I like planning for the future (even if my plans only work out 25% of the time lol) so I priced out a set of 265/75/R16 Treadwrights and Mark's 2.5" lift and spacers. At current pricing it is just a hair over $900 for everything. Not bad!
Question is which tire should I go with... The Sentinels have a slightly deeper tread (2/32" more) than the Wardens which suggests maybe better tread life, but the tread pattern reminds me of the Kelly tires I had on my truck when I got it and they were a little mediocre. Granted, they were worn down pretty much so it really isn't too fair to judge them based on that. Anyway, the Wardens' pattern is similar to BFG AT's which is good, plus they do look cooler
Either of them have deeper tread than my current Firestone Destination A/Ts did when they were new (only 13/32"), so for either tire the tread depth is better regardless. Both have a higher load range than the Destinations as well (C or D vs B).
Has anyone here run both tires, or maybe one is running the Sentinels and someone else the Wardens and can comment on traction, tread life, MPG differences, and road noise? Traction is most important, tread life and mpg are about even importance, road noise is just for info and not a big factor. Maybe some info comparing other tires with similar tread patterns would be useful as well. Even though I'm looking to go up and get more aggressive looking, I'll admit it is more for show and appearances... The vast majority of my driving is on the road (and 33k miles in a year at that).
I won't be buying tires until this coming fall at the earliest, so I have plenty of time to gather info. By then I'll probably have around 50k miles on my Firestones (currently have 32k on them) unless I get a second (fun) car for the summer, in which case they may be OK for the next winter. We'll just have to see.
I've been over all very happy with my Firestones, so the bar is set pretty high.