry for the late reply gents! Power has been out at our place since 1:00PM. Just came back on a few minutes ago.

So "All Weather" and "All Season" both carry the M&S symbol. Now "All Weather" and "Winter" both carry the 3PMS (3 Peak Mountain Snowflake) symbol on top of M&S but the "All Season" does not.

Basically the idea is that an All Weather tire has demonstrated a minimum 10% improvement over an all season. Over what bench mark tire, who can really say, but that is what it is. It is not a government implemented standard but instead is an Industry implemented standard that the government adopts.

You can't really just go by something having the symbol as being good in winter, because 10% is pathetic, but that said, many are definitely much better than just 10% better. It is more than a matter of it being an AT or normal passenger tire. Since the minimum is a 10% improvement, many tires can barely pass and still be branded. You need to look at the differences in the tire design and how you intend to use the vehicle situationally, and then buy accordingly like anything else.

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The "real" All Weather tires are more like an all season with a snowflake that does well in winter. Now please take that with a grain of salt as the tire market is flooded with manufacturers that have all weather ratings, 4 seasons, and many unregulated rating systems. Most are just all seasons with marketing, but some are decent.

All the all weather tires that I've seen are not LT rated, but all are less aggressive tread pattern for less road noise and wear.

The LTX has all the characteristics of an all weather tire.

@tirebob help out here? This all weather tire thing is a real can of worms.

[sxtasy]

I haven't seen any mention of Nitto's. I have been pretty happy with them. Current setup on my Duramax is Nitto Ridge Grappler for summer, studded Duratracs for winter, both tires look and perform good. I have also ran Toyo Open Country's and have been very happy with them overall.

[jutes]

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Sorry for the late reply gents! Power has been out at our place since 1:00PM. Just came back on a few minutes ago.

So "All Weather" and "All Season" both carry the M&S symbol. Now "All Weather" and "Winter" both carry the 3PMS (3 Peak Mountain Snowflake) symbol on top of M&S but the "All Season" does not.

Basically the idea is that an All Weather tire has demonstrated a minimum 10% improvement over an all season. Over what bench mark tire, who can really say, but that is what it is. It is not a government implemented standard but instead is an Industry implemented standard that the government adopts.

You can't really just go by something having the symbol as being good in winter, because 10% is pathetic, but that said, many are definitely much better than just 10% better. It is more than a matter of it being an AT or normal passenger tire. Since the minimum is a 10% improvement, many tires can barely pass and still be branded. You need to look at the differences in the tire design and how you intend to use the vehicle situationally, and then buy accordingly like anything else.

So what tire would you recommend for a full-size SUV/truck that is good for winter use?

[killramos]

The standard of winter for the 3PMS logo is extremely low.

I had a set of Pirellis p zeros with the symbol that were properly useless.

The duratracs on my sierra left me wanting for very little in winter / cold conditions. In a lot of cases they performed better than the dedicated winters I have had on other vehicles. They only really fell short on sheer ice. Studs are helpful with that but I doubt you would want studs on duratracs year round.

I used to run good year ultra grip ice wrt’s on my FJ cruiser. They seemed good too. And no one would mistake them for an off road tire.

I have dunlop winter max SJ8s on my wife’s little SUV which also seem quite good.

[zipdoa]

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So what tire would you recommend for a full-size SUV/truck that is good for winter use?

Hakkapeliitta LT3, non studded.

[jutes]

Great suggestions so far. Most quotes I've received for the LTXs are $1800-2000 installed.

Canadatire has the Cooper AT3 4S on sale with a mail-in rebate right now for about $800 less total. I don't think the LTXs are worth the $800 over the AT3s for example.

[DonJuan]

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So what tire would you recommend for a full-size SUV/truck that is good for winter use?

As an example, the difference in the Michelin Cross Climate 2 and Cross Climate SUV are so different (almost no siping in the CC SUV) yet both carry the mountain snow flake.

I'm interested in what Bob's recommendation as well.

I was in this same situation in October and ended up going winter wheels/tires and summer wheels/tires on the daily drivers to avoid the headache.

I'd also check the Hakka WR G4 and still think the Michelin Cross Climate 2 is worth a look.

+1 on Killy's review of Duratracs.