Yokohama geolandar G015 or Coopers?

[Mayne]

I've run the STMaxx out in Moab, they did chunk on the side lugs. They do get loud the last have of there life as well. Other than a construction nail, they never lost any air. I'm currently running the AT3 coopers and did a trip through Death Valley with them. I ran between 18-20psi off road. I was a bit more concerned as they have a two ply side wall, but I didn't come away with anything resembling a scratch on them. They are more playable than the STMaxx, and the 235/85 that I have look under inflated at forty psi. At 60 psi they look about right for highway duty.

I'm not easy on a tire as truck and trailer topped 7500lbs.

 

[XJLI]

I hate my AT3s. Probably the worst tire I've ever run on the street, and puncture easier than the old "weak sidewall" BFG ATs. I puncture two sidewalls. Off road they are actually pretty good, but once it gets a little muddy they get useless quick like any AT. They are wearing like iron though, so I'm stuck with them.

 

[kayadog]

I agree about the AT3. They are loud and rough on the highway, although the tread wear is great. I greatly prefer my Hankook ATM's. Much quieter on road and just as good off road.

 

[tacollie]

Aside from snow I love my Toyo Open Country CTs. They are similar to the m55 but cheaper. They are really tough. The ST Maxx is also great. I haven't ran the Yokohama's but 2 guys I travel with swear by them. If the price is right I wouldn't hesitate.

 

[JakeH]

LOVE my Yokohamas. Not the sexiest tire out there, but reliable as a hammer in every condition I've put it through.

 

[WEK207]

Personally, I'm going to see how my KO2s do this winter. They were good this summer/fall, if they don't work out well this winter I'm planning on getting a set of the Yokohamas to use as winter/late fall/early spring tires. I can switch back to KO2s when the snow threat has gone away.

 

[Offroadmuch]

So as luck would have it my neighbor has a set of the G015's on her 2012 Toyota 4Runner (I think that is the model) midsize SUV V-8. I found it kind of amusing that she did not do any research and just went to the dealer and that is what they put on. They have been great but this vehicle has only been offroad once! It is just for the road in the city. They don't look very aggressive in person but they do look like a good all around tire. I may be leaning toward Cooper St Pro or St Maxx. Does anyone know if any of the tires with "Kevlar" are any tougher than those without? We blew a Goodyear Wrangler with Kevlar at work by taking a corner too close in a Chevy Tahoe, tore through the sidewall pretty bad but I onow nothing is perfect and one incident isn't proof of anything it is just one story...

 

[rruff]

I don't know if you've seen this video about the puncture resistance of Cooper tires: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kz8mmLkeks The Copper Pros have the same casing as the Max, just bigger voids.

A tire that is durable off road, has high puncture resistance, and is good in mud, is also going to have high rolling resistance, poor fuel mileage, and be noisy on the street. Those are the tradeoffs. The MPG difference can be enough that you pay >$1000 more over the life of the tires.

So think about what you really need. A decent E rated tire with street tread will be fine in anything but mud. To get good mud performance, you need tires with large voids that will be noisy on the street, usually poor on wet pavement, and cost you a substantial amount in fuel.

 

[Offroadmuch]

Yes I have seen that video. That is why I was asking in a previous post on this thread if anyone has any knowledge of tires with a specially designed sidewall or carcass like the Coopers or KO2's or experience with Kevlar in tires. I do mostly daily driver and around town activities. My concern is that when I am offroad I am at the most risk if my tires fail. I have heard other Montero owners say that the Cooper AT-3's are mushy or wander a bit on this truck. I know it depends on the driver, tire pressure, road type, previous experience as to how we interpret tire performance. If they are stable and have ok street performance I could justify them as an all around tire since they do have some strong sidewalls.

 

[rruff]

For 13 years and ~140k miles I ran a '84 Toyota 2WD pickup offroad, camping in the wilderness. I used regular street tires on it (something cheap, don't recall) until the last set, which were Liberator ATs from Walmart. You may think I didn't really go offroading in a 2WD truck, but I did. I put on larger diameter tires, cranked up the torsion bars, and added leafs to the rear to gain a little clearance. I beat the crap out of that truck, getting to where I wanted to go. I used momentum to get through tricky areas and rocks, and the bottom of the truck was a disaster of dents. Oil pan and gas tank included. I wasn't lacking for traction even with street tread. The most challenging surface was sand, but the solution there is to air down. I avoided mud pretty well, since I camped in the SW deserts in winter, and stuck near the west coast in summer.

I did not have a problem with with P rated street tires. I got a few flats in that time, but not from sidewall or tread gashes. Usually a sharp piece of metal (nail, screw, etc) was the culprit, and those will penetrate anything. Going to LTs with stiffer sidewalls and more substantial tread (C-rated I think) resulted in a ~10% MPG drop.

I'm not saying you should get P rated street tires for your Montero, but it makes little sense to go with heavy duty mud tires if you will be spending nearly all your time on the street. If I was you, I'd investigate Nitto Dura Grapplers, which have a more durable casing than than pure road tires, but have street oriented tread and get great reviews. http://www.nittotire.com/light-truck-tires/dura-grappler-highway-terrain-light-truck-tire/

 

[Glorifiedhabit]

What we need is a dedicated tire thread. I'm in the market for new rubber real soon. I've narrowed my choices down to the General grabber at 2 or these new Yoko's. I just got 25k out of a set of Ko2's. They are now at 20% I dont think that is very good. The Duramax is heavy and hard on tires though.

 

[Offroadmuch]

You are probably correct. I definitely try to be careful when out and about but there are still some times when I push it just a little in terms of "maybe just a little momentum here to make sure I make it over, through, don't get stuck..." I will be making my final pick after the new year....

 

[rruff]

What we need is a dedicated tire thread.

Most of what you want to know can be found in online reviews. One important one that is missing is rolling resistance. I'm surprised that the EPA doesn't lab test this because it isn't that difficult to do, and it can vary a huge amount between similar looking tires. Occasionally someone will voice their MPG impressions, but not often.

Tire performance also varies greatly depending on the climate and pavement. Snow varies a lot depending on location. So does dirt, gravel and mud. A tire that gets a high or low average rating may be substantial different where you live.

 

[Mundo4x4Casa]

You will continue to receive a lot of conflicting personal preference about tires on here, but there is one thing sure: One size does not fit all. We all have differing needs and wants in a tire to match our rig's capability, weight, size, and 'off-load look'. I'm not into the final item anymore. No more huge voids for me.

I just bought another set of Cooper AT3's for my 10,400 pound truck camper, the XTC. Mile for mile, and compromise for compromise, they are the best buy I've found. The size is 315/75R16. The E load rating is 3860 pounds per. That's 7720 pounds of rear axle tire loading. The 35 inch tires weigh 63 pounds apiece. They are mounted on heavy, wider, custom made steel wheels (1/2" plate center hub Stockton Wheels) for a stupid high load rating, and for deflating while running the dunes. The dunes in a 10K pound truck? Yep. A big white cabeza de vaca in the desert. They have small voids and large blocks which adds weight and longevity, work good in snow, and subsequently are not grave diggers in sand. All this adds to the unsprung weight. But the whole system has a high load rating. Only a few reading this will have my same parameters.

We also use the AT3's on Jeanie's '11 Jeep G. C. Limited in a P rating and they have worn like iron and work well in our 4-actual season/down a dirt road environment. They are a lot lighter. They started out very noise-free but about half way through the tread life started to hum. It got worse. We had a woe with the spare putting out a low pressure signal so re-inflated the spare and the rest of the tires up from 28 pounds to 40 pounds. Voila! The noise dissipated back down to the early on low noise level.
I've had rather poor luck with BFG AT's and owned several sets. What was the woe? Sidewall cracking. Tread sep. Lots of flats. Flimsy construction. Having bought maybe 45 sets of tires in my time for 14-4WD's, I only know what I know. I don't know what you know. Here was my rear axle last set: a pair of 375/65R16, (33/15.50R16) AT's on 12 inch wide aluminum wheels, so-called super singles compared to the stock 265/75R16 Michelin's.

So, find your way. Make your own mistakes. It's only a tire.
jefe

 

[Offroadmuch]

What we need is standardized testing by an independent 3rd party with set criteria for a variety of typical vehicles say everything from Toyota Rav4/Honda CRV, toyota tundra 4x4, Mitsubishi Montero size SUV, Chevy Tahoe, F350 etc. and then expose them to standardized hazards under controlled conditions. Now before we get the pitchforks and burn down the internet because the test will not accurately represent real world conditions or "your truck". At least we would have some kind of foundation. Sort of like the one below but with many more standardized parameters. This is actually pretty good because it focuses on only one thing under some pretty simple controlled conditions. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kz8mmLkeks


http://expeditionportal.com/where-the-rubber-meets-the-road/