Hey all,
Well, once again I "think" I am about to purchase a new set of tires for the 1998 F150 2WD (275/60R17). I've found several I think I like, but when I go to read reviews on them, there are as many positives as negatives. None are entirely one way or the other. I don't need a high-speed design for a non-modified daily-driven truck, so that's one variable out of the way. I want a mildly-aggressive looking tire, maybe even with directional tread, but just for looks' sake, not for actual performance. I want a high-mileage tire with a good wear rating (preferably 400+). I'd rather have black letters instead of white, but that's not a have-to. I don't do a lot of winter driving (not in this part of the country anyway) or offroading, so mud and snow traction are not a big factor. They need to be fairly quiet and have a not-so-harsh ride. And most of all, they have to be affordable. All that out of the way, the ones I have narrowed the list down to are:

1) Goodyear Eagle GTII (had them before and was impressed by how they stood up to abuse and how they handled)

2) Falken S/TZ-04

3) Toyo Proxes S/T

4) Yokohama AVS S/T

I may have some of the letter markings following the model names, but hopefully you get the idea. The prices are reasonably close to each other +/- $10 each. If anybody has any experiences they might share positive or negative on any of these, please let me know. I'll probably be buying within a week or two. Thanks for the help.

Fordman3

 

I would go with the toyos just because they have a reputation to make amazing tires. They have the best all around m/t out there with the open country m/t and top 5 all terrain with the open country a/t. Im not sure about that particular brand of tire, but i do know that toyo is a great company.

 

I would check out Nitto Terra Grappler Tires. Consumer Reports gave them a high rating. I had a set on my chrome wheels and they were a great tire.
Good luck with your purchase.

 

Most definetly if thats the type of tire you want. Nitto terra grappler, bfg at, or toyo at are your best bet for all terrain tires.

 

Be sure to check out some michelin's

 

Thanks for the feedback. However, since my truck's a 2WD, I don't need an all-terrain tire. About the only terrain my truck ever sees is blacktop. I think there are some Michelins in that size in a street tire, problem is, they may be out of my price range. I'm trying to stay in the $110 to $125 range, give or take a little. I'd like to buy from Discount Tire, but they don't carry the Toyos or the Yokohama AVS's. They have the Goodyears and the Falkens. Anybody out there have any experience with the Falkens? Thanks again for the help.

Fordman3

 

I have the Falkens on my Expy and love them so far. The Goodyear GT II is a pretty average tire. The TOyo's are an excellent street tire, but very expensive.

 

wandell,
How many miles do you have on your Falkens? I just talked to a guy at an Ebay store who gave me a price of $455 for a set of 4 S/TZ-04's SHIPPED! That comes to less than $114 per tire including shipping, or $355 before shipping ($89 each). It sounds like a great deal, BUT... I've been reading some reviews of them and one thing that everybody seemed to have in common; they do not stay balanced for any length of time according to the reviewers. Some said they wore excessively fast, but others said just the opposite, so that one's harder to figure. Others said they got hard after a very few miles, but others didn't. Some say they make their vehicle drift or feel unstable, and on and on. Just to to discounttires.com and look the tire up to see what I mean. It's gonna be hard to beat that price, but I don't want to 'get what I paid for' either. Whatever I buy I'll have to be OK with for a very long time. Please let me know your experience with yours. Thanks.

Fordman3

 

I have about 20,000 miles on them sofar ( I think). They are wearing fine and I have had no problems at all. I have never had them balanced again and I only rotate them and check the air regularly. Their overall performance has been great on dry and wet pavement (it doesn't snow here). They were a huge, huge improvement over the oem tires, but that is not a big compliment. I have never heard anyone make a negative comment about them. I was debating between the Falkens and the Nitto's but my tire shop found the Falkens on sale at one of their distributers at a price which beat any internet price. I have not regretting buying them for a second.

 

I also have been looking for tire's for my 02 screw 2 wheel wonder. It's just a street truck and this will be my first tire replacement on it. Good by to my hard a_ _ BFG LT. Looking to go with the Toyo Proxes S/T.

 

I just got the cooper zeon ltz and they are real nice and priced right too.

 

I too have the falkens, saw a few memebers here were running them and decided to give them a try. I love them. As wandell said, they were a great improvement over my stockies too. i only put 15k on my stocks, and they are below half tread. i know have 10k on the falkens and they still look new.

a month ago, i went down to mexico for vacation and ended up bending a wheel on a nasty pothole. The wheel had to be welded and repaired. I feared the worst for the low profile falken but after dismounting it, i checked it and it had absolutely nothing wrong with it. Even the wheel shop complemented me on an amazing tire.

My coworker has also switched to the falkens on his tahoe after seeing how mine rode and handled.

Fordman, who is the seller? I also got my tires thru ebay for ridiculously cheap. I paid in the 750 area for all four shipped. Discount had them for $238 a peice i believe when i was shopping for tires.

 

I got rid of my Hankook Dynapros for a set of Yokohama Geolander HTS G052. They are a goos tire for 2 wheel drive trucks with good all season capabilities, and they look good in the blackwall. They are also uni-directional. They list on Tire Rack for $130 each.

They are a very good upgrade over the Hankooks. Much nicer ride and they are very quiet.

 

Fabian06SC,
I can't really remember the name of the store. It's got "2-day Direct" something or other in it. I bet you paid considerably more for yours because I suspect you're running 20's?? Mine are only 275/60R17's. He's actually giving me the price for the S/TZ-01 on the S/TZ-04's, which is a better performing tire. But to my door will run $455. That's even slightly better than www.discounttire.com can do, which doesn't charge you for shipping. I'm glad to hear that several members here have them and don't seem to have the issues that I've read about. I don't get an opportunity very often to replace tires so I've got to make it count when I do. The Toyo Proxes looked good, too, and if they were equal price, I'd probably go with them. But thanks to everybody for their input, and I'll let you know how I like my new tires within a week or two hopefully.

Fordman3

 

Mine are 285/40-22 actually.
Hmm i think i got mine thru someone else, TiresFast on ebay, I did have to hassle with him a bit and it took about a month to get my tires since they were out of stock from his supplier although in the auction he said he had a few sets in stock. Still the month wait is well worth the 300+ that i saved.
I just checked the price, i paid $776 to my door. Discount has them right now for $979.66 "out the door." They were considerably higher in Dec-Jan when i was shopping for them.
Good luck on your purchase and let us know how you like whichever tire you go with.