I am right at the wear bars on the tires that came with my tahoe ('05, Z71): some junk Maxxis P rated highway tires.
I've narrowed my choices down to three:
1. Michelin Defenders
2. Cooper Discoverer AT3s
3. BFG KO2
Looking to remain stock (265/70R17). Biggest factor for me is handling in wet and dry conditions. I do not plan on doing any towing, either. Likely to remain ~90% of travel on the road, ~10% on light trails but probably not as extreme as some logging trails can get. In my area we usually get a few inches of snow every winter but the biggest issue for us is ice since the NCDOT likes to drag their feet during inclement weather advisories. Eastern NC is pretty flat, though I would like to take a few trips through the mountains in cooler weather: not sure if this is enough to justify one tire over the other.
Has anyone had experiences with more than one of these on their Tahoe?
The Defenders seems to be the most reasonable for me since the vehicle stays on the road >90% of the time: the caveat is that I can either get P rated or E load, no middle ground for the occasional off-pavement trek and peace of mind.
I currently have the Coopers on my Jeep XJ. Tread life has been reasonable for me and while they behave well on dry roads, I cannot give a great review of them in wet conditions due to the nature of the XJ. If you've ever driven a non-ABS version of these vehicles, you will know that if you have to hit the brakes somewhat hard, the back end likes to slide since there is no weight in the back. Good thing is that I can get a C load.
I like the idea of the BFGs as an all-purpose tire especially for the occasional snow/ice storm, and I can get them in a C load if I prefer. Biggest drawback to these is the weight and ride quality. They are also probably overkill for a vehicle that spends as much time on pavement as the Tahoe does.
I've narrowed my choices down to three:
1. Michelin Defenders
2. Cooper Discoverer AT3s
3. BFG KO2
Looking to remain stock (265/70R17). Biggest factor for me is handling in wet and dry conditions. I do not plan on doing any towing, either. Likely to remain ~90% of travel on the road, ~10% on light trails but probably not as extreme as some logging trails can get. In my area we usually get a few inches of snow every winter but the biggest issue for us is ice since the NCDOT likes to drag their feet during inclement weather advisories. Eastern NC is pretty flat, though I would like to take a few trips through the mountains in cooler weather: not sure if this is enough to justify one tire over the other.
Has anyone had experiences with more than one of these on their Tahoe?
The Defenders seems to be the most reasonable for me since the vehicle stays on the road >90% of the time: the caveat is that I can either get P rated or E load, no middle ground for the occasional off-pavement trek and peace of mind.
I currently have the Coopers on my Jeep XJ. Tread life has been reasonable for me and while they behave well on dry roads, I cannot give a great review of them in wet conditions due to the nature of the XJ. If you've ever driven a non-ABS version of these vehicles, you will know that if you have to hit the brakes somewhat hard, the back end likes to slide since there is no weight in the back. Good thing is that I can get a C load.
I like the idea of the BFGs as an all-purpose tire especially for the occasional snow/ice storm, and I can get them in a C load if I prefer. Biggest drawback to these is the weight and ride quality. They are also probably overkill for a vehicle that spends as much time on pavement as the Tahoe does.