Tires
Here will be a list of my experiences with particular brands and models of tire. I will touch on tread life, off-road grip, and on road handling.
General Grabber HTS 265/70/17 (31.6 x 10.4)
Tread life: The General Grabbers Highway Tread came on the Silverado at purchase at 45, 000 miles. They were slightly worn at purchase, however with neglectful rotation they wore much too quickly. I only got 27, 000 miles out of the tires. With religious rotations I would imagine they would stretch to 50-60k miles.
Off-road: These tires have been the only set of mine that have seen snow or ice and they performed exceptionally well for a highway tire. Whether it was the iced-over roads in the suburbs or a snow covered deer hunt, these tires propelled me through it all without an issue.
On Pavement: On paved surfaces these tires provided excellent grip in the rain or in the dry. I don’t race around and rarely spin the tires even with over 300 hp and 300 J of torque.
BF Goodrich All Terrain T/A KO2 265/70/17 (31.6 x 10.4)
Tread life: I currently still have these outfitted to the truck, and in my opinion have roughly 10-20k miles left on them. They were put on at 72k miles and have been rotated religiously every 5000 miles. An alignment issue has caused the outer edge to wear faster than the inner. The suspension was corrected but the damage was done. These tires no doubt like a well-tuned suspension for maximum life.
Off-road: These tires are great off road. They allow me tackle nearly everything in 2WD with great traction. They’re knobby enough for serious off roading, but not too aggressive to wear down in 20-30k miles like a mud terrain tire. I also just simply do not get punctures. Previous tires of mine have had multiple plugs in each one for the lifetime of the tire. I have suffered only one single puncture with the KO2s, on the outer edge that is wearing faster due to my alignment adjustments.
On Pavement: These tires on pavement produce very little noise or vibration. When they were brand new, it was difficult to even determine with your ear they were an AT tire. They provide plenty of grip as well.