Tires Falken or OEM FORD

I recently switched from LT Toyo at3s to "SL" Falken at4ws. IMO the xterra is not heavy enough for the LT tires, it rides and drives so much better with the lighter sidewalls of the falkens, as well as feeling more responsive from less rotating mass.

I have the LT version in that exact size. They are surprisingly great on bitumen with hardly any road noise which is great for your use case. Currently at 35k and no noticeable wear at all with mostly bitumen use. They seem like new.

I was in the same boat as the OP, and went with RT660s.

660 is good bang for the buck. Not as fast as the top tier tires but two or three times the lifespan.

I went with fallen 615+ not the fastest but should last a good number of runs

I'm in a similar boat as you I did the 615k's last season. Personally I am overly pleased with these tires they have been everything I've wanted them to be. And I'll probably get another set of them this year.

The 615k+ is a great budget tire. I did my first season on them and got second place in my regions rookie class. Then, I kept them and still use them for less competitive/ higher run count events. I've done 3 schools on them too. I love these tires. They're fun to drive on, take heat well, and just last. They do amazingly well in the rain also.

They are Falken Ziex ZE950 A/S

The AT4’s are only slightly louder than the defenders (almost not noticeable) and mpg is probably 1/2 to 1 mpg less. One thing that surprised me though, even though they are 3 peak snow rated they feel less sure footed on light snow than the Defenders.

Stock falken wildpeaks blew out on me going 75mph on a freeway. Only had 15k miles on them scary situation.