2020 Tire Thread (1 Viewer)

[baldilocks]

I put a set of these on my Dodge 4x4 pick up and have driven them daily for the past year. I came from two sets of duratrac’s in a row and wouldn’t consider the KO’s because I wore a set of them out in 35k miles once upon a time on this same 3/4 ton pick up plus they ar just a super old and tired looking design. The Duratracs lasted 53k and a dude I talked to had 62k on a set of these Nitto Exo Grapplers under his f250. These particular Nitto’s are a hybrid tire and made to compete with the Duratracs. They are quieter on pavement and feel like a more substantial tire over rough road surfaces. I live in WA so I can vouch for the Exo grappler on wet roads. Two thumbs up...

Exo Grappler | Light Truck Commercial Grade All Weather Truck Tire | Nitto Tire

Tackle your trucks next off road adventure with sure-footed all-weather traction. Includes wide stud-drilled lugs and anti-chip polymer compound.

www.nittotire.com

 

[SpenserAK]

Getting snow at sea level so went for a Sunday drive to give the Toyos a mild test. Not stacking up yet at all, but wettish, packed on-road, so similar to average daily winter driving. Drove around on the beach (rocky) and climbed a couple rocky/grassy pitches with slush on top. Braked hard & took off hard on a bridge where it was more packed & freezing. They feel solid and sure footed. Given the size & clearance they should do well as it stacks up, and I think slush piled along the sides & median will be fine.

Now that I’ve had them for a bit, I do notice they make a light noise for me (more so when it’s wet) over 60-65, but we have no freeways in SE AK and top speed limit around is 55. They are quieter than the Duratracs, though.. haha. Enough that my need for a DC front shaft became more apparent.

And one from yesterday.

 

[Pippylongsausage]

My friend has the Yokohama G003s and they are the quietest mud tire I’ve ever heard. I have toyo open country mt and they are loud (they’re somewhat worn though). Heard good things about the g003 performance as well. I’ll probably be getting those or the maxxis rzr in the near future.

 

[OffRoadScott]

I am also running the KO2 in a 315/75/16 on my LC and have really enjoyed the tire for daily driving. As it is no longer my DD I will be either going to with KM3 or MTR in a 37 next.

 

[Tachycardic]

How rough are your forest roads? If they aren't too gnarly, I've had good experiences with Michelin LTX AT2's, although they are admittedly less aggressive than the other tires discussed.

 

[DiscoCam]

I know it's probably not the popular opinion here, but for your use case a set of Michelin Defenders sound perfect. Mostly light off-roading, mainly on road driving. Not bad in snow either and great in the rain. I used to use KO2s only for my vehicles, but then I got a set of Michelin Defenders on my 4Runner, so I did the same for my 80. Mine are LT265/75/R16, they have been able to do everything I have wanted them to.

Are they going to be great in the mud? No, but I usually avoid the stuff anyway. As good as a KO2 off-road? No, but it's definitely close.
But they are so damn quiet on the road. That's the main selling point for me. And they have E-rated versions too which is nice.

 

[fjbj40]

I just ordered a set of Falken wildpeak AT3W
For my 2010 4Runner in LT255/80/17 flavour.
From my research it appears to be a quality tire. It’s for winter/trail use mostly, time to put the 4Runner through its paces!
If I like them then the cruiser is going to get a set in LT255/85/16 also!

 

[COYS]

I've run 33" KO2s, 35" KO2s, 35" Nitto Ridge Grapplers and now 37" Cooper XLT AT3s on my Prius 80.

Out of these...

Best looking, Nittos no question. Most aggressive design since it's a hybrid tire. Most durable due to its 3-ply sidewall construction, but there is a weight penalty. For example, the 35s are ~7-8lbs heavier per tire than the 37" Cooper or BFGs.

Objectively and subjectively, I call the delta between KO2 and XLT AT3s a wash. I will say though that the 37x12.5x17 Coopers ride smoother and quieter (a smidge) than the BFGs 35x12.5x16s so would pick it over the BFGs every time. Both have similarly aggressive sidewalls. I went with the Coopers as I like to buy the newest release on the market as I believe tire tech only gets better over time (2016 v. 2018).

It's tough to go wrong with a name brand, top-tier tire these days. You really can't go wrong. IIRC, the newest from Toyo is their AT3 series (2020 release). I ran their AT2 Xtremes back in the day and they felt similar to the KO2s.

 

[highsierra4x4]

any one tried the Toyo open country R/T?

 

[Natty]

Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac

 

[LC4LIFE]

I have been running the Geolander M/T for about 7500 miles of very mixed use. I towed my 4K pound boat 2000 miles on the highway, I have spent time in the mud, rocks, thousands of miles on dirt roads, and in the last couple days hardpack snow and ice. While I would say they are quieter than the Toyo MT (I had a set of those to for 55K miles) they are nowhere near the quietness of the BFG KO2. I replaced a set of the KO2's with these Yokohamas. Generally speaking, I really like these tires, although some of the smoothness/quietness of my truck has gone away with these tires. I don't DD is so it's not a big deal. I would also say they performed as expected on the ice and snow. Not great, but not bad. IMO, they were just about as good as the KO2 on the ice, slightly worse on the hardpack, but better when it became sloshy or the snow became deep and wet. If I was a DD'r then I would probably go to an AT of some sort, but before I went back into the KO2 camp I would have to do a bunch of research as they were pretty underwhelming for me.

 

[MDarius]

I've got Toyo AT's on my 97 with lockers and Cooper Discoverer AT3's on my 92 with open diffs. My 92 will go places my 97 won't with only the center diff locked. Tires? 3fe vs. 1fzfe? Not sure, but I do like the Coopers better for grip and offroad use. I'll tell you, when the Coopers are down to basically flat, you can barely tell. I looked at it one day, and thought, "Looks a little low." It registered at 2 PSI on my gauge. That's a stiff sidewall.

My son runs the KO2's and they are good, but his setup is completely different and I can't really compare. No personal experience with the others.

 

[BigredTEX]

Big fan of Coopers and the ST/Maxx specifically. Really strong carcass and a slightly more aggressive all terrain tread. Between my son and I we've gone through 5 sets. They stay round and quiet and balanced in the long run for the type of tire they are. I've never worn a set out. All of the changes were upgrades in size or sold the vehicle. Running 315's on the 80 that only have about 2k miles and looking forward to a long relationship.

I have had KO2's and was not impressed. Long before they wore out they got loud and wouldn't stay balanced or round. I have not tried the other brands/models mentioned by others in this thread, but haven't had a need to once I found the coopers.

 

[SpenserAK]

I've run 33" KO2s, 35" KO2s, 35" Nitto Ridge Grapplers and now 37" Cooper XLT AT3s on my Prius 80.

Out of these...

Best looking, Nittos no question. Most aggressive design since it's a hybrid tire. Most durable due to its 3-ply sidewall construction, but there is a weight penalty. For example, the 35s are ~7-8lbs heavier per tire than the 37" Cooper or BFGs.

Objectively and subjectively, I call the delta between KO2 and XLT AT3s a wash. I will say though that the 37x12.5x17 Coopers ride smoother and quieter (a smidge) than the BFGs 35x12.5x16s so would pick it over the BFGs every time. Both have similarly aggressive sidewalls. I went with the Coopers as I like to buy the newest release on the market as I believe tire tech only gets better over time (2016 v. 2018).

It's tough to go wrong with a name brand, top-tier tire these days. You really can't go wrong. IIRC, the newest from Toyo is their AT3 series (2020 release). I ran their AT2 Xtremes back in the day and they felt similar to the KO2s.

View attachment 2477308

Really good looking tire IMO, and a good price for 315s with their rebate

 

[GeoRoss]

My friend has the Yokohama G003s and they are the quietest mud tire I’ve ever heard. I have toyo open country mt and they are loud (they’re somewhat worn though). Heard good things about the g003 performance as well. I’ll probably be getting those or the maxxis rzr in the near future.

I have been really happy with these tires. Pretty darn quiet on the road and work well off-road.

 

[Box Rocket]

I've been running a set of Toyo MTs for the past year and a half and they've been excellent! In fact I just ordered another set of them for 2021. I generally like experimenting with tires and this will be the first time that I can remember that I haven't switched to a different tire when buying new ones. Of all the different ones I've run here's my top 5 in both MT and AT style tires.

Mud Terrains
1: Toyo Open Country MT
2: Goodyear MTR Kevlar
3: Mickey Thompson Baja Claw TTC
4: Nitto Terra Grappler MT
5: BFG KM3

All Terrains
1: Falken Wildpeak AT3W
2: General Grabber AT2
3: Toyo Open Country RT
4: BFG KO2
5: Nitto Ridge Grappler

 

[SoTexCruiserDoc]

I've been running a set of Toyo MTs for the past year and a half and they've been excellent! In fact I just ordered another set of them for 2021. I generally like experimenting with tires and this will be the first time that I can remember that I haven't switched to a different tire when buying new ones. Of all the different ones I've run here's my top 5 in both MT and AT style tires.

Mud Terrains
1: Toyo Open Country MT
2: Goodyear MTR Kevlar
3: Mickey Thompson Baja Claw TTC
4: Nitto Terra Grappler MT
5: BFG KM3

All Terrains
1: Falken Wildpeak AT3W
2: General Grabber AT2
3: Toyo Open Country RT
4: BFG KO2
5: Nitto Ridge Grappler

DD an 80? Off road a lot? How have you decided between AT and MT? I loved the Falken’s on a truck. About to pull the trigger on Toyo MT’s for my 80, but can’t get the Falkens out of my mind. LC not a DD. Thanks for the info. I live in PC/Heber part time.

 

[Squeegee]

My friend has the Yokohama G003s and they are the quietest mud tire I’ve ever heard. I have toyo open country mt and they are loud (they’re somewhat worn though). Heard good things about the g003 performance as well. I’ll probably be getting those or the maxxis rzr in the near future.

I definitely recommend the maxxis rzrs. I’ve put them through everything but sand and have been pleasantly supprised by how well mannered they are. They get a little louder as they wear but it’s not bad for an mt. I just picked up another 80 and was going to try the Yokohama g003s because tirebuyer has a $70 rebate on them

 

[flintknapper]

Big fan of Coopers and the ST/Maxx specifically. Really strong carcass and a slightly more aggressive all terrain tread. Between my son and I we've gone through 5 sets. They stay round and quiet and balanced in the long run for the type of tire they are. I've never worn a set out. All of the changes were upgrades in size or sold the vehicle. Running 315's on the 80 that only have about 2k miles and looking forward to a long relationship.

I have had KO2's and was not impressed. Long before they wore out they got loud and wouldn't stay balanced or round. I have not tried the other brands/models mentioned by others in this thread, but haven't had a need to once I found the coopers.

Another vote for the STT/Maxx. Been very happy with mine. Definitely going to stay with this tire. Probably put a set on my Wife's LX470 when its time for tires.

 

[Peluo]

One thing that is not discussed here is sidewall strength. I did 40000 kilometers around South America with a set of Toyo MT, not one puncture. This tire will take any punishment you can dish out. Great traction on any type of terrain from snow to sand and any pavement conditions.
Downsides:
-it’s a heavy tire.
-it gets louder as they wore down but no too bad.
-Not the best for fuel economy.
My next tire would be an aggressive AT or Hybrid, like the to try the Nitto Hybrid. What is the strongest sidewall AT and strongest Hybrid tire? With snow peak rated?