Chevy & GMC Vans

I put together this table to help me choose a tire:
A/T tires 30x9.50 R15

I've read many reviews and for the most part, they are a waste of time due to lack of objective information. The strongest opinions are always given by those with the least education & experience. Reviews are completely subjective, and everyone claims the tires they have or are selling, are the best. Tread wear evaluations are completely unreliable, because they're so susceptible to usage, load, maintenance and false expectations. Almost nobody actually gives a balanced review, compares the DIFFERENCES of in-class tires, or provides pros & cons of each. Nowhere can be found an analysis on the composition of the rubber or the construction method used in these tires.

I've narrowed my research down to three very similar tires. Lets take a look at them in order of highest to lowest preference, and coincidentally, price as well.

1. Cooper Discoverer Sure-trac (S/T)
   
   These tires have a high-void design. The grooves between tread blocks are quite wide, and the lug walls are highly beveled. This should give the tire good self-cleaning characteristics making them effective in the soft stuff: mud, snow and gravel. The downside is it makes them noisier at high speeds, and many online reviews confirm this fact. They have the least amount of siping, which would explain the absence of severe snow rating.
   Severe snow rating symbol:
   But I have chains anyways. Also, it is notable that they come with an extra 1/16" of tread rubber than the other 2 tires. Speed rating is lower than the others, but I don't think I'll be hitting 160km/h very often.
2. BF Goodrich All-terrain TA/KO
   
   These are the tires I had the past two years. They seemed to wear quickly, though I have no good frame of reference. The tread is a more closed design, which explains the poor performance in mud. I have found that the voids quickly fill up with, and retain mud, causing them to slide all over the place, especially sideways, and back into ruts that you try to stay out of. This observation is mirrored in the reviews. They WILL, however, continue to move forward when throttle is applied. I did not have any problems with stone retention. I did not notice any significant road noise. I read in a couple places that sidewalls are particularly vulnerable to piercing, and my personal experience confirms this:
   
   The tire has a good amount of siping, and are severe snow rated. I found snow traction to be very confident, but I didn't try ice. I experience no hydroplaning, even when hitting puddles at highway speed, although it did pull which is to be expected.
3. General Grabber AT2
   

The tread pattern is very close to the BFG's, with a similar proportion of void to block, and perpendicular groove walls, so I would also expect similar mud traction. The first thing I notice is the high degree siping (even INSIDE the grooves?). Maybe too much. When they run all the way through the lug it makes it easier for whole chunks to break off. They are rated for severe snow.


So we have two very similar tires, with the Coopers standing out as a bit more aggressive.
Another thing that will affect my decision is that Costco carries the BFG's for about $20/tire cheaper than other places, and offer a good guarantee (I got $30 back for the blown out tire you saw above). Plus BFG is offering a $40 rebate on a set of 4 in Oct.

Interesting comparisons, thanks for putting it up.

This guy has driven his van for over 1,000,000 miles, and heys says Kelly tires last the longest:

http://www.millionmilevan.com/
http://www.kellytires.com/cfmx/web/kell ... roduct=316

I went with the Discoverers.





My BFG's are almost done and when they are, these are going on.

Nice!

UPDATE...

Here are the tires on rims that actually fit my van:


So far I've had them on for a few weeks, and they've only seen bare pavement. They're inflated to 40lbs for more even wear, and better fuel economy. Hitting cracks and manhole covers in the road is quite jarring. There is a definite road noise evident, unlike my old BFG's. Kind of a hum and the faster I go, the louder it gets. It's not intrusive though. No noticeable change in handling. They seem to channel deep water very well; there's no unsticking in deeper water.

if Les Schwab tire centers are in your area i would consider checking their selection out. on my van i go for looks more than overall performance but i put a set of 255/60/15 Grand Prix Performance GTs on her 3 years ago and have about 35,000 on them with plenty of life yet got them for around $600 i believe. i recently put new tires on the truck too and have a 4 year 40,000 mile warrenty on them which i am hoping to take advantage of. i forget exactly what they are but they are their top selling All Terrains apparently. i needed 10plys for towing and chose a skinnier 235/85/16 for it. so far i have about 10,000 on them in 4 months and still look new, i had them siped as i go to the mountain regularly and hate the concept of chains and studded tires and with no weight in the bed it cuts through the snow and ice effortlessly.

The more open side lugs of the Discoverer will surely make a difference in the mud! I have a lot of offroad miles on BFG AT's and they perform great in every way...except mud.

35-36psi(checked regularily) and rotating the wheels every 10K or less has given me the most even tire wear.

About sidewalls and your incident TLB...I think any tire you would have had on there when you hit a boulder at 50 and in such a way that it damaged the rim enough to break the bead seal...the sidewall was getting cut.

I agree that any tire would have popped there. But given the kind of terrain I navigate, I wanted something a bit tougher.

I'll be running the Goodyear Wrangler DuraTracs for the first time soon(and yr round). I already have them, just need to get my 2" lift in.

If I could, I would have gotten those, but they wouldn't fit. My 30's rub enough as it is.

http://www.lesschwab.com/tires/light_truck/sxt_at.asp these are what i ended up putting on my truck in the 235/85/16 size. so far so good, originally i posted 4years 40,000 miles, but apparently is just 40,000 miles, even better. on my van i have these http://www.lesschwab.com/tires/performa ... ndprix.asp 255/60/15, had em two years now i believe holding up well.

Ya, the DuraTracs jump from 235 to 31"...no 30's (except maybe in a 16" rim)
Those are 235's pictured.

loopie wrote:Ya, the DuraTracs jump from 235 to 31"...no 30's (except maybe in a 16" rim)
Those are 235's pictured.

In retrospect, I should have gone with a metric size tire because there is much more selection. But now I have a 30" spare, and also fitted chains. It would be expensive to go back.

I was over at Costco today looking at tires. Right now I have Dunlop AT's in the stock size. I really like the new Michelin LTX AT/2 but found they don't make a 15 inch version. I also found out that swapping the tires off of my 4runner to the van requires a rim in the 5x5 size (is that it?) with a 16 inch diameter which strangely tire rack does not sell-but I could be doing it wrong.

Either way, I would go up one inch in height and it seems right now I have really high gearing. As in, low power and runs really smooth on the freeway. I haven't looked, but it isn't a very high strung van.

However, the BF goodrich tires are made in the stock size (you know the tires that have been around since I was in Junior high) but I don't know. Again, really like the AT/2 as they are a modern tread.

Anyway, just talkin'.