For the price of the stock replacement tires there are much MUCH better tires out there for street and mild offroad use. My stock tires road like crap and had very little traction that was made very clear the first time I drove it in the rain to work, on normal roads they were not to horrible but in stop and go traffic forget it.

 

Well, here's my two cents worth. I got 55,000 on the factory Goodyears. A little cupping towards the end but then again, I never had them rotated.

Bought a new set of Goodyears that should last a helluva lot longer. They have RAISED WHITE LETTERS......

 

Here's to ya 04HEMIGREG! There are very few goodyear supporters out there, glad it is working for you. I did not care for mine much, no where near the traction I needed.

So what part of NC are you in?

 

I'm in northeastern NC - Ahoskie. Mostly pavement driving for me but, as I said, I get in the muck now and then to get to a duck hole or the occasional snow or driving on the beach at the outer banks and haven't had any problems getting into or out of those places. A lot of that has to do with the way you drive through it too though.

 

Right on!!

Join us in the NC dodge owners over in the club section

 

I posted the link those tires because they aren't offroad. They're exactly like the stock tires - meant for trucks & SUVs that spend 99% of their time on a highway. You can see which ones had better traction, better ride quality, etc.

My stockers went in the trash when I bought the truck at 45k miles. They had plenty of tread left but it wouldn't grip on any surface. In the rain it was life-threatening. The plastic tires on my Big Wheel had more traction than the Goodyears.

My Coopers are overkill for the driving I do but at least when I want to drive it like a truck it'll do it. My brother picked the Bridgestone HL Alenzas (from the test) for his 4Runner AWD w/ 20s and they're working out great.

 

Hey John, I'm not doubting the validity of the tire tests and the numbers can speak for themselves. To be honest, I didn't even look at it because, as I said, I'm happy with the Goodyears, so much so that I bought a new set to even my own surprise and I paid a "pretty penny" for them. That doesn't mean I think they are better than your Coopers, it just means I am okay with them enough to keep riding on them. My tire dealer, who is also my general maint. shop for my vehicles, has been loyal to me over the years and I'm loyal to them, and they don't sell Cooper Tires. For the 20" rim size, I could have gotten the OEM replacements, some similar sized Michelins, or maybe 1 or 2 knock-off brands that I wasn't comfortable with.

I do appreciate the info and feedback though.

 

I generally only drive my truck in the winter and during the spring/summer/fall when it's raining. Most other times in the spring/summer/fall I'm riding my motorcycle or taking the '66 mustang for a cruise.

That means that a fairly high percentage of my driving is on wet pavement. I had to be extremely careful (more than in any other vehicle I have ever owned or driven) on wet pavement because there was no traction. Horrible.

I had no complaints about the tires on dry pavement. The previous owner put 27k miles on them, I added 6k, and then dumped them for Cooper LTZ's. So far, I am extremely happy with them. Dry traction is still great, and I actually have wet traction now. It's a wonderful thing!

I'm sure there are other Goodyear tires that don't suck in the rain, but after the wonderful reviews of the LTZ's, I went ahead and tried them.

Relating to the title of this thread, I would replace this set of LTZ's with another set when they wear out , based on my current feelings. Hopefully that will be many miles down the road though!

joe

 

The tires I have now are the BFG Baja A/T which I put on right when I bought the truck and are now nearing the end of their life which I have put 65K miles on them. Although they were over 200 a tire, they were well worth it imo. good in the mud, snow and rain as well as getting me about 21 MPG's on the highway back and forth to work when doing the speed limit. I am looking at getting the same ones before next winter.

 

I love the BFG AT's. Do you have 20" rims mullet? Dealer told me that the AT's weren't available, as of a year ago, but he may have told me the mud terrains were. I don't want those, of course. Not sure about the baja's. How are they different from the regular AT's?