Kittamaru Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 I'm contemplating retiring my BFG A/T's for the summer (since I don't plan to trail run any this year while I do repairs) and find a nice set of street tires... I do plan to get a second set of wheels, so they'll both be mounted and balanced and, come winter, all I have to do is mount the BFG wheels and I'm set for snow. My question is two fold: 1) is the tread life of a street tire that much better than an A/T? 2) is the MPG increase / rolling resistance decrease of a street tire over an A/T worth it? I'm wondering if I'll save money over the long term doing this as I'll save wear and tear on the more expensive A/T AND get better MPG in the spring/summer/fall... but how true is this? Assuming it is true: I've looked at dozens of tires on a handful of websites... any good suggestions for a comfortable, good-quality street tire that wont' let me down in the rain? Nice, comfy, stable ride with good traction Too many variables for my brain to comprehend at the moment, lol. Need to narrow the field a bit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrimGreg Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 BFG ATs have a pretty long tread life, it's the MTs that don't (in general, I got 50k on my BFG MTs). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 If you have good alignment and even treadwear, theres no reason why you shouldn't get a good 40k+ out of a set of bfg a/t That being said, I LOVED my michelin ltx m/s more than any other tire i've owned, great offroad, AMAZING snow, AMAZING sand, and a beauty on the road/highway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhardison Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 (edited) If you have good alignment and even treadwear, theres no reason why you shouldn't get a good 40k+ out of a set of bfg a/t That being said, I LOVED my michelin ltx m/s more than any other tire i've owned, great offroad, AMAZING snow, AMAZING sand, and a beauty on the road/highway It's hard to beat a Michelin ltx, only tire I've ever run on my Path, but they are pricey. On the flip side I've known several people, my dad included, who have gotten 60, 70 or 80k out of them on SUV's. Edited April 30, 2010 by dhardison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Ditto with everything said. Unless you are fairly flush with cash, I wouldn't really bother. The second set of rims and tires price will off set buying another set of BFG quite a bit and I doubt you'll see any large gas mileage difference as the BFG AT are not very aggressive. I have a set of the LTX in 235/75/15 sitting in my backyard that I can hardly give away. LOL @ amazing offroad, they are freakin M/S tires!! My BFG MT KM2 (other than vibration and noise) handle just as well on the road and there is no comparison off road. B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nismothunder Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 If your really looking at getting a set of summer tires,just get something thats cheap,road runner ATPs' are cheap and good in snow and stuff(I ran a pair of them for two winters in back and never had a problem other then a screw in one) or cheap car tires...like dougles's xtratrack's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted April 30, 2010 Share Posted April 30, 2010 Ditto with everything said. Unless you are fairly flush with cash, I wouldn't really bother. The second set of rims and tires price will off set buying another set of BFG quite a bit and I doubt you'll see any large gas mileage difference as the BFG AT are not very aggressive. I have a set of the LTX in 235/75/15 sitting in my backyard that I can hardly give away. LOL @ amazing offroad, they are freakin M/S tires!! My BFG MT KM2 (other than vibration and noise) handle just as well on the road and there is no comparison off road. B I was actually really surprised with their capability (for such a good highway tire) I never got stuck with those due to lack of traction, even going through door deep mud ruts, 3.5+ feet of water, and climbing up sand dunes... Haven't gotten to put the BFG's to the same test, but for something that has been on the truck for god knows how long, has a fair bit of tread left, and ran straighter and smoother than any other tire i've owned, I was amazed at its capability Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 Fair enough. I didn't go through much offroad with the Michelin LTX, but there is a definite limit a M/S type tire can deal with. It is definitely a good tire overall, and certainly not cheap (actually expensive) so it better perform for it's class... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhardison Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 Fair enough. I didn't go through much offroad with the Michelin LTX, but there is a definite limit a M/S type tire can deal with. It is definitely a good tire overall, and certainly not cheap (actually expensive) so it better perform for it's class... B I think you were right though if you are comparing a mild AT tire and a 6 ply M/S truck tire like the LTX then you might not notice much difference in noise and ride between the two as a mild AT tire should be fairly quiet. The LTX was available as an AT tire also but the tread was the same so I don't know what the internal difference is. I do know that the 3x/1x.5/1x LTX's look like a more aggressive tire than the 235 size tires you've got laying around. Haven't seen any 235's LTX's on a Pathfinder but I've noticed several HondaZuZu's wearing them and they do look pretty lame in that size. My opinion when I posted was on the incredible mileage people get, he would probably trade Pathfinders before he ever wore them out. And like most Michelins, easy balance, no tire pull, no out of round, straight tracking, long life, low noise, that's what you're paying for. Like oldslow I am surprised by the their traction in the snow and mud considering how easy they are to live with on the street. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toby Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 I run Hercules or something on my truck. They were on it when I got it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 tirerack has ltx m/s2 tires (don't know difference) for 116 each....doesn't sound half bad to me considering the Kumho KR21's are listed @ 71 bucks and I'm not completely satisfied with the ones on my car (they are getting bald though) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhardison Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 tirerack has ltx m/s2 tires (don't know difference) for 116 each....doesn't sound half bad to me considering the Kumho KR21's are listed @ 71 bucks and I'm not completely satisfied with the ones on my car (they are getting bald though) I've been seeing some of those m/s2's too. An Explorer that parks next to me sometimes just got a set. I think it's what they are going to use to phase out the original ltx and bring the sizes more in line with new suvs and light trucks. No 3x sizes and only one 15 inch rim size a 235, lots of 16, 17, 18, 19, and even 20's. Plus low rolling resistance and green technology. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldSlowReliable Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 thats just what we need.....bigger rims on the road Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
glenn Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 Maybe it would be easier to move to Southern California. It's summer here all year long. I only have one set of tires! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittamaru Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 Well, my question is mostly this: If I get a good set of street tires (an all season or something) and just run the BFG's for winter / off road, would it work out? I'd assume decent street tires cost less than decent A/T's, plus they would have less road noise right? Rims I expect the cost for, but I'd have them for later on as well They're a one-time deal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhardison Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 Well, my question is mostly this: If I get a good set of street tires (an all season or something) and just run the BFG's for winter / off road, would it work out? I'd assume decent street tires cost less than decent A/T's, plus they would have less road noise right? Rims I expect the cost for, but I'd have them for later on as well They're a one-time deal I like the idea myself and would try to keep my eyes open for a set of wheels and tires together that somebody, maybe even in this forum, wants to get rid of. Just remember that all truck and suv tires are going to be either all season or m/s, about the same thing. It's not like a Z where there could be a summer performance street tire or an all-season street tire. I have to drive my Pathfinder on the interstate a lot like yesterday, about 75 miles with the cruise set on 80 and the ac blowing full blast. Back end loaded down with some antique chest my girlfriend found in the country and decided we couldn't live without. Could I have done it on some noisy half-ass balanced AT's, of course. Would I have felt like I'd been beat up when I got back home, of course. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittamaru Posted May 1, 2010 Author Share Posted May 1, 2010 Heh, what exactly is an M/S tire then? I just realized I was confusing M/S and M/T... doh Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhardison Posted May 1, 2010 Share Posted May 1, 2010 (edited) Heh, what exactly is an M/S tire then? I just realized I was confusing M/S and M/T... doh Mud and Snow is what I've always thought but I've heard people say it was Multiple Season. Edited May 1, 2010 by dhardison Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adamzan Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 Its mud and snow. Usually it will have the mountain with a snowflake inside of it on the sidewall. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
frecklecolouredbrain Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 x2. M/S= Mud and Snow. I'm running motomaster M/S(canadian tire branded ltx's). They're fantastic for everyting you need in the city as ong as you don't need to turn in the rain or on ice. Great for pavement and dirt track. I don't know how much mud they are rated for, but it can't be too much. And, they're horrible at -40C(-40f for americans). over all it's a good "kinda everything" tire. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittamaru Posted May 3, 2010 Author Share Posted May 3, 2010 Huh... mostly I'm looking for a wet/dry pavement tire... no off-road ability at all. I mean, the BFG A/T's serve me plenty off road and in the snow so yeah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingman Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 I have LTXs on my truck as well. They're a good tire on road, besides in the wet, and perform well DRY offroad and snow. Kiss your chances of getting anywhere if you get remotely stuck goodbye when you hit the mud. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Precise1 Posted May 3, 2010 Share Posted May 3, 2010 Its mud and snow. Usually it will have the mountain with a snowflake inside of it on the sidewall. Not necessarily... A tire company can call anything a M&S tire, even racing slicks. The mountain/snowflake symbol represents that the tire passed the severe weather traction testing by an independent firm. You'll find that more M&S tires won't have this designation. mws had a good thread about it... B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kittamaru Posted May 4, 2010 Author Share Posted May 4, 2010 Heh, that's the thing - it's only on road I'm worried about, with wet/dry traction. Once we get any snow or ice, I plan to swap tot he BFG A/T's Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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