I keep going back and forth, pros and cons... I am on a tight budget but I need new tires, its not a 'want' luxury choice especially with winter coming. I never liked the thin wall side profile of the stock 285/45's anyway...
Given that I have the stock 22" Premium rims on my Laramie with a 2" front lift I know I can squeeze 35"s in there. I am looking at everything from 285/55r22's to 325/50r22 to 35 12.5x 22. I ran across a special from Town Faire Tire where some customer took advantage of their 30 Day return policy to bring back Nitto Trail Grapplers (285/55r22) with just a few days on them. I can get them installed, mounted and balanced and front alignment for $1,250 out the door.
I am also considering brand new 'cheaper' tires that have good reviews across multiple site online. There are a TON of 'off' brand tires, but those in the lead for me are all 35 12.5 22's. Including Milestar Patagonia MT (one of the highest rated tires online with 150 reviews) from a guy near me for $800 cash brand new that I would have to travel a couple hours for (or $1,050 shipped and installed from Simple Tire). Venom Power Terrain Hunter XT's shipped to me for $950. And Crosswind MT's with a slight aesthetic blemish but brand new for $725. All of these options would be balanced and mounted for an additional $80 at Tire Warehouse.
Pros for the Nittos are that they are Nittos and I have read alot of good about them and new they are almost $2000 for the set. However, even though they come with a 30 trial for me they are used (albeit lightly) and are VERY aggressive (which is OK if they aren't too loud or uncomfortable a ride) and are slightly smaller than the 35's.
Pros for the other choices are that they are 35 12.5 22's, so aesthetically I like the extra .7" Diameter and .3" sidewall profile and though width doesn't matter to me a lot (gas mileage may suffer) they also have 1.3" of extra width. They are all brand new and total price installed would save me between $300-450 total... but they are 'off brand'.
I dont off road at all except on my small property lightly from time to time so Thats not important to me at all. I do mostly 40-55 on back roads and a fair amount of highway driving and our winters here in Vermont are long and hard. It really comes down to money and best bang for the buck. If a set of tires will cost me 50% more but last twice as long and be better while I use them its a no brainer... but if they are only marginally better than the bump in price isnt worth it. Not just looking at the cheapest tire either as I dont want to plop down even $800 but have to do it again next year or the year after because they were crap.
Given that I have the stock 22" Premium rims on my Laramie with a 2" front lift I know I can squeeze 35"s in there. I am looking at everything from 285/55r22's to 325/50r22 to 35 12.5x 22. I ran across a special from Town Faire Tire where some customer took advantage of their 30 Day return policy to bring back Nitto Trail Grapplers (285/55r22) with just a few days on them. I can get them installed, mounted and balanced and front alignment for $1,250 out the door.
I am also considering brand new 'cheaper' tires that have good reviews across multiple site online. There are a TON of 'off' brand tires, but those in the lead for me are all 35 12.5 22's. Including Milestar Patagonia MT (one of the highest rated tires online with 150 reviews) from a guy near me for $800 cash brand new that I would have to travel a couple hours for (or $1,050 shipped and installed from Simple Tire). Venom Power Terrain Hunter XT's shipped to me for $950. And Crosswind MT's with a slight aesthetic blemish but brand new for $725. All of these options would be balanced and mounted for an additional $80 at Tire Warehouse.
Pros for the Nittos are that they are Nittos and I have read alot of good about them and new they are almost $2000 for the set. However, even though they come with a 30 trial for me they are used (albeit lightly) and are VERY aggressive (which is OK if they aren't too loud or uncomfortable a ride) and are slightly smaller than the 35's.
Pros for the other choices are that they are 35 12.5 22's, so aesthetically I like the extra .7" Diameter and .3" sidewall profile and though width doesn't matter to me a lot (gas mileage may suffer) they also have 1.3" of extra width. They are all brand new and total price installed would save me between $300-450 total... but they are 'off brand'.
I dont off road at all except on my small property lightly from time to time so Thats not important to me at all. I do mostly 40-55 on back roads and a fair amount of highway driving and our winters here in Vermont are long and hard. It really comes down to money and best bang for the buck. If a set of tires will cost me 50% more but last twice as long and be better while I use them its a no brainer... but if they are only marginally better than the bump in price isnt worth it. Not just looking at the cheapest tire either as I dont want to plop down even $800 but have to do it again next year or the year after because they were crap.
