I recently had a truly miserable experience with the set of Continental ExtremeContact DWS06 (275/45R20) that came on my truck when I bought it. They were fine on highway, quite good actually. But one of the first times I took them off pavement, I experienced a blowout on the front right. As I went to change it, I heard the hissing from the back right - a cut sidewall. Several miles up a trail and without phone coverage is not the place you want a double tire failure.
Needless to say, I didn't want to go back to the ExtremeContacts. Instead, I went with the Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S that recently came out in a 265/50R20. I am quite pleased so far. For a slightly noticeable gain in highway noise and a very slight decrease in width (10.6 section, 8.78 tread, measured on an 8.5 rim), I gained nearly 300 lbs. of load capacity per tire (2403), 1 3/4 inches in diameter (30.51), the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol, a more aggressive look, and - most importantly - the confidence that I can go and do where and what this truck was designed for.
I think this may prove to be a tire that's perfectly suited for this vehicle. I'll try to get some pictures this evening to post. I recommend it to anyone who wants a comfortable but capable tire.
Needless to say, I didn't want to go back to the ExtremeContacts. Instead, I went with the Cooper Discoverer AT3 4S that recently came out in a 265/50R20. I am quite pleased so far. For a slightly noticeable gain in highway noise and a very slight decrease in width (10.6 section, 8.78 tread, measured on an 8.5 rim), I gained nearly 300 lbs. of load capacity per tire (2403), 1 3/4 inches in diameter (30.51), the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake symbol, a more aggressive look, and - most importantly - the confidence that I can go and do where and what this truck was designed for.
I think this may prove to be a tire that's perfectly suited for this vehicle. I'll try to get some pictures this evening to post. I recommend it to anyone who wants a comfortable but capable tire.
