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PeacefulSoul

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I need to buy a new set of tires for my Ford E250.  I know I need 245/16 E's.  Any recommendations on brand, type?  Anything I should stay away from?  I need tires that will carry a load on both the highway and dirt and of course the desert boon docking. :angel:
 
for what you are talking I like BFG, Michelin, and Cooper. I know others will chime in, tires are like asking what's better
Ford or Chevy. you will get a million answers. I would however stay away from off brand tires made in China. make sure to get road hazard. highdesertranger
 
I'm a really big fan of Goodyear Wranglers. I have the mud version on my back tires and they work really great. My girlfriend has the all-season version on all 4 of her van and she just bought a second set with 50,000 miles on the first set. And they are a pretty aggressive tread, ideal for the desert.

You can get them with Kevlar on the sidewalls and I recommend you it. The desert has some sharp rocks that seems to jump up and try to eat your sidewalls.
Bob
 
Bob wrote, "The desert has some sharp rocks that seems to jump up and try to eat your sidewalls". x2 yes it does. this is one reason why quality tires are a must. highdesertranger
 
I like to use Tire Rack, lots of good reviews.
 
A friend of mine who is the master tech at the local Sears auto says that Goodyear has gone downhill in durability lately.  He has run them for years on his 4x4.  Sad since Goodyear has a good selection of armored kevlar tires.  Honestly I have no other input on armored tires.  

I can tell you that I have four sets of the LTX MS2 on three Ford pickups and my 2012 Savana 3500.   It is hard to imagine a better light truck tire.  I hate mushy tires,  The MS2 has a supple yet firm ride.  Better off road than you would think for what is supposed to be a highway tire.  Two of my trucks are 4x4's and I don't really off road but do drive often on pretty nasty Forrest service roads w/o any damage issues.  Long wear and superior fuel economy.   Recently my Savana 3500 cargo van got 23.24 mpg on it's new set of ms2's .  The van was totally empty, wheels freshly aligned and, yes I was really driving for mpg.

Happy trails out there.
 
Your tire size is incomplete, so I can not pull up a direct link. The series is missing, ( such as 245/70/16). Pay attention to the load rating designation. I use load rated E tires. They will hold more weight than D rated. Not only that, but you can fill them to a higher pressure as well, (which can help with rolling resistance, better gas mileage). My personal favorite is the General Grabber AT2 series. The tread is a bit aggressive for dirt/ snow use, so they are not a real quiet tire. I bought mine from Tire Rack and had Wally put them on. Youtube has a number of test reviews on them. Just search General Grabber AT2.
 
While you might not NEED an AT tire 99% of the time, it is nice to have them when needed.

I think it was 4 summers ago, I got Kumho SAT KL61 as they were rated the highest on tirerack. I brought the print out to Discount tire and they price matched the delivered price.

I now see that they are not rated good at all, down at 15, of 18, that the BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2 is currently rated highest by the consumer.

But, the 'total reported miles' is still low, just like my Kumho's were when first bought.

The Firestone Destination AT was #2 years ago and is still number 2 now with very high ratings.

While I kind of wish I got those instead, my Korean made( not Chinese) Kumhos have been a good tire, that have not seen enough offroading to justify an AT tire, but for such an aggressive tread, they remain pretty quiet, and did have excellent traction and manners offroad. On road too for that matter as I pushed them to and past their limits descending the Sierras like a madman.

I do not have much mileage on them. They will die of old age before the tread even reaches half depth. They are 4 years old now, and people still ask me about my new tires as the tread is still so deep, and some Aerospace 303 keeps them looking new. I'll probably not pay attention to the 5 year rule as long as the sidewalls remain crack free.

These were my Old tires, Michelin XCX-APT at 8 years old and 65K miles:
8yomichytread_zps0b9e3148.jpg


They saw lots of Baja washboard at speed, aired down without issue, and unfortunately and foolishly, dollar store tire shine.

Never use products that contain petroleum distillates on tires, and most tire shine products, have them.

Load range E is an LT tire( light truck), where as P245/xx/17's are a passenger tire. Passenger tires have softer sidewalls and ride nicer but are less puncture resistant. They come in standard load SL, as well as XL, extra load.

Recommend you stick with LT 245/xx/17 Load range E rather than getting an XL rated passenger tire. Passenger tires must be weight derated by about 10% in a Van or truck.
 
I have BF Goodrich Rugged Terrain T/A LT265/70/R17's on my Ram 2500.

  • Quiet on the highway (hard to tell with a 3/4 T),
  • Hard riding (again hard to tell & have them inflated to 75 psi for highway),
  • Should get 50,000+ miles out of them (37K now, 1/4" tread depth),
  • OK in wet (no evidence of hydroplaning),
  • OK but not great on dirt (limited traction on loose dirt; spin, don't dig),
  • OK in light snow, spin in deep snow (tread too tight, won't clean),
  • Suck on ice (but what tire doesn't?),
  • Suck in mud (same reason as deep snow).

I would be concerned with these in the desert (little experience) if you run into soft sand.  Good on gravel roads.  Won't try a muddy road.  Good highway tire.  I will replace them with something more aggressive when they wear out.

Have had good luck with Bridgestone Desert Duelers and BFG T/A's in the past.
Have a friend that has Cooper ST Maxx and loves them (both highway and off road).

Here is an article on Expeditions West that might be of interest:
http://www.expeditionswest.com/research/white_papers/tire_selection_rev1.html

-- Spiff
 

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