[Steele-man]

Hey everyone, I’m looking into buying a new set of tires for my truck. It’s an 06 Sierra 1500. (Z71, 4wheel, SLE model) Right now it’s stock height with turned keys in the front, but I’m going to put the 2.5” leveling kit from rough country (http://www.roughcountry.com/gm-leveling-lift-kit-283c.html) unless there’s a better one of course?

I should be able to run 285-295 tires with that kit, but I’m not sure what size exactly will fit/look good. I have 17x9 fuel “full blown” rims that have 265/70R17 tires on them. Any suggestions? I like a nice sized tire, but don’t want it to rub.

Lastly, I need a really good all around tire that actually looks good, I drive highway a lot, yet I still am in the mountains most weekends. I also need the tires to do well in snow, I’m up in Idaho often. I’ve had BigO Bigfoot A/T’s before and they were great, but not the best looking. The Bigfoot X/T’s seem good, any thoughts? I also am interested in the Nitto ridge grappler, how are they? The truck currently has Wild country radial xtx’s that the last owner had, their down on tread though so I can’t pass judgement. Thanks for the help!

Ps. Excuse the pictures, they’re from when I bought the truck a few months ago, I need to take some better pictures than I have right now of it.

 

[WorthFlorida]

About the only reason I go to TireRack.com is to look over available tires by size. They do list 295 & 285 x 70 x 17" and almost all of them are off road/highway. A good off road and snow tire will never run good on a the highway. They'll also make a lot of noise with big clogs in the tread. I would go to a tire or truck shop that deals with lifts kits and get their opinion. Here is one in Florida but a bit too far from Idaho, but you get the idea. https://www.gibsontruckworld.com/

 

[Steele-man]

About the only reason I go to TireRack.com is to look over available tires by size. They do list 295 & 285 x 70 x 17" and almost all of them are off road/highway. A good off road and snow tire will never run good on a the highway. They'll also make a lot of noise with big clogs in the tread. I would go to a tire or truck shop that deals with lifts kits and get their opinion. Here is one in Florida but a bit too far from Idaho, but you get the idea. https://www.gibsontruckworld.com/

Do you know of any that do run good on the highway though? I’m not expecting anything spectacular, but loud tire wail gets old on long drives.

 

[Beachbourbon]

My pirelli scorpions are quiet on the freeway, have a fairly aggressive tread, wear well and are inexpensive. I've also had good luck with Goodyear and uniroyal truck tires.

The worst tires I've experienced have been BF Goodrich. They were expensive and wore out. Quickly

 

[Steele-man]

I might have to look up the scorpions, what are they rated for? C,D,E?

 

[squatchy]

I’m cooper bias so I wouldn’t even look at anything but the at3 for an at tire. But a strong second would be Toyo at2. At3’s do t make any noticeable noise beyond what factory Bridgestone tires do. Idk if 285s still come in p metric for toyo, I know p metric sizes they do 65k miles tread wear warranty. Cooper is 55k. Idk what anything else is, but that’s where I’d look, how much they’ll warranty it kinda tells you how much they back up what they are saying about it

 

[Mychel]

Unless you care more about getting a swamper type tire, for a more stock style, I have had great luck with Goodyear Eagle LS-2. Granted, those are only 20 inch stock tires, but they grab on everything, don't throw a lot of road noise, and basically last for a long time. I have been driving on my current set for a couple years now, and I put about 50-80 miles a day on them. I am actually about to replace them, and I am going to get the same tires again because, lets face it, no one wants to get stuck in the mud or have to be late if there is a little snow on the ground. I also ended up putting Goodyear Eagle RS-A on my Acadia, but they don't grip in mud and ice like I want. They are amazing on the highway, though. Decent in snow and great in rain while being quiet.

 

[ghuns]

I love these, Nokian Rotiiva AT...

Only had them a few months, but they have performed perfectly in everything I've driven them through. I am especially impressed by the amount of snow I can drive through in 2WD and no weight in the bed with them. I shouldn't be. Nobody beats Nokian in the snow.

 

[csoldfield]

I love these, Nokian Rotiiva AT.
Only had them a few months, but they have performed perfectly in everything I've driven them through. I am especially impressed by the amount of snow I can drive through in 2WD and no weight in the bed with them. I shouldn't be. Nobody beats Nokian in the snow.

Considering these for a 2011 Tahoe - looking for good snow/ice traction, not so concerned about high miles nor being super-quiet. Reviews seem good, $155/ea (265 /70 R17) at my favorite Discount Tires. So you recommend them , eh?

 

[ghuns]

Absolutely.

I've run many brands of snow tires and Nokian was always my favorite. When I bought my truck and it needed tires, I was looking for cheap ones. My truck isn't a daily driver, mainly just a firewood hauler. I found those Nokians on eBay, in 265/75/16, for $488 and free shipping. Doesn't get much cheaper than that. And if I'd paid double that, I'd still be happy with them.

 

[Collin02]

I have the same truck, but a chevy. I run 285/70/R17 on mine and they dont rub. It is stock height.

 

[Beachbourbon]

I might have to look up the scorpions, what are they rated for? C,D,E?

"P" rated

https://www.consumerreports.org/pro...k-tire/pirelli-scorpion-atr-8474/specs/#specs

https://www.amazon.com/Pirelli-Scor...004QL6UKS/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_product_top?ie=UTF8

 

[JackE]

I really like the Nitto Terragrappler. Not sure what sizes they come in, but they are awesome in every terrain I have used them in.

 

[Steele-man]

I really like the Nitto Terragrappler. Not sure what sizes they come in, but they are awesome in every terrain I have used them in.

How do they fair in snow and/or ice? I love how those look

 

[JackE]

They are awesome in the snow and ice! My mom has them on her '15 Jeep Cherokee and most of the time she doesn't need to use 4x4 because they grip good enough. They completely change the look of her Jeep from "Mom's car" to "Nice Jeep Mom!" I'm perusing the net today looking for sizes, hoping I can find the right size with the right load range for what I want. She didn't loose any MPG from the stock tires either, which is a big plus for me!

 

[Steele-man]

Sweet, they do come in the size I want so I might end up with those or the exo awt’s.

I found out the big O tires don’t come in the right size, oh well! Guess it’s down to Nitto or the coopers

 

[tbplus10]

I've been running a set of ProComp 16x36 Allterrains on one of my trucks for about 6 years and 47k miles, their almost down to the tread wear bar now.
I've used them in mud, snow, sand, rocks, loose gravel, loose dirt, ice, and asphalt. Off road in all terrain they work best aired down some, I've gone as low as 11psi without rolling a head, on road they run and wear great at 36psi front and 32psi r/r unloaded.
They aren't aggressive tread tires so depending on the look your trying to achieve might not fit the bill, but wear and performance are superior.

 

[Alberta08silverado]

I am a big fan of wrangler duratracs. They are a little pricey but I find they perform very well on my farm trucks in both deep snow and thick mud. They look pretty sweet to. I would look around at places like Canadian tire as they often have very good tire sales. The duratracs are a little loud on the highway though and I’d recommend investing in good mudflaps as they will throw mud, gravel, snow, and whatever else all over the side of your truck.

 

[Steele-man]

I have the same truck, but a chevy. I run 285/70/R17 on mine and they dont rub. It is stock height.

Can you post some pictures? I think I want the leveling kit but I’d like to see it at stock height

 

[Steele-man]

On this same topic, the rough country leveling kit comes with N3 shocks, I found a lot about the 2.2’s on here and it sounds like bilsteins are better, but what about the newer 3.0’s???

Also, I don’t do a ton of towing, but we’re looking into buying a camper in a year or so and towing it a lot. Should I just add a leaf while I’m already doing the lift kit? Or, is doing airbags better long term?

If anyone has done a lot of suspension stiff, let me know.