Unfortunately there's no such thing as a LRR A/T tire, at least not that I can find. Based on specs alone, the stock Continental Crosscontact tires seem to be excellent. You could go with some Michelin summer tires for more grip, but the treadwear is pretty terrible on those.
I get your point too. Why use something that isn't approved when plenty of approved alternatives are out there? I'm just glad to see so much activity on a thread about regular maintenance.
Could argue that any modern car with a high performance V8 is just a tarted up poser mobile. You wouldn't believe the number of Corvettes holding up traffic in the left lane around here.
^This.
It's really about the thickness of the sidewall. Thinner for handling and thicker for ride quality. I personally prefer the smaller wheels to reduce weight and rotational inertia for better acceleration and braking.
EPA started cracking down on emissions requirements 20 years ago, but there was an exemption for trucks. The caveat is that this exemption was based on the total footprint of the vehicle. So the decision came down to making small trucks more efficient or making them bigger. We all know how...
The bigger lesson here is that you should probably opt out of any dealer-installed option. You would pay less and likely end up doing a better installation job yourself.