[Expedition]

Hi guys -

I'm excited to join the forum.

I have a tire question for the group.

Last weekend I was out fishing a high mountain lake in Colorado and took my '97 Expedition on a 10 mile 4x4 road (20 miles round trip). I was fairly concerned when driving on that road that I would puncture a side wall on one of the many sharp rocks that were out there.

Let me start out by saying that I am not an "off-roader" but a novice looking to beef up my truck a bit to allow me to go on these sort of treks without worry that I will be left stranded 10 miles up a mountain.

My '97 Expedition is my daily driver and I am on a budget.

I currently have Cooper Discoverer M+S snow tires (265/70/17) (they are fantastic in the Colorado snow btw). I would like a tire that I can drive year around (snow capability is a must) and one that has some roadside manors (sometimes I need to drive on the highway 2+ hours) to get to a trail head. The rocks out here are sharp so sidewall protection is a concern of mine (please let me know if that is a well founded concern or not). Mud isn't very common terrain I come across out here.

My budget is about $150-$215 per tire.

Do I need different tires (do my Cooper tires have strong sidewalls?)?

So, that all said, what would you recommend?

My Expedition is stock... would a high profile tire be wise to achieve more ground clearance? Should I invest is some protection for my undercarriage?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Expedition]

Really? 275 views and no thoughts? Common guys. Forums don't work if no one has anything to say.

 

[traxiii]

You can't go wrong with BFG KO2 all-terrains, but I don't know the price of your size. I have had them on my 4x4 for almost a year and find they are great on and off road, in rain and mud. They are very quiet, and seem less prone to sidewall damage then other tires I've had or seen. The KO2 is a big improvement over the old KO, which were pretty good too. Hope that helps.