"Aggressive" A/T tires

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I want to keep my eye on the more aggressive side of the A/T tire market over the next few years as I want to go that route when my Cooper Discoverer A/T3's wear out. They are P265/70r17 and I will be going with LT285/70r17 on my 2011 F150 with bilstein 5100's.

So far I really have two top picks.

1- Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx. Looks about right, good reviews and I'm very happy with my current Coopers. A little worried about highway manners and winter driving.
2- BFG A/T KO2. Had the originals in 285/75r16 on an F250 and they were great. If these surpass the origial ATKO's then its a winner. Cons are high price and possibly a major hit to fuel economy and ride quality.

Open to other suggestions. The goal is more aggressive than the A/T3's I have now, especially for severe winter traction but also wet offroad. I don't plan on running mud holes or anything, and need decent highway manners but the AT3's are just a little too civilized. Not gripes, they are perfect for me... I just want something "funner."
 
I have the General Grabber AT2. They seem to be a tad bit better in the snow than my previous BFG A/Ts, even though the tread pattern is very similar. They are cheaper than the BFGs, ride a bit nicer, but are a bit louder. They have a nice hum to them at certain speeds.
 
I LOVE my Mastercraft Courser AXT's. If these aren't aggressive enough, look at their MXT's

My AXT's are really quiet on the highway and have PLENTY of teeth for the snow and occasional mud. The ride quality amazing.

Their price is HARD to beat.
 
I'm very happy with my Nitto Terra Grapplers on my F-350. They're great in pretty much all conditions, especially in the snow. They seem to be wearing well too. They also seem to have higher load ratings than most other tires, at least in the sizes I was looking at for my truck. They also have the Trail Grapplers if you want something with more along the lines of an MT rather than AT.

Goodyear Duratracs are another option, but I don't have any experience with them myself. The Duratracs actually get the severe winter service rating with the snowflake symbol on the sidewall.
 
I like the off road and on road performance of the older BFG All Terrains but I don't like how they chunk on pavement. I like the new design of the KO2's and they look like IMO that this would help with the chunking.
 
I like the Mastercraft Courser CT for traction in a variety of conditions. It has 18/32" of tread depth in your size. That's hard to beat.

In the Cooper Discoverer range, I think the ST would have better winter performance than the Maxx in all but deep snow. It's a shame they don't make the ATW in your size yet.

The General Grabber AT2 is another fine choice for a variety of conditions.

The most aggressive designs with large tread blocks are going to suffer on icy and snowy roads. I keep Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmors on my work truck. They're my absolute favorite AT, but unfortunately aren't available in your size.
 
All terrain tires aren't meant to be super aggressive handle offroading perfectly, they're meant to be able to drive through very light dirt and shallow sand, as well as on the road. If you really need an aggressive tire that can handle all kinds of off roading you need mud tires.
 
Moot. Tire technology changes too fast. The "best" tire today could be junk three years from now. You also live in Michigan. A texting teenage girl will total your vehicle before you need tires anyway.
 
Those KO2's definitely look enticing, and the line is well past due for an update. They don't yet have a lot of sizes available. BFG's web page on them also suggests good MPG is not a concern for this tire. It will be one of my top choices in 1-2 years.

Goodyear Wrangler with Kevlar for some reason gets *outstanding* reviews. It just doesn't look like much of an A/T pattern. Looks like any radial passenger tire from 1982.

Jeepman3071 nailed it on the Grabber AT/2. I hear the exact same from folks I know here who have them. I've never heard anyone say they didn't like them.

I had a set of Revo2's (b'stone) on a jeep that saw a little off road every 3-4 weeks or so. I quite liked them, though there was a definite MPG hit. My wear seemed normal, but they are often reviewed for poor life. As the prices have fallen, I could consider a set in the running for myself, maybe LT variant hoping for longer wear.

GoodYear M/T also gets really good reviews, though after having ridden in a wrangler unlimited (longer wheelbase) with them I won't go that route. Very soft sidewalls, which to me won't do on a truck if you ever carry a load or tow.

The yokohama tire is respectable.... Geolander? They seem to have very uniform manufacturing and QC. They review well. There was a pair on my truck, well worn, when I bought it. They were quiet and reasonably comfortable. They did not track nearly as well as the destination LEs on there now, and wet traction was an issue. Again, they were well worn. A buddy of mine ran a set on a late model tahoe.... he found them to wander too much at hwy speeds.

For me it will likely come down to BFGs, and everyone else 2nd choice, but I'd like to see some real world feedback on mpg hit first.
 
Meep... The wrangler is the mud tire of choice for anyone I know that drives a vehicle they drive seriously off road, you really gonna say an 80s passenger tire handles exactly the same in dirt as that thing?
 
Take a look at the Goodyear Duratrac. They're pretty [censored] aggressive for an A/T, I don't know anyone who has run them and hasn't liked them. And they're decent in the snow too.
 
^ What he said. Duratracs are quite aggressive, and people seem to love them. They aren't cheap, but neither are BFGs.
 
Smoke, does that mean you are going with the A/T3's?

Still hoping to find a tire which would be a little better for Michigan's loamy, wet soil when off the pavement. But those AT3's really do drive NICE.
 
the one thing that study doesn't get into is how any of them perform at 30k miles or so. I've been let down several times with tires that are Great when new but leave me wanting to replace them with half of their tread remaining.
 
Originally Posted By: rslifkin
Take a look at the Goodyear Duratrac. They're pretty [censored] aggressive for an A/T, I don't know anyone who has run them and hasn't liked them. And they're decent in the snow too.


I have 60k+ on mine and they still have plenty of life left. Very good on snow/ ice too.

They are loud at highway speeds, but then again.. so is my Jeep. Lots of wind noise etc.
 
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