I have an LR3 and put new AT2's (255/60/18) on it last November. I was VERY impressed with the on-road performance all winter long (never took it off-road). I am in SE PA, which is not Maine by any stretch, but last winter was as bad as it gets around here and I can say the tires were flawless. My wife drove it all winter and felt comfortable going out in all conditions and when I drove it I was equally impressed. I had a Disco with Grabber HTS tires last year as well and it was NOT very good - never got stuck or anything, but the surefootedness was nowhere near what the LR3 was. FWIW, we drove alomost 10k miles exactly and one year later the tread is 9/32 from 13/32. They look like they have not worn, but I guess they have, so I am guessing I will only get 25-30k out of these if this holds true down the line. Maybe there is a different rubber compound between the P-metric and LT-rated versions? As for the snowflake symbol, I did not even realize they were not severe snow rated until recently as I am in the market for tires for our Disco replacement, an 08 Range Rover.
Our RR had brand new Bridgestone Dueller Alenza Plus tires when we bought it and within a week my wife wanted me to replace them - they are quiet and smooth, but not as sure feeling as the AT2's on the LR3 in her opinion and she is worried about winter snow driving on them. Since she has stock 19's (255/55/19) I am really stuck on the best choice for her, there is just not much available in this size or any size that would fit on her stock wheels (and she does not want to swap wheels with the LR3). She drives fast and hard in summer and wants sure handling in winter, but also does not want summer and winter tires, she just wants one set like the AT2's.
She does not like the appearance of the Copper Zeon LTZ's too much, so they are her third choice among the three options I have found. Her first choice is the Wrangler Duratrac, but I am unsure if it is a bit too mud-terrain oriented for her, especially for her fast driving in summer? But, I noticed that the 255/55/19 size she needs is the ONLY size of all the Duratracs that is made in Germany, is not severe snow rated, has a lower wear rating than all the others (320 vs 500 vs ? for LT), and has an A temp rating (versus B for all the others). Clearly this one size is different than all the others, but I am not sure why? I am guessing that the German plant must make another tire for the European market using a different rubber compound and Goodyear brings this one over to fill the niche for the size, but it is not clear how this will change the handling of the tire. With the A temp rating and faster wear rating, I am wondering if this one size may actually do ok in summer for my wife. Has anyone here run this size in the Duratrac???
The 2nd choice would be the newer Wrangler Adventure. This would be a 31" tire and has a 109 load rating, so I am concerned that the extra side-wall and lower load rating may make cornering worse for her in the summer months when she is racing around. Has anyone used the new Adventure tires in a non-LT size yet??
