New Goodyear A/T 19" tire available, in North America!

[GoLoaf]

The tire situation for this vehicle gives me major heartburn. I would just like a good tire that gets me close to an A/T tire, but keeps the 31" diameter. Something that does well in the snow, and isn't insanely loud on the highway.

I thought the Scorpian ATR was the answer, but now I guess that one is going away. Even going to 18" Compo's doesn't seem to help expand the options much.

 

[Kaaae]

My Toyo open countries at2 are extremely quiet on the highways. I have 285/60/18's

 

[PaulLR3]

GoLoaf, if you want good snow traction from an all weather tire, go with the Nokian WRG2.

 

[thorgal]

I don't usually waltz in the LR4 forum here, simply because i own LR3, but in this case the same basic principles apply as we all (mostly) ride on the 19 inch wheels.

I am , as Paullr3 , also a strong advocate of Nokian tires.No affiliation whatsoever with a brand, in fact I was probably the first owner of them on lr3 forum back when I bought them.The Nokian WRG2 suv could be the last tire that you ever own GOLOAF.If you looking for something that will give you confidence all year around in rain, snow and slush, especially slush and is also very quiet, this is the tire you want , no jokes here.I had this tire for 60.000 miles thru a few winters, countless miles of gravel roads in Maine, summer and winter.For guys like me, as I am from NJ, or Boston area or any place that conditions change very quickly from rain to slush to snow and maybe rain again, this is the tire that will not let you down.It wears great, after 60.000 mies in various conditions and seasons i still have 4 MM of thread left.
It is not great in mud and picks up a fair amount of little pebbles , but that is nothing that you cannot loose on the speedy highway, right?
I actually had them on 18 inch rim in 265 60 18, load 114 XL and UTQG was 500 A A. Now 255 55 19 is 111 I believe , so you will not compromise a legal load and avoid future problems with insurance companies in case of an accident.
I deliberately said HAD them, as I retired them last week for another Nokian tire ROTIIVA AT in 265 60 18..Both tires are below 31 "(30.5 " exactly).I wanted a AT tire for a specific reason as I go off road quite often , also wanted all terrain tire with Snowflake symbol, that will get me thru winters safely.
I will probably stay with this brand til I am dead, simply because there is nothing remotely comparable to WRG2s on american market as far as all WEATHER tire, not confusing it with all season tires, which are by far mediocre if not poor in most conditions.
I should also note , that I had GY Wranglers before (terrible tire )and GY Wranglers Silent Armors on LR3 and they turned out to be unsafe , if not dangerous to drive around 30.000 miles.
The choice is yours , obviously, but you would not be here , if you would not looking for some sort friendly advice, right?You trusted an European car, why not give a try a European company, that won numerous awards on OLD Continent .Good luck.

 

[PaulLR3]

Well said thorgal. LOL about your GY Wrangler comment. I pulled them off our LR3 at 5K miles as I thought they were unsafe due to such bad hydroplaning. That reminds me - I probably need to replace the OE Wrangler spare tire by now as it is probably starting to dry rot.

OE Conti 4x4's on the LR4 seem a little better, and I will probably use them through next summer. But for the upcoming winter, I picked up a set of used LR4 wheels off ebay and have Nokian Hakka R2 SUV tires on order. As an avid skier I'm a big fan of dedicated winter tires. But if I had to pick one 19" tire for year round, the WRG2 is it. Hopefully someday they will offer the Rotiva AT in 255-55-19.

 

[GoLoaf]

Thanks for the recommendation! How do the WRG2s hold up on the trail? I don't need them for rock crawling, but some capability would be nice.

 

[AxelR]

As I'm still looking at rims and tires options, I went back to these Goodyear AT in 19.
It is true that the OEM 19s are rated at 111. However people who have the 20s get a tire rated at 109...
Last Saturday, I went to my dealership and the tires they had on the showroom floor were rated at 109. 109 equals 2271lbs which is plenty for the LR4 and as mentioned above they come with it from the factory.

 

[umbertob]

109 equals 2271lbs which is plenty for the LR4

It's not really plenty off road, where you are often putting all the car's weight on 3 wheels (and sometimes on 2...) On pavement, no problem.

 

[mbw]

It's not really plenty off road, where you are often putting all the car's weight on 3 wheels (and sometimes on 2...) On pavement, no problem.

Seems like off roading and towing are slightly different 'stresses' too. When I tow they have a constant stress on the tires to deal with the weight and more force on the tread, but then off road when the tires are going over rocks they get torn at and deformed in odd ways. I wonder how that translates to the load rating, or if that is as important as just what they make the sidewalls out or and how well the tire compound deals with chunking/chipping/etc.

I know that the stipling in a tire is great for slick conditions, snow/ice, but its not good at keeping tires together on rocks. You want solid chunks of strong rubber there so you dont chip chunks out of the tires.

We need a tire scientist to chime in.

 

[AxelR]

Umberto, I understand what you mean (then again how often is anyone on two wheels... The weight transfer happens usually pretty fast) then my question is: how come Land Rover equip from the factory the same vehicle with tires rated at 109?!? It seems that they have done all the testing necessary to decide that this rating is sufficient.

Last weekend, I met 2 of LR Corporate off-road test drivers (former Camel Trophy competitors) and they have to test the cars bone stock and bring them back free of any bumps or even scratches... So they've used the 109...
The difference between 109 and 111 is 130lbs.