I've been holding off new tires way to long, I will finally need to get new ones this fall at the latest.
So I have a 2000 Expdition 4x2 w/ 17" wheels.
Came factory with Conti(maybe General) 275/60's and recalled & replaced by Conti 265/70's. I've hated the new Conti's since I got them, but finally years later they are almost finished. They squealed through tight corners from day 1 regardless of psi. The original Conti's only squealed when low.

So what is actually happening with the diferent size tires? How does that affect the rig overall? I'm convinced I want to go back to the 275/60's simply because of the squeal, and I think they small sidewall difference looked better. But is the squeal the size, or the crappy tire? So I know the #'s mean with & % of sidewall, but what happens to say acceleration & handeling with differnt sizes? Should I look at other sizes? I just want a good overall all season tire that rides smooth & quiet, but can get through the wet seasons and the tiny bit of snow we get. We now drive the new Escape Hybrid 90% of the time, so sadly Big Blue (the Ex) sits more often now, but the next few months our work schedule changes and both with be used equally.

For tires, I've always like Michillen, either LTX or SUV (never owned any, just like them) But now I see on tirerack, a Conti CrossContact LX, for about $80 less than a Michellin & rated equally as good by the reviewers.

I've called around town, both seem hard to find, so special order, or order from TR & have mounted seems equal. I'm not in *need* of immediate replacement, just want to do it before fall/winter weather kicks in.

Thanks

 

go with the BFG Rugged Trail TA...... good compromise between ride quality and foul weather traction... 285/70r17 is a nice upsize if your interested

 

If I was you I would go with 265/70/17's it is a 32x10.50 and a 275/60 is a 30x11 however if you like the smaller sidewall go with the 275/60.

The first number in the tire size is the width in mm, the second is the aspect ratio which is a percentage of the width used to determine sidewall height and the third is the rim size.

Tires to look at would be, Nitto Terra Grappler, Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor, Toyo Open Country AT......I personally wouldn't go with the Rugged Trails they are a lower end BFG tire, if you are gonna go with BFG's might as well go with the High end TA KO.

As for the squeeling, I dont really know what causes that, some radial tires just do it, my RT/s used to do that all the time, think it has something to do with the rubber compound used to make the tires

 

No matter what size you decide on, get "LT" rated tires (Load Range C), and 'squared off shoulder' tires and your squealing cornering should stop....

Any of the tire brands mentioned above should have those specs on them....

I have the Toyo's with a lot more sidewall then your 'rounded shoulder' P265/70/17's and they don't squeal at all and corner a TON better then the stock P255/70/16's that came on the thing...

IMO, tires make or break the ride of a vehicle and why people wait for the 'new' POS tires to 'wear out' first never made sense to me..... I traded in brand new 30 day old tires because they were CRAP..... Since they were still so new, the tire shop gave me a pretty good trade in allowance for them and I got the tires I really wanted for only an additional $150....

That's when I realized the difference between P rated tires and LT rated tires on a #5000 brick! Oh, what a feeling! ha, ha!

Good luck and anything will be better then those POS Continentals!!

Mitch