Tallhair's New Hides for the Durango Thread - Opinions sought and welcome

tallhair

tallhair

Rufus T. Firefly
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Sorry for the non C body thread but hope you guys don't mind ... I know there are plenty of truck owners here and I value your opinions and insights

I posted the same thread at FTO but bet I'll get more responses here

So here goes ....

Hi gang,

I'm leaning toward replacing my 10 year old Cooper Discoverer A/T tyres (bought them in England LOL). They are 31x10.5 15's.

It came with some 235x75.15 Good for Years Wranglers and I put the Coopers on in approx 2006 and they have been some noisy bastages for the duration. Local go to mechanics and all around good guys told me the were "cupped" so that's why they have been making some much of a ruckus. It seems to want to wonder around if I let it in a wind and howls like the wheel bearings were going out so that's why I took it in to ask at the time. They assured me the wheel bearings were OK and it was the tires making all the noise

I'm looking for a good handling and reasonably quieter tire that can handle a little light snow once in a while. I won't be doing ANY off-roading intentionally.

The vehicle in question is a 99 Durango SLT 4 X 4 with 86K ... I just hit the 86K on my way home from work yesterday matter of fact.

I'm leaning toward the following.

image006.png
image007.png

OR

image008.png
image009.png

I'm used to the height and bulk of the 31.10.5s and think the 235x75s may look a bit smallish now.

I'm leaning toward the big 31x10.5 Firestone Destination A/Ts or the Michelin LTX A/T2, Defender LTX M/S, or LTX M/S2

What do you guys recommend and why? If you have experience I'd love to hear it.

Thanks for reading if you've made it this far :)
 
Interesting topic. I need 4 tires for my 2000 Durango as well. I like a quiet tire also, not sure what to go with.
 
I'll add pics try tommorow then. Hopefully yuse guys have enough info for some opines til then :)
 
tallhair said:
I'll add pics try tommorow then. Hopefully yuse guys have enough info for some opines til then :)
Click to expand...

My input is probably outdated, but:

I had a Ramcharger and a Bronco years ago. The 31x10.5's just looked right on both of them. Anything else looked small like you said.

I had a couple of Super Duty pick ups, one with Michelin Scorpions, they were total junk. Didn't wear well at all, rode terrible and were almost unsafe in rain with an unloaded truck.

The other Super Duty had BF Goodrich T/A's. I thought they rode well, wore like iron, and were awesome in the snow. But they were a little noisy. I was ok with that considering the upside.

Again, this input is 10-20 years old now.

Hope the input isn't worthless.

John
 
bulldogchesty said:
I have heard good things about the Destination LE's. I am needing tires for my 2002 Tundra. Those or the M/X 2's.
Click to expand...

thanks Dave. My tire man said he could get me out the door with the Destination LE's in 265 x 75 - 15's for $616. Price sounds good on those ... I imagine the Destination A/T 31 x 10.5's would only be a little more. My buddy has the A/T's and they are quiet enough and ride nice on his F150
 
I'm also considering replacing the OEM shocks with Biill Stein's shocks ... I heard his shocks were the best - $340

image005.png
 
if you want quiet go with the michelins. I also run the Cooper AT3's noise isn't a factor for us since it's a truck and I'd never hear it over the exhaust anyway. :) But having been around the FIL and as often as he changes tires, michelins have always been the quietest that I've experienced anyway.

Oh, also have the same BilStiens. By far the best shocks I've run on the truck. They've performed better and last longer than even the Rancho 9000's I had. They've got 60K miles and one bushing on the rear shock/bottom is a little loose. I'll probably buy them again.
 
I had the Michelins on two work trucks. Quiet and long lasting. That said, I replaced them with these - Toyo Open Country A/T -

Toyo-Open-Country-AT-II-Tread-9-4-12.jpg


on one of them. Also quiet, but they were better in the snow, however the rubber seemed a bit softer and they wore out at about 50k miles.
 
Last edited:
67Monaco said:
if you want quiet go with the michelins. I also run the Cooper AT3's noise isn't a factor for us since it's a truck and I'd never hear it over the exhaust anyway. :) But having been around the FIL and as often as he changes tires, michelins have always been the quietest that I've experienced anyway.
Click to expand...


Thanks ... I'm leaning toward one of the Michelins or the Destination A/T 31 x 10.5's. Based on the tire rack survey data they are comparable on the noise and ability to get around in light snow. The Michelins are $120 more.

I know Michelin has a great reputation as a company and make good tires ... one buddy has the 20" Michelin LTX A/T2s on 2012 RAM and another has the Firestone Destination A/Ts in 16 or 17" on a 2006 F150. I've ridden in both many times and driven them both and they are both quiet and drive nice. The Michelins may have the edge on handling but they are on are 20's on a more modern truck/suspension so probably not too comparable to the 15's and suspension on my 99 Durango.

Anyone have Pro or Con experience with the Firestone Destination A/T or recommend anything in comparable price I'm not thinking of/ don't have listed above?

And does 86K and 17 years sound like the Durango should be long overdue for new shocks? I'm assuming the answer is yes but the handling and ride has not changed significantly over the years that I've noticed ... it's always been rough as hell over non-smooth roads even when new.
 
67Monaco said:
Oh, also have the same BilStiens. By far the best shocks I've run on the truck. They've performed better and last longer than even the Rancho 9000's I had. They've got 60K miles and one bushing on the rear shock/bottom is a little loose. I'll probably buy them again.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the recommendation on the BS's
 
heh firestone ^^ that just reminded me. when i was a kid, out in west TX, firestone tested tires out there. they had these yellow cars that would be driving out in the middle of nowhere. like van horn pecos alpine out that way. i was a little kid i dont have pics or anything. it was in the early 70s. pretty random, but there you go.

anyhow -
get all terrain T/As.
 
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