Advice on quiet tires

[motorhead426]

I just changed out the factory-installed tires with Open Range A/T Plus tires from Les Schwab. LT275/70R18 size. The factory tires, Firestone Transforce, were very quiet and I was hoping for at least the same quietness with these new tires.
I live in the Pacific NW with mainly rainy winter weather, but I do 98% blacktop driving.

So I told the salesperson that I have sensitive ears (I'm 72 and have tinnitus) and want a really quiet tire. She said the best and quietest were the Open Range A/T Plus tires, so I went head and had them installed.

I just came back from a 300 miles highway drive and I must say the ride was much noisier than I remember with the other tires. Either my ears are becoming more and more problematic, or these tires are not what I was hoping for because I had to use ear plugs a lot just to keep the noise in my head at a manageable level. (Those with tinnitus can relate.)

For the tire 'experts' here, are the Open Range A/T Plus tires considered a quiet tire?

Any recommendations on the quietest tire I can get?

Which Trans Force tires did you have? Were they H/T? or A/T? I haven't swapped out my A/T's yet, but I haven't noticed any considerable noise from them. I agree with the person on here that suggested the Michelins LTX's... never had a bad Michelin LTX/Defender, etc. I also like the Michelin CrossClimate tires. They seem to be a good all season, especially in the wet.

 

[JimKIII]

Which Trans Force tires did you have? Were they H/T? or A/T? I haven't swapped out my A/T's yet, but I haven't noticed any considerable noise from them. I agree with the person on here that suggested the Michelins LTX's... never had a bad Michelin LTX/Defender, etc. I also like the Michelin CrossClimate tires. They seem to be a good all season, especially in the wet.

They were the HT style. I just ordered the LTX Defenders and will get them installed next week.

 

[HarryN]

https://www.michelinman.com/auto/tires/michelin-defender-ltx-platinum

These ? This is the 20 inch rim version for the 3500 SRW

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Not duratracs. They’re noisy

 

[AH64ID]

Not duratracs. They’re noisy

There are 3 Duratrac's and I believe each one has different noise levels. The standard Duratrac seems to be the noisiest, then the Duratrac with 3PMSF, and the quietest is the Duratrac RT-LT.

The 285/60R20 Duratrac RT-LT's I ran were among the quietest AT's I've ever ran, if not the quietest. I only ran them for 8K miles thou, so I am not sure what happens when they wear. I'll know at some point because they are what I'll be putting on the van in the spring.

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

There are 3 Duratrac's and I believe each one has different noise levels. The standard Duratrac seems to be the noisiest, then the Duratrac with 3PMSF, and the quietest is the Duratrac RT-LT.

The 285/60R20 Duratrac RT-LT's I ran were among the quietest AT's I've ever ran, if not the quietest. I only ran them for 8K miles thou, so I am not sure what happens when they wear. I'll know at some point because they are what I'll be putting on the van in the spring.

I have a standard ones with the most tread depth. I have liked this tire in the past, but I’m not happy with this set they won’t balance out very well. Slight derail sorry OP

 

[JimKIII]

I went ahead an bought the Michelin Defender LTX tires. Now I'm selling the Open Range A/T tire here:

J

Thread '[SOLD] Brand new (less than 500 miles) Open Range AT Plus tires for sale'

Oct 27, 2025

**No LONGER AVAILABLE**
These Open Range A/T tires (LT275/70R-18) are virtually brand new with less than 500 miles on them. They are excellent AT tires and I would keep them except my old ears have become quite sensitive to road noise. I swapped them out for HT (highway) tires.

See the invoice for the price I paid. I'll let them go for $100 less per tire ($290/tire = $1,160 for the set) because I know that Les Schwab charges a premium for their tires.

I'm east of Seattle about thirty miles in Fall City.

• JimKIII
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Wheels/Tires

 

[AH64ID]

I went ahead an bought the Michelin Defender LTX tires. Now I'm selling the Open Range A/T tire here:

J

Thread '[SOLD] Brand new (less than 500 miles) Open Range AT Plus tires for sale'

Oct 27, 2025

**No LONGER AVAILABLE**
These Open Range A/T tires (LT275/70R-18) are virtually brand new with less than 500 miles on them. They are excellent AT tires and I would keep them except my old ears have become quite sensitive to road noise. I swapped them out for HT (highway) tires.

See the invoice for the price I paid. I'll let them go for $100 less per tire ($290/tire = $1,160 for the set) because I know that Les Schwab charges a premium for their tires.

I'm east of Seattle about thirty miles in Fall City.

• JimKIII
• Replies: 0
• Forum: Wheels/Tires

Les Schwab has a 60 day guarantee on the Open Range A/T, did you try taking them back?

I haven't been to Fall City in a long time, since my folks moved to Wenatchee. I graduated HS in Duvall.

 

[JimKIII]

Les Schwab has a 60 day guarantee on the Open Range A/T, did you try taking them back?

I haven't been to Fall City in a long time, since my folks moved to Wenatchee. I graduated HS in Duvall.

I'll certainly give that a try!
I really like Wenatchee. My wife is from Mansfield and we visit there several times a year. Real quiet!

 

[JimKIII]

Les Schwab has a 60 day guarantee on the Open Range A/T, did you try taking them back?

I haven't been to Fall City in a long time, since my folks moved to Wenatchee. I graduated HS in Duvall.

I just called Les Schwab in North Bend and they will take them back for a 10% restocking fee.
Absolutely amazing! Thank you for the advice!