Tires for highlander for light off roading?

[mrflat]

Running a 2008 Highlander and I was going to get these:
FALKEN WILDPEAK A/T TRAIL 245 /65 R17 107H SL RBL - $500 now $800 !!! I see that they've jumped in price by about $300 in the past year or so!

These seem to have a good road noise rating.
Continental TERRAINCONTACT A/T - SIZE: 225/60R17 $819

We doing a fair amount of dirt road driving that entails 80Mph + for 5 hours or so and then some rutted dirt roads for a hour or so. So I'm not looking to be blasted with tire noise for the majority of our trip but need something that I can perhaps take the air out a little while on the bumpy stuff. No Moab Lion's Back action here but I don't want to run pilot cup sports either!

Suggestions, I think these are the only tow players in the game right ?

 

[CKN]

You would be happier with the Continentals. Personally-I wouldn't put an A/T tire on at all-but that's just me. If you are doing the rutted dirt road thing in Utah-you will have mini-vans on that road....so. A/T's are over kill.

 

[mrflat]

Yes it's probably overkill but seems like other tire options (all season) are not that much cheaper no? I have my other wheel tire combo for the winter so this is just for summer road trips.

 

[Rand]

yokohama geolandar g015?
Not a fan of the conti AT's I had a set for 1000miles on my jeep in 245/65r17 and they felt like a drunk in high heels wobbling down the freeway.

I went the other direction with the rather aggressive toyo open country AT III.

The geolandar g015 is a mild AT with 3PMSF rating.

 

[TeeCee]

Had 2 sets of MasterCraft Courser AT2's on my Xterra. Rode well and had the AT look. Highly recommend if available in your size. Also I assume much cheaper.

 

[Timmastertech]

I have the wildpeaks on my snow plow truck. Did fine in snow this winter and not as loud as one might expect on dry road. Should be fine on dirt

 

[meep]

those continentals are amazing on the highway, are quiet, and are probably the best wet-road AT I’ve known. BUT, they are a lightweight tire with a soft sidewall. If those ruts are deep enough to scrub the sidewalls, I will instead suggest the Yokohama g015. It’s a heavier tire with a tread that is still a bit highway biased. Yoko seems to make tires with less runout and better uniformity than most - my guess will have better long term even treadwear than the falkens. I have the yokos on my truck now. They dont stop as well as the continentals in the rain.

bridgestone REVO3 deserves a look and cooper may have a good offering or two.

 

[CKN]

yokohama geolandar g015?
Not a fan of the conti AT's I had a set for 1000miles on my jeep in 245/65r17 and they felt like a drunk in high heels wobbling down the freeway.

I went the other direction with the rather aggressive toyo open country AT III.

The geolandar g015 is a mild AT with 3PMSF rating.

Can't even begin to compare the road manners of a Highlander to a Jeep Trail Hawk regardless of tires....C'mon!

 

[AZjeff]

We doing a fair amount of dirt road driving that entails 80Mph + for 5 hours or so and then some rutted dirt roads for a hour or so.

You're doing 80 mph on dirt roads for 5 hours?? 400 miles at 80 mph. Really? Where?

Not sure this is light duty.

 

[CKN]

You're doing 80 mph on dirt roads for 5 hours?? 400 miles at 80 mph. Really? Where?

Not sure this is light duty.

No-80 mph on the highway to get to the dirt road. His post was a little confusing. I didn't mention there isn't a 5 hour stretch of highway in Utah where 80mph is the legal speed.....

 

[edyvw]

Not sure whivh one would be better for light off-roading, but Continental is better leaps and bounds quality wise.

 

[UG_Passat]

No-80 mph on the highway to get to the dirt road. His post was a little confusing. I didn't mention there isn't a 5 hour stretch of highway in Utah where 80mph is the legal speed.....

I didn't see where mrflat says he's driving through Utah. The Moab reference is the example of off-roading he's not doing.

Also, how long is it to drive from St. George to around the Wasatch area? I'm usually in the right lane doing 70 mph for fuel economy purposes, even though the speed limit is 80 mph

 

[Nick1994]

Very very happy with my Continental Terrain Contacts. Very quiet on the highway, good road manners, and good offroad too. Had installed in December and have about 4k miles on them.

 

[Sequoiasoon]

I did the Falken WildPeak Trails on father-in-law’s Jeep Renegade. They worked good in the snow we had. They are pretty quiet on the highway (Renegade is noisy anyway). Quieter than the Pirelli Scorpion AT that wore quick and odd. He is happy with them in rain and highway. I can’t tell off-road as I think he drove over my lawn once to get around me changing oil. My Accord has seen more off road.

I have Michelin Defender LTX M/S on wife’s ’19 Pilot. They work well aired down on the beach and on the gravel light muddy stuff to hunting cabin. They are also very quiet on highway, good dry and wet. I don’t know on snow as I run winter tires for that.

Others I know use Cooper AT3 4S and have been very happy.

Maybe it was snow testing iirc on TR that the Continental was horrible if that matters

 

[GMBoy]

The Cooper Discover line of AT3s tires are excellent - I like them so much I have them on 4 vehicles and on my 2nd set on the Jeep! (Jeep GJ, Sierra Denali, Yukon and RAM Limited)

 

[mrflat]

Thanks for the suggestions, the 5h drive is from front range CO out to UT. And I'm mainly doing 75 and normally the slowest car on the road - got a little vibration that's not been solved in 2 years of ownerships (another thread on Toyota nation forum). I think I'll go with the contis after all the highland is really just a raised up, heavier Camry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_K_platform . I've have notice an increase in average speed over the past two years, most folks are doing at least 85+ - there is some enforcement but a lot less than I used to see.

 

[Nick1994]

Very very happy with my Continental Terrain Contacts. Very quiet on the highway, good road manners, and good offroad too. Had installed in December and have about 4k miles on them.

View attachment 100844
View attachment 100845

I had the AT3’s before these, they were insanely loud.

 

[Hermann]

Thanks for the suggestions, the 5h drive is from front range CO out to UT. And I'm mainly doing 75 and normally the slowest car on the road - got a little vibration that's not been solved in 2 years of ownerships (another thread on Toyota nation forum). I think I'll go with the contis after all the highland is really just a raised up, heavier Camry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_K_platform . I've have notice an increase in average speed over the past two years, most folks are doing at least 85+ - there is some enforcement but a lot less than I used to see.

Every one is in a hurry. Cops don't like getting shot for traffic stops.

 

[mrflat]

Yeah, as much as I hate the highlander Hybrid it's pretty quite at speed (when the CVT is not holding the engine at max revs over amount pass) so anything that is remotely noisy is verboten on this vehicle! And lately the 26Mpg for a big SUV is also not too bad especial for 1500 mile road trips.

 

[meep]

Thanks for the suggestions, the 5h drive is from front range CO out to UT. And I'm mainly doing 75 and normally the slowest car on the road - got a little vibration that's not been solved in 2 years of ownerships (another thread on Toyota nation forum). I think I'll go with the contis after all the highland is really just a raised up, heavier Camry https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Toyota_K_platform . I've have notice an increase in average speed over the past two years, most folks are doing at least 85+ - there is some enforcement but a lot less than I used to see.

I don’t think you will be disappointed at all. They are in my top 2 and I’d certainly buy them again. if your highlander uses tall sidewalls, you can add 2 psi to stiffen the highway tracking.