New shoes for my Taco...Need recommendations

[bkg]

04 Tacoma: 285/75-16 General ATX (load range E)
02 4Runner: 285/75-16 General AT2 (load range D)
15 4Runner: 285/70-17 Falken WildPeak AT
04 Tacoma: 37-12.5-17 Hankook DynaPro MT
16 F350: 295/75-18 Falken WildPeak AT

Only reason the ATX's are on the Tacoma is because I couldn't find any AT2's. They ride great, though, even for an E. Bear in mind the wider contact patch probably has an impact. Been VERY happy with the Falkens.

 

[blueranger501]

Had the coopers on my 04 Tundra: 285/75/16. Good dirt traction, atrocious road noise. Just stepped up to 315/70/17 Falkens, could not be happier.

 

[08Silverado]

I just put cooper ST MAXX on my Tacoma and I like them a lot

 

[Frazeur1]

This all seems a bit puzzling to me, if your truck is indeed wanting to pull as you say it is, it would certainly seem as if there is indeed a problem with either alignment, balance, wear, or maybe a tire(s) that is screwed from the factory. I know these are generalizations here, but I have had several Tacomas, and have always had BF Goodrich AT's and KO's and have yet to have them create the issues you are talking about. No tire really should cause that unless it is worn badly or irregularly, or something else is out of whack-which in your case, it obviously isn't tire wear as they are new, but...I should state too, I am not a BF Goodrich fanboy, just that they have always worked well for me in the mixed driving I do, and have always lasted a long time. With that said, I keep them rotated and don't abuse the crap out of them. In the end, we all like various tires etc. that we do, this just seems a bit odd....Hopefully you will get it figured out though in a way that best suits you!

 

[tacollie]

The e rating isn't causing the pulling. I have ran e rated tires on 4 tacos and a 4runner without any pulling. Your tires are either bad or something else is going on with your truck. I really like my Falken Wildpeak ATs.

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

Also, have you looked at the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo 3? I've not run the 3 yet, but we have put 50k miles on a set of the Revo 2s and I've been really happy with them. The LT265/75/16 will be E rated, but the P265/75/16 is not.

I have looked at the Bridgestone a little. The guy at DT I'm working with had very negative opinion of them based on personal experience. I might take a second look though.

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[/QUOTE]

Have 25k on the C rated Falkens. '93 Toy 4wd PU.
Mud, snow, rain, pavement, FS roads. Awesome tire so far.

Have you been able to balance the Falkens? Everyone over at Tacomaworld said the C-rated Falkens are impossible to balance.

I run E rated A/TW3's. I'm running them at about 33 PSI in each and find the ride quite acceptable, although my low tire pressure warning system hates me. So far, I've really liked them. We'll probably put them on the Wife's Ram 1500 when the time comes. The Goodyear Ultra Terrain tread pattern is very similar/derivative to the A/TW3. When I had my Tacoma I was very happy with Firestone Destination ATs. I see they now have a Destination XT, also similar to the A/TW3.

I hear the E-rated Falken's balance well, but I'm hesitant to run another E-rated tire after my current experience. I have no experience with Firestone and know nothing about their tires. That XT looks good but not offered in my size unfortunately.

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

We went with the ******** Cepek Extreme's for the first set on our Tacoma, so far only about 200 miles on them so cant really report on tread wear. They are a load range E, but so far I really like the ride. Just a little more noise than the Goodyear all terrains.

I'll take a look at these, thanks.

Ditch BFGs. E rating has absolutely nothing to do with it and the harshness is vastly overstated. Duratracs are good in snow and not much else and have wimpy sidewalls. Not just parroting that either I have run across too many in the field and in travel videos to ever consider them. Cooper, Toyo, General, and Falken all make decent tires. My. 02

Well, I have had the truck combed over thoroughly. It is not the suspension, it's stock. It's not the alignment. The tires barely have 20k and the pull has been since they were new. I have never had C-rated BFG's do this. Have had the tires rotated in every possible configuration and it stills pulls to the right. I'm stumped and have had two Toyota dealerships and every one of their lead mechanic and one of those traveling "master" mechanics all state that it is the tires. Tires have been inspected and nothing has been found to be wrong with them.

Grabber A/TX

An all-terrain tire for light trucks and SUVs. Designed to balance exceptional off-road capability with on-road performance with robust strength and durability.

generaltire.com

Not associated with General, just like the tires

I like em too, but not made in my size.

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

Falkens are widely used by Taco enthusiasts on Tacomaworld.com. By people who are on street, overlanding, weekendering and even some of the more serious off-roaders.

They don't like the C-rated, or P-rated, whichever it is. They all complain that they don't balance. The only positive reviews of the Falkens on TW are for the E-rated versions.

I highly recommend the Falken Wild Peak tires. We switched two years ago on all our company trucks. Mostly 1 ton trucks on 60 % gravel roads carrying over 1,500 lbs all the time. The flats were 40 % less then the Goodyear Duratrack tires we ran previously. Same main line access roads.
However the Duratrack is a mush more aggressive and better tire for all types of traction especially shoulder season with mud. Any way what I'm saying is the Falken was a great product and reduced ed our costs and down time substantially. Good tires! Falken Wild Peak and Goodyear Duratrack are great tires for an all terrain tire. The latter being better for more aggressive terrain and the former better for flat resistance.

They get good reviews for the E-rated versions. I don't think I want to run E-rated again after my current experience.

Just a quick note: SL ratings tend to be the P-sized tires. C-rage tires are still a step up in weight/sidewall layers.

Seems every tire I like in my size, stock, only get offered in SL or E. I don't think I have seen a single C-rated.

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

My vote General Tire either AT/X or X3
X3 are great for off road mud, loud on road, ok in snow
AT/X are great for towing, hauling quite on road and above average off road ability.
I have had both on my Tacoma and just went back to AT/X.View attachment 543382View attachment 543383

I wasn't able to find my size in the SL-rated, only E.

This all seems a bit puzzling to me, if your truck is indeed wanting to pull as you say it is, it would certainly seem as if there is indeed a problem with either alignment, balance, wear, or maybe a tire(s) that is screwed from the factory. I know these are generalizations here, but I have had several Tacomas, and have always had BF Goodrich AT's and KO's and have yet to have them create the issues you are talking about. No tire really should cause that unless it is worn badly or irregularly, or something else is out of whack-which in your case, it obviously isn't tire wear as they are new, but...I should state too, I am not a BF Goodrich fanboy, just that they have always worked well for me in the mixed driving I do, and have always lasted a long time. With that said, I keep them rotated and don't abuse the crap out of them. In the end, we all like various tires etc. that we do, this just seems a bit odd....Hopefully you will get it figured out though in a way that best suits you!

Tires only have ~20k and the pull started right after they were installed, about a month into use. I have had the truck into two dealership and every inch of the truck has been looked at. Alignment checked, double checked, triple checked. Suspension checked. Tires checked and rotated repeatedly in every direction. As soon as we switched on some stock tires, the pull went away. That makes me believe it is the tires. Every mechanic at each dealership that has looked at the truck says it is the tires. This is my 3rd or 4th set of BFG AT's and I have never had an issue before. But this set has sucked. They are smaller than my stock tires even though the same size, and the pulling to the right is maddening. I think the tires are defective.

The e rating isn't causing the pulling. I have ran e rated tires on 4 tacos and a 4runner without any pulling. Your tires are either bad or something else is going on with your truck. I really like my Falken Wildpeak ATs.

I don't know what to tell you man. After everything I have been through, it seems to be the E-rated tire. My truck is stock. Were all of your trucks stock? The truck has been inspected countless times. I owned it for 3 months before putting on the BFG's and it did not pull at all. The pull started after the tires were installed. I do agree that the tires might be defective. I'm headed to DT tomorrow and I'm going to push them to inspect the tires better before I decide to switch brands.

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

04 Tacoma: 285/75-16 General ATX (load range E)
02 4Runner: 285/75-16 General AT2 (load range D)
15 4Runner: 285/70-17 Falken WildPeak AT
04 Tacoma: 37-12.5-17 Hankook DynaPro MT
16 F350: 295/75-18 Falken WildPeak AT

Only reason the ATX's are on the Tacoma is because I couldn't find any AT2's. They ride great, though, even for an E. Bear in mind the wider contact patch probably has an impact. Been VERY happy with the Falkens.

Were your Falken's the SL or E rated versions? Folks over on TW seem to really hate any Falken unless it is E rated. A lot of people saying that the SL rated versions do not balance.

Had the coopers on my 04 Tundra: 285/75/16. Good dirt traction, atrocious road noise. Just stepped up to 315/70/17 Falkens, could not be happier.

I was dead set on Cooper's, but then I realized they only offer E-rated versions on my size. Based on my current experience, I am very hesitant on going with another E-rated tire. On a half-ton or larger it makes sense, just not so sure about a lightweight Tacoma.

I just put cooper ST MAXX on my Tacoma and I like them a lot

I really wanted Coopers. Just wish they made my size in a non E-rated version.

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

Well, the guy at DT agreed with some of ya'll that it was not the E-rating of my tires and that they were probably just defective. Looked at Yokohama, Falken, and Cooper's while at the store. Yoko's were too road oriented and the Cooper's were not cheap.

Based on the cost and not expecting to have to buy tires right now, I opted for the P-rated Falken's...they didn't make the E-rated in my size and I didn't feel like going oversize right now. They're on order and go on the truck Monday. Looking forward to the softer ride and hoping they balance...which seems to be the only real complaint on TW. We'll see.

Thanks for the input everyone!

 

[dman93]

Looks like you’ve made a decision but I don’t see how the pulling has anything to do with the E rating. For what it’s worth, I have E rated LT265/75-16 KO2’s on my Tacoma, about 20K on them now, and didn’t notice any difference in steering, directional stability, roundness/balance, or general feel through the wheel compared to the OEM P-metric Goodyear’s I replaced at 45K miles. Snow reaction is better and I’ve had no flats; and I really can’t say there was much difference in ride harshness or road noise vs the worn OEM tires. Balance is still dead on, too, and I haven’t even rotated the tires since installation. I think any reputable tire shop should have replaced your tires at no charge.

 

[roving1]

I'll take a look at these, thanks.



Well, I have had the truck combed over thoroughly. It is not the suspension, it's stock. It's not the alignment. The tires barely have 20k and the pull has been since they were new. I have never had C-rated BFG's do this. Have had the tires rotated in every possible configuration and it stills pulls to the right. I'm stumped and have had two Toyota dealerships and every one of their lead mechanic and one of those traveling "master" mechanics all state that it is the tires. Tires have been inspected and nothing has been found to be wrong with them.



I like em too, but not made in my size.

I am not saying you don't have a bad set of tires that are causing pulling. I have experienced this too and sometimes you cant do anything about it but replace them. But that has zero to do with the E rating.

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

Looks like you’ve made a decision but I don’t see how the pulling has anything to do with the E rating. For what it’s worth, I have E rated LT265/75-16 KO2’s on my Tacoma, about 20K on them now, and didn’t notice any difference in steering, directional stability, roundness/balance, or general feel through the wheel compared to the OEM P-metric Goodyear’s I replaced at 45K miles. Snow reaction is better and I’ve had no flats; and I really can’t say there was much difference in ride harshness or road noise vs the worn OEM tires. Balance is still dead on, too, and I haven’t even rotated the tires since installation. I think any reputable tire shop should have replaced your tires at no charge.

I don't know. Two dealerships claimed it was the E-rating of the tires and that they are not the right tire for a smaller truck like the Tacoma. Could be a bunch of BS and DT did not agree with that assessment. The guy I worked with said that the tires were probably just defective. Something about how the tires are laid up and if that is done incorrect it can lad to pulling like I'm experiencing. I would have gone E-rated in the Falkens ut they only offered the E-rating in the 265/75/16 size and I didn't feel like messing around with my odometer and having to buy recalibration devices for another few hundred bucks. Would have gone with another set f BFG's, but that was almost $700 after the credit for my tires, whereas the Falkens came in well under $400.

I am not saying you don't have a bad set of tires that are causing pulling. I have experienced this too and sometimes you cant do anything about it but replace them. But that has zero to do with the E rating.

Agreed. Like I said above, two dealership were leaning on the E-rating as the potential culprit. I think it's just defective tires. Looking forward to seeing how the Falkens perform. Never heard of them really, but they seem well loved by folks and the tread looks beefy.

 

[Beltfed]

My truck is a DD with occasional hauling/towing, off-road use is mostly forest service roads, and winter use to get to the mountains for fun in the snow...so snowflake rated is best.

I can't really recommend a set of tires for you as everyone is different in their likes, but I've had good experience with Yokohama Geolandars, BFGs and the GY Duratracs as general all round AT's for all weather use on Jeeps, Land Rovers and Land Cruisers. Best winter tires I've had were Nokian Hakkapelittas.

Don't know how North you are, but as you mentioned there is definitely value in running snowflake rated tires for all weather, especially if you don't run a separate winter set of tires.

There are tires recommended in this thread I wouldn't use period for that reason alone.