All Season vs. All Terrain Tires

[Texas Dan]

I plan to drive almost entirely on paved roads and don't expect much snow where I live in Texas.

It will be forever etched in my mind when I got stuck on US-287 for 12 hours because of a snow storm just northwest of Wichita Falls. 12” of snow fell in an hour stopping almost every vehicle in its tracks. I also vividly remember a 4x4 F150 driving past everyone.

The F150L is a very expensive highway cruiser EV and it’s not very efficient. I’m buying my F150L so that I can go almost anywhere I want to go on or off road, good weather or bad. If all I wanted was a highway cruiser EV then I would have kept my 2019 Kia Niro EV and saved myself about $70k.

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[Jim Lewis]

then I would have kept my 2019 Kia Niro EV and saved myself about $70k.

I don't think I can haul the stuff I have in a 2019 Kia Niro EV! And a lot of places in Texas will be Kia Niro Huh?! I'll never forget driving west to grad school in the '60's in a Chevy Corvair. I pulled into a gas station somewhere in Montana and some fella said, "I always wanted to see one of those VW Beetles!"

 

[Texas Dan]

I don't think I can haul the stuff I have in a 2019 Kia Niro EV! And a lot of places in Texas will be Kia Niro Huh?!

The Kia Niro EV is surprisingly roomy inside and has a payload capacity of 1060 lbs, only 240 lbs less than the Chevrolet Avalanche AND the upcoming Silverado EV. The longest EV trip I ever made in a single day in the Niro EV was 830 miles that included the leg between El Paso and Fort Worth.

There only a few areas in Texas I didn’t go in with my Niro EV plus my Niro EV drove through Louisiana. Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas, New Mexico, Colorado and Arizona. In three and a half years that I had the car I put 45k miles on it. There are reasons I got rid of the car but not being able to get around Texas was not one of them.

 

[Jim Lewis]

There are reasons I got rid of the car but not being able to get around Texas was not one of them.

I'm suggesting that if I break down in the middle of nowhere somewhere in the West, I'm more likely to find a Ford dealer within hailing distance than a Kia dealer. I've scrimped all my life, now I'm 77, and I can't take my savings, etc., with me. I've always wanted to own a truck but was always deterred by gas guzzlers. So, now I'm just getting the Lightning as a fun toy in my latter years. Other folks may have different ways they like to spend their money; please do and stop trying to convince me that I should behave like you, since I've lived a whole different life and am ending it with a different set of values, undoubtedly. My neighbors have about $200K in ICE gas guzzlers and buy new ones frequently. They take very expensive vacations to the far reaches of the world. So in that context, spending $110K on an EV doesn't seem a mortal sin; it's just a few years of my neighbors' vacations, and it's just my sort of indulgence that I can easily afford.

 

[BennyEV]

The OEM "All Terrain" tires are plenty quiet and I get 2.4 miles/kwh over the past 18K miles, so no range hit. They aren't agressive looking at all, but they do fine on dirt/gravel roads and are good in a few inches of unplowed snow. Not as good in the snow as the K02's on my old GMC pickup, but way, way quieter.

Could you suggest any of the OEM tires you talking about. I am looking to upgrade from 275. 60R20 to 285.60r20 all season but I am a bit confused on what to choose

 

[duncanmaio]

Could you suggest any of the OEM tires you talking about. I am looking to upgrade from 275. 60R20 to 285.60r20 all season but I am a bit confused on what to choose

I am currently on LT- rated Falken Wildpeak AT3 tires on the stock rims. Energy use increased from 2.4 to 2.2 miles/kw. A bit more noise than stock, but they have been great for the last 15k miles, including a winter and mud season in Vermont.

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