Need new tires!

[wonderwolf]

I have a 2004 Ford ranger, 2wd, manual I got 3 years ago with 12,000 miles on it. The thing was cherry except for the tires. I'm guessing the previous owner had halfway decent tires on it and put cheap ones on before trading it in. Anyways the truck has 51,000 on it now and the same damn tires it came with that were kinda bald when I got it but are really bald now. One has a slow leak as well.

90% of my driving is on roads the other 10% is in dirt parking lots (think knob creek) and snow/ice, I live in Ohio so I contend with the weather that comes with the area (ice storm predicted tonight)

What tires should I consider for my truck (which is named Satan by the way, I've always named my trucks after famous horses and Satan was Elmer Kieths pet horse lol)

Also is having slightly more aggressive tires in the back than in the front a practical option? I do haul around a goodly amount of weight from time to time

[pgp888se]

been around tires for about the last 15-16 years. IMO, even though its a small 2wd truck i would still go with a light truck type tire.passenger car tires just are not ment for any kind of extra weight, if you haul loads on a regular basis the truck will respond better with a stronger tire, a tire designed for light trucks, will have a stronger sidewall design that mill keep it from "floating" with a load on it.i would stay with a mild tread design also, you want to run the same front and rear so you can rotate your tires on a regular basis, if you cant keep them rotated the life span is GREATLY shortened.and being in ohio you may opt for a set of studded snow tires for the winter time, i am in ohio also and our 2wd dakota ( with rear abs only) sits in the drive way for the winter, worst idea ever for a truck in winter.
are dakota has michelin ltx tires on it.i have sold many sets of these and although i dont like michelin tires, the ltx is unreal.it has a hiway style tread yet somewhat aggressive, not noisey, and the ride is VERY smooth for a truck tire.

hope this helps, good luck with what you decide.

[nevada]

You can also go a size or two up on the tires.

I put Michelins on my2001 Ranger ( named 'truck') and I won't do that again. Poor traction and almost suicidal in the wet. Big O Bigfoot tires have done well by me.

Michelins do wear like iron. Mine are truck tires, not car, but I don't recall the type.

I drive in snow and ice once a decade or less, so the advice pgp888se is giving you must be considered valid. Mine is just one story. Good luck.

[John8680]

I would also recommend the Michelin LTX. It is a great tire overall, long life, good in inclement weather and on/off road. Another option would be the BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A if you are looking for something a little more agressive. BFGoodrich is the same company as Michelin so that speaks for their quality. The only trade off in going with an all terrain will be a little more road noise.

I am an assistant manager at a pretty big tire store, these recommendations are basically the two truck tires that we have the fewest problems with. Check somewhere like tirerack.com for reviews from people w/ vehicles like yours if you want a good variety of opinions.

[RandyCOG3]

This is a generic response, not attempting to lecture the OP or anybody else:
A few thoughts:
I used to have a POS 69 Ford shortbed, various big blocks, 360-352-390, enormous weight on the front, not much weight on the back, had bad front-end parts, so I'd run radials on the front, big bias-ply on the back, because the radials had much more "moosh" to them, and wouldn't wear out so quickly...<this is the worst-possible combination, all combinations of radials/other stuff is a bad idea, wasn't making any $ at the time, cheap tires periodically were better thans huge $ to fix the problem>....
Which is all a roundabout way of saying that it is a BAD IDEA to have tires that respond differently to questionable traction situations.
Just my $.02, but, if things are sliding around, I'd rather have them ALL sliding around than to have one end making up it's mind while the other is still thinking about it, unless you're sure the ass-end is the one to slip... you can somewhat throttle things/wrestle with that--- if the FRONT END decides to go on vacation before the back does, you are DOOMED. And the steel grating on drawbridges or the top span of the original Skyway Bridge is no time for tires to respond differently to the same road surface. I've never driven on ice or snow, but, it can't be an improvement over the above situations.

I've had the front end of my S-10 (93) Blazer come out from under me when it should NOT have; all (6)of my co-workers at that time,that drove similar rigs also lost control under unlikely circumstances, the common thing being UNIROYAL TIRES. Never, never let anybody you love or care about drive anything with UNIROYAL TIRES unless it's bone-dry, IMNSHO.

Ditto to the idea of being able to rotate tires....

RandyCOG3

[truckguy]

On my '92 Comanche i have 2 sets of tires that work good for me. in the summer i use BFG All-Terrains, and in the winter i have some Winterforce tires that i use they have spots to put studs in them if needed. both of the sets outlasted my previous truck which was a '94 Ranger. I had Wrangler RTS on the Ranger at first worst tires i ever used in winter.

[pgp888se]

winterforce isnt a bad snow tire. had a set on my 93 pontiac transport, never had a problem in the snow with those tires.

[jfowl31]

BFGoodrich or Nitto tires for all-terrains.

Street tires.... just stay with name brand and you'll probably be ok.

[rifleman]

I need some new ones, i have 17 in light weight race rims, right now i have faulkin high performance, the damn rubber is worn in under 20k+ miles:eek:
I need something that will at least last 50k+ but most cost something like 125 apiece b/c i have abnormal rims size.

[walt-oxie1]

I bought a set of Good Year Wranglers for my truck a few years and 60,000 miles ago. They are still holding up fine. I should be able to get another 6 months to a year out of them. I drive in all weather and road conditions and have never been stuck or lost traction. They are a little noisy if your suspansion is worn and the tires do not wear even. They hold a load great too. I have had 1200 pounds of fish in the back of it, not to mention the weight of the coolers and ice.