Tire Opinion

[Bill in Houston]

My Element's OE tires (Goodyear HP) are wearing out after 40k miles of dedicated service. Perfectly even wear after years of being "over-inflated" by 4-6 psi.

As of this second, I am thinking that I will replace them with BF Goodrich Long Trail T/A tires (http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/specs/radial-long-trail-t-a/15.html), for a few different reasons.
The Long Trail has lower rolling resistance (Greenseal report) than the Michelin LTX, which is sort of a gold standard for light truck tires.
Michelin Cross Terrains cost toooo much.
Long Trail was rated something like "excellent overall, with good rolling resistance" by CR.
The Bridgestone with low RR (D684, I think) in the CR test was despised by almost all users on Tire Rack.
Long Trail is supposed to last a looooong time.
Most criticism of the Long Trail is either that it is bad on snow (no prob here) or that it is no good off-road and is too car-tire-like (no prob).

The stock size is 215/70R16, and I think I will keep the standard size.

Any red flags? Any guidance?

Do raised white outline tires look stupid? The tread is assymmetric, so I don't particularly want to reverse them...

Thanks!
Bill

[cems70]

Bill,

I would recommend checking out Nokian WR:

http://www.nokiantires.com/en/tire_wr_suv.aspx

I don't know anything about their rolling resistance. But based on a great experience w/ two sets of Nokian NRT2s from my previous Honda Civic VX, (for fuel efficiency and longgevity) and from conversations w/ their US headquarters in Tennessee, Nokian strives for both performance and efficiency (LRR) w/ all their tires.

Additionally, the WR weighs 26.9 lbs each compared to 30 lbs each for the Long Trail. This gives you the added efficiency of 10% lower rotating weight.

Steve

[Brock]

I would second the WR's. They have amazing traction and don't wear to fast and are LRR tires. The Nokian i3's have a longer lasting tread and a lower LRR but the traction isn't there. When I saw that I am comparing them to other "good" traction tires, they are probably pretty typical for wet traction.

[CO ZX2]

My Element's OE tires (Goodyear HP) are wearing out after 40k miles of dedicated service. Perfectly even wear after years of being "over-inflated" by 4-6 psi.

As of this second, I am thinking that I will replace them with BF Goodrich Long Trail T/A tires (http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/specs/radial-long-trail-t-a/15.html), for a few different reasons.
The Long Trail has lower rolling resistance (Greenseal report) than the Michelin LTX, which is sort of a gold standard for light truck tires.
Michelin Cross Terrains cost toooo much.
Long Trail was rated something like "excellent overall, with good rolling resistance" by CR.
The Bridgestone with low RR (D684, I think) in the CR test was despised by almost all users on Tire Rack.
Long Trail is supposed to last a looooong time.
Most criticism of the Long Trail is either that it is bad on snow (no prob here) or that it is no good off-road and is too car-tire-like (no prob).

The stock size is 215/70R16, and I think I will keep the standard size.

Any red flags? Any guidance?

Do raised white outline tires look stupid? The tread is assymmetric, so I don't particularly want to reverse them...

Thanks!
Bill

Bill. I recommend B.F. Goodrich to all. I have TA Touring on Old Reliable now. They are one of the lowest LRR tires commonly available. Mine have lived most of their life at 55-60# with no problems. They even have a mileage guarantee.

[rh77]

I'm partial to Bridgestone/Firestone (family roots in Akron, Ohio)...but alas,

Michelins have a nice line of LRR tires -- I've been quite pleased with them (3rd set).

RH77