285/60/18 vs 285/6518 KO2 (1 Viewer)

[thammer62]

Just drove 1200 miles down to LA, mostly doing highway at 70-75mph and averaged about 16-18mpg depending on incline / grade. Best tank was ~18mpg on flats in central California. 16.8mpg combined including some adventuring in the mountains around Ojai and LA traffic. Not bad for the 285/65/18 ko2s.

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Can’t wait until my son can get in and out without running boards so I can pop them back off. Truck looks great. How was the ride quality coming down?

 

[goodnightnyc]

Just drove 1200 miles down to LA, mostly doing highway at 70-75mph and averaged about 16-18mpg depending on incline / grade. Best tank was ~18mpg on flats in central California. 16.8mpg combined including some adventuring in the mountains around Ojai and LA traffic. Not bad for the 285/65/18 ko2s.

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Truck looks good! Is your suspension totally stock, or are you running the OEM front spacers?

 

[greynolds]

Have any of you guys made any suspension changes when switching to any of the non stock tire sizes discussed in this thread? I know some people have installed a front spacer on HE's to level the truck up. Specifically, @NLE - since KO2's are one of my top contenders, did you end up doing anything other than changing to the 285/65/18 KO2's?

 

[SemperCruiser]

Have any of you guys made any suspension changes when switching to any of the non stock tire sizes discussed in this thread? I know some people have installed a front spacer on HE's to level the truck up. Specifically, @NLE - since KO2's are one of my top contenders, did you end up doing anything other than changing to the 285/65/18 KO2's?

Also curious about this - whether 285/65/18 BFG's will rub without having wheel spacers and/or the OEM coil spacer on the truck? I have Nitto RG 285/65/18's and get a bit of rubbing on the front back mud flap in reverse. I think I read somewhere that they have more tread depth than the BFG which causes the rubbing....

 

[CharlieS]

The OEM strut spacer doesn’t impact rubbing in any way. It just pushes the top mount of the strut lower by ~1/2”.

 

[NLE]

@thammer62 I thought ride quality was still very good. I'm running them at 41psi cold and they usually warm up to about 44-45psi on the CA highways. It's firmer than the stock Dunlaps but that was to be expected. Still not bad as the KO2s are some of the best riding highway ATs. No noise difference either.

@goodnightnyc and @greynolds The truck's suspension is 100% stock aside from the KO2s. I will probably do front spacers at some point to level out the ride but the rake doesn't look as bad with the wheel wells filled up by larger tires. No rubbing at all, even at full lock and angles.

 

[Madtiger]

@thammer62 I thought ride quality was still very good. I'm running them at 41psi cold and they usually warm up to about 44-45psi on the CA highways. It's firmer than the stock Dunlaps but that was to be expected. Still not bad as the KO2s are some of the best riding highway ATs. No noise difference either.

@goodnightnyc and @greynolds The truck's suspension is 100% stock aside from the KO2s. I will probably do front spacers at some point to level out the ride but the rake doesn't look as bad with the wheel wells filled up by larger tires. No rubbing at all, even at full lock and angles.

Yeah, KO2s on the highway are pretty awesome for such an aggressive tread. After 27k miles, mine are still pretty good in the noise department.

 

[goodnightnyc]

@thammer62 I thought ride quality was still very good. I'm running them at 41psi cold and they usually warm up to about 44-45psi on the CA highways. It's firmer than the stock Dunlaps but that was to be expected. Still not bad as the KO2s are some of the best riding highway ATs. No noise difference either.

@goodnightnyc and @greynolds The truck's suspension is 100% stock aside from the KO2s. I will probably do front spacers at some point to level out the ride but the rake doesn't look as bad with the wheel wells filled up by larger tires. No rubbing at all, even at full lock and angles.

Thanks for the info. Good to know there’s no rubbing even without spacers.

Did you notice any difference in acceleration or braking distance with the KO2’s?

 

[stonepa]

@thammer62 I thought ride quality was still very good. I'm running them at 41psi cold and they usually warm up to about 44-45psi on the CA highways. It's firmer than the stock Dunlaps but that was to be expected. Still not bad as the KO2s are some of the best riding highway ATs. No noise difference either.

@goodnightnyc and @greynolds The truck's suspension is 100% stock aside from the KO2s. I will probably do front spacers at some point to level out the ride but the rake doesn't look as bad with the wheel wells filled up by larger tires. No rubbing at all, even at full lock and angles.

Interesting. When i went to install the 285 65 18s on my stock 200 they rubbed on suspension components at lock. Wasn’t worth a sidewall failure so I immediately went back to stock size.

 

[NLE]

Thanks for the info. Good to know there’s no rubbing even without spacers.

Did you notice any difference in acceleration or braking distance with the KO2’s?

It's noticeable braking just because of the extra weight and rotating circumference of the larger KO2s. Acceleration is slightly noticeable but you forget about it after the first one or two drives.

 

[NLE]

Interesting. When i went to install the 285 65 18s on my stock 200 they rubbed on suspension components at lock. Wasn’t worth a sidewall failure so I immediately went back to stock size.

I'll take a closer look at wheel tonight to triple check but I havent noticed any rubbing and it's been 1500 miles since putting on the KO2s.

 

[Madtiger]

I'll take a closer look at wheel tonight to triple check but I havent noticed any rubbing and it's been 1500 miles since putting on the KO2s.

Check KDSS bar for rubbing.

 

[TeCKis300]

It's noticeable braking just because of the extra weight and rotating circumference of the larger KO2s. Acceleration is slightly noticeable but you forget about it after the first one or two drives.

Weight is a smaller factor. The primary reason is due to the lost gearing and braking leverage.

 

[2001cruiser]

Check KDSS bar for rubbing.

Hey guys! I'm randomly looking through posts on the K02 285/65/18's. Any rubbing issues? Seems like *most* LCs have no problem, but some people have experiencing a small amount of rubbing. I wonder what the difference is - especially if it's the same time, same size...different results?

 

[bloc]

Hey guys! I'm randomly looking through posts on the K02 285/65/18's. Any rubbing issues? Seems like *most* LCs have no problem, but some people have experiencing a small amount of rubbing. I wonder what the difference is - especially if it's the same time, same size...different results?

Most likely different alignment specs.

To adjust caster the lower A-arm is effectively rotated CW or CCW, if you were looking at it from above. This can move the hub assembly closer to the front where the tire may contact KDSS arm, or toward the rear where it might hit the mud flap.

Yes, most vehicles should have similar alignment numbers, but some alignment machines have incorrect caster numbers saved as defaults. Also many but not all of us on "stock" suspension have 20mm of lift in front via the OE 10mm strut spacer, and this will impact camber and caster, causing an alignment shop to have to go in and mess with things.

I had zero rub on 285/65R18 KO2s with no adjusting anything and mudflaps still in place, with the 10mm strut spacer, but let me tell you, it was very, very close.

 

[TeCKis300]

Another variable is lift. More lift changes alignment to @blocs point, but it also tends to pull the tire inward towards the chassis because of the steeper LCA angle. This reduced track width puts the tire closer to the kdss bars.

 

[2001cruiser]

Good stuff, thank you! You guys know what you're talking about!

 

[SQRRRL]

Hey guys! I'm randomly looking through posts on the K02 285/65/18's. Any rubbing issues? Seems like *most* LCs have no problem, but some people have experiencing a small amount of rubbing. I wonder what the difference is - especially if it's the same time, same size...different results?

Larger tire looks better to some. Performance decrease over OEM size.

 

[highfructose]

Larger tire looks better to some. Performance decrease over OEM size.

I think it depends on what you consider performance. Lighter wheel, taller sidewall, wider stance will increase rollover stability and soften ride if you keep the overall weight the same.

Going to a tire with more sidewall will result in less lateral stability of the wheel package (tire flexion) but that’s a hard thing to measure when, arguably, a fair bit of the trend towards bigger wheels and lower profile tires is for marketing and aesthetic…and increased tire pressure can mitigate some (all?) of the flexion issues that arise with a tall sidewall.

 

[Madtiger]

Don’t forget that KO2 is stock size is Load Range D vs. E in the larger size. That helps in ride comfort. And Load Range D still has the strong 3-ply sidewall unlike some Load Range C.