Need help choosing tires

[Rocklin Bison]

Hi OB community, I am hoping to get some tips on choosing tires for my 2020 Chevy Colorado ZR2 Bison. It came with 31” Wrangler Duratrac 4-ply tires and I will be replacing them with 33” tires as soon as possible. I like the look and feel of the M/T Wranglers and they actually perform well on paved roads. I won’t be doing any serious rock climbing, but a lot of overlanding... Mojave Road, Alabama Hills, Death Valley (Mendel Pass & Lippencot). I am looking at the Tokyo Open Country Line and the AT3 is of interest, however, it is an All Terrain. It is a big $$ jump to the M/T. On You Tube lots of people recommend the Falcon Wildpeak M/T’s. Any thoughts? Thanks!!

 

[trikebubble]

I have nothing but good to say about my Toyo AT2 Extreme's. They've performed flawlessly so far, seem to wear very well, and I haven't found anywhere yet they haven't gotten our truck and camper where we want to go.

 

[madcratebuilder]

Falken's seem to be the choice with ZR2 owners. 33's fit with level and minor trimming, 35's with lift and major trimming. You may want to consider gears with 33 or 35's, I have 33's (255/80) with 4.10s and it is a great combination. The taller tire and the extra weight of the tire, up to 20lbs each, hurt performance.
Several YouTube vids on trimming for the 33 and 35's.

 

[MidOH]

Cooper ST Maxx or STT's. Maxxis Razr's are good as well.

It's not just the tread for grip. Consider sidewall durability and trailside repairability. These three tires are ten times stronger than a Duratrac, so if you had good luck with those, you'll be styling with these.

 

[Boostpowered]

Cooper ST Maxx or STT's. Maxxis Razr's are good as well.

It's not just the tread for grip. Consider sidewall durability and trailside repairability. These three tires are ten times stronger than a Duratrac, so if you had good luck with those, you'll be styling with these.

So those 3 brands have Kevlar belts?

 

[MidOH]

Cooper calls it Armor tek or something.

Cooper's proven Armor-Tek3 carcass construction - Cooper Tires Australia | Tyres Worth Owning

Armor-Tek3 is perfect for demanding off-road use to give you the confidence of having a tyre that is built to last, so that when you adventure off-road you know you have the toughest tyre on the market.

www.coopertires.com.au

But each of those tires has a sidewall 3 times thicker than my Duratracs. The DT is a very nice street tire, with a knobby tread. It's not an armored MT carcass at all. I toss those Coopers on my truck ASAP, more for reliability than traction, lately. The peace of mind is worth the extra cost. I haven't torn one yet.

 

[MazeVX]

What exact tire size are you looking for?
I had nothing but positive experience with my general grabber X3.

 

[Rocklin Bison]

What exact tire size are you looking for?
I had nothing but positive experience with my general grabber X3.

I’m looking for 33’s. 285 70/17

 

[JORCAN]

Have you looked at the Milestar Patagonias. That's what I'm getting. Amazon even has them. They are like a hybrid m/t. Now, according to reviews they are a 20 to 30k mile tire on average (depending on use). But for $170 each not bad.

 

[Rocklin Bison]

Have you looked at the Milestar Patagonias. That's what I'm getting. Amazon even has them. They are like a hybrid m/t. Now, according to reviews they are a 20 to 30k mile tire on average (depending on use). But for $170 each not bad.

I have not. I’ll take a look. Right now I’m starting to lean toward true M/T’s. Yokohama Geolander MT, KM3’s, Graber X3. Cooper ST Maxx is interesting also.

 

[MazeVX]

I’m looking for 33’s. 285 70/17

OK, that's what I have. So general grabber X3 is what I currently drive and I'm very happy, they aren't loud and perform very well, even in soft sand.
Cooper st maxx are also pretty good. Cooper at3 4s is very street oriented but still a good AT

 

[MidOH]

St Maxx is built on the MT carcass of the Stt Pro. Different tread only.

 

[12C20]

I have 35,000 miles on my Hankook DynaPro M/Ts and they still have a TON of tread left. I had the same tire on my 2008 JK Unlimited and got 60,000 miles on them before I sold it with plenty of tread.

I know a lot of it is driving style, but the tires seem to be built to last. Quiet(er) on the road, good in dirt, excellent on slick rock, sort of okay in mud and snow.

 

[Rocklin Bison]

Thank you. I’ll check those out.

Update..I went to my tire guy today and told him I was stressing whether to go with AT’s or MT’s, and leaning toward a MT or Hybrid. He swears by Toyo (RT) - a hybrid. Says he has sold hundreds and never had one problem. They last a long time and only need rotating every 5k miles or so. Any tire I bring-up with him, he goes back to Toyo. However, I don’t see Toyo mentioned much in the overlanding community. Does anyone have any thoughts on Toyo RT’s? I think the Toyo MT’s are a little much for me.

 

[Billiebob]

Yokohama Geolander MT

I've had many Yokos. Great warranty, and I've needed it often. But great tires until the delamination issues start. Even then I was never stranded, never had a flat, but of 20 Yokos over the past 20? years, 5 had delamination problems. I still run them tho, they are great tires with fabulous no question warranties...... and they have always been the least expensive brand name tires out there. The delamination issue never affected their highway performance. And it was always my tire shop which found the issue during tire rotations. I call Yokos maybe the best buy IF you go to a tire shop regularly. I never buy things like tires on line. Retail adds value and security to my tire purchases.

 

[Dlnuckolls]

What exact tire size are you looking for?
I had nothing but positive experience with my general grabber X3.

I’m looking for 33’s. 285 70/17

After some extreme research I went with the Nitto Trail Grapplers. They had a lot of the same features that most others have and had great reviews. I also found the on sale at Extreme Terrains website!

 

[Maverick9110E]

Just put Toyo AT3's on the truck Monday. Driven about 200 miles of road so far and they're great. Very little noise. No issue in the rain either. Taking them off-road next weekend.

 

[Corbet]

Toyo is a great tire and often comes at a premium price. I ran a set of MT’s with little issue. The RT is an excellent tire.

For your original posted service needs I’d stick with an AT or hybrid. The hybrid generally gives you the sidewall design of the MT with a more friendly less aggressive tread. Toyo/Nitto/Yokohama/Cooper all have a version.

The Duratracs sidewalls are paper thin. Everyone in my Cruiser circles who bought a set had multiple flats when wheeling. Maybe they are OK on a lighter truck. I have set studded for winter road use only. I’ve had one flat and cut one sidewall luckily not bad enough to leak. I’m not getting another set even for pavement duties.

If your truck sees snow an AT is the logical choice. Hybrid OK, and MT gets scary for winter use.

 

[Rocklin Bison]

Hey all, thanks for much for the great information. I can’t believe how much I agonized over this decision. I decided to go with the Grabber X3’s. You only live once! I haven’t had a chance to use them yet, but they look great. I have made some more mods to my truck and can’t wait to get into some dirt and see you all soon.

 

[LONO100]

EDIT: not sure from your last post if you have already mounted the new treads you purchased just yet bit in case you haven't yet:

How much dirt time have you had with the duratracs already on your truck? I'm a fan of the duratracs and have run them on my midsize crew cab for 9 years (2 sets), and put them on my 2020 F-150 crew cab that I just purchased in August.

Before going all duratrac all the time, I ran MT's on my midsize crew cab and while they gave me the bite I needed off road, they were very loud, even for me, and I can barely hear out of my left ear. Once I switched to duratracs, I got the bite I needed but they have much better road manners, especially at freeway speed compared to the MT's I was running. I spend a lot of time in the winter in the Sierras near Tahoe and I found the duratracs were very good in the snow as well.

I would say if you haven't already, put those 31" duratracs through some solid off road trips and see how they treat you. You may be surprised with how well they may fit what you are looking to do. You might not have to spend a dime on new tires, or re-gearing, or speedo calibration, or wheel well trimming, or many of the things that come with running bigger more aggressive tires. I've went the big tire route, and it isn't as simple as a lift and a trip to the tire shop. You'll need to get a full size spare with the same size tire you plan to upgrade to, so that's 5 tires you need to buy. Then you will need to figure out how to carry that spare tire if it won't fit under the bed which will most likely have you throwing that spare in the bed, with a chain wrapped around it, and taking up valuable real estate. This is on top of loss of MPG, speedo issues, possible re-gearing, trimming and tire rub. Take it from a guy who has been through all this many times over.

Sorry for the long rant, but give those 31's a good beating in the dirt, they might just do the job and you can spend your money on other things. After doing this for over 20 years, I've learned to put less importance on lifts and big tires, and more investment on how to carry things, making the rig as reliable as possible and the actual gear I use to live while outside.