Michelin Crossclimate, although I don't see much mud.

 

FFS not another tire thread. 😴
Round black ones.

 

FFS not another tire thread in the tire section

After so many years, I guess they should close this section down since all of the tire-related questions would have already been asked before.

Just asking current opinions because most of what I found searching was more serious off-road oriented or snow-related. Since this is a discussion forum and all....

Thanks for the input, I'll take the square ones off the list lol

 

I’ve run the stock tires all over creation and they work fine.
If you have those try them in all your local conditions before you decide you need something else.

 

I will have a new set on the steel rim on the van. I didn't want to swap them to the flairspace wheels because of reading on here people getting stuck in wet grass/mud with them. Seems like a good tires but I do en up in wet grassy fields with my daily driver.

 

Michelin Crossclimate.
Just got them recently so no extensive experience other than to say they are quieter than the stock Continentals on Freeway at speed.

 

The Michelin Defenders have always have had a great reputation. I have KO2's but I think Defenders would have fit me just fine.

 

I see a defender M/S 2 (mud and snow) but they dont have one that would fit the rim with the right load rating. I have had the KO2s on a past truck and didn't think the wet performance or noise was great. I know they have the KO3s but not sure ho they are on the wet paved roads, ill dig into those more.

 

My current ones are 10 ply Kelly Edge AT (245/75) and they are quite sufficient for what you describe.
I'm out of the country right no so don'thave a pic to post.

 

I hadn't seen those mentioned before (may have missed it) ill check them out, thanks!

 

I haven't had them in wet grass but good on highway, snow, dirt roads and mud. Falken Rubitrek

 

Yokohama Geolander A/T G015. Had two sets on the previous van and now the Transit. Rides like highway tires on the highway (quieter than the stock Vancontact), decent in dirt, pretty tough, adequate in snow (just barely)

 

Upvote for the Geolanders.

 

Might help if you were to post about WHY you want to change from the stock tires?

The stock AWD tires are really quite good. I went BACK to them after more than 10K miles on Wildpeak AT3Ws.

Since you're also planning to go to aftermarket rims but not going to a larger rim size, is it safe to assume that this is a question of looks? If so, then... what look do you want? Wanna look offroady? Want that overlander look? Then you want K03s or AT4Ws or any other myriad "All Terrain" options of 245/75-16s.

Want the perfect tire for your described usage? Stock. When you're 40-50K miles and they're wearing out... well... plenty of options then as well.

 

I like AT's because they look cool... I sure love my E rated Cooper AT3's and run them on my FJ and the Transit.

 

I like the look of AT tires. Driving for hours and hours on them at 70mph and it might somewhat change your mind. I know KO2's are quieter than most AT, most of us will do just fine on a Crossclimate/Geolander. I needed them for the snow. Having used the stock tires my 2015 came with, I can say that they were horrible on snow.

 

I think the stock tires work great,i ski most days and all snow days and drive over 5 bad ridge tops with no problem.I got 35,000 miles on the first set and tried a Flaken tire.We then did a 1800 miles on the New England ski trip and they wandered so bad on the highway the
At I switched back as soon as I got home(expensive mistake) The falkens were C rated for a van.Anyway I love the stock tires but they sure look small

 

I just recently put Falken Wildpeak A/T4W’s on my 23 Transit after 2 1/2 years of the stock tires. I do mostly highway driving myself but we know it can get wet and muddy down south. I just drove 1050 miles to Cleveland with them and have zero complaints. I might’ve taken a 1 mile per gallon hit on MPG but I’m okay with that just in case I find myself in some undesirable driving conditions.

 

In the on/offroad motorcycle world people talk about 80/20 or 50/50 tires. As in 80% on road, 20% off road. The problem for me is that if I’m going to ride (or drive) 160 miles of paved highway to ride 40 miles of hardcore trail, I don’t want an 80/20 tire. I’m willing to put up with a noisier ride or even worse ultimate pavement traction for safe and predictable off road grip and durability. And since you’re asking about mud, which can be the worst surface for traction, it’s hard to give a good recommendation in my opinion. I actually found the OEM Conti VanContact to be a very good snow and dirt tire but got an unrepairable sidewall cut in one of them after just 12K miles and replaced all four with Cooper Discover AT3’s which worked very well for 50K miles with a fair amount of rocky offroad. I just replaced them with the successor to the AT3, the Cooper Stronghold AT. Only 10 miles on the new ones but no assessment yet; new tires always sound and feel nicer than worn tires.