NFR Truck tires?

[Brian Miller]

I've had Falken Wildpeaks AT4W for about 10k miles now on my 4runner and really like them. Have not experienced much snow yet but it handles well in the rain, good braking performance.
Previous tires were Toyo AT3 Open Country, those were great too, good in snow and rain.

My 1998 Infinity QX4; an upscale Pathfinder that I've had since 2008 began losing compression in one cylinder so I sold it to my mechanic and recently bought a well maintained 2022 4Runner for a decent price. It's got the OEM Dunlop All Seasons that are rated only fair for pavement while their snow performance is rated poor (dangerous). With 10K or so of the Mfg warranty tread left they need to be replaced before I make any trips this year that might be 40+ miles out and back on gravel roads. I want dry/wet pavement and gravel stopping - handling performance but with decent snow capability. I have also been looking at the P-metric AT4Ws and will buy 5 tires because the OEMs are rated-perform so poorly.

@Kfish Did you get the Pmetric or LT tires, and why?

 

[Kfish]

My 1998 Infinity QX4; an upscale Pathfinder that I've had since 2008 began losing compression in one cylinder so I sold it to my mechanic and recently bought a well maintained 2022 4Runner for a decent price. It's got the OEM Dunlop All Seasons that are rated only fair for pavement while their snow performance is rated poor (dangerous). With 10K or so of the Mfg warranty tread left they need to be replaced before I make any trips this year that might be 40+ miles out and back on gravel roads. I want dry/wet pavement and gravel stopping - handling performance but with decent snow capability. I have also been looking at the P-metric AT4Ws and will buy 5 tires because the OEMs are rated-perform so poorly.

@Kfish Did you get the Pmetric or LT tires, and why?

I got the LT because I do tow a boat and go off road once in a while. Still really happy with them.

 

[Fourbtgait]

My 1998 Infinity QX4; an upscale Pathfinder that I've had since 2008 began losing compression in one cylinder so I sold it to my mechanic and recently bought a well maintained 2022 4Runner for a decent price. It's got the OEM Dunlop All Seasons that are rated only fair for pavement while their snow performance is rated poor (dangerous). With 10K or so of the Mfg warranty tread left they need to be replaced before I make any trips this year that might be 40+ miles out and back on gravel roads. I want dry/wet pavement and gravel stopping - handling performance but with decent snow capability. I have also been looking at the P-metric AT4Ws and will buy 5 tires because the OEMs are rated-perform so poorly.

@Kfish Did you get the Pmetric or LT tires, and why?

I had a 2014 4Runner, put Cooper LT AT something and disliked the tires on it for Eastern Washington winters. Hopefully they changed the configuration of tread design

 

[Brian Miller]

I got the LT because I do tow a boat and go off road once in a while. Still really happy with them.

Thanks for the response! I'm not really an "off-roader" and according to the YT reviews the larger redesigned AT4W lugs and 3-ply sidewalls on the passenger SL version will be a much stronger tire than anything I've run on previous mid-sized 4x4s. The tradeoff for the better wet-dry pavement stopping and handling performance I want will be lower gas mileage but I doubt l'll put 5K per year on them so that's fine.

Thanks!

 

[Brian Miller]

I had a 2014 4Runner, put Cooper LT AT something and disliked the tires on it for Eastern Washington winters. Hopefully they changed the configuration of tread design

Thanks for the tip! When looking for Cooper I found the Cooper Discoverer Road+Trail™ AT SL tire with very comparable performance scores to the Falken, being slightly better in snow, quieter on the road and is a little cheaper. It has 2-ply sidewalls so it's not quite as strong of a tire.

 

[iveofione]

My 1998 Infinity QX4; an upscale Pathfinder that I've had since 2008 began losing compression in one cylinder so I sold it to my mechanic and recently bought a well maintained 2022 4Runner for a decent price. It's got the OEM Dunlop All Seasons that are rated only fair for pavement while their snow performance is rated poor (dangerous). With 10K or so of the Mfg warranty tread left they need to be replaced before I make any trips this year that might be 40+ miles out and back on gravel roads. I want dry/wet pavement and gravel stopping - handling performance but with decent snow capability. I have also been looking at the P-metric AT4Ws and will buy 5 tires because the OEMs are rated-perform so poorly.

@Kfish Did you get the Pmetric or LT tires, and why?

I bought the P-metric AT3-W tires for my half ton 4wd truck. When I initially ordered the truck I had LT's put on it but thought they were overkill for my use. I live up a gravel road and long driveway so I am on dirt every time I drive the truck. I don't do any serious off roading but a lot of Forest Service roads and of course the heavy snow in winter. The trailer I tow is only about 400 # loaded so the P-metric's are more than adequate.

Since this is America, if the P-metric's are more than good enough then you should spend more and get the LT's, everybody knows that more is always better....

 

[_WW_]

Lots of guys get a truck and immediately slap on big wheels and tires. Or want to switch for other reasons. Of course now they have a nice set of wheels and tires to get rid of. I ran into such a deal back in January. A set of 4 BF Goodrich all terrain T/A K02s with wheels. Tires still have the nubs on them. Cost was $300...Canadian. Around $220 US for the entire set. They are in the garage because I don't need them yet but it was a deal that I couldn't pass up.

 

[up2nogood]

Lots of guys get a truck and immediately slap on big wheels and tires. Or want to switch for other reasons. Of course now they have a nice set of wheels and tires to get rid of. I ran into such a deal back in January. A set of 4 BF Goodrich all terrain T/A K02s with wheels. Tires still have the nubs on them. Cost was $300...Canadian. Around $220 US for the entire set. They are in the garage because I don't need them yet but it was a deal that I couldn't pass up.

I tow heavy ,the last thing I need is anything bigger than stock ,what the truck was designed for . All big tires do is rob fuel mileage ,horse power ,and your bank account .

 

[iveofione]

I tow heavy ,the last thing I need is anything bigger than stock ,what the truck was designed for . All big tires do is rob fuel mileage ,horse power ,and your bank account .

True dat! Bigger than stock tires lower the final drive ratio resulting in potentially higher top speed but reducing torque, slowing acceleration, reducing towing capacity and causing the engine to work harder when climbing hills. Theoretically bigger tires can give better fuel economy and if you live somewhere where the nearest hill is 800 miles away that might be true. But for those of us that live in the mountainous west that isn't the case.

Since the whole pickup ownership thing became mandatory for urbanites a few years back, thousands upon thousands of pickups have been sold to unsuspecting customers that have no idea what a gear ratio is. Many of these same folks assumed that they now have a truck that could pull a trailer and RV dealers threw gas on the fire by assuring them that they could. But in so many instances they could only manage a small trailer. The reason being that the truck builders seeing an opportunity to print money by selling to people that didn't need a truck at all, built a shit load of trucks with low final drive ratios to get mileage ratings up. These trucks worked fine for what they were mostly used for-a station wagon with a vestigial bed to haul potting soil in. But hook a travel trailer to them and their inadequacies became immediately apparent. They were, and are, under geared. The engines are plenty strong but are handicapped by a gearset designed to give good mileage but not to tow anything but light loads.

More often than not big tires and wheels are just a cosmetic addition but in reality are a step backwards.

 

[Brian Miller]

I have also been looking at the P-metric AT4Ws and will buy 5 tires because the OEMs are rated-perform so poorly.

We stopped by DT late this afternoon. *adding The OEMs had just 4/32" tread remaining so would really just an oversized donut for a spare.* There were 5 Falken AT4Ws in stock. With the warranty certificates we paid $1.6K OOD for the set of five 265/70-R17s after $132 off for Veterans and AAA discounts. There was only 1 other Customer in the store so there were 3 techs working on it. We were in & out in 40 minutes.