Would appreciate help with tire selection

[Austin26]

Hello, it looks like I'll be able to get my wife on board so things are looking good for getting a base Bronco.

As background, I have off roaded a lot but only larger, military vehicles. So tire selection for a Bronco is something I need help with.

I'm not like most on here... This is my daily driver and I'm rarely going to take it off road except on some weekends and to certain job sites. I currently have a Subaru Crosstrek.

From reviews I've found that the Continental TerrainContact A/T seem to be mostly highway tire with a dash of off road ability. But what size? I'm not wanting wide mud tires, just a practical compromise wheel and tire size. I like the old Land Rover series and early Broncos with the skinny tall tires and being that they're narrow I would think they'd be better for gas mileage and also give me a bump in the height as I'll likely get the base model bronco. But I've never driven skinny tall tires except maybe on a military G-wagon and I've slept since then. And never took it on the road for long periods of time.

Any advice would be welcome. Thank you.

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[Tre]

So you're looking for the best compromise AT tire on a 16" wheel, am I reading that right?

 

[mtap]

Nitro ridge grappler...

 

[TellurideBronco]

Go with 265/70/16 for just a bit more sidewall. The Terrain Contact tires are on my wife’s SUV. They are very impressive, and I think they have more than a dash of off road capability. They do generate a little more road noise than an all season tire, but it’s perfectly acceptable. Just for reference, the SUV is used in SW Colorado to get to alpine lakes, hiking trails, fishing etc. on rutted roads, and mild/moderate shelf roads.

 

[Austin26]

So you're looking for the best compromise AT tire on a 16" wheel, am I reading that right?

I'm open to an alloy wheel as well since it'll weigh less, probably a 17-18", but if I can be happy with my stock steel wheels and whatever tire then I'm fine with that too.

Go with 265/70/16 for just a bit more sidewall. The Terrain Contact tires are on my wife’s SUV. They are very impressive, and I think they have more than a dash of off road capability. They do generate a little more road noise than an all season tire, but it’s perfectly acceptable. Just for reference, the SUV is used in SW Colorado to get to alpine lakes, hiking trails, fishing etc. on rutted roads, and mild/moderate shelf roads.

That's good to hear. Adding a bit of width and sidewall would likely be the best compromise, but I don't have the experience to know that. Good that my line of thinking isn't far off. Would going any higher in aspect ratio begin to cause drifting or other negative road characteristics?

Thank you both for the replies.

 

[GEP]

In pretty demanding service (Alberta Oil Field site visits on pipeline jobs) I've run Duratracs, Wildpeaks, and right now the latest Cooper Discoverer AT. All Mtn Snowflake certified. Wildpeaks felt most planted but the Coopers have noticeable benefit in MPF on highway and I haven't found them lacking on temporary roads and construction sites.

 

[TellurideBronco]

Here is a comparison between the base bronco stock tire size vs. 265/70/16. As you can see, the sidewall increase is only 4.3%. I think you will be perfectly fine. I have Duratracs on my Jeep (they are great, and is a great snow tire as well, but there is a good amount of road noise) but I think they do not fit your ”use case” as well as the Continentals.

I'm open to an alloy wheel as well since it'll weigh less, probably a 17-18", but if I can be happy with my stock steel wheels and whatever tire then I'm fine with that too.


That's good to hear. Adding a bit of width and sidewall would likely be the best compromise, but I don't have the experience to know that. Good that my line of thinking isn't far off. Would going any higher in aspect ratio begin to cause drifting or other negative road characteristics?

Thank you both for the replies.

 

[Austin26]

Here is a comparisOn..

Wow! That's a cool tool. I'm going to have to use that thank you.

Does anyone have experience with a tall skinny passenger tire such as a 255/85/16 or a plus two equivalent 255/~60/18 that could share?

 

[JT1]

Austin, I'm not going to recommend a tire size, because there are a ton of options from stock, to cash out your 401K, and you have a better idea of what you're looking for.
As far as tire recommendations, I would suggest something like a dedicated AT tire. BFG KO2's, Falken AT3Ws, General Grabber AT3, Bridgestone Dueler Revo 3s or similar. Avoid street tires posing as all terrains (I'm looking at you terra grappler) If you spend time with snow, the 3 peak symbol is usually indicative of a tire that handles snow reasonably well, but these are not dedicated snow tires. All of these tires are fairly quiet on road, have decent street manners and will take you farther off the beaten path than you would believe. If there are specific situations you encounter or local terrain considerations (sand, clay mud, volcanic rock) your choice should focus on those.

 

[Austin26]

Thank you JT1. I'll read up on a couple of those models I hadn't considered before. And like I said, I'm not in any way wanting a hard core tire. I live in a subtropical climate so mostly wet, mud, sand and never snow.

 

[Apples]

I've run the Nitto Tera Grapplers and Ridge Graplers. For light duty offroad use, The Teras are great. Decent tread pattern, quiet and well mannered on pavement.

The Ridge Grapplers are considered a hybrid tire. They're more aggressive than the Teras and designed to compete against KO2, Wranglers, etc. They are some of the best offroad tires you can get. They have overall softer rubber than most of the competition. It makes them incredibly sticky when crawling over rocks, even wet. They're still relatively quiet and well mannered on road. They are great in the snow, though kinda crap on ice (what AT isn't?). However, the softer rubber means a hit in longevity. Over two sets of tires, I've gotten around 22-25k miles on a set.

I do wheel hard and regularly so that should be factored into longevity too.

 

[Headsong]

You people. Now I want only KO2's. Great. How's that supposed to happen? I don't want the BL....

 

[dejones64]

I'm considering Base. Looking at a 255/75R17, four I'm thinking about:
BF Goodrich T/A KO2
Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S
Kumho AT51 Road Venture
Hankook Dynapro AT2

Thoughts?

 

[Treeza61]

Nitro ridge grappler...

Nitto

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