Light Truck Tires

Initial Review, 58000 Miles on Tires
January 31, 2012

These tires will soon be replaced after 58K miles of hard use. Daily driving, highway trips to many miles of trailer towing with no complaints from me. Winter traction can be an issue but in mild temperatures when the snow falls these hold their own. They wallow in corners a bit only under quick driving due to the squishy sidewalls. In normal use they're hard to beat. Great dollar to mile value. They no longer make many sizes in this tires as it's been replaced with their "Long Trail Tour" line, which is a shame.

Even now the tread that is left can still be moved with a push of a finger. Great pliability is a plus in a tire as the miles pile on. The TA's offered a very stable ride, even when towing at 70mph. ABS didn't kick in as much in the winter with these as they did with the previous GoodYear HP tires whick after two years hardened up like a rock. BFG could've done one better and offered this as a Light Truck tire, and it would sell just as well as the passenger line. I'm debating if I'll get the BFG AT tires with more sidewall bite, or the new Tour tire that replaced this Long Trail T/A line...decisions....

Initial Review, 40000 Miles on Tires
February 07, 2012

Have had these tires for about 2 1/2 years and 41000 miles. Been very happy with them so far and have worn very well! I keep them rotated every 7500 miles. I did lose some mileage (1/2-1 mpg) with these tires running at my empty tire pressure. (60-45psi) I upped the tire pressure and mileage has been great since. (75-65psi). I have been very happy with the wet traction and have also had good performance in light mud and light to heavy snow (up to 14 inches) Tires look nice and aggressive but perform very mildly on the road. I should get another 10-15k out of them which is pretty good service for an A/T tire on a 2500 Diesel truck. Would buy again and would recommend to anyone looking for a good all around A/T tire.

Initial Review, 750 Miles on Tires
January 13, 2012

Worked extrememly well in light snow which turned into an ice sheet. I was getting traction where others were not, even 4 wheel drive trucks

Initial Review, 8000 Miles on Tires
January 17, 2012

The first thing I noticed when I got these tires was the tread pattern. It has a great combination of street vs lug tread design. The only fault I have with this tire is that I think it will only be good for severe weather for only half it's tread life. Otherwise I really love this tire and would buy it again if it is still around the next time I need them.
My comparison is with the original BF Goodrich T/A's which s--ked big time. With he Kumho's bouncing between expansion joints disappeared, turing the steering wheel is finally a joy, and I can actually hear my radio at a normal level. Yes the Kumho have made driving the truck so much fun even the wife is no longer afraid to drive it.
I waited to write this until I experienced every traction situation. For a truck dry traction is extremely good. Taking a spirited corner doesn't inspire white knuckles.
The next traction comments about wet, ice, and snow are based on the bed being empty. In the rain these tire hold the road very well and find pavement very quicly when the need arises. Taking off from a dead start will cause the tires to spin, but let off the gas and they'll bit the road. This is true in snow driving too. The tread pattern shed water quickly making puddles, large and small, seem non-exsistent.
Fresh deep snow is not nearly as challenging as light or packed snow. These tires behave very well in fresh snow. If I mind-my-manors the latter stuff presents no problems while out accelerate everyone. Yes I can get the backend to let loose, but it is very quick to straighten out and not wip side-to-side. I do love the fun things a vehicle can do in the snow. I have yet to push these tires beyound their limits which so far is pretty high. Yes I'm the guy you'd say going to end up in the ditch, but I still haven't found that one with my name on it.
My last comment is about the tires Rev's per mile. It's less the OE tires and therefore your speedo is going to be off.

Initial Review, 68000 Miles on Tires
January 23, 2012

Closing in on 70K miles and still have a good 10K more left in treadwear. I used my F350 4WD Crew Cab for On/Off road, and tow a 16,000 lb 5th wheel trailer. These tires have NEVER disappointed me in any way. They are very quiet and have a respectable ride for a truck tire. They are light years better than the stock ContiTrac tires. These tires really hold the road in wet, dry, & off-road driving. Have limited use of them in snow, but when I have they did a surprisingly good job in the snowy mountain roads.

They do cost a bit more, but they are worth every extra penny as they will last you a good 70-75K miles if you balance & rotate them regularly. I won't hesitate to buy another set when mine finally hit the wear bars.

Initial Review, 10000 Miles on Tires
December 28, 2011

Simply the best light truck and SUV tire if you have to contend with winter weather. My third set on third different vehicle. Etudes small, Trbute, SUV has a slightly different Michelin, designed more for highway (less aggressive) they too are fantastic. I will always recommend these tires first for anyone with a light truck or SUV.

Initial Review, 20000 Miles on Tires
December 13, 2011

Very happy with these tires on the LX470 (basically just a tarted up Land Cruiser). The LX is heavy and I drive it easy; with the silent armor's it has been unstoppable. Around town and on the highway they are smooth, quiet, and predictable. You can hear a light hum from the tires despite the LX's heavy insulation but it is barely noticeable. The 70-series sidewall soaks up the bumps and basic wet/dry traction is very good. OTOH this truck is pretty much the opposite of sporty so YMMV. Have never hydroplaned in this tank so I suppose the resistance is ok but who knows?
Off-road traction has been fantastic on soft rutted farm tracks, low-water stream-crossings (1', no true fording as of yet), moderately steep hill climbs, and side slopes. Very little wheel slip, tracks well and climbs out well. I avoid the massive mud holes so I can't speak to that. In last winter's 'snow-mageddon' here in VA I was able to drive everywhere pretty much as usual; including up and down hills over curbs and the like, and I pulled out a lot of stuck cars and trucks as well. Deep snow was no problem at all.
Will definitely buy these again.

Initial Review, 300 Miles on Tires
January 15, 2012

I've had both Blizzaks and Continental Winter Procontact tires on my 85 Porsche and was unsatisfied with the Blizzaks feel on dry roads (where you spend most of your time). Both were great on snow. I'm pleased to say that these are obviously a much improved version of my old Blizzaks, they have great road feel none of that steering a cow delay of the old days, VERY quiet, and so far in the ice and what snow we have had they are like the grip tires on the Mach 5 (speed Racer) they just stick to the road. The cornering is good considering the softness of the tread lugs but that is to be expected on a snow tire, just slightly less cornering stability in tight turns than a regular street tire. I'm very pleased with these tires. Most people would not think to put snow tires on a 4WD vehicle figuring that they would be fine getting around, and probably that's true for the most part. Imagine yourself on the off ramp on the Highway and in front of you as you come around you see a vehicle on the one side of the road, one in the guard rail, another on the other side, and the car in front of you starting to slide. THAT is why I buy snow tires, at this point you either panic or you control the vehicle, Blizzaks will stick you to that road and you won't become another statistic of winter driving crashes. Peace of mind! Additionally you WILL be able to get through ANYTHING when it comes to snow. I drove my 85 Porsche 944 back from Vermont to Philadelphia with Blizzaks during the worst Noreaster we have had in recent history and literally watched (through a tiny un-iced hole in the windshield) SUV's tumbling along on the side of the road. I not only made it but was able to plow through more than a foot of snow for about the last 2 miles to my house and we are talking a rear wheel drive light sports car very very low to the ground. Do yourself a favor and get some for your truck you will thank me later.

Initial Review, 5000 Miles on Tires
October 11, 2009

The low noise level (at least with tons of thread left) is a definite plus for these tires. I had the 4x4 SportContact before these. The SportContact were good but strictly summer rubbers and wore fast. The CrossContacts can take me through "light winter" and they look juat as good as the SportContacts, maybe even a bit better on a truck. They definitely look a lot better than the pictures show. I didn't buy until I actually saw them on 09 MB SUVs.

Initial Review, 46000 Miles on Tires
November 06, 2011

I reviewed several tires when I purchased these for my Expedition. I have had experiece with Michelin, General, and Firestone as welll. These have been the best handling truck/SUV tire I have ever had. I have a 2WD Expedition and I have driven though rain, light snow and even snow over a foot and these tire perfom beautifully every time. There are a bit noisier than other tires, but this is an SUV and traction (at least for me) is more important that a little extra noise. When time comes for replacement I will be buying the same tire.

Initial Review, 31343 Miles on Tires
December 05, 2011

I own a 09 Pontiac G8 GT with the sport package. I have over 130K miles on my car now because I use it for my business. I do investigations and surveillance and most of the time I drive at high speed. I put approximately 3600 miles a month on it. The Hankooks I purchased were the 2nd set of tires I purchased for my car after the factory set and I must say you couldn't find a better tire for the money. I drive alot of highway and city and my average highway speed is from 80-100mph. I do alot of highspeed manuvering and cornering. These tires hold as well if not better than the original Bridgestone RE050's that were stock for the car. I did get over 55K miles out of the original tires, because I am anal about rotating my tires every 6K miles, but for the differnce in price to the Hankooks there is no contest. The Hankooks performed better in the rain up to 100mph than the Bridgestones and the road noise was minimal. I was able to corner even faster with these tires after they were broken in 1000 miles. I also never change my tires in the winter so I run my summers all year round. If you have light snow their ok at low speed, but of course 2inches and above I drive my truck. I've owned alot of performance vehicles from Evolutions to custom built tuners and the only tire so far that I've had that out performs these are the Yokohama Advans I had on both of my EVO's. If you want to try a superb well priced tire that is good for all around use try them. You'll be impressed.

Initial Review, 80000 Miles on Tires
November 06, 2011

I purchase the LT tire for the old caprice. Yes, it is a LT tire but it did fit and I average 7,000 miles a month. For a rear wheel drive vehicle it performs well. I I can assure you from driving in Maine to PA to Wyoming these tires serve you well.. The tires do have a truck like roar dont exceed 110 or you will get an uneven wear. I have driving 45 to 50mph with confidence on packed snow with these tires also perform well in the mud too surprisingly also finally putting studs is over kill on these tires. I was lazy and didnt have money to put any summer tires and road these for 2 winters as well as year round, these are a great buy if you live above the frost line.narrow tires seem to work well on trucks or cars to dig down to the traction layer... blizzaks seems well on light cars. but that is just my experience. i'm sure all will differ