Tire questions.... again

[GMTruckGuy74]

I'm going to need to replace the factory/OEM Michelin Cross Terrain tires (P245/65-17) on my 2006 GMC Envoy soon. Almost two weeks ago I started working at my wife's company, and this means my previous commute went from 7 miles one-way to a current commute of now 34 miles one-way. The good thing is that we drive in together, so the G6 gets driven 3 days a week and the Envoy 2 days to balance out the mileage. Since I will no longer have "snow days" off (I'll miss teaching for that alone!), I'll need a good set of tires for any snow I'll have to drive in to work, plus tires that handle well in rain/wet weather will also be beneficial.

Here's what I'm considering:

1. Goodyear Fortera TripleTred > Highway All-Season(pricey, but has great TireRack.com ratings & reviews)

2. Michelin LTX M/S > Highway All-Season (unfortunately not the LTX M/S² tires, as they're not offered in my size)

3. Michelin LTX A/T2 > On/Off-Road All-Season (great on & off road plus wet weather and dry condition traction, but I don't know how much off-road time these tires will see)

I'd love to go with the Michelin LTX M/S², like what caddycruiser has on his Avalanche, but they are not made in my size (P245/65-17) so they're off the list. Having had Michelin Cross Terrains on my leased '05 Envoy and not liking them past 35k miles, I am not considering those (plus that's what is currently on my '06 Envoy and they were horrible at 35k too when I bought it). The All-Season tires are pretty close in price per TireRack.com, but the LTX A/T2's are -$100 cheaper though - but I don't want this to be about price so much at this point. Being that the Envoy is a truck (BOF), I'd like to have a truckier tire (LTX A/T2) on it, but don't want overkill if a Highway All-Season tire would be better.

Any other brands that I should be considering? (Firestone, Bridgestone, etc>?)

*UPDATE - added a poll.

Edited October 22, 2010 by GMTruckGuy74

[SAmadei]

You need to average out the price of the TripleTreds with the expected mileage. I love the Assurance TripleTreds, and have gotten 80K-110K out of them... They stick to the wet and snow that sometimes I feel like I could drive across the roof of an igloo... I can only expect the Forteras are in the same ballpark.

In unrelated news, I've always wondered why people think the TripleTreds are noisy... I don't think they are that noisy... but recently, I put an old AquaTred I had on my spare and I've been using it as I fix my deteriorating rims. That AquaTred is CRAZY loud.

You know, before you brought this up, it never occurred to me that I could actually fit a set a set of Fortera TripleTreds on my Caprice wagon. I had been very disappointed that they didn't make Assurance TripleTreds for the Caprice... I never thought of looking at light duty truck tires. Doh!

[daves87rs]

#2

Just not thrilled with the tripletreads..ride will be better with the LTXs....

[GMTruckGuy74]

You need to average out the price of the TripleTreds with the expected mileage. I love the Assurance TripleTreds, and have gotten 80K-110K out of them... They stick to the wet and snow that sometimes I feel like I could drive across the roof of an igloo... I can only expect the Forteras are in the same ballpark.

In unrelated news, I've always wondered why people think the TripleTreds are noisy... I don't think they are that noisy... but recently, I put an old AquaTred I had on my spare and I've been using it as I fix my deteriorating rims. That AquaTred is CRAZY loud.

You know, before you brought this up, it never occurred to me that I could actually fit a set a set of Fortera TripleTreds on my Caprice wagon. I had been very disappointed that they didn't make Assurance TripleTreds for the Caprice... I never thought of looking at light duty truck tires. Doh!

Well duh, I thought you would have known that When I was looking for tires for the '96 FWB this time last year, all that I could find where light duty truck tires from TireRack (I wanted the thin white-wall tire and ended up with Kelly Navigator Gold tires). You should check those Fortera TripleTreds for your Caprice wagon - it seems a lot of Fortera TripleTred tire owners are pleased, albeit the claimed "noise" they make.

I've always liked Goodyear tires and the TripleTred series get excellent ratings from TireRack posters, but have had Michelins on a couple of vehicles (OEM) and overall have been satisfied with them sans tread life ('05 Envoy 4WD: 35k and they started wearing out quick; '03 Buick Rendezvous FWD: at 28k they were wearing out and by 32k I had to replace them - I always had the tires rotated every other oil change, so I couldn't explain the quick wearing other than the materials being the cause). The Fortera TripleTred tires are expensive, but believe it or not they are slightly cheaper than the Michelin LTX M/S tires (I wish the LTX M/S² tires came in my size, as this discussion wouldn't be needed).

Right now I want to see if anyone else cares to post their thoughts on my question, and more importantly I want to see how many people pick either Highway/All-Season or Highway/All-Terrain (again, I'd like to have a truck-ier tire on the Envoy, but my driving doesn't necessarily mean that a Highway/All-Terrain tire is necessary).

[GMTruckGuy74]

Updated with a poll now.

[Robert Hall]

I'd go w/ the Fortera Triple Treds or the Fortera Silent Armor, which are more all-terrain. I've had a set of the Silent Armor ones for 3 years now, been very happy w/ them...put about 45k on them so far, great in the winter, on-highway and off road.

Edited October 22, 2010 by Cubical-aka-Moltar