New tire time coming soon

[Joseph Garcia]

We had two feet of snow in back-to-back storms over 2 successive days at the beginning of this week. While I did not drive my Yukon XL with the Defenders through two feet of snow, I did drive it through 6-8 inches of snow during the storm. I can tell you that the Yukon XL with the Defenders performed through this snow just about as well as if I were driving on dry pavement from the standpoint of traction and low speed handling. This was my first real test of driving through snow with the Defenders, and I call it a complete success.

 

[tmarzetta]

I second Texasdaddy’s recommendation on the Nitto Ridge Grapplers. They are a hybrid tire that can suit some off road needs whilst staying quiet and smooth on the road (unlike other off road tires that are very loud).

In addition, I know that from my past experience with Michelin (in an Enclave), they were so soft (very quiet though), that the SUV practically ate the rubber on them, despite diligent tire rotation (lasted like 25K). Also, I would not recommend the Continentals as I had those as my first tire in the 2016 Yukon XL, and like the Michelin’s in the past, the SUV ate the soft tire and they were way overly bouncy to boot—made it seem I was driving a boat.

Anyhow, my opinion is that the Nitto Ridge Grapplers strike that balance between firmness if ride, being quiet, being an aggressive looking tire as a bonus and having great traction in all weather conditions. I’ve had mine for 30K so far and they still are like new.

 

[K2 Kaiju]

View attachment 236124 View attachment 236123

I second Texasdaddy’s recommendation on the Nitto Ridge Grapplers. They are a hybrid tire that can suit some off road needs whilst staying quiet and smooth on the road (unlike other off road tires that are very loud).

In addition, I know that from my past experience with Michelin (in an Enclave), they were so soft (very quiet though), that the SUV practically ate the rubber on them, despite diligent tire rotation (lasted like 25K). Also, I would not recommend the Continentals as I had those as my first tire in the 2016 Yukon XL, and like the Michelin’s in the past, the SUV ate the soft tire and they were way overly bouncy to boot—made it seem I was driving a boat.

Anyhow, my opinion is that the Nitto Ridge Grapplers strike that balance between firmness if ride, being quiet, being an aggressive looking tire as a bonus and having great traction in all weather conditions. I’ve had mine for 30K so far and they still are like new.

Look damn good. Are those E rated? How are they at 90 mph?

Sent from my SM-T580 using Tapatalk

 

[Millennium Falcon]

We had two feet of snow in back-to-back storms over 2 successive days at the beginning of this week. While I did not drive my Yukon XL with the Defenders through two feet of snow, I did drive it through 6-8 inches of snow during the storm. I can tell you that the Yukon XL with the Defenders performed through this snow just about as well as if I were driving on dry pavement from the standpoint of traction and low speed handling. This was my first real test of driving through snow with the Defenders, and I call it a complete success.

This makes me feel a little better about leaning toward the Michelins. We don't get a lot of snow, but we get enough that I want a tire that'll grip it. Thanks, Joseph.

View attachment 236124 View attachment 236123

In addition, I know that from my past experience with Michelin (in an Enclave), they were so soft (very quiet though), that the SUV practically ate the rubber on them, despite diligent tire rotation (lasted like 25K). Also, I would not recommend the Continentals as I had those as my first tire in the 2016 Yukon XL, and like the Michelin’s in the past, the SUV ate the soft tire and they were way overly bouncy to boot—made it seem I was driving a boat.

Anyhow, my opinion is that the Nitto Ridge Grapplers strike that balance between firmness if ride, being quiet, being an aggressive looking tire as a bonus and having great traction in all weather conditions. I’ve had mine for 30K so far and they still are like new.

I sure don't want a bouncy ride. Hopefully, the sidewall is short enough to prevent that. Speaking of the sidewall, Michelins I've had in the past had thin, flexible sidewalls, and there was a floating sensation from them at times. Also, we ride the logging roads where we live, and I don't want a tire that has a sidewall that is easily damaged.

That's a nice looking ride, tmarzetta! Those Nittos look good, but I'm concerned about a tire that aggressive being too much for my AWD system. Thanks.

 

[Millennium Falcon]

I've always had vehicles with part-time 4WD systems and have leaned toward semi-aggressive all terrain tires; I've always preferred more tread depth and a decent amount of siping in my tires. With this Denali and its AWD system, I'm not sure which way to go. As I said in my OP, I've read that AWD doesn't like too much traction, though I haven't been able to find any info regarding that in the last couple days that I've searched. If these newer systems aren't that particular, I might look toward the all terrain style of tire. My parents just did this on their '12 Yukon XL SLE:


They seem like solid tires. They have the mountain snowpeak designation. There has been no squirrely behavior like I got with the GY Wranger Silent Armors that I had on our last Sub when they were new. They are very smooth on the road. Traction has been excellent in the mud that we have with no wheel spin that I've noticed. My sister said they handled well in the sleet and slush we had last week. I don't know; this is an important investment, and I want to make sure I get the best tire possible so my wife can be as safe as possible in whatever conditions she'll run into on our roads.

Thanks for all the replies so far, everyone!

 

[wjburken]

I've always had vehicles with part-time 4WD systems and have leaned toward semi-aggressive all terrain tires; I've always preferred more tread depth and a decent amount of siping in my tires. With this Denali and its AWD system, I'm not sure which way to go. As I said in my OP, I've read that AWD doesn't like too much traction, though I haven't been able to find any info regarding that in the last couple days that I've searched. If these newer systems aren't that particular, I might look toward the all terrain style of tire. My parents just did this on their '12 Yukon XL SLE:


They seem like solid tires. They have the mountain snowpeak designation. There has been no squirrely behavior like I got with the GY Wranger Silent Armors that I had on our last Sub when they were new. They are very smooth on the road. Traction has been excellent in the mud that we have with no wheel spin that I've noticed. My sister said they handled well in the sleet and slush we had last week. I don't know; this is an important investment, and I want to make sure I get the best tire possible so my wife can be as safe as possible in whatever conditions she'll run into on our roads.

Thanks for all the replies so far, everyone!

I think you should be fine with All-Terrain tires on your AWD vehicle. I think as long as all 4 tires on an AWD are the same size and style with the same wear on them you should be good.

 

[swathdiver]

I thought as you did but keep seeing guys running ATs on their AWD Denalis with no problems so go for it!

 

[Geoffsfas10]

I'm assuming AT2s. Hopefully the ATX does better now that it's a silica compound. We shall see.

You are correct, it was the AT2s. There was a time between those and ther Falkens I had the Cooper Discovery ATP, man those SUCKED!! I barely got 30k out of them and they were awful in the rain.

As far as AWD with an AT tire, like said above, as long as you replace all 4 tires at once, same size and keep the rotations good, you arent going to mess with the system. I had a rather aggressive summer tire on my WRX when I had it, on a wide wheel too, and it had ALL THE TRACTION. I wouldnt be worried about shudders or anything, that car was fine at excessive speeds.

 

[HiHoeSilver]

You are correct, it was the AT2s. There was a time between those and ther Falkens I had the Cooper Discovery ATP, man those SUCKED!! I barely got 30k out of them and they were awful in the rain.

As far as AWD with an AT tire, like said above, as long as you replace all 4 tires at once, same size and keep the rotations good, you arent going to mess with the system. I had a rather aggressive summer tire on my WRX when I had it, on a wide wheel too, and it had ALL THE TRACTION. I wouldnt be worried about shudders or anything, that car was fine at excessive speeds.

Running the ATX on the 4wd Tahoe. No worries for the AWD.....its on 305/40r22 Proxes. Lol.

 

[Tk59194]

I've been happy with the Nitto Terra Grapplers. Just mounted them back up for the winter yesterday.