20" tire tryouts on new AT4

vzdd0y28 · December 17, 2019

I know there are a lot of tire threads out there and read most of them. I wanted to start a thread on my personal experience of tire performance since owning my new AT4.

Like most of you, I am one to consistently tinker with setup, levels, lifts, rims, tires, etc. Since owning my AT4 for a little over one year I have tried the following tires and can give feedback on them: I have recently lifted with Readylift's new 2" front level, 1" lift in back kit. Also tried 275/65/20 and 285/65/20 sizes:

Stock Bridgestone tires -
- Noise - 9 out of 10. Very quiet tire IMO
- Ride quality - 9 out of 10. These are standard load and greatly reduced harshness
- Appearance - 6 out of 10. Not very aggressive
- Snow - 6 out of 10. I live in Michigan so all 4 seasons are accounted for
- Towing - 5 out of 10. I pull a 5,500 pound trailer and gear and being SL rated felt a bit squirrely at times (max tire pressure)
Goodyear Ultra Terrain AT (Discount Tire Exclusive tire)
- Noise - 5 out of 10. These are rated to be quite tires but sounded like having a bad bearing noise inside the cabin. Lower noise outside, but inside noise was a distraction
- Ride quality - 7 out of 10. They only make these in E rating so 10 ply was a bit harsher than SL, but not bad at all for an E rated tire.
- Appearance - 9 out of 10 - These looked awesome on the AT4. moderate aggressive look. These were made to compete with KO2's so a very close look to them
- Snow - 9 out of 10 - they have the certified snow symbol and handled snow very well. Note rain performance was poor. I really felt unsafe at times on highway in the rain
- Towing - 8 out of 10 - Good towing being E rated, but still felt squirrely at times due to the soft rubber they use and large tread blocks
Continental TerrainContact AT
- Noise - 9 out of 10. Very quite inside and out
- Ride quality - 8 out of 10. Better than Goodyear but this is subjective. The ride is very sport car than off road. Very composed but you will feel every little road variation. Weird sensation not harsh but very grounded. If you like a sport car feel to your truck this tires wins hands down, plus it excels in every test expect snow in Tire Racks shootout
- Appearance - 5 out of 10. Not very aggressive for an AT and looked like a highway tire
- Snow - 7 out of 10. This tire got poor ratings, but did ok for me in the snow
- Towing - 9 out of 10. Again E rated and very responsive. Probably the best AT tow tire I tried
Cooper AT3 XLT
- Noise - 9 out of 10. Very quite inside and out. About the same as the stock tire
- Ride Quality - 9 out of 10. Best ride quality of all the tires i tried being an E rated tire
- Appearance - 8 out of 10. Although the most aggressive of the AT3 series not as tough looking as KO2 or Ultera Terrain
- Snow - 9 out of 10. Very good in snow
- Towing - 8.5 out of 10. E rated and almost as good at the Continental
BFGoodrich KO2
- Noise - 5 out of 10. About the same as the Goodyear
- Ride quality - Harsh but a bit better than the Goodyear if you like a more responsive ride. The Goodyears like to sway back and forth and the KO2 is more planted
- Appearance - 9 out of 10. The best looking AT tire IMO
- Snow - 8 out of 10. These are really good, but the Goodyear was better due to softer rubber and snow flake certified
- Towing - 8 out of 10. E rated good towing, sturdy tire

RLCC · December 17, 2019

Thanks for an awesome post. I have had my at4 for just about a year and love but ready for real tires and this really helps. Always have been a KO2 guy and just like how they grip, like you live in Michigan so want something that works in the snow. How did the 285/65/20 fit? Have always put those on previous sierras same size and wanted to do the same. Thought on the readylift? Direction im leaning towards. Mind posting some pics of your setup. Thanks

vzdd0y28 · December 17, 2019

Thank you. Like yourself I was a KO2 guy, but currently have the Cooper AT3 XLT and have to admit these are awesome tires. Grip better in wet over the Goodyear and KO2. Granted the KO2 is a better offroad tire, but my ratio of on vs. offroad is like 70/30 (70 being on-road).

I have another post i responded about the Readylift, tire sizes, and offset rubbing. I tried 285/65/20 on stock rims and no extra lift or level and it works, but you need to lightly trim a bit on the mud flap bracket (second bolt) to not rub and you have to use a tie wrap to hold the wheel liner next to the mud flap back a bit to have ample clearance. It took me about 15 minutes per side to make the modifications to get the 285's to work and never had an issue after that.

Please check out the following link where I talk about the Readylift and the rubbing i had to deal with and what i did to remediate here: https://www.gm-trucks.com/forums/topic/231882-question-at4-with-readylift-and-bigger-tires/

mistaare · December 17, 2019

Unfortunately you don’t mention how they perform in mud. I gather a lot of firewood on old logging roads, my buddies farm, logged roads etc. I don’t go “mudding” per-say but I do find my self in really slippery, slick, muddy conditions

great info none-the-less

Dunn · December 18, 2019

I don't really get noise thing from AT or MT tire that people talk about....when I was kid anyone who had a truck loved that "hum" you got from offroad tires....it was just part of the deal and something most truck buyers wanted..

aggressive tires make more noise, when I was young people wanted those tires bcuz they made noise, lol

vzdd0y28 · December 18, 2019

I agree but the wife factor usually doesn’t mix well with noisy tires, she keeps telling me I don’t listen to her, but it is the tire noise...lol

Dali555 · December 18, 2019

12 hours ago, vzdd0y28 said:

I agree but the wife factor usually doesn’t mix well with noisy tires, she keeps telling me I don’t listen to her, but it is the tire noise...lol

Haha, I'll have to use that for an excuse as I have the Duratracs on my 2020 AT4 I just picked up in November...

Marc