New Tires - Nokian Outpost APT

[Triangle6887]

Just replaced the factory Continental ProContact tires with a set of Nokian Outpost APT tires. I also upped the size to from 225/65R17 to 245/65R17, including the spare tire which fit without issue. That gives about a half inch of surface width and half inch of height over the stock Continentals. I was suggested these by another user after I posted about desiring a tire that would be capable off-road but not tank my MPG when being daily driven. It seems the Outpost APT is made for people just like me -someone who spends most of their time on paved roads but occasionally ventures up a logging road to go shooting or in some dirt roads in the mountains on the way to a camping spot. Also, being that I'm in eastern Oregon we tend to get more snow than the western half of the state so I wanted something that would do good in snow. They are three-peak rated so in theory they should perform well.

I put about 50 miles on them while driving home from Discount Tire. The first thing I noticed is that they are a much smoother ride than the factory tries. I no longer felt every little bump vertebrate its way up through the steering wheel. My MPG remained about the same - averaging 28mpg on the trip home. Although I did not adjust the speedometer for the tire size so the computer could be off. I will manually calculate it next time I gas up and see if the MPG matches. The road noise felt about the same. Overall I'm very happy with the purchase and I think the wheels look great on the Mav. I have to drive to the other side of the state later this month for work so maybe I'll come back with a 1,000 mile review, and then later reviews when I start hitting 5, 10, 20+ thousand miles to let others know how they hold up.

UPDATE #1 (5/9/26): I've put about 2,000 miles on these tires so far. The biggest thing I've noticed is a drop in average MPG. My average MPG has been declining ever since I got these tires, while my driving routines are staying the same. I'm averaging around ~22 mpg city and ~31 mpg highway, roughly ~26 mpg average. With the factory tires I was sitting at around ~27.5 mpg average. So a slight drop overall. I have a roughly 1000 mile trip planned at the end of May so we'll see how they perform MPG-wise during that trip. Besides that they've performed great in the little bit of rain we had back in March and have done well driving on gravel roads in the hills.

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[DaddyDan]

I don't know if the place you bought them from included tire rotations but especially on AWD vehicles I always rotate every 5000 miles for best tire life.

 

[Triangle6887]

I don't know if the place you bought them from included tire rotations but especially on AWD vehicles I always rotate every 5000 miles for best tire life.

I rotate my tires on each oil change. I've done that with all the cars I've ever owned, FWD, RWD, AWD, etc.

 

[ltelmo]

Keep us updated, This looks like my next tire also!

 

[Sovande]

Just replaced the factory Continental ProContact tires with a set of Nokian Outpost APT tires. I also upped the size to from 225/65R17 to 245/65R17, including the spare tire which fit without issue. That gives about a half inch of surface width and half inch of height over the stock Continentals. I was suggested these by another user after I posted about desiring a tire that would be capable off-road but not tank my MPG when being daily driven. It seems the Outpost APT is made for people just like me -someone who spends most of their time on paved roads but occasionally ventures up a logging road to go shooting or in some dirt roads in the mountains on the way to a camping spot. Also, being that I'm in eastern Oregon we tend to get more snow than the western half of the state so I wanted something that would do good in snow. They are three-peak rated so in theory they should perform well.

I put about 50 miles on them while driving home from Discount Tire. The first thing I noticed is that they are a much smoother ride than the factory tries. I no longer felt every little bump vertebrate its way up through the steering wheel. My MPG remained about the same - averaging 28mpg on the trip home. Although I did not adjust the speedometer for the tire size so the computer could be off. I will manually calculate it next time I gas up and see if the MPG matches. The road noise felt about the same. Overall I'm very happy with the purchase and I think the wheels look great on the Mav. I have to drive to the other side of the state later this month for work so maybe I'll come back with a 1,000 mile review, and then later reviews when I start hitting 5, 10, 20+ thousand miles to let others know how they hold up.

Those look good! I went with Nokian Ones since the only off road I see is gravel parking lots. Great tires - have had them on a couple cars in the past.

 

[Darnon]

Personally I'd prefer more aggressive sipes and/or treadblock-ing for ice/snow-biting. They tamed that aspect down from the Rotiiva AT (and even that was a bit half-hearted) it replaced in their model lineup. So I'd be more inclined towards the Vredestein Pinza or Yokohama Geolandar. The Pinzas are getting good remarks as a comparable replacement for the Rotiivas on our fleet plow truck.

 

[DaddyDan]

I rotate my tires on each oil change. I've done that with all the cars I've ever owned, FWD, RWD, AWD, etc.

The place I buy my tires from gives complimentary tire rotations every 5000 miles and will even put a sticker on your windshield next to the oil change one. Show up early on a Saturday every 5000 miles and you're in and out in about a half an hour.

 

[Cancunbadlands]

245 65r17 is the best size you can go with it

 

[Hot Runr Guy]

245 65r17 is the best size you can go with it

One of the best things about 235's or 245's is the added width on a 7" wheel minimizes the chance for curb rash,,,,,,,,

HRG

 

[Triangle6887]

Personally I'd prefer more aggressive sipes and/or treadblock-ing for ice/snow-biting. They tamed that aspect down from the Rotiiva AT (and even that was a bit half-hearted) it replaced in their model lineup. So I'd be more inclined towards the Vredestein Pinza or Yokohama Geolandar. The Pinzas are getting good remarks as a comparable replacement for the Rotiivas on our fleet plow truck.

I looked closely at the Vredestein Pinza AT but I couldn't really find any real world reviews with good things to say. All the videos on YouTube, save for a very select few, seem to be paid reviews (who of course are going to say great things). The only review I could find from a real user didn't have great things to say about them.



If you go forward with them and have a good experience, let me know because I might go with those when these Nokians need to be replaced in a few years.

 

[Cherokee]

My Faulkin Rubitreks appear to share similarly aggressive treads with these Nokian’s
They did not howl one bit when new. I put them on my 2004 Escape and after a few hundred miles I figured I had found my next Maverick tire.

I’m now at 3,000 miles and they howl like a wolf. So loud we have to speak up a bit in the cab and it sucks. It starts getting loud about fifty mph and is dam loud at 60.
Correct TP, rotated early, all tread hand checked for smoothness. No issues.
Still, they ROAR.
Great fire road traction, I’m keeping them. The escape is my beater.

Every time I get it up to speed I feel the desire to get some chewing tobacco.

I can imagine a good ol boy hearing me coming out the holler expecting to see his dream Cowboy Caddilac, a Chevy 1500 on six inch lifts with chevron tires and dual exhaust stacks behind the cab.
Then seeing my little SUV. And laughing his ass off… :’P

My Mavericks stock Primacy’s keep on doing just fine at 13,500 miles, Still quiet, still good traction.
They are very pressure sensitive. Traction falls off if I run less than 35 psi cold.

 

[Darnon]

If you go forward with them and have a good experience, let me know because I might go with those when these Nokians need to be replaced in a few years.

For my own truck I'm going with some lighter, all-weather tires as my next set. Which I already have because while, at 36k miles the Nokians are still at like 50% tread, they're showing minor dry rot cracking on the sidewalls (they were discounted NOS units so ~6 years old now) which also befell the Nokians on the aforementioned company plow.

Although that review claims the tread design on the 10-ply versus the SL/XL is "totally different" which isn't the case. It's deeper, which isn't uncommon for LTs, but the pattern is the same. Another factor for his bad treadwear experience could be the Jeep Wagoneer he's driving is heavy. Like a whole ton more than a Maverick.

I know there's a few other folks on here that've been running the Vredesteins for a few years now that maybe can chime in on their experience.

 

[Triangle6887]

Just an update on MPG effects by tire size. I did a roughly 400 mile trip and averaged about 32.5 mpg highway (averaged about 34 mpg with the stock tires) and about 26 mpg city.

 

[Rick65]

I have the Nokian Rotiiva tires in 245/65r17 and they are great tires. They were discontinued so I will likely get the Outpost APTs next when these are worn out. What's good about these tires is they are relatively light and are low rolling resistance, so don't kill your MPG.

 

[Triangle6887]

UPDATE: I've put about 2,000 miles on these tires so far. The biggest thing I've noticed is a drop in average MPG. My average MPG has been declining ever since I got these tires, while my driving routines are staying the same. I'm averaging around ~22 mpg city and ~31 mpg highway, roughly ~26 mpg average. With the factory tires I was sitting at around ~27.5 mpg average. So a slight drop overall. I have a roughly 1000 mile trip planned at the end of May so we'll see how they perform MPG-wise during that trip. Besides that they've performed great in the little bit of rain we had back in March and have done well driving on gravel roads in the hills.

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