New Tire Recommendations

Hey folks. New to the forum here but have been driving my 04 4Runner 4x4 about 5 years now. Bought it from the original owner and it only have 80k on it. It's been a great, reliable rig but it's time to get some new tires. The previous owner put some comfy Michelins on it for mostly urban/highway driving.

I'd love some suggestions on tires. I'm trying to find a set of tires that best fits the criteria below

1. Fits factory wheels
2. Fairly Capable off road (mostly forestry roads here in the NW) but I only off road a few days a year
3. Decent fuel economy
4. Aren't loud on highways/ride comfortably
5. Same size tires as factory specs (I don't want to have to adjust my speedo)
6. Cost: at the intersection of value/quality

Basically, I am looking for a set of tires I can occasionally take off road (forestry roads) but will mostly use for daily driver around town/on the highway.

Thanks for the time and consideration/recommendations.

J

 

Defender LTX M/S on it now? If so, it's going to be hard to find a better tire that fits your criteria. Cost more up front but tread life will mitigate that.

 

FWIW, I have enjoyed the Cooper Discoverer on mine.

 

+1 on the Defenders

I was first thinking Falken Wildpeak AT3W as a decent all around All Terrain, plus it has the mountain/snowflake stamp, but when you say noise, mpg, and rarely go off the beaten path, the pros don't outweigh the cons.

I have the Wildpeaks on right now, since we have a remote property that gets snow, but the Defenders are my all time favorite tire.

 

Agree with above posts regarding Michelin, excellent long lasting tire. If you want a slightly more aggressive tire than LTX these may be a good choice. I have no experience with Nokian but have been eyeing these recently.

Nokian Tyres Outpost APT - Extend your adventures / Nokian Tires

Even more agressive tire here.

Nokian Tyres Outpost nAT - Extend your adventures / Nokian Tires

 

In looking at the spec sheet for Outpost nAT tires, it appears there may be a typo on stock size P metric tire weight???

 

Take time to check out the BF Goodrich KO2's. We put some on my son's jeep. He drives the same as you described. The road noise of the KO2's is very good.

 

Right now I have Michelin X Radial LT 2's (came with the 4Runner). I'm not well versed on tires but those seem to be mostly a highway/city tire.

I'll check out the Defender LTX M/S tires. Would they be good for the occasional, light off-roading?

One thing I forgot to mention, it would be nice to have to have 3 peak snow rated tires since we live in a spot where we have a local ski mountain near by. With the slight lift I put on my 4Runner a year or two ago, it doesn't allow enough room for chains between the tire and the control arm (I think that's the name of the part it's close to). There's plenty of clearance for tires, but when you put on even the lowest profile chains it'll rub.

 

I checked those out and they have stellar reviews, but it may be little more aggressive than what I'd like right now. I did see their newer offering the Trail Terrain - T/A which seems to check a lot of my boxes. They say the Trail Terrain was an 80/20 tire (80 on road, 20 off road), but I'm hesitant to jump on those without it having a little longer track record to support it. It's basically the BF Goodrich K02 lites which may be the ticket.

 

Its going to be hard to beat the Michelin Defender LTX tires. I don't know if they are 3peak snow rated but i can tell you i have them on my 4runner which i purchased from my parents. They have a house in Lake Tahoe and have driven it all over with very snowy conditions (especially going up the summit from Sacramento into the Tahoe valley). They can be used for light off roading as well.

 

COOPER DISCOVERER AT3 4S

 

I love my Defender LTX tires and yes they are good for light off roading

 

You actually aren't supposed to put chains on the front, even if stock, because of the clearance issue you noticed.

 

Great to know! This has been very helpful folks. I appreciate all the feedback and shared experience.

 

Oh, just saw you have a 4th gen. Should be the same, but check the manual.