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Help please for a non tire guy buying his first tires after OEM

Utope

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Michelin defenders are a good highway tire that gets long mileage (~80k)
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taralon

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If your ranger is going to spend most of its life on pavement, or maintained dirt roads, and is not going to be used for mudding, wheeling, rock climbing, etc, I cannot recommend the Continental Terrain Contact H/Ts enough. They wear incredibly, are super quiet on the road, their wet/dry grip is phenomenal, and in this unusually snowy season in Denver this past year they have been exemplary on snow and ice.
 

Kemo Sabe

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2019 XLT FX4 38K Miles BUT I tow in behind my motorhome so tires actual miles are much higher than that.

It has the black package which came with Hankook 265 60 R18 and the mounted spare is 265 65 R17.

I live in a warm climate so no snow. It has been off-road once on a beach. First and only time using 4WD.

Wants:
-Good rain traction
-Quiet and good ride
-The just-in-case security of needing 4WD in an unexpected situation.

I am also concerned about using a mismatched spare with very different tread. I will replace the spare if needed.

I am not a “tire guy” so need advice.
Latest Consumer Reports food tire rating.
Michelin Defenders #1. I have them and with 25,000 on them, like new.
Good luck!
 

got3fords

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Latest Consumer Reports food tire rating.
Michelin Defenders #1. I have them and with 25,000 on them, like new.
Good luck!
Love my Michelins, but what is food tire?
 


Ranger Mel

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I prefer Coopers and Michelins, and have had good experience with both. I was told Open Range, a Les Schwab brand, is a Cooper AT/3, and did go with them… so far, so good.

I hated the Hankooks that came with my Ranger.
Open Range is what's going on my Ranger this year. Had them on my '04 F250 6.0 and were awesome.
 

Frenchy

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Open Range is what's going on my Ranger this year. Had them on my '04 F250 6.0 and were awesome.
Are you talking about that store brand from Les Schwab? If so I do not recommend those pos tires that are made in Taiwan...... Not good quality what so ever
 

jmelair

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In addition to the excellent comments here, suggest you go to Tirerack.com and input your vehicle. Read the reviews and ranking. .....
Read the customer comments. You'll find individuals with vehicles in the same segment as the Ranger and the number of miles on their tires.
came here to say this, great advice.
 

Ranger Mel

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Are you talking about that store brand from Les Schwab? If so I do not recommend those pos tires that are made in Taiwan...... Not good quality what so ever
My personal experience with them has been great and they are the go-to tire around here. If I hear bad things about them before I buy tires I will get something else.
 

Frenchy

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My personal experience with them has been great and they are the go-to tire around here. If I hear bad things about them before I buy tires I will get something else.
Unfortunately due to how my work place wants to do things, I get tires from there and I have had them come apart on me a few times in the last 2.5 years...... Definitely don't recommend them
 

Ranger Mel

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Unfortunately due to how my work place wants to do things, I get tires from there and I have had them come apart on me a few times in the last 2.5 years...... Definitely don't recommend them
Les Schwab will stand behind the tires. At least my local store will. I'll do some research on them. Of course there are the LT tires versus P tires?? My LTs were real good. They were 10 plys on a Super Duty.
 

Frenchy

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Les Schwab will stand behind the tires. At least my local store will. I'll do some research on them. Of course there are the LT tires versus P tires?? My LTs were real good. They were 10 plys on a Super Duty.
Keep in mind that their store brand tires are made by mazama tires. Mazama tires are made in Taiwan. Most tires made in Taiwan and China are absolutely horrible. They're cheap at best. They are also overpriced.

Let's assume you're looking at an All-Terrain from them. Take the same size tire in compare it to a Firestone Destination XT. Now of course the Firestone is going to be in LT. Depending on the size you are looking at it will be either a load range C or load range E. I can promise you the Firestone will be lighter, stronger, and a lower price while being made in either the US or Canada. To my understanding that particular tire in all sizes are made in Canada versus Taiwan or China.
 

Ranger Mel

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Keep in mind that their store brand tires are made by mazama tires. Mazama tires are made in Taiwan. Most tires made in Taiwan and China are absolutely horrible. They're cheap at best. They are also overpriced.

Let's assume you're looking at an All-Terrain from them. Take the same size tire in compare it to a Firestone Destination XT. Now of course the Firestone is going to be in LT. Depending on the size you are looking at it will be either a load range C or load range E. I can promise you the Firestone will be lighter, stronger, and a lower price while being made in either the US or Canada. To my understanding that particular tire in all sizes are made in Canada versus Taiwan or China.
Gotcha. I knew about the brand Mazama. I got some more research to do!?
 

canyonslicker

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I’ve had a lot of different brands over the years. BFG KO’s are a good tire but heavy and ride like iron. Michelins are a great high mileage tire but the last 1/3 of their lifetime they lose traction. Never tried Falkens. Nitto tires are the redhead bastard stepchild of Toyo, they’re great the first half of their life but eventually gives you problems. Toyo tires have been nothing but excellent for me. They stay balanced, traction consistent, ride quality great, good warranty mileage and they never let me down in offroad performance in which I’ve abused them offroad with them taking it.

That’s my view and the other brands I’ve had were next to garbage, not worth mentioning.
 

TrebMaxx

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I am a Falken Wild Peaks fan. Will most likely replace this set with the same but they are wearing very well. I could also look at Firestone or Cooper.
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