Wheels & Tires Semi-Tech General discussion of wheels and tires for the Ford Ranger.

All Terrain vs. Regular car tires

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Old 09-25-2006
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All Terrain vs. Regular car tires

Hey everyone. I don't know much about tires so I figured I would come here to ask for help.

I need new tires for my 100% stock 4x2 2002 Ford Ranger. I have been searching and I really like the mean look of the A/T Tires. My question is, do they have a bumpier ride than a car tire or a light truck tire? If so, how much bumpier? Also, can anyone recommend a good all terrain truck tire that has a fair price?

This is the tire thats on my truck now...
Firestone Wilderness/P225/70/R15/100S


Thanks Everyone!
 

Last edited by feh728; 09-26-2006 at 02:00 PM. Reason: Pictures
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Old 09-25-2006
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Stock VS My BFGs I honostly didnt notice much of a difference in "bumpiness". The tires will be a bit "firm/harder" then the POS wranglers, but the stiffness of your ride wont be much different [replace your shocks with Bilsteins or anotherquality shock and you'll notice a big ride quality difference]. Now on traction/handling/and stablity, it was like night and day.
 
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Old 09-25-2006
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do you use the truck in anything other than the pavement??
off-road at all?
the best i know of is the BFG a/t they are best known, procomp second
 
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Old 09-25-2006
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it depends on the tire. you can buy a P rated or LT rated A/T tire.

LT will be a 3 ply or more.
P rated tire will be 2 ply.

the PLY rating is where you are getting the roughness in most cases.
 
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Old 09-25-2006
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I do not use the truck for offroading. Just strictly on the florida pavement.
 
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dunlop rovers would be fine for you to use if you want something cheaper

there is a rover weather model that is supposed to be good for road and weather driving
 

Last edited by telemaster1952; 09-25-2006 at 03:05 PM.
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Old 09-25-2006
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All terrains make the ride a bit more loud too
 
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Old 09-25-2006
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Would I get a noticeable height difference with an a/t tire?
 
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Old 09-25-2006
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Going bigger in size tire, Yes
 
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Old 09-25-2006
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In regards to the bumpier ride, what effect would there be on bumpyness going from stock tires to larger A/T tires (keyword: larger)?
 
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Old 09-25-2006
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prolly feel a wobble at high speeds...I know a guy with a chevy that has a 10" lift and at 65 his interior rattles so dang much but its prolly cause of that lift and all, he has like 37s too lol... in the 31 range their nice

just for some proof its like that but a 1500 and lil higher

 
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Old 09-26-2006
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I think im going to go with the BFG A/T once I get the money. Any reliable sites with good tire prices?
 
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Old 09-26-2006
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the place whare my truck is built from. www.summitracing.com
 
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Old 09-26-2006
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I had those same tires (Firestone Wildernes HT) on my last truck ('99 XL Sport 2WD). I have the BFG AT's on my new truck ('03 FX4 LII). As has been said, the ride difference is negligible. I find the AT's make a little bit more noise when rolling, but it is not significant. One observation about noise and ride though: the AT's agressive tread picks up a lot of crap easily. I have picked up pebles and small stones in the treads and woried myself sick having convinced myself the 'tap-tap-tap' noise was a shot CV or other major drive-line component. I never had that (minor) problem w/ the Firestones.

Having said that..
Originally Posted by feh728
I do not use the truck for offroading. Just strictly on the florida pavement.
Then I absoloutely think ATs are a gigantic waste of money for you. I think you would be much better suited going for a better grade of all-season tires rather than an AT. The ATs are designed for off-roading. In my case they are also invaluable come winter in the snow. You see neither and so they will be a waste of your hard earned money.

Liking the 'look' is a really lame reason to throw away that much money in my opinion.

I know a lot of people look down on the Firestones after the whole Explorer recall debacle, but in my experience the Wilderness HTs are a fine tire. I traded my '99 w/ the original tires still on it at 55k miles. I was very impressed w/ the way they wore. My only complaint was they had very poor snow traction, especially when more than one season (say ~20k miles) old.

Other options include the BFG Long-Trail all-seasons. I know several people who drive this tire and speak favorably of it. I may even swap for a set when my ATs wear.. depending on how they price out in my size.
 
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Old 09-26-2006
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its true; A/T tires are generally for offroading. HOWEVER, the bfg all-terrain is used by TONS of people whos vehicles never see dirt. bfg KNOWS this, and has engineered the new all-terrains accordingly. theyre more quiet, provide better on-road drivability and wear longer than versions past.

they wont 'wobble' at high speed. if they do, its because your alignment or wheel balancing is off. they do make more noise at high speed than a regular street tire, but not really enough to notice. finally, they will ride a little rougher than a regular street tire, but again, the difference is negligible.

the bottom line is if you want the a/ts, get em. Theyre a great tire, and as long as you rotate em regularly, theyll last quite some time. ive seen many people running bfg a/ts make it to 50-60k+ miles with em.
 
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Old 09-26-2006
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wish some co. made some to fit the stock 14" rims I got
 
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Old 09-26-2006
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my upgrade from 245/75r16 highway tires to the 265/75r16 BF A/T it was like night and day made my truck a lot smother ride and i dont have any more shakeing i love them and u can only hear if going slow on roufgh pavement or coming to a stop but i love them!!!! i g2 chek in the snow now thats the big test. but i recomend them
 
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