Another Tire Question

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tkorade

tkorade

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I'll be working in Romania for the next few years and the 100 and wife will be going with me. Since they don't plow the roads, all vehicles need to run tires that have the "snowflake" symbol during the winter. I will not have room in the shipping to have two sets of tires so I'm looking for a set that will run pretty quiet ( running Michelin LTX M/S now) in the summer and last about 50K miles if possible.

These are the ones I've narrowed the list down to in the 265/75R16 size.
BFG Commercial T/A Traction
BFG All-Terrain T/A KO
Good Year Wrangler DuraTrac
Good Year Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure with Kevlar
Good Year Wrangler SilentArmor
General Grabber AT 2

Thanks for any and all comments.
 
I ran BFG All-Terrain T/A KO in that exact size (265/75/16) for several winters and have NEVER had an issue. While winters in Boston are probably a little easier than in NH, I've seen my share of rough winter driving. They are rock solid on snow and ice and most people run them year round. Only reason I didn't is because I had a set of summer rims/tires. I'm sure all those tires on your list are great, but my vote is for the BFG AT KO.
 
If you go BFG All-Terrain T/A KO, make sure they have the mountain snowflake symbol on them. Believe it or not some of the tire sizes have the symbol and other sizes do not. A few different sizes are made from different compounds.

Most of these tires are pretty mainstream, but do a little digging and make sure you get a brand that is widely available worldwide, or at least in Eastern Europe. You don't want to have to replace a tire only to find out it will take 2 months to get a replacement of the same brand.
 
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You may want to take a look at these new Nokians: http://www.nokiantires.com/release?id=196158&year=1970&group=1, 2

I've ran the previous model on a Jeep Cherokee and (currently) my wife's Sequoia. They are very impressive in the snow, and are easily the safest tire I've ran in heavy rain. It takes a deep puddle to hydroplane. They are high-performance snow tires, so maybe not as aggressive as you need. But Nokian makes others, and they know snow tires.
 
Thanks, I've been running the Hakkapeliitta's on all my vehicles during the winters in NH for many years and the WR G3 SUV's were on my list till I found out they do not make them in the size I need.
 
tkorade said:
Thanks, I've been running the Hakkapeliitta's on all my vehicles during the winters in NH for many years and the WR G3 SUV's were on my list till I found out they do not make them in the size I need.
Click to expand...

What is the reason for needing 265/75/16? Isn't the original size 275/70/16; and wouldn't 265/70/16 work?
 
Quite often we have the vehicle loaded and also towing. The WR's are P metric and only carry a load index of 112 (2469 lbs) vs 114 (2601 lbs) for the factory spec tires. We have found by going up to "D" or "E" (120) it improves handling noticeably when towing. If we were driving around with just passengers I would feel very comfortable going down on the load index and enjoy the quality and handling of the Nokian's.
 
Good points. Have you looked into the new Rotiiva ATs? I know a couple who have these on their 4-Runner and love them. I'm contemplating these or the Pirelli Scorpion ATR for my own LC. I don't think the Scorpions have a "snow flake" emblem on them, but they were great in the snow for my LR Discovery (which needed every bit of traction help it could get... no CDL). Sorry for the Nokian push, but It's hard for me to believe anything can beat a Nokian in the snow. The wrg2 was freakishly grippy on my Jeep (like having year-around studs), and it's comforting knowing they are on my wife's Sequoia for winter trips to the grandparent's house.
 
I am not a fan of the Goodrich A/t's. I know a lot of folks are, just have always felt they rode very rough for what they are.

The Dura-Tracs were on my short list but ended up going back with the Nitto TG's and couldn't be happier.
 
I don't mind the Nokian push. I also, have not found a better snow tire. Good to hear that about the Rotiiva's. Up to now I had not found anyone with them. Another part to the equation is the availability of a replacement tire when in Romania. I have a co-worker checking on availability, so I'll need to have him add the Rotiiva's to the list.

I run the Pirelli Scorpion ATR's on the troopy on and off road and I am very happy with the performance as a good all around tire.
2008 YankeeToys Fall Gathering at FF 209.webp
 
Other than Nokian, I've found my Duratracs to be the next best thing for an all around truck tire. They don't seem to weather crack or be as hard as the KO's I've had. They also seem to stay fairly pliable at -40.
 
Are Nokians and Pirelli Scorpions easily sourced in Romania if you need to replace them? I'd stick with the very popular versions of BFG or Goodyear.
 
Decision finally made: I'll be going with the Nokian Rotiiva AT's in 265/75R16 load range "E". Out of all of them only the Wrangler DuraTrac, Rotiiva AT and All Terrain T/A KO are available in Romania. Under the EU tire rating system the Rotiiva AT and All Terrain T/A KO both score the same "A" rating for wet traction. The DuraTrac rate an "E" which is 12 meters longer braking distance on wet asphalt, from a speed of 80 km/h. Both the A/T's and the DuraTrac have the same road noise rating and are higher than the Rotiva's.

As for the price, the Nokians will cost $20.00 more than the BFG's for a set of 5 in the US. In the EU the BFG's cost about $30.00 per tire more.

Thanks for everyone's input, I'll be getting them later this week and I'll post some initial thoughts then...
 
Awesome, I'm highly impressed with my Nokian Hakka R2 tires in Summer and in several highway runs in blizzards this Winter. The Rotiiva will probably be my next tire, so I'll be looking for your impressions when the time comes.
 
I only got to put about 600 miles on them before the LC got picked up for the trip overseas. Last information I have has the vehicle will be getting here the end of July. Overall on the highway, they road nice. Not very noisy, a lot closer to the Michelin LTX's I took off then BFG's I have run in the past. I'll follow up with more information as I get more miles on them.
 
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