Bridgestone or Toyos - same price (1 Viewer)

[TLC2013]

Geez, you guys crack me up. I love this candid back and forth over tires. I have the RGs and they are a pretty impressive tire but overkill for most of my use. The KO2 used to be my go to tire until I moved to TN. After experiencing heavy rain, they didn’t do very well. It was a bit sketchy on the backroads and floated more then I liked at hwy speeds when puddling was present. I decided to try the RG. The RG was much more planted and confident. Comparing them to the KO2 they weren’t any quieter that’s for sure. The KO2 seemed like a slightly better dry road tire(smoother and tad quieter). I never had issues with the KO2 over-landing in Colorado and Moab. Now, I’m in the hunt for the best comfort/quieter hwy/city tire. The Mich LTX seem like a good choice but not sure how they’d look in a 295/70/18 as they don’t offer a 285/70/18. Other option is Cooper AT3 XLT. If someone could confirm that these are quieter and more comfortable then RGs., I’d be all over them.

I am running the Nokian One HT (LT275/70r18) as my daily driver tire with evo corse wheels 45mm offset. I was torn between the defenders and this newly released option from Nokian. I had defenders in the past but in their XL, factory size. Both tires ride the same on the highway. The LT, E rated Nokians are noticeably firmer over rough city streets and whisper quiet like the defenders.

I find it hard to believe that anyone would find the defender to be “loud” by any means.
Any highway tire will be exponentially quieter then an AT tire like the RG which has large lugs and an aggressive tread pattern.

Do you know what wheels you plan on pairing with these highway tires ? My lifted LC looks sooo anemic with highway tires and 45mm offset wheels. I yearn to put back on my off road tires and wheels lol.

My suggestion would be the Yoko geolander AT or the Cooper XLT AT3. Both have a decent sidewall and a good highway ride. Also both can be had in a 295 width if you can make it fit and 275/70/18 if you need to downsize.
An important factor to consider is that the KDSS sway bar on the driver side Will probably interfere with a LT295/70r18 tire. Most folks don’t go larger then Lt285/70r18 without adding the KDSS relocation bracket.

 

[Tex68w]

My three favorite AT/Hybrid tires are the BFG KO2's, Nitto Ridge Grapplers and Toyo RT's, of those three I can find one to suit my needs in a size that works for any of my vehicles. I've never run the Toyo AT3 or Cooper Rugged Trek or S/T Maxx but all of those look promising as does the new Mickey Thompson Baja Boss.

 

[Angelo1]

I am running the Nokian One HT (LT275/70r18) as my daily driver tire with evo corse wheels 45mm offset. I was torn between the defenders and this newly released option from Nokian. I had defenders in the past but in their XL, factory size. Both tires ride the same on the highway. The LT, E rated Nokians are noticeably firmer over rough city streets and whisper quiet like the defenders.

I find it hard to believe that anyone would find the defender to be “loud” by any means.
Any highway tire will be exponentially quieter then an AT tire like the RG which has large lugs and an aggressive tread pattern.

Do you know what wheels you plan on pairing with these highway tires ? My lifted LC looks sooo anemic with highway tires and 45mm offset wheels. I yearn to put back on my off road tires and wheels lol.

My suggestion would be the Yoko geolander AT or the Cooper XLT AT3. Both have a decent sidewall and a good highway ride. Also both can be had in a 295 width if you can make it fit and 275/70/18 if you need to downsize.
An important factor to consider is that the KDSS sway bar on the driver side Will probability interfere with a LT295/70r18 tire. Most folks don’t go larger then Lt285/70r18 without adding the KDSS relocation bracket.

Thanks for info. I’m currently running a 2” lift and 1.25” spidertrax spacers with heritage wheels. The yoko are a bit heavier vs the Coopers which surprised me. 275 is a little narrow for my taste. I would prefer to stick with 285/70 but can’t seem to find many tires in that size. I am trying to avoid making my 200 look out of sorts with highway tires. Looks like I may end up with copper XLT at3 which is also a good looking tire but a bit less aggressive then he RG which I’m fine with if it provides a little quieter and more comfortable road experience without giving up to much

 

[TLC2013]

Thanks for info. I’m currently running a 2” lift and 1.25” spidertrax spacers with heritage wheels. The yoko are a bit heavier vs the Coopers which surprised me. 275 is a little narrow for my taste. I would prefer to stick with 285/70 but can’t seem to find many tires in that size. I am trying to avoid making my 200 look out of sorts with highway tires. Looks like I may end up with copper XLT at3 which is also a good looking tire but a bit less aggressive then he RG which I’m fine with if it provides a little quieter and more comfortable road experience without giving up to much

Yeah Unfortunately lt285/70r18 doesn’t offer much of a variety. Either AT or MT tires. What wheels are you looking at running with the highway tires ? Those heritage wheels are too pretty to destroy wheeling, I’d cringe taking them off-road lol. If I were in your shoes I’d put the highway tires on those heritage wheels and get a second set of wheels to scratch and bang up off road. With those 1.25” spacers you could run other oem wheels that are either 60mm or 56mm offset and be around a 25mm offset. With my 2” lift the LT275/70r18 RT tires and 25mm offset wheels look great, handle well on and off road.

Also for a highway tire I’d prefer a 275 over a 295. Less Weight and a lot of options to choose from. Another thing to consider is going to a 17” or 20” wheel.
There are a lot of tire options between 33”-34” in both the 17” and 20” wheel.

.

 

[AnyMal]

80 PSI gang only way to ride!

I have to add my two cents, and receive the flaming im overdue for ...
I recommend the toyos all day, and im a big fan of the A/T3. But here is some non biased info.

The A/T 3 is NOT a hybrid tire, its an AT. The KO2 is a true hybrid.
The A/T 3 side lug design is goofy and mild. The KO2 is the best design out IMO.
There are tons of accolades and testimonials for the KO2 but also a ton of bad feedback.
There is so far nothing negative ive heard from real people about the A/T3 for every terrain and condition.
The KO2 has fully integrated side lugs, the A/T 3 side lugs are a gimmick.

These are two very different tires. Theres more coming from Toyo soon to fill the gap as well as the KO3.
I wouldnt really compare these two tires head to head. They are in a different class and from two diff generations of development.

A better comparison is ridge grappler, or yoko X-A/T or any other true hybrid design and even those should wait for KO3 for a definitive comp.
Also everyone should keep in mind when comparison shopping that for a same size and load tire with significantly less weight it has to come from somewhere.

We should hold a vote for the best tire for the platform. Im curious what everyone thinks is "right".
My controversial take is that putting P tires on an LC is like putting all terrains on a m4. It doesn't even make sense.

 

[Madtiger]

My controversial take is that putting P tires on an LC is like putting all terrains on a m4. It doesn't even make sense.

Toyota engineers do it.

 

[Angelo1]

80 PSI gang only way to ride!

I have to add my two cents, and receive the flaming im overdue for ...
I recommend the toyos all day, and im a big fan of the A/T3. But here is some non biased info.

The A/T 3 is NOT a hybrid tire, its an AT. The KO2 is a true hybrid.
The A/T 3 side lug design is goofy and mild. The KO2 is the best design out IMO.
There are tons of accolades and testimonials for the KO2 but also a ton of bad feedback.
There is so far nothing negative ive heard from real people about the A/T3 for every terrain and condition.
The KO2 has fully integrated side lugs, the A/T 3 side lugs are a gimmick.

These are two very different tires. Theres more coming from Toyo soon to fill the gap as well as the KO3.
I wouldnt really compare these two tires head to head. They are in a different class and from two diff generations of development.

A better comparison is ridge grappler, or yoko X-A/T or any other true hybrid design and even those should wait for KO3 for a definitive comp.
Also everyone should keep in mind when comparison shopping that for a same size and load tire with significantly less weight it has to come from somewhere.

We should hold a vote for the best tire for the platform. Im curious what everyone thinks is "right".
My controversial take is that putting P tires on an LC is like putting all terrains on a m4. It doesn't even make sense.

I haven’t heard any news of a KO3. I know people have been expecting it since 2017 but no news currently of a release that I’m aware of. Let me know if you dug something up so I can check it out. Thanks

 

[Angelo1]

Yeah Unfortunately lt285/70r18 doesn’t offer much of a variety. Either AT or MT tires. What wheels are you looking at running with the highway tires ? Those heritage wheels are too pretty to destroy wheeling, I’d cringe taking them off-road lol. If I were in your shoes I’d put the highway tires on those heritage wheels and get a second set of wheels to scratch and bang up off road. With those 1.25” spacers you could run other oem wheels that are either 60mm or 56mm offset and be around a 25mm offset. With my 2” lift the LT275/70r18 RT tires and 25mm offset wheels look great, handle well on and off road.

Also for a highway tire I’d prefer a 275 over a 295. Less Weight and a lot of options to choose from. Another thing to consider is going to a 17” or 20” wheel.
There are a lot of tire options between 33”-34” in both the 17” and 20” wheel.

View attachment 2883985
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Yeah, I’m not sure my wife will let spend any money on a separate set of wheels right now. Don’t want to push it, since this was my Christmas present. Maybe next Christmas

 

[Madtiger]

BFGoodrich Tires Radial All-Terrain milestones include:

1975 - BFGoodrich goes to Baja California, in Mexico, to test its all-terrain tires
1976 - BFGoodrich enters the SCORe Baja 1000 desert race to test its radial all-terrain technology; BFGoodrich Tires launches the first radial all-terrain tire (Radial All-Terrain T/A®)
1977 - BFGoodrich Tires claims its first SCORe Baja desert race class title at the Baja 500 and 1000, on the new Radial All-Terrain T/A®
1986 - Second-generation Radial All-Terrain T/A® released
1999 - Third-generation all-terrain (Radial All-Terrain T/A® KO) released
2015 - Fourth generation of all-terrain tire (Radial All-Terrain T/A® KO2) released.




Given it’s recent history, i doubt that we will be seeing KO3 anytime soon. We are still in the early years of KO2. Given that KO2 sales remain strong for both consumers and off-roaders, there is no pressure to replace KO2.

I haven’t heard any news of a KO3. I know people have been expecting it since 2017 but no news currently of a release that I’m aware of. Let me know if you dug something up so I can check it out. Thanks

I doubt that we will see KO3 anytime soon…just like we won’t see a new Michelin Defender anytime soon….

 

[TLC2013]

Yeah, I’m not sure my wife will let spend any money on a separate set of wheels right now. Don’t want to push it, since this was my Christmas present. Maybe next Christmas

I completely understand. Nice score and congrats on the new cruiser. By the time you swap out tires a couple times you could easily have paid for a second set of used OEM 200 series wheels. I’d keep an eye on the classifieds. You can pick up a set for a few hundred bucks.
I have wheels from a 2013 and a 2017 sitting in storage that I’d basically give away at this point.

 

[AnyMal]

Toyota engineers do it.

Look ive changed my mind A LOT regarding the KO2 over time but arent you the the one who posted the on road comparison earlier in the thread?
The on road performance of a P/LT is a topic im just not even going to get into but its not a night and day difference as everyone thinks and that comparison is pretty damn close. What is absurd is even Tire Rack tested the KO2 at 48 PSI vs 35 on the P yokos and then say they ride stiff. No s***.

People are comparing wildly different things is all im saying. Im a fan of the KO2 now more than ive ever been before.
If the KO3 is released ill be first in line.

EDIT: Look at how flawed this test is though lol the E load BFG gets better mileage than the P G015.

 

[AnyMal]

I haven’t heard any news of a KO3. I know people have been expecting it since 2017 but no news currently of a release that I’m aware of. Let me know if you dug something up so I can check it out. Thanks

Just rumors on the KO3. Now in regards to a Toyo A/T hybrid... a little more than rumors. I dont have any dates though.

 

[Madtiger]

Look ive changed my mind A LOT regarding the KO2 over time but arent you the the one who posted the on road comparison earlier in the thread?
The on road performance of a P/LT is a topic im just not even going to get into but its not a night and day difference as everyone thinks and that comparison is pretty damn close. What is absurd is even Tire Rack tested the KO2 at 48 PSI vs 35 on the P yokos and then say they ride stiff. No s***.

People are comparing wildly different things is all im saying. Im a fan of the KO2 now more than ive ever been before.
If the KO3 is released ill be first in line.

EDIT: Look at how flawed this test is though lol the E load BFG gets better mileage than the P G015.

View attachment 2884021

I understand where you’re coming from. But i am just saying that P-metric tires are fine on LC...as long as they are from a proven line of tire. I am a big fan of KO2…not many people know that. LOL

Given that Michelin and BFG take forever to update their tires, KO2 (and Defender) is still basically brand new to market! Look at the timeline above. And why would they?! KO2 and Defenders are still flying off tire store shelves despite being nearly 7 years old. They are still the standard that others compare to. Toyo used KO2 in their benchmarking. There is no hurry for BFG or Michelin to update their flagship SUV/truck tire line.

 

[Itsky]

...

EDIT: Look at how flawed this test is though lol the E load BFG gets better mileage than the P G015.

View attachment 2884021

That test included a C rated BFG AT K02, not e-rated.

 

[Tex68w]

Huge fan of the KO2, I will certainly run the KO3’s whenever they drop just like I have all of the previous generations as well. Odds are we are looking at another 3-4 years before we see the KO3. Just look at the Goodyear MTR, they are nearly 13 years old and still selling, crazy.

 

[Angelo1]

I completely understand. Nice score and congrats on the new cruiser. By the time you swap out tires a couple times you could easily have paid for a second set of used OEM 200 series wheels. I’d keep an eye on the classifieds. You can pick up a set for a few hundred bucks.
I have wheels from a 2013 and a 2017 sitting in storage that I’d basically give away at this point.

Good point! I may just do that.

 

[grinchy]

Of the five different tires I've had (2 P, 1 AT, 2 RT), the two things I notice from inside the rig on the highway are:
Tire noise: P less than AT less than RT. And RT can get more noisy in 2nd half of tread life.
Load rating. P rated comfortable. D rated (121) comfortable, wide range of PSI is comfortable (32 to 40). E rated (129) is stiff, very narrow range of PSI (in my install 35 to 38) from porpoise soft to teeth jar hard. E rated (125) was ok, but still not as good as D121.
Sidewall plies, tread aggressiveness, sidewall embossing, brand boutique, white letter out, cost I can not notice from the driver seat on the highway.

For highway use only, the lowest load, mildest tread pattern would be the winner. You'd notice (or not notice, I guess) that every mile on those long trips.

 

[AnyMal]

I understand where you’re coming from. But i am just saying that P-metric tires are fine on LC...as long as they are from a proven line of tire. I am a big fan of KO2…not many people know that. LOL

Given that Michelin and BFG take forever to update their tires, KO2 (and Defender) is still basically brand new to market! Look at the timeline above. And why would they?! KO2 and Defenders are still flying off tire store shelves despite being nearly 7 years old. They are still the standard that others compare to. Toyo used KO2 in their benchmarking. There is no hurry for BFG or Michelin to update their flagship SUV/truck tire line.

Yeah i wont be holding my breath for the KO3 if not only for the reason they are indeed selling like hotcakes.
The thing is Im now an integrated sidewall lug snob, i cant ever unsee it. I will never buy anything else if i have option for it in the future.

The thing about P tires is yes they are fine, but the 200 can handle a lot more without any major drawback and is super well suited for them (and designed for that sort of thing anyway). I wouldn't lean into the engineering choices on that one, its more for consumer end user comfort. I dont know why any vehicle over 6,000 lbs meant to go off pavement would be fitted with Ps. I just dont. It doesnt make any sense.

We have a growing class of vehicles now like the raptor, bronco etc which are shipping on LTs more and more as they advance in design.
The 300 isnt quiet there yet even though its the segments crowned king. Its just odd off the factory floor everyone can see it looks so wrong.
Like putting all terrains on an M4 coupe it just looks dumb.

Now if we could all understand that we are massively overfilling LTs, alot more people would come aboard to that concept. Thats an argument for another day too lol. But hey, Tire Rack can get you better mileage on an LT, everyone should run LTs! Joking obviously, overfilling the P in that same test would have spanked the LT in MPG.
Even tire rack don't know what they are doing half the time.

 

[Madtiger]

Of the five different tires I've had (2 P, 1 AT, 2 RT), the two things I notice from inside the rig on the highway are:
Tire noise: P less than AT less than RT. And RT can get more noisy in 2nd half of tread life.
Load rating. P rated comfortable. D rated (121) comfortable, wide range of PSI is comfortable (32 to 40). E rated (129) is stiff, very narrow range of PSI (in my install 35 to 38) from porpoise soft to teeth jar hard. E rated (125) was ok, but still not as good as D121.
Sidewall plies, tread aggressiveness, sidewall embossing, brand boutique, white letter out, cost I can not notice from the driver seat on the highway.

For highway use only, the lowest load, mildest tread pattern would be the winner. You'd notice (or not notice, I guess) that every mile on those long trips.

That is where my decision tree is stuck. KO2s look amazing, ride fine, and obviously quite capable off-road. But the 2nd half of life has really drag down fuel economy. I am at 38k miles on them…and fuel economy has taken a significant hit. Maybe the worn down tread is stickier / less rolling resistance?

I am thinking of Michelin Defender XL now only because my day job is getting crazier…less play time. And i like regaining maybe 1.5-2mpg back…..

 

[kcobourn]

That is where my decision tree is stuck. KO2s look amazing, ride fine, and obviously quite capable off-road. But the 2nd half of life has really drag down fuel economy. I am at 38k miles on them…and fuel economy has taken a significant hit. Maybe the worn down tread is stickier / less rolling resistance?

I am thinking of Michelin Defender XL now only because my day job is getting crazier…less play time. And i like regaining maybe 1.5-2mpg back…..

Can't go wrong with any of these Michelin, BFG, and Toyos; I've owned K02, Defenders, and AT3s on my 100-series. The Defenders rode smoother vs the K02s while the AT3 vs. K02 came down to the pitch of the whine.

Comparing K02s to AT3s on a 100-series was more about putting a new high quality A/T tire on after getting ~40K out of my K02s @ 50%. The NEW Toyos made a huge difference to the ride. If I were to try and compare vs. a new K02 I'd say the tread whine pitch was pretty much the only difference to the overall experience. Everything else I too subjective / small for me to claim as significant.

Want smoother ride? Michelin.
Want to have a cooler, more capable look? BFG or Toyo. (my 200 looks great with the Toyos)