Tires

[NVSteve]

The stock BFG Rugged Trails need to go. For one thing, they are factory made for Nissan, and only have 10/32 of tread brand new. I also have a slow leak in one of them which I have to top off once a month. When I bought the PF last February, the tires handled quite well in the snow. The last 3 or so snowfalls we've had, it's been a bit squirrely. So, I need to figure out what I want to get. And if I want to switch from the stock size 265/75/16 to 285/75/16. My only concern with going wider is the rubbing issue on the frame. I can heat gun the wells like racer did, but I wonder how much of an issue the frame rubbing will be. I have the wheels fully cranked on a daily basis, but I'm more worried about how bad the rubbing/fit will be off road.

We had another small spattering of snow today, but the great thing about living in the desert is that it melts off the streets the second the sun comes out (this is out front of my office):



I'm going to stick with Discount Tire, as I've had quite a bit of luck with them. I've gone the Costco route before, but I pretty much have to take a day off from work just to stop by and get them rotated. It just isn't worth it. So, here are my options (feel free to add more, comment, etc):



I had Yokohamas back in the mid 80's, and they were really good tires. Other than that, I know nothing of this particular model. The Pathfinders are the last tires I bought for my previous vehicle, a Durango, and they worked extremely well in all conditions. The Bridgestone were great at first, but they wore out extremely fast. The BFG All Terrains I've had on 3 different vehicles, and have never liked them. Once they wear a bit, they are useless. They also really suck on wet roads & wear pretty fast. Like a stupid dog, I kept buying them to give them a chance. I only have them listed for comparison purposes as I have no intention of trying them again. The Pathfinder tires were better overall than the BFG & Bridgestone, so I'm going to say the Bridgestone are also out of the running. That leaves me with the Yokohamas, Pathfinders or Nittos. I have no experience with Nitto, nor do I know of anyone who has, so I really have no opinion of them aside from reviews, which are all pretty stellar. Anyway, if someone wants to chime in with their thoughts, opinions, criticisms...I'm game for anything.[/img]

[NVSteve]

Also, how is the mileage calculated on the Pathie? Is it via the driveshaft, wheel rotation, or what? If I go with larger tires, I would really like to be able to calculate my true mileage, which I can then use to also get true MPG. Yes, I'm anal.

[phantom2]

I've had Geolandars on another vehicle and I found them to be an excellent all weather tire.

[blink32]

Is it via the driveshaft, wheel rotation, or what? If I go with larger tires, I would really like to be able to calculate my true mileage, which I can then use to also get true MPG. Yes, I'm anal.

Just locate a measured mile somewhere or toss in a 3rd party gps that will report mph. I am lucky that I happen to know where a measured mile is located on a semi-back road that the county/township uses specifically for vehicle calibrations. Has a sign and a big white stripe at the beginning and end so you know positively when you've hit it.

I took the path on that road a few times with a stop watch and recorded my numbers at different speeds. Popped in the Nuvi 660 on a few trips and compared speedo w/the garmin read out. Crunched the numbers and came up with the effect mph at a given speed. I think I came up with 7% slow or something like that if I remember right. I just know @ 60-61 I'm traveling 65mph. The best you are going to end up with is an average of averages without being able to reprogram the ecm for the over-sized tires. Then you can multiply your mileage by the % and end up with the "as close as possible to real" mpg. This is what I used to get my 20.2mpg result on a trip up to CT. Otherwise it was a semi-dismal 18.8.

[NVSteve]

I've had Geolandars on another vehicle and I found them to be an excellent all weather tire.

Do you remember which of the Geolanders you had? I think I've seen at least 3 different models, but the two I have in the attached photo were the ones that seemed to be most suited to wet/dry/snow.

[NVSteve]

Just locate a measured mile somewhere or toss in a 3rd party gps that will report mph. I am lucky that I happen to know where a measured mile is located on a semi-back road that the county/township uses specifically for vehicle calibrations. Has a sign and a big white stripe at the beginning and end so you know positively when you've hit it.

I took the path on that road a few times with a stop watch and recorded my numbers at different speeds. Popped in the Nuvi 660 on a few trips and compared speedo w/the garmin read out. Crunched the numbers and came up with the effect mph at a given speed. I think I came up with 7% slow or something like that if I remember right. I just know @ 60-61 I'm traveling 65mph. The best you are going to end up with is an average of averages without being able to reprogram the ecm for the over-sized tires. Then you can multiply your mileage by the % and end up with the "as close as possible to real" mpg. This is what I used to get my 20.2mpg result on a trip up to CT. Otherwise it was a semi-dismal 18.8.

I'm good with the MPH calculation because each tire mfr. publishes the revolutions per mile, which I can calculate against my stock revs (supposedly accurate with the speedo) to get MPH. I'm more concerned with actual mileage readings. If it's based on wheel rotation, then it's a piece of cake to calculate. If it's something else, then I'll have to do something like you suggested. It isn't a huge issue with me, as I'll still be able to tell if my mileage is better or worse at any given time, but it would still be nice to have real numbers to work with-assuming I even go with larger tires. The 285's will only give me 1/2" more of additional clearance, and just under 1" in width. The added clearance is the only thing that I'm concentrating on. I keep flip-flopping with my decision. If there was no rubbing involved, it would be a no brainer for the 285s.

[AZRoushStang]

You might want to consider they Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armour...I put those on the path. They are great. Lighter than the BFG AT, and as quiet as the stock BFG Long Trails that came on the truck. I did notice a little bit of gas mileage decrease. But it hasn't been too bad. Maybe 1-2 mpg depending on who is driving.

[Fofiddy]

As far as the Nitto's are concerned I have the Toyo Open Country which is the sister tire to the Terra Grappler. I beleive the Nitto is the same tire -1 sidewall layer. I went up an inch in tire size so I can't really speak as far as fuel economy other than my foot is too heavy to get me anything other than crappy at best. Other than that, they corner nice and flat are noticably louder that stock, especially once you hit 82mph and above. Even with the wider tire these still move a more water than I can throw at it. Had several nasty thunderstorms this summer where inches came down in the course of a few hours. I was limited only by visibility and traffic, and was actually looking for puddles to blow through (even at high speeds). As for snow they are great along with some throttle discipline. Ice is not your friend but your typical snow and slush filled road is never an issue. These tires are 10lbs a peice heavier than my 245/75r16 OEM Generals. I feel every pound, as would be expected of larger tires acceleration and braking went down . Also if you are going to LT tires I suggest beefing up the suspension since these trucks were designed with lighter P-tires. So the suspension gets beat up pretty quick especially when you have the tires pumped up to 50psi like I do.

One caution about running LT tires on the Paths pay no attention to the psi on the door you'll be better off running near the max of what ever tire you choose. Otherwise the ride will actually feel rougher and you'll have issues with bumpsteer and the tires following ruts etc.

[NVSteve]

Thanks for the suggestions so far. I still have no idea what I'll be changing to, but I'm also in no huge rush. If I can't decide on something in the next month or the next 6 months, so be it. I'd rather be sure of my purchase, so please keep the suggestions coming.

Drove down the street to one of the city parks on Christmas Day so that my girlfriend could try out some different cross country skis, and so that I could take a few photos to test out my relatively new camera:

[Fofiddy]

Man its beautifull out there, I'm heading to Aspen for 2 weeks next month looking at those pics reminds me of the landscape. Love the SE Off Road rims, can't ever find a set on ebay. Are you going white letter or Black wall?

[NVSteve]

Are you going white letter or Black wall?

I'm not sure. I've always them OWL in the past, but the black would make for a cleaner look. We'll see when the time comes.

I just about slid off the freeway this morning coming into work. I changed into the exit lane, and it still had a bit of snow on the surface, but it must have been a sheet of ice underneath. Started to slide toward the shoulder, so I had to pop it in 4x4 and ease up on the gas. The rugged trails certainly don't like the ice. We had our office Christmas party a few weeks ago about 25 miles outside of Park City at a ranch, and driving down I-80 from Park City I also hit some ice and almost lost it. I'm not sure how much longer I can wait to replace the tires now. Carl's photos from the Tahoe area didn't help much-the 285's look great.

[Kyson]

We put a set of the Nitto Terra Grapplers (265/75R16s) on our 2006 SE 4X4 right after we bought it, and it now has about 27k miles. We've had them in all weather conditions and terrain, and frankly I love them. I bought them on a recommendation of a friend who had them on his Landcruiser. They've been great. I wrote a review of the PF and how effective they were last Christmas on a 5200 mile road trip from TX to Washington state through UT, ID, MT, and OR. In addition to being great winter tires, they have done very well in wearing evenly. I rotate them about every 8k miles or so, and they've never been rebalanced since new. I imagine I'll need to replace them in 6-8k miles, and will probably do a size larger as I would like to do the OME lift and go to 17" wheels in anticipation of a Colorado off road and rafting trip this next year.

Here are some images to see their condition at 27k miles, many of which were spent stomping around camping, and hauling kayaks and mountain bikes:





Let me know if you have any questions.

[NVSteve]

Those pics are of tires w/27k on them? Wow, that's impressive.

How well do they handle in heavy water/rain? I'm lucky to be alive after some VERY bad experiences with BFG & Bridgestone because of heavy rain, and I really don't want to do that again.

[Kyson]

Our very first inclement weather experience with them was in the heaviest rain I have driven in during a coastal torrential downpour on a vacation to the Gulf. They wer very sure footed and displaced water much better than the BFG All Terrains I have had in the past on other vehicles. Of course, there are dynamics there as those vehicles were Jeeps, Tahoes, or trucks so they would naturally handle differently than the Pathfinder. But they seem to be a great tire (esp for the low cost of the 265s) for the money, handle well in most conditions and wear well. I also like the tread design as its just a bit different. They are noisier now than when new, but thats to be expected and it isn't bad.

I'll be watching for your posts if you decide to go this route as I now see you have the OME kit, and Nitto 285s are what I would be moving up to after I have the lift done to ours.

[Fofiddy]

Hey Kyson how are they in the ice?
Steve, ever consider getting a dedicated set of winters? This winter we have been getting nothing but ice, I'm seriously considering a set of ice tires.
I've always done the opposite myself always always the black walls. I think the OWL makes it look a little bigger, I'm running 31.7" and they actually look a little runty and I haven't even ordered the OME setup yet.