Postby TooMuchControl » Sun Dec 18, 2022 2:57 pm
Well here goes. An attempt to compare a number of tires - all of which are in good consideration for any R51
Tires that have been attached to my R51
265 70 16 Krugen HT51 (present set - in Winter Storage)
265 65 17 Michelin Latitude Ice (present attached - well it's Winter)
265 75 16 Yokohama Geolander G015 AT (gone, as poor alignment + bad inner tie rod damaged them)
265 65 18 (Forthcoming purchase - I have been able to secure the SAP 18" Charcoals)
As you can see, I'm one of the rare birds that is going to have 16" (in two different sizes), the 17" for winters, and forthcoming 18" rims.
I drive 90% on the highway. But it's periodic that in Winter time I need 4WD activated when rolling.
For this purpose, I thought to purchase a dedicated set of Winter Tires.
The Yokohama's - my experience.
A very good tire. I like the raised white letter option. It was a solid tire that felt a bit bloated on the "265 75 16", It's a 100% a truck tire, and it's has pleasant characteristics. It was extremely good in snow. I would have little wheel spin in 2wd mode. Very confident with this tire though all modes and seasons.
Would I buy them again? Yes, with an exception. I'm not 100% certain my alignment, which wasn't so bad, caused damage to the tire. It's a hesitant part of my life cycle with them. They were good, while they lasted.
Krugen. My experience. I mapped out my reasons on purchasing this tire set, from this website. It's tread matches to that of Michelin. It's an All Weather tire, and last year, through snow, no issues, but it's no Winter tire. It is not an aggressive tire, made more for highway driving, and for $110 CAD per tire after rebate, it was the best deal. The Krugens have about 30k on them now, but they are rated past 100k.
One thing - the tread on this tire is super-duper. It's barely noticeable that the tread has gone down more that 1-2mm. It still looks like a full tread after 1.5 years driving. I'm super impressed by this. It has the look of a decent tire, if you are not sure if you should invest a lot of money into tires, but want a bit of all weather ability and a highway comfort.
Would I buy them again? No. Why? See below.
Michelins - Winter. What's there to say. When you put these shoes on, right after the Krugens, it's just a different vehicle. It was the same feeling when I switched from Michelins to the Yokohama's. I bought these tires with 5k on them, and placed another 10k on them. So at 60k warranty, they are about 1/4 the way through their life cycle.
Michelins Winters - to my knowledge, the only (or rare?) manufacturer that has a treadwear warranty on Winter tires. My tire dealer, nodded in agreement with me, and all the people in the room stopped talking...
Whatever Michelin puts into the rubber milkshake - works. At least for me.
Now onto the tires and options that are in my view.
I will post as I have time. I will look forward to people's opinions on the treads, and experience with any of them.
Last edited by
TooMuchControl on Sun Dec 18, 2022 3:15 pm, edited 4 times in total.