Truck Tires F350 - Montana Owners Club

bsmeaton · 02-17-2009, 04:33 AM

I know somebody posted this about replacing the factory Continental Tires, but I can't find it - About ready to replace the factory Continental Contitrac TR tires on my F350 (275-70R18).

On my last F350 I went with Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor and when I hit the road they made me feel like I was swimming all over the place - like driving on ice. In turns I felt like I was loosing control, and they tended to find all the ruts in the road. I never pursued the problem and sold the truck shortly thereafter for other reasons.

Now I read the Discount Tire reviews and I see similar experiences with those tires on the F350 and GM2500 4x4s, so it wasn't just me. Some folks called them plain dangerous. Unfortunately there are also some similar experiences with the Michelin LTX on the heavy trucks. Goodrich Rugged Trail seems to be immune to that problem, but the reviews indicate poor mileage and poor off road traction.

These are an odd tires size so choices are few, but I was hoping to hear what the experiences of others have been trying to find a decent 4X4 radial tire suitable for towing.

richfaa · 02-17-2009, 05:30 AM

On our 08 F-350 we have the OEM BF goodrich rugged trail T/A LT 245/75R17/ 17,500 miles, most of that towing. They show little wear and we noted no drive ability issues towing or solo. What was the problem with your Continentals?????

bsmeaton · 02-17-2009, 06:23 AM

The only real problem I noticed is the lack of traction in the snow and low mileage compared to some (35,000 miles).

jsnip42 · 02-17-2009, 06:42 AM

My Continental tires are hard to keep balanced and wear fast also. I have 48K on mine and the wear bars are starting to show. I am used to getting 75K on my tires. I am also looking for a good tire.

Delaine and Lindy · 02-17-2009, 06:50 AM

Haven't tried these but they have been recomended by a friend who sales tires, they are Toyo said mileage has been good. I normally use Michelin tires and have always gotten good mileage. What ever came on my 2008 Chevy seems to be wearing fast. Will change them out before next winter trip. GBY...

deepskyridge · 02-17-2009, 07:35 AM

I put Nitto Duragrappler's on my 2005 F-350 earlier this year.

http://www.nittotire.com/#index%2Etire%2Eduragrappler

So far I have been very pleased, they give a better ride than the OEM tires. They are load range E so are fine for towing.

Gary

lwcdg · 02-17-2009, 07:36 AM

Brad, I never had any issues on my F350 using the LTX's Ive replaced them a couple of times so far and will keep using Mich as long as the $ holds out.
Chuck
PS the Toyos on our Rav4 (1st & only foreign car ever owned) were replaced with less than 10k on them with Mich. The Toyos couldn't hold air or balancing. Mich doing fine in the first 5k so far.

bsmeaton · 02-17-2009, 07:37 AM

Gary, Thanks for the input - that was the one remaining option at Direct I wasn't familiar with.

Anybody have input on Firestone Transforce or Cooper?

bsmeaton · 02-17-2009, 07:39 AM

Chuck,

How is your snow traction?

richfaa · 02-17-2009, 08:04 AM

WE have always used cooper tires on our cars and Trucks with good result. We Replaced our OEM Missions with Cooper SRMII LT-235/85-R16's

We do not drive in Snow with this truck.

bsmeaton · 02-17-2009, 10:28 AM

This seems to be a new option for the odd size on the F350 -

ContiCross Contact LX

This is a different tire than the OEM Contitrac on the SuperDuty. It has been OEM on the Navigator - Tahoe and some of the smaller SUVs for the last couple of years and the reviews are much better than those for the Contitrac. I realize its a highway tire, but the snow and rain traction seems to be well liked in the reviews. I realize as a new tire for the Load Range E series, most folks here haven't run them, but if you have heard anything please share.

Delaine and Lindy · 02-17-2009, 11:31 AM

I will be looking for a road tire for sure. They wear much better and less road noise. I don't take my Truck off road and hope that I'm never in Snow, if so it will be by accident. GBY...

ols1932 · 02-17-2009, 12:43 PM

I've found that the best tires for me are Michelins.

Orv

Mudchief · 02-17-2009, 01:32 PM

Brad, Lonnie suggested to me the Firestone Dueler A/T Revo and I have been very pleased. I have over 50K on them and most of that has been pulling heavy farm trailers. When the time comes I will get them again. They are not noisy and pull good in Mud and snow.

bsmeaton · 02-17-2009, 04:16 PM

Yeppers Dennis - the only problem is the Revo doesn't come in my size for the 18" wheels. I would have to go to the Transforce [s]Handler[/s] in the Firestone/Bridgestone line, which Lonnie says he sells plenty of.

Orv - I do like Michelin, they replaced the Continentals on my Expedition, but its a totally different tire than the truck tire that fits my truck.

Fordzilla · 02-17-2009, 11:27 PM

I have 65k on the original BFG rugged trails on the dully. I rotate every 10k and keep them @ 80psi most of the time. When it comes time to replace it will be tough not to consider these again. I too would like a little more aggressive tire for the winter, but these have gotten me threw what I needed so far the past 3 winters.

The skirmish handling on new tires is due to the rubber compound not being perfectly flat and until you get 500 miles on them and they wear to a flat state where they roll evenly touching the ground you only have a small patch of each lug touching the ground and that is what causes the driving on ice sensation. I was told this after returning to the dealer and telling him I did not want these particular tires as they did the same thing you were talking about. He told me to drive them for a tank of fuel and come back if they hadn't settled down by then he would replace them and give me my money back. After a couple weeks they were rolling great and no more problems.

richfaa · 02-18-2009, 01:47 AM

Ron.We have the same OEM tires on our 08 and we are glad to hear they are wearing well. When they do need replaced, If we have the truck that long, we will go to a good road tire as we seldom go off road and need not worry about Ice and snow anymore.

jsnip42 · 02-18-2009, 02:08 AM

My tire dealer recommended the Firestone Transforce for my truck. Gave me a price of $813.40 out the door. It does seem to be harder to find many choices in the 18 inch size. I am still trying to decide between these and the Michlein. It seems the price of tires these days are a large investment for the truck.

bsmeaton · 02-18-2009, 02:32 AM

I wonder if your extremely high mileage you BF Goodrich guys are getting (richfaa and Fordzilla) is partially credited to the dually spreading out the load in half across each tire? How is the road noise on those? (not that could hear it much with the diesel)

Jsnip42 - thank you for correcting me. I meant to say the Transforce by Firestone, not the Handler.

Between the F-32s back in the 70's that would wear out in 10,000 miles, the Radial 500 fiasco, and the blow out issue with Firestone back in 2000, I swore I would never look at them again. That was before Mission of course

, and now I could only wish Firestone made a tire that fit the Montana! hahahahaha. I actually loved the Firestone Flexsteels that were a recall replacement tire on my 2000 F350, but unfortunately those went away with the Bridgestone merger.

richfaa · 02-18-2009, 03:34 AM

You are correct on that Brad.. They have to generate some noise because of the tread but we can't notice it even with the "quiet" Diesel. I am wondering if a "road tire" might improve MPG a bit???? Our front and rear seem to be wearing at the same rate. We do not rotate the dually tires.

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