I've not been disappointed with the change in ride from Michelin LT M/S to BFG KO2s. I daily the truck to work once a week and use it on weekends, almost all on road except for adventures and vacations.
all-terrain or mud-terrain that dont ruin the ride
- Thread starter eric griffin
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A few things to keep in mind when looking for a good ride while upsiszing diameter and increasing tread aggressiveness:
Heavier tires = more unsprung weight = degradation in ride quality. The more unsprung weight you have, the more inertia that weight has against the suspension when cycling, which reduces the effectiveness of the suspension as well as it's reaction time and ability to keep tires planted. The braking system is also affected in the same way.
Wider tires = more rolling resistance and less contact pressure = degradation in acceleration and accelerated wear of steering components.
The center tread block pattern of most AT and MT tires will determine it's street manners. The closer they are, the better the street performance.
All that being said, if you want the most off-road performance with the least amount of negative impact on the street ride, a tall, narrow tire on your stock rim with a tight center tread pattern and wider shoulder lugs would be a good compromise.
Heavier tires = more unsprung weight = degradation in ride quality. The more unsprung weight you have, the more inertia that weight has against the suspension when cycling, which reduces the effectiveness of the suspension as well as it's reaction time and ability to keep tires planted. The braking system is also affected in the same way.
Wider tires = more rolling resistance and less contact pressure = degradation in acceleration and accelerated wear of steering components.
The center tread block pattern of most AT and MT tires will determine it's street manners. The closer they are, the better the street performance.
All that being said, if you want the most off-road performance with the least amount of negative impact on the street ride, a tall, narrow tire on your stock rim with a tight center tread pattern and wider shoulder lugs would be a good compromise.
Lots of hybrid tires out there (aggressive all terrain)
-Duratrac
-ATZ P3
-Toyo Open Country AT2
-KO2
-Cooper ST Maxx
-General Grabber At2
-Cooper dicoverer at/3
-Hankook Dynapro AT-M RF10
-Fierce attitude MT (Yes, it says MT but is not)
-General Grabber X3...????
I run 295/75r16 KO2 on a "stock" LX (AHC sensor adjusted lift) with no issues. The ride is superb with great traction in snow and every other terrain except for heavy mud as expected.
-Duratrac
-ATZ P3
-Toyo Open Country AT2
-KO2
-Cooper ST Maxx
-General Grabber At2
-Cooper dicoverer at/3
-Hankook Dynapro AT-M RF10
-Fierce attitude MT (Yes, it says MT but is not)
-General Grabber X3...????
I run 295/75r16 KO2 on a "stock" LX (AHC sensor adjusted lift) with no issues. The ride is superb with great traction in snow and every other terrain except for heavy mud as expected.
@eric griffin This right here from @cruzerDave . We've recently moved but I spent the previous 4 years living in and criss-crossing Colorado and Wyoming. Often times we would spend 5-6hrs on pavement to get to the trails we wanted to explore. I ran the AT3's on my 4Runner and they never left me stranded through rivers, snow, mud, rocks and sand. Thats why I didn't hesitate to put them on our new to us 100. I don't wheel it hard avoiding the big rock gardens some people love to play in but I have a wife and two young kids with me all the time and I can't afford to get stranded in the middle of nowhere. Take my $.02 for what its worth and hope it helps.
Another vote for the Discoverer AT3's - I read a ton of reviews (including outside mud!) before buying mine and have been extremely pleased with relatively low road noise, but great (seriously, great) traction through this last winter, our worst of 25 years here in Central Oregon. I chose road manners over looks as I expect to take some long trips on them, such as HIH this year
I didn't post that but I just put 295/75/16 KO2's on mine (with new wheels that have +10 offset) and the fit-ish. Drives fine but rubs on the pinch weld up front when turning. Going to work on that this weekend and see if i can fix it but drives fine with AHC on high so i ordered the slee AHC override since it looks better that way anyway and gives more clearance.
EDIT: That pic is with AHC on H, here is one with AHC at N
Don't forget too that MUD has an entire sub-forum on tires/wheels with 66 pages of posts. Even if you're looking for 100 specific info, there's lots of useful tire opinions in there.
Tire and Wheel Tech
I feel like a broken record, but another vote for KO2s. Highway tire feel with great off road traction.
- Thread starter
- #29
That's rad ! Thanks ! Closest thing I've seen to the discontinued BFG Trac-Edge actually... hopefully even an improved design beyond it.
If ride quality is a concern, do not buy 'E' rated tires.
I'll disagree with that last statement. My AT3's are E rated and the ride quality does not inherently suffer due to that.
In my experience E rated tires improve the ride quality if matched with the proper load and inflation pressure.
Conversely if you overload passenger or C rated tires the ride quality will suffer.
IMO You should evaluate your vehicle, load and intended use. Apply those answers to your search and you'll find the tires that work best for you.
In my experience E rated tires improve the ride quality if matched with the proper load and inflation pressure.
Conversely if you overload passenger or C rated tires the ride quality will suffer.
IMO You should evaluate your vehicle, load and intended use. Apply those answers to your search and you'll find the tires that work best for you.
I made the exact same change and my driving use is pretty much the same as well. Quite happy with the KO2's so far! (and they're E rated)
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- Thread starter
- #34
No complaints with my Mastercrafts Courser MXT. Logged in about 5k miles. Love the looks, the road noise is minimal but it's there, I personally like the sound. MPGs did suffer though but that is expected.
What in the hail are those things
I fought massercraff wassa kinda boat.
LX460 by V. Josh F, on Flickr
LX460-3 by V. Josh F, on Flickr
- Thread starter
- #35
cool pic
To restate the obvious - the carcass of an E rated tire is stiffer than a C. This is what allows it to carry heavier loads.
If you run on Es with a light load and low inflation pressure the tire may not have a uniform contact patch causing wear and they may overheat.
As you said - match the tire to the load, then determine the optimum inflation pressure.
I've never had E tires on my Cruisers. I did recently put E rated Firestone Destination ATs on a K1500 Suburban. Reason being it tows an RV trailer while carrying a lot of gear. This is one data point but compared to the Cs, the K1500 now has a teeth rattling ride. I have been experimenting with inflation pressure but no joy.
I currently run 3 of the tires mentioned here:
BFG MT on a FJ40
BFG KO2 on a FJ45
GY Duratracs on a FJ100
MT - louder, wear more quickly, obviously great off road, no bueno in snow/ice
KO2 - good ride, relatively quiet, wear well, pretty good off-road, good on snow/ice
Duratracs - same comments as the KO2
The MT went away real quick, but I wasn't as vigilant about rotation as I should have been.
I'd not run the MT's on the 100 just no need for the way I use it.
BFG MT on a FJ40
BFG KO2 on a FJ45
GY Duratracs on a FJ100
MT - louder, wear more quickly, obviously great off road, no bueno in snow/ice
KO2 - good ride, relatively quiet, wear well, pretty good off-road, good on snow/ice
Duratracs - same comments as the KO2
The MT went away real quick, but I wasn't as vigilant about rotation as I should have been.
I'd not run the MT's on the 100 just no need for the way I use it.
@eric griffin just in case you haven't read the monster review at ExPo, worth your time with a lot of great info: Where the Rubber Meets the Road
I just switched from Michelins to KO2's and actually think they ride better. Maybe not as quiet. My Michelins were pretty new, but I messed one of them up on a rocky forest road. I bought the truck with new Michelins and couldn't bring myself to buy new tires. Luckily I ruined one of the side walls so I had to get KO2's
- Thread starter
- #40
so i fell in love with this tire and then in the meantime bought some 18" wheels off a newer lx470.
Is it weird that that new yokahama only comes in one size that fits an 18" wheel and that one size is 38 x 10.50 ... ?
there is no way i could put that on a stock suspension lx470, right ??