Hello Forums - New 2014 LX Owner Joining Up

[1world1love]

Speaking of those sweet Vector 5s. I'm so close to clicking the button on those AlphaEquipt just because they are so cheap. I'd love to have them banked for if i go to 35s for the better offset. Then i could sell my RWs to pay for a good chunk of the 35s...

Those AlphaEquipt are nice wheels and if you can get them at the discount price, it may be hard to find a better alternative at the price point. But you could also add pretty small spacers to the RWs, right? I mean RWs are hard to beat for pure weight/strength ratio.

 

[lx200inAR]

Those AlphaEquipt are nice wheels and if you can get them at the discount price, it may be hard to find a better alternative at the price point. But you could also add pretty small spacers to the RWs, right? I mean RWs are hard to beat for pure weight/strength ratio.

A 1" spacer would put me at that ET25. I could try running a .75" and that would be close to the ET35 of the AE wheels. Honestly, i need to start wheeling more and daydreaming less. It will be a couple years before I need to replace my current ATs.

 

[AnyMal]

Speaking of those sweet Vector 5s. I'm so close to clicking the button on those AlphaEquipt just because they are so cheap. I'd love to have them banked for if i go to 35s for the better offset. Then i could sell my RWs to pay for a good chunk of the 35s...

Which ones are you going with?

 

[grinchy]

Love my AE wheels. Best part is the 2nd valve hole. The apex rapid valves are amazing and so easy to fit as the Tpms goes in one hole and the apex in the other.
They’re also strong enough, reasonably light, and come in bronze, and +35 is a good all around offset.
I waited for four years for a decent rim to drop to $150 each. Very good value.

 

[2014 LEX 570 GA]

Tires are a pretty personal choice. Nothing wrong with KO2s and they've been arguably a benchmark tire.

That said, there's a number of reasons I've picked other tires, for overall broader capability (without giving up any offroad performance). Additional priorities that I have for a great AT tire include on-road handling and NVH, rain and wet weather, and winter / snow performance. That's where the new bread from my research makes large strides. If I were wanting a tire on the more aggressive end of the AT tire spectrum, I'd lean toward the Falken Wildpeak AT3Ws. Middling to aggressive, Toyo AT3s. There's newer tires still that I haven't had experience with. NTG G2s should be your last choice as they're probably the oldest design of the bunch, pushing 10 yrs now.

Regarding 20" wheels / tires. If I'm being honest, my car is still 95% on-road. Towing on the heavier end. There's stability and handling advantages to running a larger wheel, without as many trades when pushing overall diameter to 34+ inches. Sure, biasing to rock crawler should prioritize 17s or 18s, but there's trades as even my larger 20s with 35s, has enough sidewall that cornering and handling on-road is not as sharp. While offering plenty of sidewall to air down and get busy.

Whatever you prioritize, IMO, wheels and tires are not the place to save money. Where the rubber meats the road so to speak.

@TeCKis300 looks like you went with Load Range F tires for both your Falken and Toyos, as it appears that is the only range offered in the 20” fitments.

How do you find the LX rides unladen, all things considered (33”-35” A/T and all)? I know tires are super subjective, but my concern is I spend vast majority of time on road. Hauling a full truck of gear and passengers and even towing a 7,600 GW RV are all in my future, but probably a year or two away, and even then the LX will still be spending most of its time on road. My concern is dramatically reducing the ride quality and also any potential negative effects on safety as a result of having a vastly overspec’d tire (305/55/20 Load F) on the rig for what it’s daily duties are. Thoughts?

 

[TeCKis300]

@TeCKis300 looks like you went with Load Range F tires for both your Falken and Toyos, as it appears that is the only range offered in the 20” fitments.

How do you find the LX rides unladen, all things considered (33”-35” A/T and all)? I know tires are super subjective, but my concern is I spend vast majority of time on road. Hauling a full truck of gear and passengers and even towing a 7,600 GW RV are all in my future, but probably a year or two away, and even then the LX will still be spending most of its time on road. My concern is dramatically reducing the ride quality and also any potential negative effects on safety as a result of having a vastly overspec’d tire (305/55/20 Load F) on the rig for what it’s daily duties are. Thoughts?

Both my Falkens and Toyos have been Load Range E. Interesting enough, I went back to the Falken website and they only now have LT-F in 305/55R20?? Toyo offers 35x12.5R20s in both LT-E and LT-F.

My rig rides well and passengers have never had a clue that I had truck tires on. My current 35 Toyos rides extremely well. That's my first priority in that I won't compromise with a bad riding tire that's too noisy. Gets old quick on long road-trips. And where some benchmark tires crossed that threshold for me.

The LX does offer some help here with a plusher riding suspension and more noise damping.

I've mentioned elsewhere that there's some hacks to making a stiffer tire ride better. Wider more bulgy sidewalls on relatively narrower rims can help here. Lifting a rig with lots of sidewall can reduce turn in sharpness. This is where I tend to use a combination of a touch of negative camber, and a bit more inflation pressure to keep better sidewall stability (without trading too much ride quality).

 

[2014 LEX 570 GA]

Both my Falkens and Toyos have been Load Range E. Interesting enough, I went back to the Falken website and they only now have LT-F in 305/55R20?? Toyo offers 35x12.5R20s in both LT-E and LT-F.

My rig rides well and passengers have never had a clue that I had truck tires on. My current 35 Toyos rides extremely well. That's my first priority in that I won't compromise with a bad riding tire that's too noisy. Gets old quick on long road-trips. And where some benchmark tires crossed that threshold for me.

The LX does offer some help here with a plusher riding suspension and more noise damping.

I've mentioned elsewhere that there's some hacks to making a stiffer tire ride better. Wider more bulgy sidewalls on relatively narrower rims can help here. Lifting a rig with lots of sidewall can reduce turn in sharpness. This is where I tend to use a combination of a touch of negative camber, and a bit more inflation pressure to keep better sidewall stability (without trading too much ride quality).

Glad to hear.

Yep, Falken and Toyo offer the 305/55/20 tire in F only now. Must be a recent change.

Will try and see if I can get an older set in E, as F seems like overkill for my use.

EDIT: Looks like a few places have the Falken in that size in E. May go to Falken instead.

 

[kwelhand]

Hello fellow Atlanta 2014 LX sliver owner!
I'm in Atlanta area also!

 

[coleAK]

Thanks, @TeCKis300!

Funny that you should reply, as I have been digging through the wheel/tire threads and see you have added a lot of value. Appreciate that and seeing your build evolve over the years.

One thing I was curious of after searching is re: a setup with OEM 20” wheels and KO2s in LT295/55R20 123/120R - it seems that perhaps with some .75”-1” spacers this setup does not rub or require any mudflap or fender liner modification - but I have not been able to confirm that.

My goal (for now) is to have the largest diameter tire that also maintains or improves OEM safety and handling characteristics without having to mod anything.

Has anyone run this setup who can confirm whether or not it requires mudflap or fender liner modicarions?

I had 275/55-20 KO2s on my ‘13 LX as my summer set up before switching to 17’s. Had to heat mold the fender liner to avoid rubbing at full lock with AHC in low.

As for safety and handling I’d argue that going to larger tires will decrease the safety and handling other then in the most severe off road scenarios. As they increase CG, increase stopping distance and change suspension geometry.

I run LT 285/70-17 in the summer (~33”) and p metric 265/60-18 in the winter (~30”). As in the winter the off road is smoother (thank you snow and ice) and in the winter a lower CG and skinnier tires are better.

 

[AnyMal]

Glad to hear.

Yep, Falken and Toyo offer the 305/55/20 tire in F only now. Must be a recent change.

Will try and see if I can get an older set in E, as F seems like overkill for my use.

Another clue about tire industry all sharing their base carcasses. What a coincidence!

 

[2014 LEX 570 GA]

Another clue about tire industry all sharing their base carcasses. What a coincidence!

Care to elaborate? I am a relative tire novice.

Are you suggesting the manufacturers share base carcass?

Also, would be interested to get your take on difference between 10/e and 12/f ply tires. I know the “ply” concept is virtually meaningless today, but see some people suggesting they are the same tires just rebadged.

 

[AnyMal]

Care to elaborate? I am a relative tire novice.

Are you suggesting the manufacturers share base carcass?

Also, would be interested to get your take on difference between 10/e and 12/f ply tires. I know the “ply” concept is virtually meaningless today, but see some people suggesting they are the same tires just rebadged.

I dont know for sure but it is similarly the case with 75% of all products in general, not just tires.
They clearly share the carcass and are all probably using the same manufacturer(s).
Theres a ton of evidence to support this as you yourself have found.
What process they own and at what point that begins in construction is all that would be left to differentiate between brands and their respective models.
Again, i don't know for a fact and I don't want to keep speculating but its kind of obvious.
An exception may be BFG domestically. Their offerings are indicative of that.

The only difference these days between E and F is more or beefier cords / structural materials and sidewall rigidity.
One will not be any more durable than the other in any meaningful way other than impact and inflation tolerance.
There aren't any ply's like you said, you could simply measure the sidewall thickness.
I never have compared in person but i bet they are right and the sidewall is exactly the same.