Another tire question but with specific needs.

[Madtiger]

Note: i do NOT think that KO2 is a tire for people who spend all their time on the road/highway. KO2 is truly an AT tire that is meant for on-road and off-road capability with compromises in both. KO2 seeming don’t do well on ice and wet performance not up to par with highway tires. Off-road, KO2 can’t compete against MTs. But overall, it is probably the only AT tire (other than maybe Goodyear Wrangler AT with kevlar) that provides good on-road manners and good off-road traction/strength...a true 50/50 AT tire.

I may go with Defender next time as my time off-road has decreased some...probably in stock size due to XL and low weight.

Review: New Michelin Defender LTX M/S Tires

We take the new Michelin Defender LTX M/S off-road in Vermont and put the popular light truck tire to the test, now tagged with the company's Defender name.

tractionlife.com

 

[04UZJ100]

As far as brands go (Who Owns What):

Who owns which tyre brands?
The tyre industry is a confusing business. Historically there were the big 3 brands that people nearly always purchased but recently there have been a number of mergers and new budget brands sprouting.

We thought it would be useful to post a consolidated list of who owns who in the tyre industry (for our reference as much as yours!) so here is our handy list of the market.

Michelin - France
Worlds number one tyre manufacturer. Own the brands Michelin, BF Goodrich, Kleber, Uniroyal* and Riken.

Bridgestone - Japan
One of the original big three. Own the brands Bridgestone, Firestone, Daytona and Europa.

Goodyear Dunlop - USA
Goodyear recently merged with Dunlop to form one of the largest tyre manufacturers in the world. Own the brands Dunlop, Goodyear, Fulda, Falken and Kelly.

Yokohama - Japanese
A brand in themselves, Yokohama claim to be the 7th biggest manufacturer in the world.

Pirelli - Italy
Pirelli claim to be the 5th largest tyre manufacturer in the world. Most of it's retail is through the Pirelli brand but have more recently released the Ceat and Courier brands.

Cooper Tyre - USA
Cooper recently bought the Avon brand. They now own Cooper, Avon and Mastercraft.

Continental - Germany
Owns Continental, Uniroyal*, General Tyre, Gislaved and Semperit.

Toyo - Japan
Toyo are one of the newer budget performance tyres to market. Formed many partnerships around the globe.

Kumho - Korea
Kumho is also a budget road tyre with a strong sporting range.

Apollo - India
Apollo now own Vredestein.

* To add to confusion Uniroyal is Continental owned in Europe and Michelin owned in USA

So if you like Michelin, then BF Goodrich might be a happy choice for you since Michelin Owns BFG.

My recommendation would be to go with the BFG KO2 tires in stock size LT285/60R18/D 118/115S inflated to the Recommended Cold Tire Inflation Pressure of 46psi Front/Rear. Note, these tires are "S" Speed Rated so good for extended highway trips.

There are lots of good tires out there to choose from. Good luck in your search.

HTH

Curious how Toyo is a budget manufacturer?

 

[Madtiger]

Curious how Toyo is a budget manufacturer?

They are relatively small tire OEM compared to the big boys...aren’t they linked to Nitto??

 

[04UZJ100]

They are relatively small tire OEM compared to the big boys...aren’t they linked to Nitto??

Small doesn’t mean budget. Yes, they own Nitto.

 

[JohnPW]

The OP stated he drives 600 miles on road each way, and does not off road other than dirt roads. Snow and ice in winter on road I assume. On a stock rig. I still think the P rated Michelin Defender is a better choice for the OP’s uses than an LT rated AT tire. Better on road performance for 11 hour drives and can handle dirt roads just fine.

 

[Whiskerz]

No expert here but Michelin Defender LTX MS would give you better mileage and on road snow performance. They don’t look tough but lots of people successfully off road them. The KO2’s don’t have a great reputation for snow and ice performance.

This would be my suggestion as well. I had these on my F-150 with zero complaints

 

[Sandroad]

Michelin Defender LTX M/S 285/60R18 is going away the best balance of attributes for your use case. Get 5 for a 5 tire rotation and enjoy those miles.

If you have lots of extra cash to play with, you could get 2 sets of tires and go with the new Michelin X-Ice SUV in 285/60R18 on an extra set of wheels for the winter trips. Not necessary, IMHO, but it would be great to get a report from a MUD member on those.