Hello Everyone,
I just bought a '21 Sierra 1500 with the Baby Diesel. Loving it so far. It's in mint condition with 23K miles...and it came with these Bridgestone Alenza OS/2 tires. I actually don't mind the looks but I'm reading that they're very mediocre on the road and pretty awful in wet conditions or even light snow. They also retain small pebbles like nothing I've ever seen. I need some advice in a 275/60/R20...please note:
* This truck will be used 95% on the highway and is going to be largely a weekend/as needed fun driver during the week. (I have a company vehicle).
* I will almost never actively be going Off-Road
* Decent snow performance is fairly important to me as I do live in upstate NY and love the confidence of 4WD in the winters. My family back where I grew up also has a steep driveway and I like the ability to tackle it when I visit on weekends in the winter. Winter performance is not important enough for me to consider dedicated snows (as much as I love
Blizzaks).
* Comfort, handling and low road noise are important to me. I'm not looking to replicate my old lifted Raptor with 37"s...
* Looks are somewhat important. I would like to avoid a tire that looks like it should be on my 85 yr old Father-in-law's Buick.
* Something that doesn't SPRAY rocks everywhere as I hate rock chips (even though I am mostly on pavement).
Here is what I have been considering:
1. Michelin Defender LTX M/S - Fantastic reputation from what I can read...seems to strike the best balance for almost everything I need (except I'm unsure of snow). My only hangup at all is in the looks department. Good lord..why make such a highly acclaimed highway tire that looks like it belongs on a 1995 Buick Skylark. Anything at all out there that compares that looks sharper?
2. Michelin Defender AT/2 - This All-Terrain version seems like it may be a winner for me as it seems to have all the qualities as # 1 (with slightly stronger off-road emphasis) but still good highway performance and it seems better more aggressive look.
3. Nitto Recon Grappler - Looks great...will def provide what I need in the snow but at what cost? It's no secret that this is more tire than I really need...and is the increased noise, decreased comfort/handling going to be that significant?
4. Nitto Ridge Grappler - See # 2 above.
I'm totally open to other suggestions as well...thanks in advance for all your help.