K02 / WP tires - driving characteristic changes? (1 Viewer)

[Dan Lee]

I'm still choosing what LT tire to buy for the LX. Seems like these two are the most commonly recommended and get good reviews.

I'm understanding that some driving behavior will be different given the heavier weight over p-metric. Things like earlier downshifting, especially when going up hill. Perhaps marginally slower acceleration (car has plenty of acceleration already so not too concerned). Sounds like there is no impact to suspension behavior and life.

But I was wondering about stopping distance and wear on pads / rotors. Aside from better or worse differences in traction vs the p-metric, will these tires make the stopping distance longer by an appreciable amount? Will pad / rotor wear be accelerated and require replacement earlier? I can't seem to find any info.

Not likely that this will affect my moving from p-metric to LT. Just trying to understand what to expect in terms of acceleration and stopping distances, etc.

 

[chilibit]

If you don't see sidewall durability as the holy grail of tires then the list of negative impacts will be distressingly long. If you need rock country durability or perhaps a stiffer side wall to combat trailer side loads then you are on the right track. Admittedly, I use Toyo AT II in P-metric on the 17" RW wheels and they are just fine for my application.

 

[Redbull]

I've had KO2's for about 20,000 miles and they've been great. Never had an LT tire before.

Acceleration, braking, fuel economy took a significant hit but that is to be expected as they weigh 15 lbs more per corner.

They look so cool and I don't have to cringe driving over some of the worst city roads in Philadelphia and Manhattan. If I don't get a daily driver to ease some burden off the LC I'll go with an LT-Michelin LTX once my Ko2's wear out.

That being said I don't regret it at all as I've always wanted all-terrain tires since seeing them on the FJ Cruiser Trail Teams 10 years ago.

 

[Dan Lee]

If that's the case, then I'm wondering if it's actually worth just getting another set of tires. I can keep my current wheels and tires for day to day stuff.

But then install wheels with K02/WP for when we take trips. It'd be another $1500 expense up front but then I don't need to compromise on/off pavement capabilities. I just need to get a higher weight capacity floor jack as well. Long run over the next 10+ years, maybe that's the safer and more cost effective route. I'll think about this a little more.

BTW, if I do buy wheels, is there a standing recommendation? Just buy another set of factory like I have right now? Or is there an aftermarket preference?

Thanks.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

I daily drive KO2s on my LX. I see no reason to buy a second set of rims and tires. I love mine. Stopping distances... not sure, but I can tell you that my LX had a break job at 45k miles and I'm now approaching 90k. The KO2s do not seem to have made a difference in brake pad wear.

 

[Back 40]

i have to agree with LCHardriver. I am running a Toyo AT II and cant justify a second set of wheels and tires. The only complaint i might have is slightly more road noise. With that being said I will take a little more noise for the additional capability they bring. The LX still feels firmly planted with no real handling concerns.

 

[LCHardriver_02]

"Road noise" - HA!
Heck, after driving a Skoda in Scotland and Ireland... my LX with KO2s is NOT loud at all! That little car with the cool diesel was fun to drive, but man did the road noise come through! The LX handles the "extra" road noise with no effort, in my opinion. Still wonderful to drive and no worries to boot!

 

[LCHardriver_02]

Sorry... but everytime I think of the word "Skoda", I hear Jeremy Clarkson, in his baritone voice...

 

[Back 40]

Completely agree about the road noise. It does handle it very well. With the AT tires its about as loud as my 2015 Silverado with stock tires. These things are crazy quiet before we get our hands on them with bigger tires and roof racks. My thoughts were really aimed at someone who has never owned a truck with AT's they might not know what to expect.

 

[Dan Lee]

Thanks. Okay, back to just replacing the tires with K02/WP. No additional wheels.

I guess I can just keep the current tires and mount them again if the need (unlikely) arises. Can always dump later.

 

[linuxgod]

I believe most of the loss of MPG in A/T tires isn't due to weight but to "stickiness". In particular the factory tires are designed for low rolling resistance in order to improve MPG. Even buying the identical tires that were on the truck you may find your MPG drops because the rubber compound is different than what the tire company used for the manufacturer.

Given that A/T tires are designed for traction, the tire mfrs typically use softer, stickier rubber compounds which increase traction and thus increase rolling resistance and decrease MPG. If you use a similar size P-metric tire that's designed for MPG I'm pretty sure you'll find the MPG hit will be minimal for the increased tire diameter and weight, though the performance offroad will be poor.

 

[Dan Lee]

That makes sense. I'm mostly concerned about stopping distance though, and secondarily pad/rotor life.

I think my current tires are pretty decent for on pavement (so far - I've only driven several hundred miles, mostly freeway). If the K02/WP, which I think would allow for more headroom off pavement (traction, hardened), results in a reduction of on pavement stopping distance of, say, 20% (again, just for example) because the rotational moment of inertia is 20% larger (again, just for concept), then I might not want that all the time since many miles will be on road (non-trip). And if it cuts pad / rotor life by 30%, most miles of which is non-trip, then it's additional expense that's not value add (from the perspective of buying the car for trips).

But if the differences in on pavement stopping power and pad/rotor life are marginal vs p-metric despite the per tire weight difference (20%), then sounds like just keeping the LT tires on all the time is fine. I just couldn't find any info on the webz.

I'll get K02/WP on my current rims and keep the HT Plus. After I get some experience, I'll either dump the HT Plus or install them on new rims.

 

[littlegreenmonster]

I put K02's on my 2014 silverado and saw no negative changes in braking characteristics. The only issue i saw was that I lost 2.5mpg on the highway and about 1.5mpg in town. That being said the truck came with onion peal car tires. I loved the side walls on the K02's, however they made more road noise and had a harsher ride than the Duratrac's on my FZJ80.

I sold the Silverado 2 months ago and got a 200. Previous owner put new Nexen P tires on it right before i got it. I hate them. Sure they ride super smooth on the high way and I get 20mpg, but when you turn they feel like they are going to roll off of the bead. I had to drive over a curb a few days ago and they felt like balloons about to burst. Not impressed.

I am going to get new tires in the next few weeks, but am torn about what to get. Definitely want LT tires though for the better sidewalls. Just not sure if i will get K02's.

 

[TeCKis300]

The biggest difference you'll have with AT tires is increased NVH (noise, vibration, and harshness). The newest generations of AT tires are much improved in this respect, but certainly a tradeoff against highway oriented tires.

Do note that between those two tires, you're shopping the more aggressive end of the AT tire spectrum. There are milder AT tires such as the Michelin LTX A/T2s, Nitto Terra Grapplers, and Toyo Open Country ATII. And also milder P-metric extra load (XL) tires in the various tire models.

I believe you have an LX570? The LX platform has added insulation qualities and AHC over the LC, so that will attenuate some of the tire NVH, but it will be there in the background. Something like a low background wind noise.

As the LX already has 20" wheels, with lesser sidewall, I've found the stiffer LT sidewall to not make as much impact as I anticipated. Yes, it's stiffer of certain things, but softer too in some ways as there's deeper tread/rubber and potentially more sidewall (depending on size) with AT tires.

Acceleration and stopping will come down to the size of tires you pick. It's not so much the increased weight, but the increased diameter, resulting in less leverage for the engine to accelerate, and brake to stop. The closer you keep the new tire size to the stock 31.2" overall diameter, the less impact. Though the platform has proven plenty strong to muscle big tires, so for the sizes you're considering, the impact will be likely negligible.

 

[jameyFL]

We are having trouble keeping at 15mpg mixed driving now on factory tires. I wonder how bad the hit will be with K02s? I remember when I went from factory to BFG KO(1?) on my Fj Cruiser seems like i lost 1mpg maybe more avg.

 

[Dan Lee]

Thanks guys. Yes, I have an LX570 w/ HT Plus 285/50/20. I don't have any issues with the current NVH levels; in fact, in some ways it actually seems smoother than my sedan because of the wheel size -- I'm not feeling bumps in the road as much.

I'm already distraught over the MPG (not really, I knew what to expect although it is a bit painful to hit the pumps 2x faster than my sedan). Incremental adverse impacts here (1-2 MPG) will hurt but I'd gladly accept if it avoids situations where third party recovery is required. I don't travel with others (don't even know anybody else that goes off pavement) so a recovery situation would be dependent upon a stranger passing by.

I'm okay with incremental increase in NVH as current levels are more than fine (better than expected). But I'd prefer not to adversely impact on road safety (ie - stopping distance, emergency handling) more than some incremental amount in which I could reasonably adapt driving pattern (ie - if I need to drive 75 instead of 80, fine. If I'm constrained to 55, then not reasonable).

Keeping close to overall diameter (for a given wheel size) makes sense - larger differences results in more impact. So, 285/55/20 K02 may be slightly worse 285/50/20 HT+. But what wasn't clear and what started my OP was the impact, if any, to things like stopping distance. Same diameter but 15lbs extra per wheel. That didn't sound trivial to me. But sounds like there is some impact but nothing concerning.

So, based on my understanding of the guidance / info above -- I shouldn't see much difference in on-road acceleration and stopping between 285/55/20 K02 and my current 285/50/20 HT+ given similar diameter. Some incremental impacts to NVH and MPG (weight, tread) but those are secondary considerations (and sound like it will be mostly acceptable).

What also was not clear is if I go to something like 285/60/18 K02 - very similar diameter but different profile. But at this point, not going that path unless I decide not to just replace the HT+ (ie - buy second set of wheels, then it's a question of 20" or 18" for trips).

 

[littlegreenmonster]

We are having trouble keeping at 15mpg mixed driving now on factory tires. I wonder how bad the hit will be with K02s? I remember when I went from factory to BFG KO(1?) on my Fj Cruiser seems like i lost 1mpg maybe more avg.

i think the impact will be less. It has a lot to do with rotating mass that the engine has to turn. When i added the K02's to my silverado it was a big increase in rotating mass from a % stand point. On the 200 it is relatively small from a % stand point as it is full time 4wd. When my silverado was in AWD mode the fuel economy was pretty much the same between the p metric and lt tires, but when in 2wd it was abysmal by comparison. The silverado got 10mpg in AWD mode for both P and LT tires, worse than the 200. It would get 16mpg with P tires in 2wd and 14mpg in 2wd with LT tires in 2wd