As a follow-up to my previous post, I wanted to share some personal observations about the new Goodyear tire that I mounted. Below are some objective, empirical and subjective observations, but the punchline is that I disliked them so much due to ride harshness (stiffness) that I switched to the Coopers the next day (thanks to my accomodating local tire shop) and have been happy with the Coopers since.
Objective:
- The GY fit the spare wheel well with no problems, as others have noted
- There was absolutely no rubbing or clearance issues with the GY, as others have noted
- Overall increase in ground clearance was just short of 0.5", as expected (diameter is 1" greater)
Empirical:
- The GY's were incredibly stiff. I've had a fair number of AT tires on various trucks (BFG's, Revo's, Silent Armors, MTs, etc) and this tire was off the chart. I first had the tires overinflated by the shop (stiff), reduced the tire pressure to OEM specs (still stiff) and then took out 5 lbs at each corner (still stiff, even with some sag in the tire). I could feel every imperfection in the road. I had rattles and movement of items in my center console and glovebox that I did not have with the Coopers or the Contis. The entire feel of the truck changed and honestly made it unpleasant to drive. I thought the whole Kevlar thing was marketing, but I'm told by the manager at the tire shop that they have seen this comment before from customers and that they attribute it to the Kevlar construction and tire compound (it does have a 620 treadwear rating).
- The GY's, however, were very quiet.
- The Coopers have a noticeable hum (more like white noise) at highway speeds, but it is not bad relative to aggressive tires.
- The Coopers are a touch stiffer than the Conti's, but pretty darn close to stock.
- The snowstorm that hit the Northeast over the last 2 days allowed a decent chance to run the Coopers in fresh and packed snow. The tires performed predictably, but were on par with most A/T tires. They did a better job of gaining forward momentum than braking, as expected. I did not notice any bad habits with lateral movement.
Subjective:
- Even though the GY's were larger in diameter, the Coopers look a lot better to my eye. Something about the GY's seemed very esthetically boring to me and although they filled the wheel well better, they somehow made the truck look dull (like a Jeep Commander from a distance (gasp)).
- Based on the siping patterns, I believe the GY's would have been better in the snow than the Coopers.
- There is a nice peace of mind, which I underestimated, with the higher load and speed rating of the Coopers.
I know others have had success with the GY's, and I'm happy for them. But for me and my butt (and spine), the Coopers were the better choice.
I hope this helps!
Dan