Transforce AT’s.....the good, the bad, the ugly????

[el_barto]

Transforce tires (marked M+S) were downright dangerous in just a couple of inches of snow.

I have Duratracs on my wife's 1500 and Wildpeak AT3Ws on my 2500. Proper tires make a world of difference on any vehicle. It's the only part of your truck that touches the road!

M+S marking is of no value. It only means the tire tread meets a set of extremely generic dimensional requirements. It has no merit in actual testing/performance. I have owned Z-rated ultra-high performance summer tires that had M+S stamped on them.

 

[RV_Goose]

I much preferred the Michelin tires over the Firestone they replaced on my 2013 RAM 2500.

 

[BAT3500]

Thats a huge myth, no tire manufacture would ruin their name in such a way, plus a couple of my contacts that work at the goodyear tire factory have told me their is no difference in the factory tires vs tire shops tires

I disagree. I have been told several times otherwise over the years by well placed trusted sources . I was told the various car manufacturers do in fact aggressively negotiate with the tire supplier's (or any other component supplier) to get the best price before they sign a contract. The tire suppliers simply respond by cutting costs to get the contract anyway they can, including softer rubber or every so slightly reduced tread depth. Generally this only reduces tire life, the OEM tire version performs the same as the full retail version, good, bad or mediocre...

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

I disagree. I have been told several times otherwise over the years by well placed trusted sources . I was told the various car manufacturers do in fact aggressively negotiate with the tire supplier's (or any other component supplier) to get the best price before they sign a contract. The tire suppliers simply respond by cutting costs to get the contract anyway they can, including softer rubber or every so slightly reduced tread depth. Generally this only reduces tire life, the OEM tire version performs the same as the full retail version, good, bad or mediocre...

SPOBI

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

I disagree. I have been told several times otherwise over the years by well placed trusted sources . I was told the various car manufacturers do in fact aggressively negotiate with the tire supplier's (or any other component supplier) to get the best price before they sign a contract. The tire suppliers simply respond by cutting costs to get the contract anyway they can, including softer rubber or every so slightly reduced tread depth. Generally this only reduces tire life, the OEM tire version performs the same as the full retail version, good, bad or mediocre...

Not true at all they only get a better deal because the the agreed quantity they order i have worked with tire manufactures and asked them directly

 

[BAT3500]

Bull. When i replaced the tires on my 13 i went with michelins. The store offered me a set if take-offs from a brand new Ford with less than 200 miles for a resonable discount. Per the sidewall the exact same model. I checked out both retail and take-offs closely. The take-offs had noteably less tread depth.

 

[Great White North Eh]

Ya I don’t know if tire manufacturers would cook-up a special batch for the OEM orders. I think the savings would be eaten by the logistics. The factories don’t stockpile parts longer than necessary. Truck loads of $#!t roll in one door at the factory and minutes later a completed vehicle rolls out the other. Disclaimer: I have never worked in a tire factory so I might be full of it!

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

Easy enough to verify.... people who run the factory tires and get xx,xxx miles from them and then replace them with the same tires get roughly the same xx,xxx miles out of the second set.

 

[Wmhjr]

Just had my truck in snow and some mud with them yesterday, and they were fine with 2500 miles on the truck now. And I'm not talking about level terrain.

 

[jarrington]

Just had my truck in snow and some mud with them yesterday, and they were fine with 2500 miles on the truck now. And I'm not talking about level terrain.

I think just about any A/T tire with decent tread will be knobby enough to dig around in deep / loose snow and muck. It's the hard packed snow / ice where the Transforces are scary, IMO. Little to no siping on the tread blocks.

 

[Wmhjr]

I think just about any A/T tire with decent tread will be knobby enough to dig around in deep / loose snow and muck. It's the hard packed snow / ice where the Transforces are scary, IMO. Little to no siping on the tread blocks.

Well, as far as that goes, hard pack and ice are what I've been encountering quite a bit around here on the roads. I can't complain. I live in SW PA where it's hilly and twisty, and the weather conditions sure include ice. Winter advisories for black ice, etc several times over the past couple weeks. Have not noticed any problems.

 

[kobra]

Well, as far as that goes, hard pack and ice are what I've been encountering quite a bit around here on the roads. I can't complain. I live in SW PA where it's hilly and twisty, and the weather conditions sure include ice. Winter advisories for black ice, etc several times over the past couple weeks. Have not noticed any problems.

I survived 2 sets of Transforce on prior trucks and didn't really notice problems either. They do get the job done, but it's just that there are better alternatives for what you are doing. Actually, far better.

B

 

[Rockcrawlindude]

TransForce just seems like the name of the next politically correct “superhero group” cartoon series

 

[Rooster Bob]

Just replaced them at 500 miles and managed to get $600 for the four. The difference in ride quality and wet weather traction from the Firestones to my new Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT's is actually shocking.

 

[Wmhjr]

Just replaced them at 500 miles and managed to get $600 for the four. The difference in ride quality and wet weather traction from the Firestones to my new Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT's is actually shocking.

Really? I still have my '04 2500 5.9. I've run Cooper AT3s for years. As a matter of fact, just got a rebate for putting a new set on a couple months ago. I'm really not seeing any measurable differences between the two. I guess it varies. BTW, while I like the Coopers, doing a lot of pulling I sure wore through rear tires fast on them.

 

[Rooster Bob]

Really? I still have my '04 2500 5.9. I've run Cooper AT3s for years. As a matter of fact, just got a rebate for putting a new set on a couple months ago. I'm really not seeing any measurable differences between the two. I guess it varies. BTW, while I like the Coopers, doing a lot of pulling I sure wore through rear tires fast on them.

Yes - On the beat up NJ roads I take to work, the truck was jittery going around rough corners and during the two foul weather days I commuted (rain/snow/slush) the rear was all over the place. I tried various air pressures 60-65-70 psig on the Transforces and it helped but didn't make a huge difference. Obviously my sample size on those tires was only a few hundred miles and I certainly didn't hate them but on my first two commutes with the Cooper's they felt different to me. I am interested in your comment about wear on the Cooper's though, since I plan to tow my travel trailer 10-12 weekends/year.

 

[H3LZSN1P3R]

Just replaced them at 500 miles and managed to get $600 for the four. The difference in ride quality and wet weather traction from the Firestones to my new Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT's is actually shocking.

I am on my 3rd set in 4000miles first set were cracking around the beads second set could not be balanced all 4 were out of round third set are good, i really like the coopers they hardly wear with proper rotation and air pressure and they have great traction i tend to plow in 2wd with them


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[Wmhjr]

Yes - On the beat up NJ roads I take to work, the truck was jittery going around rough corners and during the two foul weather days I commuted (rain/snow/slush) the rear was all over the place. I tried various air pressures 60-65-70 psig on the Transforces and it helped but didn't make a huge difference. Obviously my sample size on those tires was only a few hundred miles and I certainly didn't hate them but on my first two commutes with the Cooper's they felt different to me. I am interested in your comment about wear on the Cooper's though, since I plan to tow my travel trailer 10-12 weekends/year.

Well, I'm on potentially worse Pittsburgh, PA area roads, and we have a ton (I believe more than you folks do) of rain, snow, and ice. My 2020 2500 with the Transforce tires seemed to behave pretty much exactly as the brand new Coopers on the '04.

I use the Coopers pretty much universally once the new tires are done. I've been using Coopers on the trucks for a long time - my vendor supports me well, they perform "OK", last "OK" and are reasonably priced. I don't know the size of your trailer, however up until last year I was pulling about 10-12k more than 18k miles per year. The '04 is an NV5600 6spd manual, and there are a fair mount of hills. I pulled from a home in Pittsburgh all the way over to Road America in Wisconsin, down to Barber, across to Jennings GP and Daytona in FL, and up to New Jersey Motorsports Park (Lightning and Thunderbolt tracks) in NJ, and everywhere in between such as Road Atlanta, Summit Point, etc. I also pulled a 3 horse slant gooseneck trailer in addition to that for another couple thousand miles per year, probably about 8-10k. I'd go through a new set of Coopers every 2 years at a minimum.

 

[Firebird]

I just ordered the Terra Grappler G2's, these stock tires just suck in the rain!

 

[abillerbeck]

Just replaced them at 500 miles and managed to get $600 for the four. The difference in ride quality and wet weather traction from the Firestones to my new Cooper Discoverer AT3 XLT's is actually shocking.

Did you sell them to a tire shop or did you sell them privately? That's a pretty impressive haul for those things, seems like in my area you're lucky to get $50/tire for them.