Best truck tire for MPG?

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Thanks for the info. I read some reviews on tirerack for the Grabber HTS and you guys are right, a lot of people really like that tire. I read some reviews here with the search function too, they get good reviews on BITOG too. One guy said he has a set on his Dakota and he loves them. I still can't find much on its MPG but it is a LRR tire. I will do some price research and read some more reviews. It seems to do very well on trucks in the same class as my Dakota, like on Nissan Frontiers, Toyota Tacomas, etc.

I was a bit gun-shy about Generals, because both of the Chevy Colorados I owned before buying my Dakota had OEM Generals, and they were not too good of a tire. I don't remember the model of tire it was, but they were small and not that great in performance. I know they were not Grabbers, though. I had no idea the new Grabbers were better now. On tirerack there are more positive reviews on the Grabber than the Destination LE. That tells me the Grabber is the better tire. I just want an affordable (about $100.00 each) tire that helps me get the best MPG and runs quiet/smooth with good wet and dry traction. We get a lot of rain in Florida in the summer and the traffic here is a nightmare, so I have more than my share of panic stops and red lights/stop signs.

Thanks for the info here. I appreciate it.
 
Another vote for the Grabber HTS. I've got them on the Raider and they've done great in heavy downpours. They're even doing well in the ice and snow we've been getting in abundance lately.
 
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190

I was a bit gun-shy about Generals, because both of the Chevy Colorados I owned before buying my Dakota had OEM Generals, and they were not too good of a tire. I don't remember the model of tire it was, but they were small and not that great in performance. I know they were not Grabbers, though. I had no idea the new Grabbers were better now. On tirerack there are more positive reviews on the Grabber than the Destination LE. That tells me the Grabber is the better tire. I just want an affordable (about $100.00 each) tire that helps me get the best MPG and runs quiet/smooth with good wet and dry traction. We get a lot of rain in Florida in the summer and the traffic here is a nightmare, so I have more than my share of panic stops and red lights/stop signs.

Thanks for the info here. I appreciate it.


Being the owner of an 04 Colorado Z71, I can tell you that the tires you are probably referring to are General AmeriTrac TR's. I have found that most OEM tires are junk, so it would make sense that you did not like the AmeriTrac's. Here it is on TireRack.com: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=General&tireModel=AmeriTrac+TR

As you're starting to figure out though, the new non-OEM tires from General are pretty good. I myself am looking to put on some General Grabber AT2's by spring.
 
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Yep, I remember the Colorado OEM tires had a star on the side, it said "Ameri*Trac". They were OK I guess, not the best quality you can get but good enough for Chevrolet. I read some more reviews, there are one or two bad ones on the Discount Tire website but most people there really like the Grabber HTS too on mid-sized trucks like the Frontier and Dakota. I just need to find a shop that can match the Tirerack.com price. Grabber HTS cost $128.00 each on the DT site.

Thanks for all the help here. There are so many choices out there for tires, it's hard to know which one to buy.
 
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
Yep, I remember the Colorado OEM tires had a star on the side, it said "Ameri*Trac". They were OK I guess, not the best quality you can get but good enough for Chevrolet. I read some more reviews, there are one or two bad ones on the Discount Tire website but most people there really like the Grabber HTS too on mid-sized trucks like the Frontier and Dakota. I just need to find a shop that can match the Tirerack.com price. Grabber HTS cost $128.00 each on the DT site.

Thanks for all the help here. There are so many choices out there for tires, it's hard to know which one to buy.


On Tire Rack's website, click on "Installation" at the top and after punching in your zip code, it will give you a list of Tire Rack "preferred" installers. This means you can just order your tires from TR and then have them shipped to that installer. You're getting the TR pricing (plus shipping) and you get them installed locally.
 
Jimmy9190,

The $70 Michelin rebate is back, at least from Discount tire.

FWIW - I had a set of Destination LEs on my Ford Escape and currently have the Michelin LTX. Both are great and do every thing well. I only choose the LTX because the $70 rebate made them the better buy at the time. As for MPG, they're almost the same, the Firestones maybe got a 1/2 MPG better.
 
My mother in law swore by her Michelin LTX M/S tires. Now that she has put 134,000 some miles on them and decided to buy new tires, she got the M/S2 tires. She is now in love with those. Her mileage is back up a bit and they handle nicely. She's also loving how the white lettering is less obtrusive than before. She's not happy about spending $900 for the set, but knowing she'll see 350K on the truck before the tires are worn is enough to offset that.
 
Yeah, the more I think about it, the less I like Michelins. They cost too much and the slight difference in MPG doesn't really make it worth spending the extra bucks. I only paid $422.00 including lifetime rotation and balance and road hazard policies on my Firestones. That was 2 years ago, but the price on a new set now is in the same neighborhood, $105.00 each on the tIres Plus website. I only used the balance policy once in 2 years and I have yet to need the road hazard policy on my current set, so I will probably pass on those policies this time around.

If I can get a set of Generals for a comparable price, I may try them. The Destination LE's balanced easily, they hold air very well and have had no vibrations or other problems when I rotate them. Other than being a little loud in their old age, the Destination LE's have been a great tire for the price and I will wind up getting about the same mileage from them as I did the Michelins that I paid $600.00 for about 5 years ago. They have been a good tire for the price so I may just stick with what already works. I have time and at least another 10K miles to make up my mind.
 
Don't forget when you do the reviews on TR, also check out the "Survey" and the comparison survey against other tires. I used the comparison chart a good bit when I was researching tires, and still no regrets on buying the Grabber HTS.
 
I like what I have read about the General Grabber HTS. It has a lot of good reviews and not very many bad reviews at all. Seems like just about everyone who has a set loves them. I had no idea General tires had improved so much. I know the Grabbers would probably be a good choice.

I have narrowed it down and it's all going to come down to the best price I can get on either Generals or Firestones. If the price difference is only 20 or 30 bucks per set of 4 tires, I will probably go with the Grabber HTS. The online price on the Grabber HTS at Discount Tire is $129.00 each. It's just a lot of hassle and makes me feel like a cheapskate to haggle and try to get the store to honor the online price from Tirerack.
 
Jimmy9190,
Have you checked out the price on Discount Tire Direct and Treadepot? I don't know if either one carries them but, it's worth a look.
 
I found onlinetires.com has better prices than tirerack, and the quoted shipping prices in my area are less than half of tirerack as the distributor is much closer.

I was also surprised that Summit sells some tires shipped directly from the manufacturer, for about 9$ handling fee.

In some cases this is cheaper than either TR or online tires.

In terms of tire brands, My current 8 year old Michelins have been abused, have 65+k miles on them with 1k+ miles of Baja washboard, and still have plenty of tread. I've been looking at other brands which are higher rated on tirerack, but keep remembering all the abuse my Michelins have shrugged off, and am thinking a lesser tire might have failed and needed replacement by now, saving me no money in the long run.

Often, trying to save money comes back to be a regrettable decision, and even when money is as tight as it is, I prefer to pay more for quality.

Tires and batteries I will pay more for, because if either fails before it's time, there goes the money you saved.
 
Originally Posted By: wrcsixeight
Often, trying to save money comes back to be a regrettable decision, and even when money is as tight as it is, I prefer to pay more for quality.


I've always found this to be true with tires. Especially in this case, when the MPG is so notably different, and the "more expensive" tires are demonstrably _less_ expensive to own. You often spend more in the long run to save money up front. I've been sorry every single time I've tried to save money on tires, and my wife has to repeatedly remind me of that when it's time to buy tires.

I even made the SAME mistake just last month, but I fortunately was able to return the mistake tires and buy the brand I should have bought to begin with. I'd like to think I won't make the same mistake again next time. My wife just needs to raise her voice to me I think.
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Well, Michelin LTX M/S 2 is back in the picture. I found the General Grabber HTS for $352.00 for a set of 4 plus $79.00 UPS ground shipping on treadepot.com. The price does not include installation, valve stems, etc. I called Discount Tire, they said they can match the online price and add in the comparable cost for shipping and installation but I could tell they were not real thrilled about doing so.

DT has the LTX M/S 2 on sale until Thursday, $117.00 each per tire, plus there is a $70.00 rebate. $117.00 x 4 tires = $468.00, plus 7% sales tax = $500.76 - $70.00 Michelin Mail-In Rebate = $430.76 and if you divide that by 4 tires the final cost is $107.69 per tire.

$107.00 is a very good price on Michelins. I agree it is very important to get the best and safest tire I can afford, and at that price it makes sense to go with the LTX M/S 2. I feel like a fool for sort of disparaging Michelin here on this thread but at $107.00 each I really can't afford not to snap that deal up.

The DT tire guy even said I can pay over the phone and get them installed on Friday morning, since I can't get there before they close tomorrow or Thursday. DT seems to be a good place for tires. I have read some good reviews about them here on BITOG too. I have pretty much decided to make new tires a Christmas present to myself. The Firestones on my truck were howling even louder today on the way in to work. I probably messed the Firestones up somewhat earlier this year when I ran 45 psi in them. I was trying to get better MPG out of them but all it really did was whack out the tread in the middle of the tires.

The DT tire guy also told me that the 235/75R15 I need is a LRR tire. I need to read up on that before I decide to buy. I don't remember who it was but someone on this thread posted that the M/S 2 in that size is not a LRR tire.
 
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
I will need tires for my Dakota soon. I have Firestone Destination LE's, 235/75R15 right now. They have been a great tire but are now getting a bit noisy in their old age. They have about 10 or 15K worth of tread left. My previous tires were Michelin LTX M/S. I got about 20 MPG with those, but I took about a 2 to 3 MPG hit when I bought the Firestones. At that time Michcelins just were not in my budget and they won't be in the budget this time either.

I am looking at maybe trying a set of Yokohama Geolandar HT-S. I searched here and found a lot of good posts on ride quality, traction and tread life but I can't really find anything on MPG for the Yoko's or any other light truck tire. I never go off road or tow anything with my truck. I drive mostly highway and interstate miles. With the increasing gas prices now I want to get a good quality tire that has a quiet ride, good traction wet or dry and gets the best MPG I can get for a tire in the $100.00 range. I get about 17 to 18 MPG on my Firestones. I like the Firestones enough to buy another set but want to see if there's a comparable quality tire out there that can get better MPG for the same price.

Thanks for any info.


I think you will find that a 2-3 MPG hit going from one all season to another has little to do with the brand and is all about how worn the tire is and or other factors that are causing it. I think at least part of it was simply going from a worn tire to a new tire with good tread.

Lots of people never think of that but it does effect MPG. It is more noticeable in a truck that gets poor MPG to start with and that has it's MPG effected easier than say a more basically efficient 4cyl 30+ MPG compact. I will bet you will see a drop in MPG with whatever new tire you put on over what the LE's are giving you right now.

While the LE's have a pretty aggressive tread for an all season it is not enough to cause that kind of MPG drop. Maybe .5 MPG vs a less aggressive all season. I replaced some Goodyear Wrangler HP's that came on my Ram( they had 3K when swapped out )which are not aggressive at all with some LE's and my MPG didn't change at all. I have gone to all terrain tires on trucks from the OE all seasons and not seen that big of a drop.

I truly believe some of your MPG drop was simply going to a new tire from an old worn tire. You also probably had/have some kind of mechanical issues with the vehicle or even some kind of fuel change( winter/summer blend or new tires coincided with the arrival of ethanol blended fuels in your area )behind it? Again, 2-3 MPG just from going to a different all season tire seems like it is not possible?

The LE is a great tire but if you feel the MPG drop was legit and on them then the General Grabber HTS is a good tire. Michelin LTX M+S2 is a good one as well. Mastercraft Courser HTR is another good one. If you are not against Bridgestone because it is the same company as Firestone the Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza is an excellent AS tire for trucks and SUV's.

Good luck with your search. Not trying to be a jerk just seems like a drop too large for what you say caused it to me.
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Originally Posted By: NHHEMI
While the LE's have a pretty aggressive tread for an all season it is not enough to cause that kind of MPG drop. Maybe .5 MPG vs a less aggressive all season.


I think the tread compound has more influence over the rolling resistance than the tread pattern does. In addition, the 2-3 MPG mileage drop may have been a short-term one that has attenuated over time, as new tires will alomst always show an increase in rolling resistance over old ones simply due to the deeper tread (more tread mass, more tread squirm, etc). Even "aggressive" tires aren't necessarily poor in rolling resistance; other factors are the tread compound, internal construction, etc.

Regarding the M/S2, the comment was made earlier that the 235/75R15 size is not a "Green X" size, so it's not a LRR tire. I'd suggest a closer look at this table (specs table on Tire Rack):

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=LTX+M%2FS2

I find it interesting that ONLY the LT-flotation sizes have the "Green X" designation, and the P-metric sizes do not. I suspect, though I have absolutely nothing to back this up with, the LT tires required additional fuel economy measures to maintain acceptable rolling resistance whereas the P-metric sizes did not. I don't know. However, given that the OP has had the Michelin LTX M/S, and was apparently happy with the MPG out of those, I doubt he'd be disappointed in with the M/S2s. There may be a tire out there that'd squeak by the M/S2 in terms of rolling resistance, but there may be compromises in other areas, too.

The thing I like best about the M/S2 is the excellent UTQG ratings, including the "A" for temperature. I don't know of any other "light truck" T-rated tire out there that achieves this. Combine that with Michelin's 70,000 mile tread life warranty on this tire, and you have a tire that most probably has one of the lowst TCOs out there, at least for drivers who drive enough to wear the tires out before they rot out.
 
When we put Destination LE's on the GF's Mariner, we lost about 1 MPG. That amount has remained consistent for 2 years. It did not matter the season both numbers were 1 MPG less. But the increase in traction and the feedback through the wheel over the stock Conti's was worth it.
 
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