KM2 or MTR Kevlar? (1 Viewer)

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May 7, 2005
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South Jordan, UT
OK OK OK.
I've been blah blah blah-ing about tires for many months now, but I have decided that I WILL get a set of 315s before Cruise Moab.

Problem is I'm finding it hard to decide what to get, so I thought I'd solicit some opinions from you folks.

1. I am set on getting a more aggressive tire than my current Terra Grapplers. Don't try and talk me out of it. In fact, I've pretty much narrowed my wants down to BFG KM2s or the new Goodyear MTR Kevlars.

2. I live and wheel in Utah. Rock, dirt, minor mud, Moab, snow, ice.

3. I drive my 80 daily--not real far, but every day. I think I did ~15K miles last year.

So, what do you guys think:
BFG KM2s or Goodyear MTR Kevlars?
 
I have KM2's on the 40. As far as on the road, with the top off, I can't hear them. They are much quieter than my Toyo m/t. They did require quite a bit of weight to balance out on OEM steel wheels.
 
KM2 if we are voting.
 
I'm running both km2's and MTRs (for the street).

tires-1.jpg


MTRs are taller, and louder on the road.
 
FWIW, I got the KM2's yesterday in 285/75/16. Much quieter than I anticipated - with windows up, only slightly louder than the ATs I had on before. Will take them out to Central Oregon this weekend to see how they do.
Bought at Discount/America's Tire Co - they have a $70 mail in rebate through 4/26, so price on 4 tires for me ended up under $1,000.
 
I had some MTR's when I lived in UT, they really really sucked in the snow. just fyi on my experience.
 
New MTR at least LOOKS drastically different...

But it's also new, and nobody is really running them.
 
Ryan, I know it's not one of your choices that you mentioned, but Nay seems really pleased with his TRXs, I think they're an Interco tire. If I was going up in size I would really seriously consider them. He had a set of 35", tried a set of 35" Toyos and went to 37" Trx and feels he should have stayed with them all along. He lives in Colorado and loves them in snow and all around. Just a thought.:)
 
MTR KEvlar or TrXus MT from Interco.

LOT'S of guys here in New England run the TrXus on Cruiser, Jeeps, full size pickups, you name it. Very popular on the daily driver/weekend wheeler trucks.
 
I thought long and hard about the Trxus.
Many many good reviews about its capabilities (I've traded many PMs with Nay), but many comments about its longevity. I need to get a few more miles than it sounds like the Trxus gets.
 
Hayes, Get the new MTR's......if you dont like them I will buy them off of you in a few months (at a discount of course ;}). I am planning on buying a set before winter as the new design is wayyyyyy better then the last.
 
Ryan, I would go with the KM2's. Not sure how to compare the new MTR to the old ones but I had a set of old ones and while they are a good trail tire, they were not a great road tire. Without religious rotation, they would quickly develop uneven wear and get noisey. I've been running the BFG ATs and I've been pleasantly surprised by them. They've been good for me here in Utah and work well in Moab. However, I'm with you and slightly more aggressive tire. I'm going to need to replace mine before too long and I think the KM2s will be what I go with.

I have 45K miles on my AT's with about 35% of the tread left. Love that longevity. IIRC the rubber compound is the same between the KM2 and the AT. The crawler is MUCH softer though.
 
Recognizing the balance between longevity and stickiness, I don't want to end up with a tire that is crap on icy roads. I also recognize that MTs are not optimal for snow, and the older BFG MT was generally accepted to be a very poor performer on ice and packed snow.

Thoughts?
 
It appears the new MTR has more of what one would possibly call siping on the inside edge of the tire. I think you should go with those.

Every MT I have had (with the exception of the Big O XT) was not a good ice/snow tire, but you have a heavy, full time 4wd 80. Nothing to worry about...
 
have a buddy runnin trxs on his 100, he got less than 18,000 and they are toast. i would go km2 and have them sipped. much better for going up the canyons in the snow.after i had my old bfg muds sipped i noticed a big difference. just my 2c
the big o on 300 west 900 south, they seemed to have the best price without having to haggle so much. may want to check them out. ive' always had good luck with those guys. good luck
 
I am putting my 2 cents in for the MTR w/Kevlar...it looks a bit more streetable but at the same time self clean really good....the best part for you would seem like the stronger sidewalls for the prickly plants of utah :D. these two are the top of my list too...the MTR's are #1 right now...hope you get them

barrypt5
 
I owned 2 sets of Trxus tires for my 3rd gen 4runner in sizes 265/75/16 and 255/85/16. I am currently in the process of getting rid of my Yokohama Geolander snow/ice tires and SSR's that I've had on my 80 as winter/summer tires respectively so that I can have one set of Trxus. I can't say enough good things about this tire. I live on the coast of Maine, so I see my fair share of ice and snow in the winter. The Trxus is not as good in bare ice, but it makes up for it in the deep snow.

As far as wear, I can't believe what some people are saying about them wearing out in 18,000 miles...that's crazy! I got almost 50K miles out of my 265's and had over 30K miles on my 255s when I got rid of the 4runner and they still had half tread. That is just my experience though, and it was in a lighter vehicle. I did take the 4runner off road as much as possible, but most of the miles ended up being highway.

The Trxus are very quiet and stay that way as long as you keep up on rotating and balancing them frequently.

I doubt I will buy any other tire for my purposes again...

just my .02

:cheers:
 

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