Tires for 2003 FX-4

[mccoady]

I'm probably not your typical poster I have a 2003 Ranger FX-4 but don't really know a lot about the difference in tires. I bought this Ranger maybe 3 years ago and it came with BF Goodrich P245/75 R16 (109S, MTS Land Terrain). I live in a rural area and probably drive my pickup as much on dirt roads as pavement plus I read country water meters once a month. I need to put on a set of tires so maybe someone can answer some questions:

1. I know the tires on my FX-4 are not the original tires but were these the same tires that came on the Ranger when new or did the past owner put these on?

2. Our local Coop Station sells tires and the manager wants to sell me these http://www.lesschwab.com/tires/light_truck/wildcountryxtxsport.asp he's pretty knowledgeable about tires and is a friend. He said these were not as aggressive as the BF Goodrich tires I currently have but didn't think I would necessarily need anything as aggressive what do you think?

3. Are these Wild Country tires by Cooper decent tires?

4. I've always thought the BF Goodrich on my Ranger always had a tough look to them I guess it's the tread, do you think the Wild Country tires would look similar/good?

5. The price he quoted me was $149 per tire mounted and balanced is this a reasonable price for pickup tires on a Ranger?

6. I ask the above because my wife thinks it sounds expensive to pay $600 for set of tires but she also thinks you should be able to buy car tires for $50 each, I've tried to explain to her the days of cheap tires are long gone. It would be kind of nice to buy locally like at the Coop station because we buy our gas there, they service our vehicles and they do any tire repairs instead of buying 60 miles away. She thinks if I shop around I can find cheaper tires what do you think?

 

[Earl43P]

I agree with your wife, to a point.

There is an intangible value in buying locally.

Do some internet searching, Tirerack.com DiscountTire.com, etc. Factor in shipping and local shop mounting and balancing and your wife's cheaper tires cost pretty close to what your guy is quoting.

An informed shopper will make the right choice. I'd say buy local, but look at other tires too. I like to compare similar tread patterns with the treadwear rating #. That 50,000 mile tire you linked might only have a 360-400 rating. I look for 500+, meaning that they last longer.

I put Cooper tires on my wife's Rav4. Treadwear on her OEM tires was 300, these Coopers are 500, with A and A (traction and Temp ratings).

You can also find another set of rims at the JY (lots of Explorers junked during C4C)
and have a winter set for pretty cheap. 15" Explorer rims clear the calipers fine and give you a greater variety of 15" tires to choose from (they are cheaper too). I went down from 245/75/16 to 235/75/15 on my 00 Ranger. Made it peppier (lowered the effective gear ration to 4.33 with smaller diameter tires). Affects the speedometer though.

 

[mccoady]

Thanks for replying! Where did you find the tread rating on Wild Country XTX Sport I linked to?

Are you saying there are better tires for the price than the Coopers?

Are tires rated for 500+ generally going to cost more than the Wild Country XTX Sport?

 

[nate09]

after looking at tire rack, you could go with a Firestone Destination A/T for around $108/tire or bridgestone Duelers A/T Revo 2 for around 125/tire.

now granted this price doesnt include shipping or mounting/balancing, but the firestone is a tire many guys here are running and really like. the bridgestones have a similar tread design to the tires you linked and are also a good tire.

 

[mccoady]

Okay thanks I ended up buying the Firestone Destination A/T locally for $85 less than the Coopers so I think I ended up getting a pretty good deal, it was buy 3 get 1 free.

I haven't paid for them yet so can always change my mind but will these for sure do fine with muddy roads which I sometimes encounter reading meters?