Anyone ever use Transforce AT tires instead of HT's?

blizzard2014 · May 4, 2011

I had a set of circumstances happen to me a few days ago that warrented an emergency change of front tires due to safety issues. I had to change the tires in a small po-dunk type town and they did not have Firestone Transforce Highway Tires. All they had were the All Terrain tires. I am gonna be stuck with these tires now along with the new set i'm gonna be putting on the back of the van real soon. I'm just wondering if the All Terrain tires are going to affect my fuel mileage and wear out a bit faster then the Highway Tire? If you have had any experience with these type of tires good/bad please post here and let me know if i'm gonna be stuck with junk for a year. Thanks for any answers to this question.

chefdennis · May 4, 2011

I run the highways on my cv and always got in the 100,000 mile area..I don't think you will have any prolems, the AT's are the same construction just a more aggressive open tread pattern...you might get more "road noise" because of the open tread, but I'd think that would be it....

Turtle · May 4, 2011

All Terrain tires will generally have better treadwear than a highway tire, simply because the tread is usually a little tougher, and oftentimes more of it - 1/32 to 2/32 deeper - to begin with. They are certainly better for many types of road hazards, as well as in mud, rain and snow. You might get less fuel mileage with them, as that's usually the case, but as with Michelin tires, they may very well be engineered for improved rolling resistance, so any fuel mileage hit is likely to be minimal, if any. There will be some increased road noise due to the aggressive tread pattern, but most people don't notice it or don't find it objectionable.

I've had Michelin All-Season, Mud/Snow and All-Terrain on mine, and they all performed essentially the same, except the All-Terrain (A/T2) gave the most miles and the best fuel economy. I'm on my second set of A/T2s.

Just keep 'em properly inflated (nitrogen helps with that) and all that extra, more aggressive tread will be a benefit. Let them get to low on pressure, and you'll take a real serious hit on mileage and fuel economy.

blizzard2014 · May 4, 2011

Thanks Chef, Turtle. I appreciate the info. I don't mind the tires being a little bit louder than normal as long as I get 100k out of this set and the fuel mileage is not that bad. I had no choice but to get these tires as I could no longer drive on my old tires. Any more input would be greatly appreciated guys. Thanks again!

paullud · May 5, 2011

When you use an all terrain tire you usually have a little bit of a decrease in mpg because of the rolling resistance due to the tread depth and pattern. Any loss of mpg due to tread depth will obviously disappear as the tires wear a little.

Moot · May 5, 2011

According to Firestone's comparison chart linked below, the only difference is in the off road category.

Firestone Transforce Tires | Firestone Tires