What brand of All Season tires should I get?

[DaveK]

Location - Chester, NY.

I am taking delivery of a Premium and going to buy a second set of rims & tires to use in the winter. In your opinion... for winter only use which should I be looking more closely at?

I can get a set of OEM rims with the following tire choices:

• Goodyear Wrangler
• Bridgestone Dueler
• BF Goodrich Trail Terrain
• Toyo Open Country
• Falken Wild Peak

Which would you choose?

Thank you

 

[TexasD-90]

Either BFG A/T KO3 or the Falken Wildpeak A/T4 W

My opinion, stay away from anything from Bridgestone and Goodyear. I’m no tire expert, but I have used many of them and owned an offroad shop. Never had or received complaints from BFG or Falken tires. Rarely heard anything positive about Bridgestone or Goodyear.

 

[munkeeboi]

is cost of the tire a factor? Concerned about mileage, tire weight, or Load rating? Toyo or the Falken out of those choices, but there are other things to consider outside of brand.

 

[Warrantero]

I have the new Bridgestone A/T Ascents, very quiet good in snow and rain.

 

[DJ’s Sled]

I’ll throw in my limited experience here to maybe help you.

Of those 5, I voted the Toyo Open Country. But my experience is ONLY with the Original Equip 18” version on the GX Overtrail. Driving on various frozen, ice, packed snow in CO it was truly excellent. Driving at higher speeds from VA back to CO a few weeks ago along I-64 with deepening slush-snow..it was outstanding. My technique was lighter coverage areas I used Normal drive mode, then as road worsened I just selected the ATS and left it in auto (which leaves most or all trac control and related systems on). But I think the ATS is not on the Premium trims. Was amazing how fast I could drive. Zero issues.

Having said that - considering a Premium trim, and dedicated winter setup - I would recommend a full fledged snow tire. I assume in winter you may not be concerned with mileage, weight or towing; staying out of ditches and avoiding damages becomes the highest priority.

If price is a strong factor..then on this forum you can likely get a set of the 18” OT wheels and also find the stock 18” OE Toyo tires. Again, they are outstanding in winter conditions.

If you’re remaining with a 20” rim (?) then you have plenty of true winter, or, modern All Terrain (with the 3PMSF snow rating) to choose from.
I can’t speak to the other 4 tires you’re looking at (or even the normal, everyday version of the Toyo). No experience with modern iterations of those tires.

Prior to selling my ‘22 Sequoia I was using the Continental VikingContact 7 snow tire. It was great on that less sophisticated Sequoia drivetrain. Last season I did 25 round trips to my local mountain, and 43 the season before with that tire.

My intent, like yours, is a dedicated set of winters. Depending how my experience goes with the Nitto G3 I just installed (and my ability health-wise to return to the slopes again next season) I may use them for one snow season.
If not, then I’m planning to move the G3s to a wider 18” rim..and install a set of Continentals on my OE OT 18” rims.

 

[jfalabrino]

I have the Toyo Open Country on my OT and so far I find them to be very good.

 

[Let’s Gooo!]

I was in the same boat and really glad I went with the Toyo A/T 3s, absolutely love them.

It was a huge improvement from the horrible Dunlops.

 

[serbiansizzle]

If this is your daily and you value keeping your MPG where it's at then make sure you look at the weight between all of your selections. Load rating and weight will kill your mpgs.

Look for an SL rated tire, its the same as the OEM ratings, and compare weights. Some of the Falken Wildpeaks can weight 8-10lbs more for an SL compared to the Toyo tires. This is a big difference on rotational mass vs getting fat during the holiday season.

Discount Tire and Tire Rack both have a comparison tool once you filter down to the desired load rating to check out the reviews and do a weight/spec side by side. I don't think you could go wrong with a Toyo as they are comfortable and quiet on the OT.

 

[jpto]

Chester NY doesn't seem like it's far enough north for a dedicated set of winter tires, I think you're on the right track with more winter capable all season tires.

Have you considered just swapping out tires on original rims and running it all year? Lower cost vs buying a separate set of rims + tires. There's a lot more choice in 275/55/20 vs 265/55/20 stock.

I'd take a look at the Nokian WRG5, which is an all weather tire that's more capable in the winter than many budget tires. The Nokian Outpost NAT is also supposed to have pretty good AT tire winter performance.