Replacing Pirelli ATRs

Disclaimer: Links on this page pointing to Amazon, eBay and other sites may include affiliate code. If you click them and make a purchase, we may earn a small commission.

botts

Active Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2016
Posts
32
Reaction score
5
Location
AB, Canada
Hello everyone,

It's time for me to replace my Pirelli ATRs. I'm looking for some feedback from Expy owners who have moved away from Pirelli.

Presently I'm looking at: (prices in Canadian)

  1. Hankook Dynapro AT-M ($800)
  2. BFGoodrich KO2 ($977)
  3. Michelin LTX A/T2 ($1029)
  4. Defender LTX M/S ($800)

My Expedition does 75% of its mileage on pavement (cruise at 135km/h), 15% on gravel, 10% on fields and oilfield lease roads (two-track).

I have the LTX M/S on a different truck and love how quiet and smooth they are, but I am not sure whether or not I could trust them on the mucky stuff.

The current Pirelli ATRs appear to have all the noise of an AT tire, but none of the benefits, they slip about as much as the M/S on my other truck. The ATRs do rock on gravel compared to the LTX M/S though.

Since everyone here in Oil Country buys FX4 F-150s and then bro-dozers them, there are literally dozens of brand new sets of AT-M takeoffs for cheap available.

I do not care about snow traction, as once the white stuff falls, I switch over to Nokian Hakkapellitas.

My local tire shop said the AT-Ms are quieter than the ATRs, and better off-road, but that the KO2 are significantly better on the two-track.

What have you guys tried that gives better off-road traction, but still has a modicum of on-road manners?
 
Last edited:

ManUpOrShutUp

Full Access Members
Joined
Mar 27, 2016
Posts
2,038
Reaction score
1,076
Location
PA
Defender LTX M/S. I like the BFG KOs for rain/snow, but they're unsurprisingly clunky on the pavement and wear pretty quickly.
 

ExplorerTom

Full Access Members
Joined
Apr 2, 2015
Posts
2,239
Reaction score
990
Location
Colorado
The KO2 seem to be a vast improvement over the KO. Everyone seems to love them in every regard: road noise, off road traction, wear.....

I had a set of LTX M/S and thought they were great. I transferred them over to my wife's vehicle before I sold mine. Quiet on road. Good wet traction. I never took them off road, but if your oil 2 tracks are anything like the oil field roads here: if it's dry, any tire will work; if it's muddy, then luck plays just as big of a role as tires.

The Hankooks seem super popular. I see them all the time. Those that I know that have them, love them. I may consider them for my next tire purchase.
 
OP
OP
botts

botts

Active Member
Joined
Feb 12, 2016
Posts
32
Reaction score
5
Location
AB, Canada
Defender LTX M/S. I like the BFG KOs for rain/snow, but they're unsurprisingly clunky on the pavement and wear pretty quickly.

Thanks, I hadn't heard much about the wear being quick.

The KO2 seem to be a vast improvement over the KO. Everyone seems to love them in every regard: road noise, off road traction, wear.....

I had a set of LTX M/S and thought they were great. I transferred them over to my wife's vehicle before I sold mine. Quiet on road. Good wet traction. I never took them off road, but if your oil 2 tracks are anything like the oil field roads here: if it's dry, any tire will work; if it's muddy, then luck plays just as big of a role as tires.

The Hankooks seem super popular. I see them all the time. Those that I know that have them, love them. I may consider them for my next tire purchase.

Thanks for the info. Our oil field roads are pretty similar, in dry times I used to take my Fusion down most of them to get to our hunting areas. In the mucky season though, things get dicey.

Good point that luck is as important as tires, but the ATRs at least don't appear to clear mud at all - mine are only about 8/32"s though.
 

carlos08

Full Access Members
Joined
Jul 2, 2013
Posts
86
Reaction score
5
Location
Fl
Take a look at Firestone Destination A/T's. I heard good things about hem.
 

Adieu

Full Access Members
Joined
Dec 22, 2016
Posts
3,700
Reaction score
786
Location
SoCal
Since everyone here in Oil Country buys FX4 F-150s and then bro-dozers them, there are literally dozens of brand new sets of AT-M takeoffs for cheap available.
:signs8: Keen observation

Dunno about your neck of the woods, but around here there doesn't seem to be any reason to buy new Ford-sized tires or wheels at all, unless you wanna go 24" or something yourself.... Plenty of KO2 takeoffs for pennies too:king:
 

USMCBuckWild

Full Access Members
Joined
Oct 21, 2016
Posts
495
Reaction score
178
Location
Camp LeJeune, NC
Take offs are your best bet. The Hankook DynaPro AT/M is a pretty damn good tire. Came stock on the F150s with FX4. The truck guys complained they didn't do well on wet pavement unless there was a load in the bed. I had amazing luck with them on the wife's Exploder. If I had the chance to get take-offs for cheap, I would snag them.

The Michelin M/S is a great all around tire, especially if you can get them cheap. I am running them on my Expy now. Great on pavement, great in the rain, no problems with the off roading i have done (basically on-base on tank trails and into training areas). The heavy weight helps the vehicle although the Michelins have a soft sidewall.

Just my $0.02
 

gixer2000

Retrofit or Bust
Joined
Oct 13, 2015
Posts
1,467
Reaction score
642
Location
Massachusetts
I love my Cooper destination A/TW. Great A/T tire but with some added winter characteristics. They perform well all across the board with a 60k mile warranty

Sent from my LG-G6 using Tapatalk
 
Top