Best All Terrain Tires for the 200 Series (2 Viewers)

[LX Cruiser]

I’m always baffled at the split between BFG folks

50% of folks swear their the best thing since sliced bread and 50% swear Satan himself made them.

I have several friends that have had brand new BFGs basically fall apart within 10k and I have several friends that swear by them and won’t use anything else.

Seems BFG has a major quality control issue.

They’re either amazing or trash. Seems like a dice roll.

Tires aren’t something I’m willing to roll dice on.

YMMV

Seems like the split could be people who live in the Southwest and use them in more desert/loose gravel conditions really dig em because they perform well there, and their sidewalls easily handle airing down.

And conversely, people who live where it rains a lot probably don’t like them on wet roads as much with the less flexible siping. Especially if they wear through that soft outer rubber and get to the more inflexible compound underneath.

That has to account for at least some of the polarity if not most of it.

People also generally really like to stick up for whatever tires they’re currently using.

 

[Madtiger]

I’m always baffled at the split between BFG folks

50% of folks swear their the best thing since sliced bread and 50% swear Satan himself made them.

I have several friends that have had brand new BFGs basically fall apart within 10k and I have several friends that swear by them and won’t use anything else.

Seems BFG has a major quality control issue.

They’re either amazing or trash. Seems like a dice roll.

Tires aren’t something I’m willing to roll dice on.

YMMV

I doubt that it is QC issue. It is about level of expectation.

It is like someone buying an expensive Jeep Wrangler Rubicon and then complain about wind noise and highway mannerism to Consumer Reports!

BFG KO2 is a true AT tire. If you bought it for looks and then want luxury car ride on the highway, then you will be disappointed. If you bought it because you go mudding every weekend, then you will be disappointed. In both of these camps, I am sure that they are expecting the best of everything because of the asking price. But both of these camps fail to understand what a true AT tire is.

Look of it this way...many folks love KO2 and buys them decade after decade. Why? Because it just works as an AT tire. Takes the abuse and keeps on trucking. And this is why BFG KO designs have not changed much. Just slight improvement with every generation. It just works.

 

[Madtiger]

People also generally really like to stick up for whatever tires they’re currently using.

Of note, I am a former KO2 user. But I still respect the hell out of it. I think that it is better than all wannabe ATs out there. I only got away from KO2 bc I am now using my LC mostly on-road except for vacation once or twice a year...and I want better MPGs...I now run Michelin Defender.

 

[40Man]

Seems like the split could be people who live in the Southwest and use them in more desert/loose gravel conditions really dig em because they perform well there, and their sidewalks easily handle airing down.

And conversely, people who live where it rains a lot probably don’t like them on wet roads as much with the less flexible siping. Especially if they wear through that soft outer rubber and get to the more inflexible compound underneath.

That has to account for at least some of the polarity if not most of it.

People also generally really like to stick up for whatever tires they’re currently using.

Confirmation bias is a real thing. However, I have not seen a large number of members talking down on the performance of a few of the other top AT tires.

I ran KO2s and as stated here and many other threads, they last a long time but have poor wet and ice traction (ok in snow) and had a same day comparison on ice that showed how poorly they performed, compared to General Grabber AT2s (which ironically appear to be a knockoff design of KOs, but had a softer tread). They did last a long time, and were durable on the light offroad excursions we went on.

Having also run a large number of other tires I now run Falkens on all of my vehicles. I just wish they were still low in cost. Downside is they are heavy compared to competitors. I have been happy with General, Michelin and Coopers as well.

One of the biggest problems is tire ratings are too broad for ice and snow, basically leaving consumers with very little information, and often relying on user opinions, many times from people that have not run other modern comparable ATs. Basically any AT can meet the 3 peak snowflake if tested. There needs to be a more detailed rating based on controlled factors so we can see how good a tires traction really is instead of hearing and relying antectodal and often times biased opinions.

 

[TomEf]

KO2s were a benchmark in their time. They built upon and superseded the original KO, of which arguably defined the segment. Time and expectations don't stand still.

This is a point that needs to be hammered home. While tire snobs [of all vehicular disciplines] understand that each generation of new tire moves the bar higher across the board, less discerning users may be willing to sacrifice the bleeding edge for the sake of price, looks, familiarity, etc. If you're willing to give up something like cold/wet performance, snow performance, road noise, etc. then you might be very happy buying a previous generation tire at a lower cost. Most people fall under this umbrella, maybe because they're not snobs or they can completely exclude certain conditions. General consumer reviews need to be taken with a grain of salt - critiques should probably be taken more seriously than stories about how they've bought 8 sets of the same tire.

Tire technology moves on and improves every metric. Some people are stuck in their ways, happy where they are because they never drive in snow/rain/sand/dry rock/etc., or are unwilling to spend the money for the newest generation of tires. Recognize those people, consider your use case, consider your budget, and then decide accordingly.

 

[DenverLX]

Ive had KO2s, Goodyear Duratrec Wranglers and just got a new set of Falken Wildpeak AT4Ws.

I thought the Goodyear's looked the best and were incredible in snow, but they wore uneven and fast and became way too noisy. Partly my fault for lack of rotation and getting alignments, but I went through 2 sets and said never again.

Hoping the Wildpeaks turn out good, Ive only had them for about 2 months. I did a ton of research and landed on the new Falkens. I actually had them preordered because at the time they hadn't started shipping the size I wanted. I went with 34" and they look great in that size but I took a hot on MPG. But so far the tire has been good including snow.

 

[40Man]

Ive had KO2s, Goodyear Duratrec Wranglers and just got a new set of Falken Wildpeak AT4Ws.

I thought the Goodyear's looked the best and were incredible in snow, but they wore uneven and fast and became way too noisy. Partly my fault for lack of rotation and getting alignments, but I went through 2 sets and said never again.

Hoping the Wildpeaks turn out good, Ive only had them for about 2 months. I did a ton of research and landed on the new Falkens. I actually had them preordered because at the time they hadn't started shipping the size I wanted. I went with 34" and they look great in that size but I took a hot on MPG. But so far the tire has been good including snow.

I had Duratracs and had the same experience and I rotated every 5k miles. They are a softer compound and good in winter. Many plow drivers swear by them. I think you'll like the Falkens based on many people's (incluing mine) experience with them. I just put on AT4Ws myself, so time will tell if they are as good or better than the AT3Ws.

 

[LX Cruiser]

I thought the Goodyear's looked the best and were incredible in snow, but they wore uneven and fast and became way too noisy. Partly my fault for lack of rotation and getting alignments, but I went through 2 sets and said never again.

I had Duratracs and had the same experience and I rotated every 5k miles. They are a softer compound and good in winter. Many plow drivers swear by them.

I’m running LT285/75R18 Duratracs in E load on my Tundra and 275/60R20 Duratrac RTs in SL on my 570. I get company coupons with major discounts on Goodyear tires. Otherwise, I’d probably be running Defenders on the LX and something tall and skinny in C load on the Tundra.

I’m very curious how the RTs hold up over the long term. So far so good. Quiet with good traction.

Here are pics of the tread differences.
Non-RT:

RT:

In fear of the noise issues, I’ve always rotated my Duratracs like mad. I never had any uneven wear out of my first set on my Tundra, but toward the end, they got a little slippery on wet pavement. Nothing like the KO2s I had. I got 47k miles out of that first set of Duratracs, which I consider to be pretty good as that truck spends time off pavement and aired down quite a bit. I’m on my second set of Duratracs on the Tundra; I wish the RTs had come out when I put these on. If the RTs on the 570 exceed my expectations, maybe I’ll switch to RTs on the Tundra next. That’s probably a few years away, though.

 

[Madtiger]

I’m running LT285/75R18 Duratracs in E load on my Tundra and 275/60R20 Duratrac RTs in SL on my 570. I get company coupons with major discounts on Goodyear tires. Otherwise, I’d probably be running Defenders on the LX and something tall and skinny in C load on the Tundra.

I’m very curious how the RTs hold up over the long term. So far so good. Quiet with good traction.

Here are pics of the tread differences.
Non-RT:
View attachment 3614720

RT:
View attachment 3614721

In fear of the noise issues, I’ve always rotated my Duratracs like mad. I never had any uneven wear out of my first set on my Tundra, but toward the end, they got a little slippery on wet pavement. Nothing like the KO2s I had. I got 47k miles out of that first set of Duratracs, which I consider to be pretty good as that truck spends time off pavement and aired down quite a bit. I’m on my second set of Duratracs on the Tundra; I wish the RTs had come out when I put these on. If the RTs on the 570 exceed my expectations, maybe I’ll switch to RTs on the Tundra next. That’s probably a few years away, though.

Best GY AT tire is Wrangler SilentArmor with Kevlar. Pretty good 2-ply sidewall strength due to Durawall compound. Tread has Kevlar. Limited sizing tho.

Duratracs are trash. But if you take care of them (like in your case), it may last. But it is literally just a pretty face with zero substance.

 

[LX Cruiser]

Duratracs are trash. But if you take care of them (like in your case), it may last. But it is literally just a pretty face with zero substance.

I'm willing to accept that I may be an outlier, but I've had great experiences with them. I spend a lot of time off road. They sit between a traditional AT and a MT. Lots of muddy trails in Tennessee. I drive across several states a few times a year. Been north of 8k ft in my Tundra multiple times in Colorado on these tires. Ran up Imogene Pass in torrential rain with some hail a few years ago. Lots of airing down and back up.

I do rotate them religiously, and apparently contrary to @40Man, I haven't experienced any of the common complaints (weak sidewalls, excess noise) with my Duratracs.

My only problem was with my previous set on the Tundra: the wet traction toward the end of their tenure got a little iffy. It was almost half as bad as my KO2s at 20k miles.

I replaced my first set of Duratracs at 47k with decent tread life left with new 285/75R18s, mounted on TRD BBS wheels on Goodyear's "touchless" machine and balanced. Out the door for about $1k. What more could I want?

 

[40Man]

I'm willing to accept that I may be an outlier, but I've had great experiences with them. I spend a lot of time off road. They sit between a traditional AT and a MT. Lots of muddy trails in Tennessee. I drive across several states a few times a year. Been north of 8k ft in my Tundra multiple times in Colorado on these tires. Ran up Imogene Pass in torrential rain with some hail a few years ago. Lots of airing down and back up.

I do rotate them religiously, and apparently contrary to @40Man, I haven't experienced any of the common complaints (weak sidewalls, excess noise) with my Duratracs.

My only problem was with my previous set on the Tundra: the wet traction toward the end of their tenure got a little iffy. It was almost half as bad as my KO2s at 20k miles.

I replaced my first set of Duratracs at 47k with decent tread life left with new 285/75R18s, mounted on TRD BBS wheels on Goodyear's "touchless" machine and balanced. Out the door for about $1k. What more could I want?

The other thing to note is tire quality can vary from batch to batch, sizes and weight rating can have different compounds, etc. So this goes back to my point not to rely on antecdotal statements from anyone, including me. On the flipside to that, because tires info is so opaque from the mfrs, there is not a lot to rely on.

For me, I have had bad experience with two sets of BFGs (KO and KO2). I won't buy them again, but that does not imply they may not have a great product.

I have had good experience with Goodyear, and the Duratracs were great, but mine got loud and wore faster than some (which was expected). If I had not had such amazing success with multiple sets of Falkens (2 sets on 200 series, now on 3rd as of a couple weeks ago with AT4Ws for the newest), FJ62, FJ40, 4Runner and Tundra). They have worn amazingly well, held up offroad, had good traction, and are quiet. I had a set of Toyo AT3s (SL) and they wore faster, were louder, and had worse traction than the Falkens. They did get me about 1 mpg better than the same rated/sized Falkens FWIW.

I have also had good success with Generals, Michelins and Coopers. We actually have a lot of amazing options compared to even 20 years ago.

 

[Boston Mangler]

Always Love Tire Threads!

Can We Do An Oil One Next?

My 200 came with clapped out Yokohama G015s which I had never even heard of. Supposedly have 45k on them already but can’t confirm, still at 50% tread.

They’re silent on the freeway and specs for the 33” variant look good.

Thats what I’ll be replacing these worn ones with.

Will I look cool? Probably not…

Will I lose traction and barrel roll my rig into a ravine? Probably not…

Will my old cranky ass enjoy a nice quiet ride on the freeway? Most definitely!

 

[Madtiger]

Always Love Tire Threads!

Can We Do An Oil One Next?

My 200 came with clapped out Yokohama G015s which I had never even heard of. Supposedly have 45k on them already but can’t confirm, still at 50% tread.

They’re silent on the freeway and specs for the 33” variant look good.

Thats what I’ll be replacing these worn ones with.

Will I look cool? Probably not…

Will I lose traction and barrel roll my rig into a ravine? Probably not…

Will my old cranky ass enjoy a nice quiet ride on the freeway? Most definitely!

Yoko G015 is an EXCELLENT AT tire!! Much better than most other ATs...good sidewall strength, low noise, and good traction. ONLY negative that I have read is that fuel economy can be bad. Yokohama is a big brand that I trust completely...on par with Michelin / BFG IMO.

 

[jwright503]

Yoko G015 is an EXCELLENT AT tire!! Much better than most other ATs...good sidewall strength, low noise, and good traction. ONLY negative that I have read is that fuel economy can be bad. Yokohama is a big brand that I trust completely...on par with Michelin / BFG th

Yoko G015 is an EXCELLENT AT tire!! Much better than most other ATs...good sidewall strength, low noise, and good traction. ONLY negative that I have read is that fuel economy can be bad. Yokohama is a big brand that I trust completely...on par with Michelin / BFG IMO.

these came mounted on my 09. I agree with road noise, but have found them to be less than stellar in Oregon winter driving. We see a lot of wet/slushy/icy conditions and they’ve been considerably slicker than the last three sets of Cooper at3/4s that I’ve run on numerous rigs. I’ll be buying the new Cooper Road and Trail soon that’s supposed to be even better in those conditions. Again, I’m primarily concerned about wet/winter performance but don’t want a dedicated snow tire.