Recommended tires for Toyota 4Runner

Hello,

Does anyone have any recommendations for tires for the Toyota 4Runner ? I have a 2004 SR5 which came equipped with Bridgestone Dueler H/T tires but I now have 50 K miles on her and its time to replace them. They were pretty good at first in both rain and snow.

Also, would it be wise to buy them from the dealer ?

Thanks, Steve

Reply to
Steve Carr
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I just put a set of Dueler APT tires (same size as original 245/70R-16) on my Tundra. The have a much more agressive tread pattern than the original tires did, and they run the same pressures so there was no problem with the TPMS. FWIW, the ATP tires seem to hold the road better in the rain as the old ones did when it was dry.

I got mine on sale at Sears.... the price was just as good as Sam's Club at around $550 for a set of 4, mounted balanced, etc. If you got more dollars than sense, sure you can get your tires from the dealer(The dealer was almost TWICE the price).

Reply to
Noon-Air

I have been pretty happy with Michelin LTX/MS. I have them on two 98

4RNRs and had them on a 96 Tacoma. If you want more agressive the LTX come in an AS version. Check out tirerack.com??? Ed
Reply to
ed_herman

I'll second Ed,

I have the LTX MS on my 96 4 runner with prob around 60,000 hwy miles on the tires, tread looks good still, they balance well, are relativly quiet and look good. They handle the rain and snow just fine. they were fairly pricey though

Dave

Reply to
Zephyr

Ditto on the Michelin LTX M/S. I've had them for about 30,000 miles on my '94 4Runner. Much quieter than the BFGs I had after the OEMs. Despite some reports, I've had no problems in snow and ice, which we do get here in SE Virginia, and they don't remove it, but wait for it to melt.

I always buy from tirerack.com and find a local shop to mount & balance. GL.

Bill Chesapeake, VA

Reply to
Bill

Coopers, cant go wrong. 31-10.5/15s are the best for standard suspention height.

Reply to
Scotty

I looked at a lot of other brands and tires.....one of the things I was looking for was a tire that was in the same pressure range to keep my TPMS functional without having to buy 5 tires. The Bridgestone Dueler APT tires seem to run at the same rated pressure (44 PSI) as OEM. Remember that this is on a service truck (Tundra)and it runs with a normal payload of 1000 lbs or more. With a high probabability of picking up nails, etc on or around construction sites, I need the TPMS to work properly. The other tires I looked at either ran pressures of 32 PSI and were not up to the task for a work truck, or they ran 80 PSI and were not high traction, and didn't have the handling characteristics I was looking for.

Reply to
Noon-Air

"Steve Carr" didst type:

Michelin LTX M/S are good tires and exceptionally long lived. I've run them up to 80,000 miles before they were down to the wear indicators. However, they do not have very good wet surface performance (I can break the rear loose in the Tundra just by getting on the gas when things are wet and the front will slide on sharp turns). For wet and early/late snows, I prefer the Bridgestone Dueler Riva. Softer compound for better traction at the cost of less tire life. They do OK in snow. For the winter season, I switch over to studded snows. See:

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?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Dueler+A%2FT+Revo Check out the reviews for On-/Off-Road All-Terrain tires:

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If your use more pavement oriented, consider the Goodyear Fortera TripleTred as they are getting real good reviews. See:

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Compare them in the reviews for Highway All-Season tires:

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I don't find them competitive nor do they have the selection I like. The tirerack.com site is pretty hard to beat.

Blah

Reply to
blah

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My only question about ordering from tirerack is what happens if there's a problem with the tires, but you didn't buy them from the place that installed them? You may say "I've never had a defective tire, or any other problem...", but it does happen. Unless the installer's going to remove the tires and remount a second set for free or cheap, your savings are right out the window.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

"JoeSpareBedroom" didst type

It hasn't been a problem in the 8+ years I've been doing business with them. If something comes up:

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As with anything else, buy with a credit card to give you more consumer purchase protection power & so you can dispute the charge with your card provider if you are unhappy. Cash, money orders, debit cards, paypal, etc. don't give you the same degree of consumer protection.

Blah

Reply to
blah

Dealing with the credit card company is most often done when the vendor has refused to help. There are other situations where the vendor is TRYING to help, but can't, for some reason. Example:

I once had a set of Michelins installed on a 1982 Tercel. The tires were inflated per Toyota's recommendations. Two days later, on a wet highway, the car hydroplaned so badly, it would've been perfect for a TV documentary on the issue. I got on the phone with Michelin later that day. A guy said that the tire selection guide was incorrect - I had the wrong tires for my car. He said I could probably tweak the pressure and get away with using them, but it obviously wasn't a good solution. He asked for the tire dealer's name, and called them. I got a call from the dealer the next day. They told me to come in to have the tires replaced. No charge for any of it.

I'd be very surprised if a mechanic did this type of thing for free if you bought the tires elsewhere, unless he was being reimbursed by the tire manufacturer for warranty work.

And, what does it cost to ship a tire back to tirerack?

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

Inflate to Toyota's recomendations??? I guess you didn't learn anything from the Explorer/Firestone debacle. The car manufacturer has absolutely no idea what tires you have on your vehicle when the vehicle is designed. They don't know if the tires you have on there require 32 psi or 80 psi or anywhere inbetween. you best bet is to look on the side of the tire for the DOT required rating of "max load XXXX lbs XX psi max pressure" then run what it says. Even on passenger cars with 1 off and 2 off tires/rims, it makes all the differance in the world in handling, fuel milage, tire longevity. Running the 36psi that it said on the tires on 235/50R13 Goodrich T/As on a '76 Mustang II Stallion fastback, with all the suspension mods and a hell of a lot more horsepower(275hp) than that V-6 was ever meant to put out, I was getting as high as 36mpg on the interstate, averaged 22mpg around town, couldn't break it loose sideways (unless I did something real stoopid), and averaged 60,000 miles out of a set. FWIW, I got clocked doing "hot laps" on a clover leaf in San Mateo, CA at 80+ mph, I did well running SOLO II on the autocross track too :-) OTOH, When I only ran 32psi in those tires, they didn't last more than

30,000miles, handled like a wet sponge, and I was doing good to get 22 mpg on the interstate. You can do what you want, its your money, and your tires.
Reply to
Noon-Air

I do this now, but I was talking about 25 years ago. In any case, the guy at Michelin was convinced that the tires were also totally wrong for my vehicle. And, it doesn't matter! The point was that in my opinion, tires are too important to buy from "a distance", unless you've got a spare car you can drive while the other one's out of commission.

Reply to
JoeSpareBedroom

Ditto on the Ice and show here too, I live in michigan, and I've not had any trouble with the tires in the snow,

Dave

Reply to
Zephyr

Thanks everyone for their advice. I checked into the Michelin LTX/MS tires, however they did not have anything in the size I needed, P265/65R17. I ended up purchasing the Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo's. Definitely a different feel than the OEM highway tires I had before. Mean looking tread and they grip the road in heavy rain and water on the road. I can't wait for a good snowstorm to get out there and play.

Steve

Reply to
Steve Carr

But, isn't the 'max load XXXX lbs XX psi max pressure' just that, a max. pressure ? My new tires have a max. cold inflation pressure of 44 psi but the spec. on the door of my 4Runner is 32 psi per tire. Do you think that I should inflate my tires to 44 psi then ? I am not sure about this and have een looking for a definitive way to determine this. I may post to the group.

Reply to
Steve Carr

Just for grins, I checked with the Toyota dealer here in Roanoke, Virginia, Haley Toyota. Much to my amazement their prices were the same as the other tire dealers in town. I found that they were able to order virtually any tire that I was interesed in. Toyota only included 4 rotation and balance vs. most other tire dealers that offered unlimited.

Steve

Reply to
Steve Carr

no

Whats it say on the side of the tire??

Reply to
Noon-Air

like I said before...the tire manufacturers don't know what vehicle their tires are going on (unless its F1), and the vehicle manufacturers don't know what tires are going on their cars and trucks. Use a little common sense here. If you put a set of Pirelli P-7s that require 75psi on your car, and you only inflate them to the 32psi that it says on the door, then your throwing your money away by running on flat tires. Likewise, the opposite applies too.

Reply to
Noon-Air

Reply to
Steve Carr

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