Tire recommendations for Nissan Frontier

[billyjack]

Good afternoon! My "new-to-me" pickup truck was a very economical purchase, given the current used vehicle market.

However, it's averaging about 16 mpg; not cool. I'm looking at different FE improvements, but this thread is just about tires, as they're old, loud, and oversized.

A Nissan forum I belong to has a tire vendor who is more than willing to sell me tires 😉 but I'd like to better understand my options.

Tire Rack and Discount Tires sites don't really mention LRR or energy efficiency that I've seen (maybe they have different menus on their desktop sites. Or I'm blind. Or both.)

Any tires y'all could recommend for a 2000 Nissan Frontier XE V6 4x4?

Thanks!

[Ecky]

Many of these are European-only tires, but the reviews have a tested rolling resistance, giving you some point of reference:

https://alltyretests.com/category/all-season/

It would be worth looking up what tires you have as options, and checking to see if they've been tested.

What size will you be putting on? It looks like there were a half dozen standard sizes for the 2000, in either 15" or 16".

[billyjack]

Originally Posted by Ecky

Many of these are European-only tires, but the reviews have a tested rolling resistance, giving you some point of reference:

[link deleted due to newbie rules]

It would be worth looking up what tires you have as options, and checking to see if they've been tested.

What size will you be putting on? It looks like there were a half dozen standard sizes for the 2000, in either 15" or 16".

Totally spaced on actually saying my tire size in my original post... Current tires are a little oversized, but I plan to go back to stock: 235/70R15.

I'll be checking that site later; thanks for the recommendation.

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by billyjack

Good afternoon! My "new-to-me" pickup truck was a very economical purchase, given the current used vehicle market.

However, it's averaging about 16 mpg; not cool. I'm looking at different FE improvements, but this thread is just about tires, as they're old, loud, and oversized.

A Nissan forum I belong to has a tire vendor who is more than willing to sell me tires 😉 but I'd like to better understand my options.

Tire Rack and Discount Tires sites don't really mention LRR or energy efficiency that I've seen (maybe they have different menus on their desktop sites. Or I'm blind. Or both.)

Any tires y'all could recommend for a 2000 Nissan Frontier XE V6 4x4?

Thanks!

Tire Rack changed the way they designation LRR tires. They use "Eco Focus", which implies a bit more than just better RR. The words after "Eco Focus" is the name the tire manufacturer uses to describe what that feature is.

Looks like Tire Rack only has two tires that use those words - both Hankook

[Xist]

205/65r15. My tire blew today when I was going to see a client.

I really wanted to drive my Accord!

Hopefully this wouldn't have happened to that Honda:


If you need to change your tire on the side of the road, try to find a level spot. My tire blew, I immediately pulled over as far as I could, jacked up my car, removed the lug nuts, and was trying to remove the wheel when my car fell off the jack. I climbed up, but I have never had a tow truck arrive within an hour when I was in-town, and I was 10 miles from town.
For some reason when you search for "USAA roadside" you don't get a phone number. I clicked on a link and a guy and his son stopped, removed the jack, redid it, and changed my tire for me.
Thanks random strangers!

I know that I posted about this car, but cannot find my thread. I was still looking for it when I found this one.

Tire Rack shows 7 tires for my car, but Michelin Agilis Crossclimates look like they are for trucks.

Tire Rack shows them, but instead of being 94H they show 100t and 102t.

Is it 100t or 102t?!

Since LT tires are commonly used on trucks with dual rear wheels, they are branded with two load indexes. The first number indicates the load carrying capacity if the tire is installed on a truck with a single-wheel rear axle, and the second number applies when the tire is used in a dual rear application.

Tire Rack: What is a Load Index?

Not that it matters, but the site doesn't show a UTQG or a mileage warranty. I tried to find those from Walmart, but it didn't show car sizes.

They also charge $855.96 for 4. Of the other 6 tires, the most expensive are the Bridgestone Ecopias, $671.96 with a 70,000-mile warranty, but they are only rated 6.8 stars.

The cheapest LRR tire they show is the Hankook Kinergy ST, $403.96 for 4, rated for 70,000 miles, and rated 8.2/10.

The tire with the longest warranty is the Hankook Kinergy PT, rated for 90,000 miles, $471.96 for 4, although it says it is new, and does not have a rating.

The highest-rated is the Yokohama Avid Ascend, $487.96 for 4, warrantied for 85,000 miles, and rated 8.7/10.

The STs and the Avid Ascends are extremely close when you look at the warrantied mile per dollar, but I don't expect to get 90,000 miles on a 17-year-old car, even if she only has 106,000 miles.

"The Department of Energy estimates that 4 to 11 percent of fuel consumption is due to tire rolling resistance."
"Industry studies show that a 10 percent drop in rolling resistance equates to about a 1 percent improvement in fuel economy."
"Our latest testing of performance all-season tires showed a 34 percent difference in rolling resistance between the best- and worst-performing tires."

Over 12,000 miles driven, that 34 percent difference in resistance equals about 14 gallons of gas separating the best performer from the worst, based on average fuel economy. It adds up to about $70 per year, or about $360 over the life of a set of tires (62,000 miles for a performance all-season tire, based on CR testing). We based our savings calculation on gas at $5 per gallon.

The most that I have logged for gas is $4.51 and their tests indicate the average car would get 28 MPG with the worst tires in the group and 29 MPG with the best.

I have averaged 33 MPG with my Camries, so my results would vary further.

Consumer Reports only tested two tires Tire Rack lists for my car.

Low-Rolling-Resistance Tires Can Save You Money at the Pump

I found other pages comparing LRR tires, but who compares with Consumer Reports? None of them say how they chose their favorites!

I wish that CR had compared those tires to a normal one, but arguably they would need to test many tires to determine the most normal.

The best tire they tested was 3.5% more efficient than the worst.

"Today, tire makers are using the latest in technology to create tires that lower rolling resistance and add 2-8% in higher fuel mileage, which definitely adds up over time." TireReviews.com: Top 10 Most Fuel Efficient Tires

Source?

I searched and just found this weirdo: Low rolling resistance tires 2018

"The Tire and Rubber Association of Canada (TRAC) found a 2 – 4% improvement in fuel economy when you switch to a fuel efficient tire." All About Fuel Efficient Low Rolling Resistance Tires

Tire Rack shows 33 gas-guzzling tires, but the fastest they can mail any is 6 days.

The highest-rated is the Vredestein Hitrac All-season, 8.9/10, $404.16 for 4, and a 70,000-mile warranty.

The cheapest is the Riken Raptor HR, $376.12 for 4, rated 8.10, and without a warranty?!

The cheapest LRR tire Tire Rack showed cost 7.4% more than the cheapest non-LRR tire, but let's not buy the cheapest tires, okay?

[Xist]

Theory 1: Saving gas is great, but only if I save money overall.
Theory 2: Driving on a spare for 6 days is bad.

Walmart only shows the Douglas All-Seasons. It has a mere 45,000-mile warranty, but they will install it for only $291.54, although they didn't show any appointments tomorrow.
Can I call and get in sooner?
What if I just show up?

I need to drive all of the way over?!

Discount only has the Sentury Touring, $485.44 installed with a paltry 40,000-mile warranty--the worst cost-per-mile!
Goodyear has two tires, the Goodyear Assurance with a 65,000-mile warranty for $551.80, and the Kelly Edge AS with a 55,000-mile warranty for $483.80.
Bridgestone has two tires in my area, but the only installers are dealerships. One option is an LRR! However, the Ecopia EP422 is rated for 70,000 miles and is supposed to cost $743.96, although I don't know that it includes all fees--I can't schedule an appointment or place an order.
The other tire is the Turanza Quiettrack, which they rate better in every way except for fuel economy, while they rate the Ecopias worse in the rest of the categories, and much worse in some.
The Turanzas are $771.96 with a 80,000-mile warranty--The EP422s cost 10.14% more per mile!

I guess that I am calling Walmart in the morning--after I call Big O.

They show 33 tires, but don't say how much any of them cost, or what is in-stock.

[freebeard]

If you need to change your tire on the side of the road, try to find a level spot.

Back when I was in college I had a 1952 Ford Fairlane 2-door hartop (cream over light blue). I drove out to the Coast and the only parking place was in a ditch. When I came back the right rear tire was flat.

As luck would have it I had two bumper jacks in the trunk so I just put one against the side of the ditch.

[Joggernot]

Originally Posted by Xist

205/65r15.
The cheapest LRR tire they show is the Hankook Kinergy ST, $403.96 for 4, rated for 70,000 miles, and rated 8.2/10.

The tire with the longest warranty is the Hankook Kinergy PT, rated for 90,000 miles, $471.96 for 4, although it says it is new, and does not have a rating.

I had the Hankook Kinergy tires on a new Honda CRV. Noisiest tires I've ever had. Got rid of them and got Michelin Defenders. The Kinergy tires only lasted for 25k miles at which time my local mechanic recommended having them replaced.

[Xist]

I went with Walmart because they were $200 cheaper than the next option, which was made in China. Bank of America declined my card, so I needed to reset my password and see what was going on.
It insisted on sending a text, but it never sent one.
When it finally did it gave me an error.
I finally got in, ordered tires, and then two hours later they said they didn't have my tires and canceled.
I tried to go through Goodyear, but it wouldn't let me schedule an appointment, so I went back to Discount for my fourth choice.

Suddenly there is some Arizonian Silver Hair or something.

Discount offers $110 off brands they don't have in-stock (in my size).

The best I could get was a $28.92 Veteran's discount, so this cost me $587.64.

Ebates is supposed to give me an Ebate, but once I set up everything it asked "What Ebate?"