Buying New Tires for my Brand-New Truck Already

[Papa]

Well, after just a few hundred miles of driving in mixed winter conditions with my brand-new GMC truck, I'm replacing the O.E. tires. The truck came with Bridgestone Alenza A/S 02 tires that are absolute garbage in the snow or even wet conditions. I'm really surprised by the poor traction these tires have. I just ordered a set of BFGoodrich Trail Terrain T/A tires. Here is a comparison of the ratings from TireRack.com:

Bridgestone:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=178370&d=1674327594

BFGoodrich:

https://thefactoryfiveforum.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=178371&d=1674327594

[Skuzzy]

GMC must have gotten a good deal on those Bridgestones. I cannot imagine anyone using them on purpose. :)

[Papa]

GMC must have gotten a good deal on those Bridgestones.

I'm sure. Somebody will be getting a good deal on the ones I'm taking off soon, too!

[Skuzzy]

I'm sure. Somebody will be getting a good deal on the ones I'm taking off soon, too!

Let me guess, you are going to pay someone to haul them off? :D

[Papa]

Let me guess, you are going to pay someone to haul them off? :D

I'm hoping a half-price Craigslist add will get them out of my way.

[Skuzzy]

I'm hoping a half-price Craigslist add will get them out of my way.

I am sure there is someone who is unaware of how bad those tires are. :)

[Papa]

I am sure there is someone who is unaware of how bad those tires are. :)

Or someone that actually likes them.

[Robodent]

Good choice you’re going to love them. I went a step further on my Silverado and installed the leveling billestien struts and shocks and wow what an upgrade from the oem stuff. Rob

[Papa]

Good choice you’re going to love them. I went a step further on my Silverado and installed the leveling billestien struts and shocks and wow what an upgrade from the oem stuff. Rob

My truck is the 4x4 Denali, which includes a pretty high-tech suspension:

Denali Premium Suspension with Adaptive Ride Control

- Monitors each wheel independently during your drive, adjusting vertical suspension every 2 milliseconds to maintain a smooth ride
- Uses a Continuous Damping Control Suspension system to adjust to the road every 2 milliseconds—delivering a quiet and comfortable ride
- Real-time damping system uses a dual coil receptor, which improves responsiveness to quickly changing road conditions
- Enhanced ride and handling in a variety of road surface conditions
- Selectable Sport mode automatically adjusts suspension tuning, transmission shift points and steering gain
- Uses electro-magnetism to change the damper fluid's properties (no moving valves)
- Enhances traction and allows more precise steering

[Jeff Kleiner]

I’ve owned one set of Firestone tires in nearly 50 years of driving and disliked them the entire time they were on the car. Looks like Bridgestone/Firestone is continuing to make tires that do nothing well!

Jeff

[Skuzzy]

I’ve owned one set of Firestone tires in nearly 50 years of driving and disliked them the entire time they were on the car. Looks like Bridgestone/Firestone is continuing to make tires that do nothing well!

Jeff

The only Bridgestone tires I like are the Ecopia's. I have had them on my Mini Cooper since they debuted, and they are great. Best wet weather traction for a Mini. Very quiet tires and, on the Mini, they act like run flats. They also pushed my gas mileage up to 42MPG on the highway.

I have never cared for any of the performance tires from Firestone/Bridgestone.

[J R Jones]

I have been running Bridgestone Bizzack winter tires on my wife's AWD SUVs (Lexus, Subaru, Infiniti) and she has never been stuck. I have seen her front bumper plowing deep snow on the way to our 8% grade driveway. Her cars run to 200K so summer and winter seasonal tires are not exorbitant.
I plow snow on a Kubota that runs Blizzacks.
My 4X4 Tundra has never been off road and I have run A/S highway treads, and recently installed Continental Terrain Contact H/T that score high on the Tire Rack, but are more expensive. IMO her AWD cars have been more snow competent than my 4X4 trucks, the Kubota is another thing.
jim
178412

[Papa]

I've run Blizzack tires on cars in the past and they are great for snow and ice traction, but not really an all-year tire. Also, after the tires wear about 50%, they are no longer worth a darn for snow/ice. I suspect that's to allow you to put them on in the winter and drive them in warmer temps once they loose that winter grip. I've also driven two-wheel drive SUVs in the snow that did very well with Good Year all-terrain tires. These tire that are on the new truck are simply not good in wet or snow/ice conditions. I'll report back with how things feel once I have the BFGs on the truck.

[rthomas98]

To be honest the tire was most likely selected for the vehicle for two features road noise and fuel economy. Most of the OEMs are going that direction unless you specifically buy a vehicle for off-road use (IE raptor, TRX etc.). I just replaced the michelins that came with my F-150 for the same reasons you did. Horrible in Michigan winters. Funny enough I picked the same tire you did. I'm just starting year 2 with them and have no complaints. You should be happy with them.

[J R Jones]

I've run Blizzack tires on cars in the past and they are great for snow and ice traction, but not really an all-year tire. Also, after the tires wear about 50%, they are no longer worth a darn for snow/ice. I suspect that's to allow you to put them on in the winter and drive them in warmer temps once they loose that winter grip. I've also driven two-wheel drive SUVs in the snow that did very well with Good Year all-terrain tires. These tire that are on the new truck are simply not good in wet or snow/ice conditions. I'll report back with how things feel once I have the BFGs on the truck.

I bought our first Blizzacks in 2003 for Nancy's RX300. Worked great for winter I took them off for summer.
I bought a new set for her Tribeca that also ran winters fine, but were squirmy and the steering "searched" especially when the tread was deep. When we got her Infiniti the Tribeca tires just barely fit, she got another season out of them
The latest model WS90 are more quiet than the earlier Blizzacks but the summer tires are a welcome change. The EX37 is fast and handles very well.
BTW I towed my son's Mitsubishi Eclipse back onto the snowy driveway (uphill) with the Kubota late one night and pulled a wheelstand in the process. I might have had the chain mounted a bit high.
jim

[Mastertech5]

To be honest the tire was most likely selected for the vehicle for two features road noise and fuel economy. Most of the OEMs are going that direction unless you specifically buy a vehicle for off-road use (IE raptor, TRX etc.). I just replaced the michelins that came with my F-150 for the same reasons you did. Horrible in Michigan winters. Funny enough I picked the same tire you did. I'm just starting year 2 with them and have no complaints. You should be happy with them.

You hit the nail on the head. The manufacturers buy huge lots of tires and mileage and noise are the 2 things that matter and price of course. GM has been putting Bridgestones on trucks for as long as I can remember. Duelers were popular when I was at the dealership 13 years ago.

[Dgc333]

FWIW, my wife's 21 Jeep came with Bridgestone Dueler Alenza H/L all season tires on it. She has 21k miles on the Jeep now and the tires have been very good; Quiet, decent wet road traction and more than adequate ice/snow traction. I have always been a proponent of dedicated winter tires but these Bridgestone are good enough that I didn't bother, especially since we are both retired and do not need to go out in real bad weather.

My 21 Ranger Tremor came with General Grabber ATx all terrain tires. Surprisingly they have been very quiet for an aggressive all terrain tire but have started getting noiser now that I have over 20k miles on them. My past experiences with all terrain tires has been they don't do well in snow but these have the mountain snow flake designation and I figured I would give them a try. They have been very very good on ice/snow and won't bother with winter tires for the truck either. The next set of tires for the truck will likely be the BFG Trail-Terrain TA or General Grabber APT. They both are a more street focused all terrain than the Grabber ATx.

[NiceGuyEddie]

Related, I recently saw some stuff about the problem with the way tires are tested and rated. Everyone tests NEW tires, but they should also test USED tires, meaning more than 6 months old. They gave an example of that thin (1mm wide) little tread in the tire tread - they are meant to help channel water. Some tires have that thin tread goes 1/8" deep, other more expensive tires have them deeper.

The tire's performance will therefore greatly change based on wear.

[Papa]

Related, I recently saw some stuff about the problem with the way tires are tested and rated. Everyone tests NEW tires, but they should also test USED tires, meaning more than 6 months old. They gave an example of that thin (1mm wide) little tread in the tire tread - they are meant to help channel water. Some tires have that thin tread goes 1/8" deep, other more expensive tires have them deeper.

The tire's performance will therefore greatly change based on wear.

Great point. The BFGs I ordered have the 3D sipes cut the entire depth of the tread. Also, like I mentioned above with the Blizzacks, the tread compound can be different at different depths. That can also have a significant impact on performance as the tire wears.

[Mastertech5]

I put Toyo Celsius on my Acadia. They also have a mountain snowflake designation. They work great in snow, the
all-wheel drive helps too. I have almost 60M on them and will finally have to replace them this Spring.

[Papa]

Today was the first real test of the new tires and they did great. We had about 1.5" of fresh powdery snow and temps below zero for my commute to the office today. I never felt any loss of traction during the drive. The BFGs have a harsher ride than the Bridgestones, but that was expected and isn't bad at all. I listed the Bridgstones on Craigslist and haven't had a single nibble yet, but see several local listings for the same tires. Go figure.