KO2 vs Michelin LTX A/T2 (1 Viewer)

[TucoRomero]

I'm looking to replace the stock tire on my 2016 LC. They ride nice and are quiet but they are unsafe with any rain or snow unless going very slow.

Requirements
would like to keep stock wheels at this time
good highway ride (95% used on highway and around town)
low noise
off road ability, (nothing crazy, trails, fireroads etc.)
good in snow (DC / VA area light snow <6-8" , not looking for blizzack ability.)
would like to keep mpg close to stock

I've used Michelins in the past and am a fan. I'm looking at the LTX A/T2. They come in a few sizes, 285/65-18, 275/70-18, 275/65-18. They are E rated and I don't know how that would affect things.

I'm intrigued by KO2s also. I'm a little worried that they may be a little to aggressive with respect to noise and mpg. Like I said 95% of use is on road.

Does anyone have experience with both or have any insights?

 

[JeffH]

No experience with the K02's but had the LTX A/T2's on my 100 series and ended up cutting sidewalls on two tires. One on trail (nothing crazy just a little rocky) and one when I just ran over something on the street. I liked everything about the tires but they didn't seem stout enough to me for mild off-road. Probably would not get them again.

My $.02

 

[UltraFJ40]

In my opinion, Hankook Dynapro as well as the Michelins are garbage. From my experience, the KO2's are the best tire option for a heavy truck.

On another note, I was very pleased with the Bridgestone Dueler HT's.

 

[TeCKis300]

The Michelin would likely be the top choice if on-road quality and NVH are your utmost priorities. Obviously at the cost of perhaps durability, but they should be more durable than any Highway Treat (HT), P-rated tire. I would stay away from an E-rated tire though, as that will be detrimental to ride quality. Unless you're building heavy, or need the durability off-road. A good balance would be "XL" or extra load tire. Better than a P, but not a D or E-rated stiff sidewall tire either.

Some other choices in the more asphalt focused AT tires would be Nitte Terra Grappler, Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo 2, or Goodyear SilentArmor. Note that all AT tires will get louder as they wear.

 

[INTP]

I have a set of Michelin LTX MS/2 in 275-70R18 Load Range E on my 08 with about 45k miles on them. I have been happy with the tires and I would say they have a lot of life left. I do a 5 tire rotation every 10K miles.

I live Northern VA if you want to check them out in person or take the truck for a spin.

 

[UltraFJ40]

The Michelin would likely be the top choice if on-road quality and NVH are your utmost priorities. Obviously at the cost of perhaps durability, but they should be more durable than any Highway Treat (HT), P-rated tire. I would stay away from an E-rated tire though, as that will be detrimental to ride quality. Unless you're building heavy, or need the durability off-road. A good balance would be "XL" or extra load tire. Note a P, but not a D or E-rated stiff sidewall tire either.

Some other choices in the more asphalt focused AT tires would be Nitte Terra Grappler, Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo 2, or Goodyear SilentArmor. Note that all AT tires will get louder as they wear.

I have to say that my Nitto tires chunked pretty bad with less than 40K on them. So did my Nitto MTs. I pretty much gave up on them after the last two sets.

 

[TeCKis300]

I have to say that my Nitto tires chunked pretty bad with less than 40K on them. So did my Nitto MTs. I pretty much gave up on them after the last two sets.

I had a great experience with my NTG on my 100-series, but I'm not particularly a hard off-roader. Obviously you use them differently and harder than I do. All tires will do this depending on usage, so YMMV. From my research, if chunking is an issue for your specific terrain, I've heard great things about the Hankook Dynapro AT-M. Lots of trucks that are used around oil fields have had great success with that tire.

 

[M1911]

I replaced my all seasons with KO2s. They are definitely noisier and have cut about 1.5 mpg off my average.

 

[Sandroad]

The 275/65-18 is also available as a standard load (not E-rated) tire in the Michelin AT/2. I had a set of those on my 100 and really liked them. They performed well on the highway and in deep sand. They are fine on trails and fire roads and I never had any damage. In winter they are adequate, but not in the same league as winter tires like the Michelin LTX Winter. In the SL rating, they were quiet and comfortable and didn't affect mpg. I ran them for 6 years and couldn't wear them out. I finally replaced them due to age. I found Michelin tires have a relatively wide tread area. The 275/65-18 MS/2 tires I'm running now on my 200 actually have a wider tread area than the Dunlop 285/60-18 OEM tires I took off.

 

[Reckless]

I have LTX AS2s on my 100 and KO2s on my 200. I wish I had bought KO2 for my 100. The michelins are a good road tire but I feel the KO2s have better traction over wild terrain and snow pileups. The LTX is a little better in rain at very high speeds. The KO2s do eat more gas but its tradeoff for better traction.

 

[C6H12O6]

I had Michelin LTX M/S2 tires on my 100 when I bought it. They were a goofy OEM Tundra size - 255/70-18 - but they handled the snow and ice great. They sucked in the mud (predictably), but were an outstanding tire. The real issue I had with the was the weak sidewalls and the fact that they were dried out and cracked at four years and about 40K miles. Tread life could have lasted at least another year, but they looked terrible. Cracks all over the sidewall and impossible to get clean.

I replaced them with 275/70-18 KO2s and was nervous about the E-rating being too stiff. They are not. In almost all conditions, I would say they handle much better than the Michelins. The tougher sidewall is very compliant, soaks up bumps better, and they were great in the snow. Not as good on ice, but that's to be expected. My FIL had the Michelin LTX AT2 on his suburban and they were also good in the rain and snow, but I was not that impressed with them otherwise as a true AT tire. They're really a highway tire on steroids.

 

[jwestpro]

I have a few sets of tires/wheels and use them on different types of trips...

ltx ms2 - 275/65x18: highway trips to mild offroad locations and camping but they can work well somewhere like Moab too due to the type of soils etc not very many sharp edges

bfg ko and ko2- 275/65x18: wore out a couple sets when it the only tire on and basically never worried about tires again for 60,000 miles. That's the beauty of the bfg ko/2, put it on, don't think about tires again for long long time.

bfg km2: 285/70-18 Beast but I only use them for trips where actually needed. They also weigh quite a lot more than the other two sets.

Nokian lt2 studded E load narrow winter tire: 245/75-17 killer grip in the s***tiest snow, slush, ice, etc due to the studs, true winter design & narrower wheel and section which increases ground contact psi considerably. (my land rover weighs no less than 7400 lbs but sometimes 8000)

the difference of course is if you truly don't get into sharp edged stuff, the michelin will be fine and i did enjoy the cross country trips getting 5-10% better mpg and more stability at higher speeds but then again, even the bfg is tougher for use in a city where you might like the curb drop parallel parking method

 

[LWA55DAL]

I've had the AT2's in E rated tires on a couple 3/4 trucks and generally speaking they are a road tire more than anything. They are great for highway travel, but really don't perform well in off-road situation. I switched my trucks and '11 LC to KO2's about a year ago and love them. Yes - they have a little more road noise, but nothing bad compared to some of the mud terrain tires and even some of the AT options. I had some GoodYear Duratrac's on an F250 for a while and they were really loud. Happy I made the switch to the KO2's as I think they are the best option for a good AT tire that will perform well on the highway.

 

[AL LC2013]

I have the Michelin at/2 in 275 65 18 P metric. I wouldn't buy again. I would either get a highway tire all season like the Michelin Defender LTX in 275 65 18 P metric or a more dedicated all terrain like the K02 in 285 60 18 D rated.

 

[Dan Higgins]

I have a few sets of tires/wheels and use them on different types of trips...

ltx ms2 - 275/65x18: highway trips to mild offroad locations and camping but they can work well somewhere like Moab too due to the type of soils etc not very many sharp edges

bfg ko and ko2- 275/65x18: wore out a couple sets when it the only tire on and basically never worried about tires again for 60,000 miles. That's the beauty of the bfg ko/2, put it on, don't think about tires again for long long time.

bfg km2: 285/70-18 Beast but I only use them for trips where actually needed. They also weigh quite a lot more than the other two sets.

Nokian lt2 studded E load narrow winter tire: 245/75-17 killer grip in the s***tiest snow, slush, ice, etc due to the studs, true winter design & narrower wheel and section which increases ground contact psi considerably. (my land rover weighs no less than 7400 lbs but sometimes 8000)

the difference of course is if you truly don't get into sharp edged stuff, the michelin will be fine and i did enjoy the cross country trips getting 5-10% better mpg and more stability at higher speeds but then again, even the bfg is tougher for use in a city where you might like the curb drop parallel parking method

@jwestpro, LOL, it just struck me that you are also on the LR4 forum but without the “pro” suffix, right? Same person?

 

[Andreas P]

I had the Michelin Defenders on my 2016 LX in 275/60/20 for a year and they had been great until two days ago when i hit the side curb going 30-40mph damaging two of them cutting the sidewall. I have decided to go with the KO2s D rated in the same size, haven’t done it yet. I want to make it a proper go anywhere SUV the same way as I put the best performance tire on my sports cars. It will still be used as my dd.
Is there a better A/T tire in the same size?

 

[mervo]

Another KO2 vote here.

 

[studawg]

Ive got the Michelin AT2s on Rock Warriors and love them. Excellent on the highway of course, very soft and quiet. Ive only taken this thing off pavement a few times but they did great on a muddy, rooty trail climbing hills. Also did well in some light snow/ice. Have done fine in light mud. If I was going to wheel it regularly, I would run KO2s probably, but this LC is still serving as kid hauler and trip vehicle.

 

[SWUtah]

I had the Michelin Defenders on my 2016 LX in 275/60/20 for a year and they had been great until two days ago when i hit the side curb going 30-40mph damaging two of them cutting the sidewall. I have decided to go with the KO2s D rated in the same size, haven’t done it yet. I want to make it a proper go anywhere SUV the same way as I put the best performance tire on my sports cars. It will still be used as my dd.
Is there a better A/T tire in the same size?

Look at the KO2's in 285/55/20, you get an extra inch of tread. 10.1 compared to 9"

 

[jwestpro]

Look at the KO2's in 285/55/20, you get an extra inch of tread. 10.1 compared to 9"

BFG KO2 is the best choice here....but on even a stock vehicle, I wouldn't want the weaker D load versions.

LOL - for what 'useful' purpose would you suggest wider? They would of course look cool but 285/55x20 isn't really very tall. The taller the tire, the better the air-down contact area. Width isn't as helpful in most situations and it usually makes things worse when compared to taller but narrower - within reason of course. This is because when aired down, a taller tire creates a longer contact area than the wider but slightly shorter tire which spreads out wide instead of long - the direction of travel is usually where you want the increase in bite, not the width.

I like his size idea for better ground clearance. If it were my choice, I'd want the 33.5" 285/60-20 which is also E load range. No way I'd use a D tire offroad especially with the shorter sidewalls. This 33.5" gains a little more sidewall too which will make it just fine on the highway even at top speeds due to it's sidewall strength but also work well under-inflated somewhat off road.

Most people upsizing also want to reduce the rubbing which a wider tire will only make worse.