SUV Tires?

My wife needs new tires on her Buick Enclave, after some initial research it seems like the Hankook Dynapro HP2 RA33 or BFGoodrich Advantage T/A Sport LT’s have the best review to cost ratio. But wanted to check with you guys, since I heard about the Dynapro ATM’s on my truck from IDO, and I was very pleased with them. Her SUV will rarely, if ever, see any off road action so mainly concerned with handling wet/snowy city roads, longevity and sound as we use her vehicle for transporting our 1 year old mainly. Any current recommendations, as all previous threads were 5+ years old? TIA

Dynapro, had them on a Durango and now a 4runner. Great tires for the value

I second the dynapro’s. I have them on my Tahoe and they have been very good to me. Cannot speak for the Advantage’s, however.

I run Goodyear Comfort Treads and Cooper C5 touring on our SUV’s and love both.

Love the Copper C5. I have Hanakooks on my new Explorer but being they are the original factory provided tires they are wearing out faster than I thought they would

Screw that stuff.

Nokian WR3

I have had great experience with Hankooks, several different sets, from truck to SUV to sports car. They handle great in the snow and ice, are quiet, and not harsh on rough roads. But, they have those attributes because they are a softer compound, and therefore they do wear out quicker than other brands. So look at the tread life on the tires and factor in cost/mile when you compare. That said, I have had some hockey puck tires, said to be 80,000 mile tires, that I had to replace after 45,000 miles because I could not stand them.

I will go with Hankooks again without question.

I know you said the SUV won’t be seeing any off road action however, if your looking for traction and durability I’d look at the Cooper Discoverer AT3s.

I bought them for my Ford Ranger and just recently bought them for my Honda Pilot. They are rated for 65k miles which is more than most tires, let alone AT tires.

Fleet Farm had buy 3 get one free a couple weeks ago which put them in the $100 price range for my Pilot. In MN, I prefer the AT over AS tires even if the vehicle won’t see much off road action. Personal preference I guess.

Wife had CS5 ultras and they were great for 40k; excellent ride and snow/ice traction. After 40k (around 6/32) it was like they fell off a cliff. Ride was still good, but the traction was horrendous… they might as well have been bald. I had the same experience with Cooper AT3s on my pickup… good for 35k and then boom, no traction. I’d never recommend coopers to anyone unless you are ok with replacing them at 40k, which for the price you pay might actually be worth considering.

The next tire going on my wife’s SUV will be a p-rated Kumho Crugen HT51. I have them on my pickup and they’ve been fantastic.

Thanks for the recommendations, and keep em coming! FWIW I was using the ratings off of TireRack.com

Dynapros dont seem like the kind of tire for your vehicle. Those are full size vehicle truck tires.
We just got new tires on my wife’s Murano, which is similar to yours.
BF Goodrich Advantage T/A. They came highly recommended by the owner of the tire shop I use and he sells them all.
They are nicely aggressive for an SUV like this. Much more than stock without looking ridiculous.
They were $800 and some change out the door.

suzuki wrote:

Dynapros dont seem like the kind of tire for your vehicle. Those are full size vehicle truck tires.

The ATM’s are truck tires, the HP’s are different and for SUV’s. I’m leaning toward the BFG Advantage’s as they are very highly rated and only an extra $80 for all 4.

That’s what I get for not reading thoroughly. Thanks for the info!

I love my Nitto TerraGrappler G2’s 54,000 miles and great traction. Only downside is they were a lil noisy.

I have run Cooper Discoverer’s in the past as well and liked them.

Put some Super Swampers on it.

Ralph Wiggum wrote:

Put some Super Swampers on it.

We don’t make it out to St. Stephen much anymore, so I think we will be able to get by with a little less tread…

BigWerm wrote:

We don’t make it out to St. Stephen much anymore, so I think we will be able to get by with a little less tread…

Are you a costco member?

My wife is the manager at a local tire shop. She has firestone destinations AT on her explorer, on her third winter with them and there like new still , and quiet.

My wife had some Michelin tires on her last Edge but I don’t know the model. They were some kind of eco tire for fuel mileage. I was really worried about the snow and ice traction but was blown away by how good they were in the deep snow and on ice. This was in a 2wd Edge. They lasted over 60k before her accident (not her fault).

She has a newer AWD Edge now and had the Pirreli Scorpions on it. They are absolutely the worst tire I’ve owned. Lasted about 36,000 miles and there’s nothing good about them.

We are looking at the Michelin Primer LTX. I hoping these were similar to what she had on her old car.

If you want bang for your buck you need to consider mileage. If it’s an AWD, how much does traction in snow and ice really matter?

if you are looking for a high mileage tire they will be crap in the winter because the rubber is harder. The harder rubber creates the high mileage. you can Sipe the high mileage tires all you want and the will still be bad in snow and ice. Most drivers have no season (M/S) tires on their vehicles. I have summer Tires for my pickup (Not M/S tire) and Snow tire for the winter. Snow tires should be directional so they throw the snow out as you drive. Non directional tires tend to pack with snow and be less effective. I lived in the high country for many winters. Just my 2 cents. Its too bad we cant have studded tires in MN. The salt is worse than any studded tire would be.

DTW

Sure for a dozen days a year, winter or A/T tires would be great, but for the other 353 days…. well, I’ll let you decide.

The Cooper SRX is a good SUV tire. Had them on my Yukon XL 59000 miles and would have got more but an alignment issue chewed 1 off on the inside. Replaced them with another set of the same. Seen them on a Ford Escape that lasted 67000 miles. Good overall traction and quiet.

mark-bruzek wrote:

Are you a costco member?

Yup.

biggill wrote:

If you want bang for your buck you need to consider mileage. If it’s an AWD, how much does traction in snow and ice really matter?

Yeah I’m not too worried about snow/ice, just want something that she will feel safe driving the kiddo.

It would only take one event on snow and ice to change your mind. I wouldn’t run anything in the winter that didn’t have the snowflake/3 mountain peak on the sidewall. Quite a few options for all seasons that carry that mark. But, nothing comes even close to full on winter tires. A word of warning though, there’s no going back once you’ve had them.

3 good all season+ tires
Cooper AT3-4s or the more aggressive AT/W. I have AT/W’s on my Expedition and love them. Even the sides of the tread blocks have treads.
Nokian WRG’s are very affordable but do start out with a bit less tread depth.

Biggill wrote:

Sure for a dozen days a year, winter or A/T tires would be great, but for the other 353 days…. well, I’ll let you decide

I guess you don’t care about safety driving in snow. Winter tires out preform no season tires in a HUGE way. I have decided to keep my family safe. You?

x2 on the Nokian WR3 or the Hakkapolita

DTW wrote:

Biggill wrote:

Sure for a dozen days a year, winter or A/T tires would be great, but for the other 353 days…. well, I’ll let you decide

I guess you don’t care about safety driving in snow. Winter tires out preform no season tires in a HUGE way. I have decided to keep my family safe. You?

Maybe just stay home whenever possible. SLOW DOWN MAYBE??? There’s a thought.

Yeah I guess I’m a horrible person putting my family at risk at every turn.

0 winter accidents in 23 years of winter driving. Had winter tires for 2 seasons on a 2wd S-10 and found very little benefit.

DTW wrote:

Biggill wrote:

Sure for a dozen days a year, winter or A/T tires would be great, but for the other 353 days…. well, I’ll let you decide

I guess you don’t care about safety driving in snow. Winter tires out preform no season tires in a HUGE way. I have decided to keep my family safe. You?

Easy buddy… This was all information for a question about tire preference, not calling people out about safety and family.

I do tend to agree that the reality is that there are probably only 10-15 days in a year at the very most that someone’s driving in tracherous ice or snow conditions in MN. I see more people than ever rolling around on spendy AT tires in their grocery-getter SUV or pretty suburb truck than ever before, but that’s their choice. Every person can weigh out the importance of that on their own. One solution may be to use a more winter-friendly vehicle with the corresponding tires on those days instead of running AT tires on all vehicles.

As far as the original question goes…Dynapros have been solid for me and my wife. We live in a rural area where plowing is minimal. They’ve performed well in all seasons and worn evenly.

Keep in mind that driving habits and speed are 100x more likely to impact someone’s control of their vehicle in any situation than a tire selection. If you’re ever on the road during a truly dangerous situation…tally the number of 4wd/AWD vehicles in the ditch vs 2wd cars. Regardless of tires, drivetrain, etc the only correlation is a driver who could’ve probably went slower and used more caution.

I drive 60k a year and have seen many accidents of vehicles in poor conditions that could have been avoided with proper tires. They call it black ice for a reason and 4wd will do nothing for you. It only helps get you out of a ditch. Tires are one of the most important safety items on your vehicle. Sorry to bring it up. I didn’t think it would bother people giving a PSA.

Your “buddy”

DTW