Will I regret Michelin at2's in BC?

[BC Adventurist]

I've searched high and low for someone doing what I want to do and haven't had much success. I've noticed lots of guys are pulling off Michelin at2's in 265/70r18 flavour and selling pretty cheap as it's stock on a few diesel trucks these days. This is the size I'm after for my lifted 4th gen (pretty sure it'll fit?!?!) But I'm not certain on fsr performance.
In BC things are mostly crushed rock, mud is not a major concern for me but being able to air down and go over shale or roots/stumps is. I also would like something fairly comfortable on washboard and exhibits some confidence on loose over hard gravel roads. By many accounts the Cooper at3 seems to be the best for this but the Michelin can be had for a lot less money. Will I regret the decision to go Michelin as soon as I hit a deactivated FSR, or slide off the road when hitting loose gravel on a sweeping corner?
Anyone have direct experience in the northwest? Thanks in advance!

 

[(none)]

If you are looking for a mostly on-road, good riding and wearing tire lift he cooper AT3, the Michelin AT2 will be a great tire. They are very well known for being a light duty AT tire, better on road then off of course, but they are probably p-rated too so it's par for the course.

 

[cdthiker]

I recently picked up a set of the Cooper AT3's.
So far I have been fairly impressed with them. The type of roads you are talking about they kick butt on. I went for them in 10 ply. Which is over kill for the tacoma reg cab 4x4 I have. However, I got 90 k miles out of my last set of ATs this way. I also spend an extended ammount of time off pavement every year getting fire wood, hunting, exploring, fishing etc. Most of it on FSRs like you are talking about. The last set was a pair of Hankook Danapro ATMs in 10 ply. Another good choice to look at. I went for the AT3 because 1, I wanted to try something new, and two the AT3 is supposed to be better in the snow. Looking at the tread pattern, I expect it will be. Since I live on the side of a mountain up a dirt road and we got 300 inches of snow last year, thats important.

I also went for the AT3 because of how smooth they are. I currently am driving 2-3 hours one way a few times a week for work, so I did not want to listen to them, and I did not want to feel them. They are one of the more silent AT tires I have run. The AT2 tires you mentioned are silent, and folks seem to get good life out of them, but that seems to be all they have going for them. There is one guy over on tacoma world who ran either the AT2 or the LTX on his tacoma almost exculsivly for 400k miles. He did a lot of dirt roads and seemed to like them.

 

[BC Adventurist]

Thanks for the replies so far. The Michelin AT2's that I'm seeing around are 10ply LT tires so not exactly thin or car duty tires. As much as I'd like to run KO2's, ST Maxx or Duratrac's, they are significantly more expensive (2.5-3x the cost of the michelins in my case) and probably get old on the highway after a couple hours. The Cooper AT3's which I'd like to buy are $400-500 more than the pricing I'm seeing on the Michelins. I honestly think that most guys don't run the Michelins because they are boring and don't 'look' the part, not because they don't hold up but I was hoping there'd be a few out there who had tried them out. I guess I might have to be that guy.... I'm not too fussed about snow performance as I run dedicated snow's in the winter but I think your assessment of AT3's improved snow performance will be correct there cdthiker.

Being a student sure makes stuff like this difficult, regular paychecks and this decision would be easy!! AT3 would probably be about perfect for what I want to do over the next 2-3 years.

 

[Clutch]

Just run what you can afford, think you'll be fine...they might even surprise you a bit.

I see ranchers out in the boonies with street style treads all they time, they do fine. Believe we stress too much over tire choice. If they work, great, if not sell them when you put your snow tires on. And get something else in the spring.

 

[gwittman]

I run Michelin LTX MS tires on my truck when on the road. They are a great road tire and I get great life out of them. They are not a good off-road tire. I don't think they are even a mediocre off-road tire. When I go off road, I switch to Mud Tires. If you don't have the space or money to have two sets of tires, a good All Terrain tire works fairly well on and off-road. I ran BFG ATs for many years before I decided to run two different sets of tires and was happy with them.

The Michelin LTX A/T2 tread does not seem to be any more aggressive than the MS tires that I run on the road. I don't consider that a good AT tire. If you want to save a little money, they should be a good road tire but don't expect good performance off-road. Sure you can play a little off-road but you will need to be careful where you go.

 

[vicali]

Watch Kijiji for take offs! Or go to Costco and get K02s!

The Ltx At2 were the same price when I was buying last spring.

Also watch for the CT sales- father in law picked up a set of Goodyear territory's for the price of three- they use the duratrac case with a different tread design.

Yikes, that's the second thread where I've recommended CanadianTire.. what is wrong with me?

 

[vicali]

Cooper AT3, Hankook ATM, or Toyo AT2 are all more affordable options. A friend of mine had good luck with this place shipping tires out of Vancouver; https://www.4tires.ca/
But you have to have somewhere to mount and balance them.

Also check the Toyo CT it's a new Canadian only tire!

 

[Clutch]

I have been running Kumho Road Venture AT51...come in the size you're looking for, not a bad price point either.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...7TR8AT51&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

Getting a little noisy on the road with some wear on them, have about 15K on them now. I give them a 10 in the snow and an 8 offroad. Like them so much I run them on both my truck and SUV.

I am in Idaho and we get similar conditions to BC here in the fall-winter-spring....summer it is dry and dusty.

Have run BFG AT/MT's, Goodyears MT's, Cooper SST and ATW's in the past...these Kumhos have surprised me, might be my favorite tire right now.

 

[vicali]

Can't speak to the other options, but my KO2s are quieter than the stock tires and are way more comfortable, too.

Just finished a 12+ hr drive to northern Alberta on highways with the new K02- family didn't notice a thing- which is about as good of a review as I can get.

 

[4runnerteq]

Most every set of Mich AT2s Ive seen were chopped out really bad and start early on in their life. I personally would not recommend them, or much any Michelin tire any more. We used to always try and push customers in to a Michelin, but in the past year or so it seems their quality and life have gone to crap. Most all of us at my work drive 4 runner and the majority are on KOs, KO2s or Yokohama Geolanders. Wifes 4runner is going to need tires soon and it has always had Michelin LTXs on it, but I'm not sure I will be going back to them again, although this set has been great, Ive seen many that weren't. Its a shame really.

 

[Clutch]

Used to be a big fan of BFG AT's, last two sets haven't been very happy with them, at about 40% wear performance goes away, and they get loud. I rotate every 6'000 miles, and drive 25K miles a year.

Saw the Kumho's AT51 (never heard of them before) read good reviews of them, oh Hell...I'll give them a shot. So far so good. Snow performance is impressive...black ice, give them about a 5 or 6, would break loose but was predictable. BFG AT's were like hockey pucks on black ice.

Gravel and unimproved roads. Where I normally would be grabbing the transfer case lever with the BFG's, the Kumho's I leave it in 2WD longer.

 

[Clutch]

If you haven't tried the version 2 (ie. KO2), I'd suggest you give them a shot. I've never used the original BFK KO tires, but reading feedback from people that have used both, it sounds like there is a very big difference between the two tires.

Curious - how much mileage did you manage to get out of your set until the 40% wear mark?

Speaking of tires we've never heard before, my last vehicle, a 2006 ML350 came with new Atturo AZ800 tires on it. Some random Taiwanese brand, if I remember correctly. Those all seasons were a beast and performed amazing in everything from pavement, to rain, to sand, to snow. I never would have expected that out of a no-name brand.

I almost bought a set of the new compound KO2's but having not very good luck with the past 2 sets shied me away, mind you I have been running BFG's for a good part of 25 years. I do hear the new ones are pretty good. Years and years ago, ran them on my 85 4Runner and my '92 Pickup...do remember getting a lot of flats with them. Took me a couple few years to learn my lesson, kept on buying BFG's cause everyone says they are The Best!

Generally get 50-60K out of a set of tires, so roughly around the 22-25K mark. Wet performance braking had some ******** puckering moments. Slid through a couple red lights in the rain, even my Cooper SST's or the Goodyear MTR's when nearly bald wouldn't do that. One of the main reasons I quit BFG... poor wet pavement and snow performance. One of those "almost in a accident" because of the tires left a bitter taste in my mouth.

Yeah, discovering off brands really aren't that bad after all. Wonder if BFG sells tires simply because of the name. After owning these Kumhos for a while, I find myself looking at the odd ball stuff now.

Doing so many road miles with the new commute, have been looking at the HT51's...do have an extra set of rims that I use for full on studded snow tires, might toss those on there, and only use the AT51 wheelset when I go camping. That or just buy another set of rims for the "commuter tires" so I don't have to pull tires on and off each season.

 

[BC Adventurist]

Thanks for the link Vicali! I've run the Goodyear Territories before on my old 4runner, they were good at first, then I felt the performance really diminished for the second half of the tread. I went from liking to hating the tire so I'm not in a rush to go there again. Oddly Canadian Tire has the best pricing on the Coopers, it being Canadian Tire is part of what is stopping me from buying haha.

The only takeoff's I've seen in the right size and condition have been the Michelins, hence even considering them. Last set I saw come up was $650 for 5 tires with less than 2000km on them; hard to argue with $130/tire. That said I think I'll just take the plunge and get the coopers, or maybe something off 4tires.ca

Cheers all!

 

[Arktikos]

.. I honestly think that most guys don't run the Michelins because they are boring and don't 'look' the part, not because they don't hold up...

You may be right. I'd save your money and buy the "cheap" Michelins. Or maybe, something even cheaper.