BFG AT vs Silent Armours?

[Great_Big_Abyss]

So, it's time for new tires on my '06 Ranger Sport 4x4.

I'll be going with the stock size (255/70R16).

I've narrowed it down to either the:

BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO for $1100 out the door or;

Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armour for $1200 out the door.

Now, I don't do a whole lot of offroading. The occasional farmer's road that may or may not be wet/muddym, and a few gravel roads. Mainly, I want a nice, aggressive tire for these Winnipeg winters. We get lots of snow and ice for about 5 months of the year here. I want great performance through deep snow, as well as traction when the snow has been packed down and turned into an icy material. At the same time, the tire needs to last as long as possible. I'm looking for durability here. I don't really care about road noise or comfort, as the Ranger has neither of those to begin with.

I'm leaning towards the BFG's, as they're a little cheaper and, IMO, look a hell of a lot better than the Goodyears. That being said, I'm not ruling out the good years because they're a very popular tire, and are obviously very good.

 

[gw33gp]

Take a look at the Tire Rack survey. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=ORAT

My preference is BFG A/T but the Silent Armor is rated slightly higher in all categories except for 'wear' and 'would you buy again'.

 

[Project84]

I personally like BFG A/T better. They seem to last longer and have (usually) better tread pattern then Good year.

And they are cheaper.

 

[escort_gts]

Go with BFG! Are a much better tire.

Sent from my HTC VLE_U using Tapatalk 4 Beta

 

[Frank The Tank]

It's an odd choice but I know a guy running BFG radial TA's on his ranger. They are 7 years old and have over 40k on them and plenty of tread. I like the RWL on a street truck also.

 

[Surrey]

If you want snow performance, go with the Silent Armors. My dad had 'em on his 2008ish Mazda b4000 and they were fantastic. I had BFG ATs on my old S10 for a winter in Kelowna, and they were borderline dangerous at times. I slid like 200 feet doing 5km/hr on a bunch of hardpack snow two days after a big dumping.

edit - also slid backwards down a few hills in the snow/ice in that S10. scary experiences.

 

[brokemechanic3000]

Go with the Goodyear Duratrac they are way better than the POS BFG

 

[cvar]

I have BFG/AT now. Don't really like 'em. I saw Duratracs at store. They're cheaper price, but thinner so they seemed rather flimsy & flaccid in construction.

Q1: Is it good/bad/irrelevant to have such a thin (and flexible) sidewall?
Q2: Does that make Duratracs any more or less susceptible to flat tires?

 

[Surrey]

Go with the Goodyear Duratrac they are way better than the POS BFG

Wont have the snow traction the silent armors do.

Too much space between tread blocks, especially closer to the shoulders.

 

[brokemechanic3000]

I disagree the Duratrac tires are heavily siped and provide excellent grip in the winter, Maybe you have too wide of a tire for your truck.
The Silent Armor tires would be my second choice if I couldn't get Duratracs But anything is better than any BFG tire.

 

[Doofy]

You must have more money then you know what to do with! I once had to have the absolute best of everything, now...not so much. I just bought 4 Goodyear Wranglers for $87 each. Not the best or the worst. I will get a good ten years out of them.

 

[Scrambler82]

I will be replacing my KM2 soon and going to buy the BFG AT KOs. The Goodyear Tires look OK but do not wear like the BFGs.
New tires will be 33 x 12. x 15”… the 16” is an LT tire and rated for more than the Ranger needs.
I plan on buying 15” slotted alum. rims for the new tires, any one interested in a set of 16 Alum Slotted Rims ?

Watch the Tire Load Rating, you don’t need an “E” rated tire, “C” will work, the side wall will be too heavy duty on the “E" and the ride will suffer.

If you are running a 16” tire stay away from “LT” rated tires.

 

[85_Ranger4x4]

I have BFG/AT now. Don't really like 'em. I saw Duratracs at store. They're cheaper price, but thinner so they seemed rather flimsy & flaccid in construction.

Q1: Is it good/bad/irrelevant to have such a thin (and flexible) sidewall?
Q2: Does that make Duratracs any more or less susceptible to flat tires?

I mostly see them on farm trucks and company trucks, usually in the F-250+ flavor. If they can hold up one of those running on gravel most of the time I doubt a Ranger would be much of a problem.

The ones you looked at could have been a different weight rating than what you have now too.

Wont have the snow traction the silent armors do.

Too much space between tread blocks, especially closer to the shoulders.

For snow traction more space is better... for breaking trail. For packed snow and ice you need the little squiggles in there. The whole point of the Duratrac was to try to be the best of both worlds. IIRC Duratracs have the snowflake rating the same as a BFG.

A lot of plow trucks around here have Duratracs, they really seem to be the go-to-tire anymore for a company truck that doesn't doddle on dry pavement all day.

Watch the Tire Load Rating, you don’t need an “E” rated tire, “C” will work, the side wall will be too heavy duty on the “E" and the ride will suffer.

If you are running a 16” tire stay away from “LT” rated tires.

C's will be an LT tire. Pretty much your options are P which IMO pretty much means it belongs on a car or LT which is a truck tire.

 

[Surrey]

Alright I should chime in on this again.

Your best option is to get a real snow tire. Period.

Below 7 degrees C regular tires stiffen up and lose traction. A real snow tire is made with a different rubber compound, and wont freeze up like a regular tire does.... And considering it gets to -45+ with the windchill out there, you want a real snow tire.

No AT can really hold up against a true snow tire, And in somewhere like Winterpeg where you get lots of snow, for a lot of the year, they are definitely worth the investment.

 

[bigmark303]

Ive had the BFG AT KOs on every Ranger of mine only because they have the 3 ply sidewalls and are very rugged. For a more road oriented truck there are a large aount of better designed A/T tires on the market that give better all around traction in every situation.

The BFG will last long and be ok in snow but still dangerous at times even at slower speeds. They dont stop well or corner good in snow. As slow as i go and as much room for error I leave I still get caught off guard with the BFGs from time to time.

I would say for sure the silent armour is a better tire. The silent armour replaced the goodyear workhorse tire which I had a pair of and the tread really didnt change much so they look like they would still perform the same. The workhorse tire they replaced and still 95% resemble is an awesome A/T tire and is a favorite of guys who plow in the winters. They are soft and will wear faster then the BFG but otherwise outperform hands down.

Goodyear by far produces some of the best tread patterns for tires, just wish the tires werent so soft and more rugged for woods use