Need new tires

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Sinister

Sinister

SILVER Star
10 Year
Joined
Sep 19, 2012
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Location
Long Island, NY
Almost time to replace my tires, 275/70/18 KO2 load E, with almost 65k on them. I don’t tow or off road other then the beach so I’m thinking of going back to the stock size (285/60/18) with the D rating. I know there will be a ride difference probably more forgiving and less harsh? Anyone have the KO2 D rated tires?
Pros/cons.....?
Let’s hear it.
 
Sinister said:
Almost time to replace my tires, 275/70/18 KO2 load E, with almost 65k on them. I don’t tow or off road other then the beach so I’m thinking of going back to the stock size (285/60/18) with the D rating. I know there will be a ride difference probably more forgiving and less harsh? Anyone have the KO2 D rated tires?
Pros/cons.....?
Let’s hear it.
Click to expand...

They will require nearly the same pressure and only save a few pounds, so there probably won’t be much difference.

If you really want to improve ride go back to a p-metric. There is only so much you can do when staying with a light truck tire.
 
If you want an outstanding tire with unquestionably the best ride, comfort, and street and highway durability - Michelin LTX M/S2. I’ve personally put 100k miles on a set of these mounted To my old 4Runner. You can’t kill these tires.

Unless you’re truly taking your truck off road and need big harsh nobby tires. Most don’t here in the US - it’s just for looks, if you like that sort of thing. Stick with a normal A/T tire and you’ll be much much happier.
 
BrownDog09 said:
If you want an outstanding tire with unquestionably the best ride, comfort, and street and highway durability - Michelin LTX M/S2. I’ve personally put 100k miles on a set of these mounted To my old 4Runner. You can’t kill these tires.

Unless you’re truly taking your truck off road and need big harsh nobby tires. Most don’t here in the US - it’s just for looks, if you like that sort of thing. Stick with a normal A/T tire and you’ll be much much happier.
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The traction is horrible. I couldn't wait to get rid of the LTX on every car I've had them on when I bought it. Want looks only, try the rugged trails they put on my last Taco trd...
 
When we went to 285/75-16’s on the 3rd gen, we were thinking the same, go down to D’s (KO’s). I can honestly say I didn’t notice a difference between the E’s. But that’s a much lighter vehicle. Maybe more noticeable on an LC.
 
For road performance, I haven't seen much better than the Michelin LTX.

I have found the General Grabber ATX's to also have better road manners than the KO2. Falken Wildpeak AT3W's and maybe even Cooper STT Pro's are other popular true all terrains for road performance as well.

I personally wouldn't expect KO2's, D rated or otherwise, to amaze in the road manners department. They surely get the job done well, but they can get noisy as the miles wear on, and the ride isn't super remarkable.
 
The KO2 is an antique with a long history of fanboys and mediocrity. (Flame suit on.) It is vastly better than the majority of road tires for sure, but history has blown past it. Do a google search for complaints and total failure of the cap. The advice here is solid, get LT or p-metric tires for less harshness than a load rated tire. Sand tires are wide and smoother so they don't dig down. I use https://www.continentaltire.com/product/terraincontact Terrain Contacts because I'm 80% street and 20 real gnarly. They don't seem to cut or pick up screws, and have done me right in noise and even wear. I crawl with them and they do great. But there are many great tires out there made in the last 5 years with much better compounds and design than the 02.
 
Bunga said:
The KO2 is an antique with a long history of fanboys and mediocrity. (Flame suit on.) It is vastly better than the majority of road tires for sure, but history has blown past it. Do a google search for complaints and total failure of the cap. The advice here is solid, get LT or p-metric tires for less harshness than a load rated tire. Sand tires are wide and smoother so they don't dig down. I use https://www.continentaltire.com/product/terraincontact Terrain Contacts because I'm 80% street and 20 real gnarly. They don't seem to cut or pick up screws, and have done me right in noise and even wear. I crawl with them and they do great. But there are many great tires out there made in the last 5 years with much better compounds and design than the 02.
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I’m running small brand, Amp, so I have no dog in the hunt but what tires would you recommend over KO2s?
 
The hybrid tires are all pretty amazing. Open country RT good, Nitto Ridge grappler(!) I do mostly street so using stock rims and the contis.

Cooper makes a ton of decent tires (S/T Maxx/STT Pro both amazing for their specific purpose; not a fan of the At3 vs the conti), and the Toyo Open County MT I think is the leader in that MT pack, but the BFG KM3 is a modern high quality tire.
 
CharlieS said:
The traction is horrible. I couldn't wait to get rid of the LTX on every car I've had them on when I bought it. Want looks only, try the rugged trails they put on my last Taco trd...
Click to expand...
I have found traction on the LTX (&MS2) to be marginal too especially wet traction after 35-40k. There’s plenty of tread depth but what good is it if the rubber is hard? The other thing is I swear Michelin magnetizes the steel belts. Every time I end up running these it’s ‘nail/screw city’. The nearly identical Toyo HT doesn’t last quite as long but the belts aren’t magnetized and the traction is better.
 
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timjax said:
For road performance, I haven't seen much better than the Michelin LTX.

I have found the General Grabber ATX's to also have better road manners than the KO2. Falken Wildpeak AT3W's and maybe even Cooper STT Pro's are other popular true all terrains for road performance as well.

I personally wouldn't expect KO2's, D rated or otherwise, to amaze in the road manners department. They surely get the job done well, but they can get noisy as the miles wear on, and the ride isn't super remarkable.
Click to expand...
How did your Generals balance out? Are they round and smooth on the highway? I do a huge percentile of my driving at 55-85mph so balance is extremely important to me.
 
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CJ3Flyer said:
How did your Generals balance out? Are they round and smooth on the highway? I do a huge percentile of my driving at 55-85mph so balance is extremely important to me.
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My set balanced well! Did not need too many weights, and no unwarranted vibrating or shaking even at very high highway speeds (85+mph). I have read positive feedback from others online similarly, but I think an early batch of them did not balance well from some forum posts I've seen. I ordered my set from Tire Rack and had them road force balanced on my Method wheels locally. YMMV

Noise wise, they seem very quiet for an All Terrain, definitely quieter than KO2's and Toyo's (don't have experience with others). The Falken Wildpeak AT3W are probably the only other one I've heard consistently good feedback about on and off road as well. Traction and wet performance is great so far, and they are one of the highest rated for snow/ice (I live in Texas though...). I believe Continental/General co. does a lot of R&D in road noise, as well as wet and snow/ice conditions across their tire lineups.

They perform well in dirt, sand, etc, but I have not tried them over serious big slippery rocks yet. Probably the best on road performance from this aggressive of an all-terrain imo. IMO they are some of the best looking All Terrains too, if the knobby, rugged look is a priority to you:
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I've had the Toyo Open Country ATII Xtreme on our 2011 LX570 for almost 2 years. Size 285/55R20. Had them siped when installed for better winter traction. Very happy with their overall performance over the 4 seasons. Ice conditions can be problematic...but I would have a dedicated studded winter tire if were a consistent winter condition here in Idaho. Road noise is definitely present over the original equipment Michelins, but no one has complained since installation. I have the Open Country ATII on my '07 LC, '07 LX and '95 LC...been very happy with the ownership experience and performance on those platforms. The only reason I don't have them on the '75 FJ40 is size availability on the 15" wheel...the BFG about the only option there.

2011LX570.webp
 
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