A can of worms, I know. I didn't see anything specific on this site with a quick search.

In my town, I have a Whalen Tire and a Les Schwab. I won't list all the tires they carry but some may be familiar with those companies. I have Toyo Open County ATIIs on my truck now. They work just fine.

My question...I spend plenty of time on dirt roads, it's part of life out here. They're mostly dry, but can get muddy. I've never felt the need for MTs. We have winter. I've always been fine with ATs. I wouldn't go to HTs, but I am thinking I could get away with a more domesticated tire. What's peoples experience with highway-friendly AT tires, in terms of a balance of good traction with good mileage, low noise, smooth ride? I do a lot of interstate driving.

My criteria: they need to perform on dirt roads, and in the snow. I tow, so they need a decent weight rating for a loaded-down truck with another probably 350# tongue weight from the trailer.

And maybe the more important question...has anyone with a 3.4 actually gotten better than 19mpg, highway, average, no matter what they did (leaving out downhill with a tailwind)? I've found that I rarely break the 20mpg barrier, and rarely go below 17, no matter if I drive 65mph or 80. So is the "what's the best AT tire for gas mileage" a moot point?

 

While I can’t speak specifically for running them on a 4R, I did go thru several sets on my Taco. I really liked the plain Jane BFG A/Ts. They had good traction, moderate road noise, and they lasted forEVER!!!! Like 75k miles and still passed inspection in PA.

My 4R gets much more domesticated tires since I don’t see as much dirt as I did in my youth. Currently I’m running some Kumho tires that have done me well in snow and pulling a trailer.

that’s my .02

 

I guess I should specify I have a Tacoma.

Thanks. Might just take asking the tire shop folks. Lots of friends currently running Falkens. I’ve had decent luck with Toyo and BFG. But I do so much highway driving now it’s got me thinking about something more tame.

 

i just bought a set of LT275/70r17 Load range C Kumho Road Venture AT51's, 80,000km rating, pretty happy with them so far. I run a lot of highway and gravel roads, and i will see a bit of snow before switching over to winter tires. I was never happy with my BFG KO, or my dads KO2's, and opted not to try the new KO2's as they where $100 more per tire. Cannot speak to milage as I up sized but didn't see a loss yet.

 

Hmm. Thanks. Might be that a larger, heavier, more aggressive tire might hurt my gas mileage, but a strictly highway tread tire may not help it. I'm not sure I'll get better than 19mpg no matter what, so maybe I shouldn't worry about it...

 

I get 13.5L/100Km, but my tires are 5.2% bigger than factory and I have 4.30 ratio, lifted 3-3.5" total, no gear or extra weight, which coverts to 18.33mpg on my new to me tires so far, I have a scangaugeII aswell to keep track. I see some city driving, backroads, trails and highway driving with large long hills with speed limits of 90-100Km which I push to 110-120Km and I usually drive with some gusto and spirited driving, I do a bit better with premium because I push the truck a bit and use AC, but it's more expensive for very little performance difference and only used periodically to clean out the tank. I actually turn off the AC on big hills and notice a performance difference. If you have a standard you should be able to do better for sure, ofcourse weight gear ratio tire weight and size all come into effect with the 5vz-Fe, AT vs HT I don't think you could measure a difference, I did a lil ity bit better with smaller worn out HT tires, but my life requires AT tires, and MT's are a no go if I get a inch+ of snow in May or October, and the droning sound at certain speeds is not acceptable for me, I'm sure some are better than others though. A crude cell pic for entertainment, I put them on my dads 2011 Taco in a LT265/70r16 and both trucks ride, turn and feel good with lil noticeable noise for new aggressive tires, I noticed in the specs that my larger C tires had deeper tread 15.6/32" compared to my dads D rated tires13.5/32", tread depth is tire specific and size dependant, check the specs whichever you choose.
Edited for details.

 

Those are pretty tame looking tires, I like them.

Thanks for the details. Seems like I just shouldn't worry about it. Speed limit around here is 80mph, but I usually set cruise at 75. 80 is just fast. Looks like 75mph translates to about 120kmh. Doing the same drive between the town I live in and the town that still feels like home, which is 80mph (almost 130 kmh) all the way, around 130 miles, I really didn't see a difference between going 65 or 80mph. I pretty much get 19mpg if it's running well and I don't have a crazy headwind or anything, no matter what else happens.