Just moved to NC - tire suggestions for local adventures (1 Viewer)

[DenverFJ40]

Hey everyone, just moved here from Colorado and excited to explore NC over the next few years with the family.

Im fitting my GX470 with some new tires and curious what you guys run for family / camping / medium trail usage. Obviously, the colorado weather and environment is different and I had my favourite tires for that, but out here it looks wet, rooty and muddy, so im gonna ask for suggestions.

My current top 2 pics are st maxx's and kenda kleaves in a 255/80/17 (ST) or 33/10.5/17 for Kendas. I was hoping to avoid traditional MT as they tend to suck on highway and im not looking to aggressively wheel anymore, looking for a 33' skinny-ish tire which limits the options a bit.

Appreciate any suggestions from the experienced crew here would be appreciated.

Cheers,

 

[fourtrax]

Welcome. Maxx's are good and hold up well. No experiences with the Kenda's. Just get LT (no p series crap) with a good sidewall and you should be fine off road. 33's will get you anywhere you need to go if you have some sliders.

 

[uzj100]

New BFG KM3's are amazing off road. They are also incredibly quiet for a MY tire.

 

[jamesurq]

I think a lot of people like the BFG K02 all terrain as a good mix for someone that's predominantly on road

 

[DenverFJ40]

Good to know on 33's, I have sliders, skids, and lift, was debating a winch, but trying to avoid that cost for another year or so.

Just started some Gaia planning for late spring, really looking forward to hitting up all the breweries, wait I mean trails

 

[GLTHFJ60]

Lots of options in that range. A number of club members have the BFG KO3 and like that tire as well.

Cooper AT3s have been on my truck for a number of years now, I've been happy with them.

 

[izzyandsue]

This would be a fantastic starting point, written by a sensitive, insightful, perceptive individual. Just saying....I know the guy.

Amazon product ASIN 171815321X

 

[OB-1]

I have run Falken Wilpeak A/T3W on mine for over 2 yrs (mostly on road with some FS roads mixed in) and pleased with them. A bit of a heavier tire, but no real noticeable effect on mpg's and they have a ton of tread left.

 

[little_joe]

Guess I'm the contrarian, I have BFG AT KO2's (Load Range C) and think they suck. They are ok offroad, but 1 thing to understand about wheeling here in NC: When it's dry, for general trail usage virtually any round tire is fine. When it's wet, no tire is any good on the snot-clay. And these BFG's are not great onroad, esp when it rains; they're loud; and imho do not ride or handle well.

I think an RT-type tire might be perfect for the needs you mentioned, whether that's the Kenda, Toyo, Nitto, other. I'm eyeballing the Firestone XT because it's one of the few tires in Load C in the odd size I prefer (255/75r17). I ran this size on my lifted GX and it did fine on our trails/FSR's (no true rock crawling, avoiding mud as much as possible).

BTW, Welcome.

 

[DenverFJ40]

This would be a fantastic starting point, written by a sensitive, insightful, perceptive individual. Just saying....I know the guy.

Amazon product ASIN 171815321X

Well played sir, purchased

 

[DenverFJ40]

KM3's look great, sizes aren't exactly what I was looking for, but 285/75/17 should fit.

Agreed on KO2's, i ran them for a few years and felt they didn't do anything well when it as anything but perfect conditions, and they were pretty bad in the snow. Switched to Toyo Open MT's, which is obviously a very different tire, but i loved those.

 

[SFROMAN]

I run BFG all terrains on three of my vehicles. Love them. But I agree if there is mud in your future adventure travels not the best tire. But for 99% of the time they are great.
I purchased mud terrain k3s about a year ago and was surprised at how well they are on the road and obviously better than the all terrains by far off-road.
I had the mud terrains k2s and hated them, great off-road but garabage on road which is most of the driving that my 80 does. So I sold them and went back to all terrains.
ultimately it depends on what kind of wheeling you plan on doing. With my 80 that Is more of an “expedition” style vehicle all terrains are great
For my 1st gen Toyota truck that will see harder trails and less on road use I went with mud terrains k3s
i also recommended sliders as one of the first additions you should add to your vehicle. It will only take the one time that you bash your rocker panels to make you wish you should of invested in them sooner.

 

[uzj100]

My KM2's were not good on the road. The KM3 is huge improvement.

 

[JohnVee]

Where in NC are you located? Chose something that will handle snow really well if you’re in the mountains and have a lengthy round trip to work. There are more than a few guys here who I’ve seen do some great things on street tires on the trail, but like has been mentioned already the red clay in much of the state will stop anything in its tracks while wet. We have a lot of rocks on trails in NC, so sidewalls are important. Like @fourtrax said, go LT for sure, that will probably get you a fine combo of sidewall with whatever tread you settle on.

FYI - lots of folks shred sidewalls on Duratracks in NC but love them otherwise. It might be a C vs D rated thing, but do some good research if that’s the direction you wanna go.

full disclosure - I have duratracks on my 470 that I bought from another member because I needed new tires and it was a great deal, but they’re from a wheeler and are cut, sliced, and chunked. They got me thru inspection and I don’t wheel that truck anyway. My 80 and 40 wheelers have KM2’s. My DD 80 has Toyo AT2’s but they haven’t seen the dirt or winter yet.

 

[JohnVee]

Also, in much of NC, our winters see more ice on the roads than snow. Best bet is to stay home until it melts while all the “foreigners who know how to drive” are done with their damage plans.

 

[lumbee1]

ST Maxx here. STT Pros before and Hankook Dynapro MTR before those.

ST Maxx are my favorites so far. AT carcass with MT tread pattern. They are built tough but overall a little softer offroad when aired down. Onroad performance is quite good and comfortable. They work better on beach sand than the other two however no improvement in mpg's. Very little chunking when spinning them on the rocks. This is an older design that works very well and I'm not sure if Cooper has plans to update the compound or design any time soon.

The STT Pros are phenomenal offroad and the tires stuck like velcro in most conditions. Onroad was surprisingly good when new but cupping became a problem from lack of rotation on my part. The STT Pros were a little firmer offroad when aired down and had better composure with off camber situations.

Dynapro's suck. Hard as a rock (D-rated). Odd wear patterns. Ok performance offroad.