Best truck tire for MPG?

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Jimmy9190

Jimmy9190

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Feb 17, 2007
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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.
 
If you are realistically getting 2-3mpg more with the Michelins, I would make them fit into your budget. With that kind of an mpg gain and money being an issue, they would pay for themselves.

I don't think you could go wrong with the Yoko's or whatever else you haven't run. You never know, maybe the Firestone's are the bottom of the barrel for your truck and you'll gain that 2-3mpg with many other tire brands or styles. But the Michelins are known for their longevity...

I would recomend the Michelin LTX A/T 2's if you want to try something different. Pricey, but the best gripping (on and off road) tire I've owned. I have nearly 40k on mine and there is plenty of tread left (I rotate every 5k) and I expect 60k+ out of them. Also very quiet.

You don't know till you try,

But...unlike oil, switching "brands" can make a real "noticable" difference.
 
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Thanks for the replies. I am keeping my eyes and ears open for deals and rebates on all good brand tires, Michelin, Firestone, what ever I can get for the best deal. Around here the LTX runs about $130.00 to $150.00 per tire.

The M/S 2 is a good looking tire and at Discount Tire I can get a price match on Tirerack.com's $113.00 price, or I could just go through Tirerack and buy a set that way. I do wonder how good of a service you get when you have a tire store mount and balance a set of tires that you did not buy from their store though.

I looked at some of the M/S 2 reviews on tirerack.com, still can't find any detailed info at all on MPG. Thanks for all the replies here.
 
As others have said, if you have an honest 2.5 MPG gain with the Michelins, get those. I don't know how much you drive, but it sounds like a fair amount. Assuming 12k miles a year, and $3/gallon gas. At 17.5 MPG, you're spending $2,057/year in gas. At 20 MPG, you're spending $1,800/year. If the Michelins are $50/tire (or less) more expensive than the Firestones, they pay for themselves in the FIRST YEAR. And you pocket the savings for the rest of the 50-60k miles you'll have them.

I suspect the Michelins will cost you less than a $200 premium over the Firestones, though, and will be even cheaper to own than you think. The new M/S2 has a 720/A/A rating. That represents a rather large difference over both the older M/S and the current Firestone that you're running. That A rating for temperature alone makes it worth it for me.
 
Thanks for the info. I don't have to buy new tires right now, but will be in the next 3 to 6 months maybe. I may just save up and put some extra cash aside for a set of the M/S 2's. A lot of folks really like them and if it helps my MPG then they will pay for themselves, as you pointed out.
 
Originally Posted By: GenSan
You'll get the best fuel efficiency with the Michelin LTX A/S.

Michelin LTX A/S



...and a lot less traction and grip.

The LTX M/S carries Michelin's "green" rating, plus a 720 treadwear rating.

There's no real reason to consider any other Michelin tire, unless one needs an off-road tire.
 
mrsilv04 is correct. We have bought 3 sets of LTX MS's recently, two were M/S2's. I was told by Tire Guy that the new design included low rolling resistance features.

I have no data, but they are very nice tires and last over 50-60k for us on 9000 pound vans.
 
Originally Posted By: ZR2grizz
If you are realistically getting 2-3mpg more with the Michelins, I would make them fit into your budget. With that kind of an mpg gain and money being an issue, they would pay for themselves.

I don't think you could go wrong with the Yoko's or whatever else you haven't run. You never know, maybe the Firestone's are the bottom of the barrel for your truck and you'll gain that 2-3mpg with many other tire brands or styles. But the Michelins are known for their longevity...

I would recomend the Michelin LTX A/T 2's if you want to try something different. Pricey, but the best gripping (on and off road) tire I've owned. I have nearly 40k on mine and there is plenty of tread left (I rotate every 5k) and I expect 60k+ out of them. Also very quiet.

You don't know till you try,

But...unlike oil, switching "brands" can make a real "noticable" difference.


How are these LTX A/T 2's in the snow?
 
Originally Posted By: mrsilv04
Originally Posted By: GenSan
You'll get the best fuel efficiency with the Michelin LTX A/S.

Michelin LTX A/S



...and a lot less traction and grip.

The LTX M/S carries Michelin's "green" rating, plus a 720 treadwear rating.

There's no real reason to consider any other Michelin tire, unless one needs an off-road tire.

It's a pointless comparison. The A/S isn't even available in the OP's size...
 
Jimmy9190,
The General Grabber HTS(also an ECO Tire) is Consumer Reports Top Rated Truck Tire. I don't know if they come in your size. Not knocking Michelin LTX's, they are what they are! But, just something to consider.
 
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.

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.


First of all do not change tire size. They factory calculated the best tire size for your vehicle, so going bigger or smaller will only hurt mileage. It may look like you are getting better mileage with different size tires, but most likely it will be because your speedo is not calibrated to the new tire size.

The Firestones Destination LE are excellent tires. They came on my truck and served me well. If you want the best mileage, look for a 60,000 mile tire. The two that are worth looking at are the Uniroyal Laredo Cross Country and the General Grabber HTS. I just bought a new set of tires for my truck yesterday. I wanted the Uniroyal Cross Country tires, but the tire distributor stopped carrying them because of low demand, so none of the tire stores in the area could get them. I ended up getting the General HTS tires.

http://www.generaltire.com/tires/Grabber-HTS

http://www.uniroyaltires.com/tire-selector/name/laredo-cross-country-tires
 
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Originally Posted By: Loobed
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.

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.


First of all do not change tire size. They factory calculated the best tire size for your vehicle, so going bigger or smaller will only hurt mileage. It may look like you are getting better mileage with different size tires, but most likely it will be because your speedo is not calibrated to the new tire size.

The Firestones Destination LE are excellent tires. They came on my truck and served me well. If you want the best mileage, look for a 60,000 mile tire. The two that are worth looking at are the Uniroyal Laredo Cross Country and the General Grabber HTS. I just bought a new set of tires for my truck yesterday. I wanted the Uniroyal Cross Country tires, but the tire distributor stopped carrying them because of low demand, so none of the tire stores in the area could get them. I ended up getting the General HTS tires.

http://www.generaltire.com/tires/Grabber-HTS

http://www.uniroyaltires.com/tire-selector/name/laredo-cross-country-tires




At the end of October, I had new General Grabber HTS tires put on my RAV. I am very happy with them. Just today I was in some very heavy downpour cells mixed with hail. They have been a quiet tire, and they perform to my expectations in wet conditions. No regrets at all. This is the first General tires I have ever tried.
 
Thanks for the help. I like the looks of the Uniroyal tire. I appreciate the info but I am not too sure about General tires. I have a feeling Michelins will just be too expensive for me this time. And I only got about the same total miles out of my old LTX M/S that I had before I bought my current Firestones anyway. The LTX's lasted 55K before they developed belt problems.

I'll rersearch the Uniroyal Laredo. There are no reviews for it on Tirerack.com yet but it's a good looking tire. Depending on price I might try those or just get another set of Destination LE's and deal with the MPG the best I can. The Firestones really have been a good tire, I ought not to complain about them.
 
Jimmy,

Don't discount General tires just because their name says "General". Check out their tires on Tire Rack. Their new tires are all getting fantastic reviews. I've had the Exclaim UHP's on a Mazda3 and I had my mom get the Altimax HP's on her Solara. Each of them have been great sets of tires.

On top of great reviews, General tires are quite inexpensive, which means they provide a lot of value for what you're paying. I'm very picky when it comes to quality and I'm a big fan of General tires right now.

So again, don't disregard them just because they are called "General".
 
Originally Posted By: Jimmy9190
Thanks for the help. I like the looks of the Uniroyal tire. I appreciate the info but I am not too sure about General tires. I have a feeling Michelins will just be too expensive for me this time. And I only got about the same total miles out of my old LTX M/S that I had before I bought my current Firestones anyway. The LTX's lasted 55K before they developed belt problems.

I'll rersearch the Uniroyal Laredo. There are no reviews for it on Tirerack.com yet but it's a good looking tire. Depending on price I might try those or just get another set of Destination LE's and deal with the MPG the best I can. The Firestones really have been a good tire, I ought not to complain about them.


Jimmy9190,
Don't go by the look of a tire, go by their ratings. General Tires have been scoring quite high in the tire ratings as well as customer reviews. Uniroyal Tires are an "also ran"(just another product in their catigory) but, they're nothing special and never have been. Sure, you'll find folks that like the Unroyal's but that's because they haven't tried better tires, only lesser tires.

The Firestone Destination LE are a good tire as well but still, there are better. The Destination have their following and for those who have good luck with them, they stay with them. Not a bad thing!

Between the belt problems with the Michelin's and the noise of the Firestone's it would seem like something else is in order. Both the Michelin LTX and the Firestone Destination have been on the market for several years now and are probably ready for a redesign/update in order to stay competative. I don't know if the General Grabber HTS come in your size but, you might want to give'em a try. General is trying really hard to shake that stigma of being an "also ran" !
 
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