Official 200 Series Chat and BS Thread (2 Viewers)

[SWUtah]

KO2's are suppose to be a different rubber compound then KO's. I agree KO's were worthless in snow on my 80 series. Now have KO2's but live in Florida so I can't comment on snow usage other then they have the snowflake

 

[SWUtah]

From personal experience, the KO2s are horrible in ice and slick snow (but good in deep and/or dry powdery Utah snow). We run KO2s on my wifes 4Runner. She got stuck in an ice storm in Portland when 2wd cars were passing her. I drove to where she was with my 03 4Runner with Grabber At2s and was able to pull her up the hill. The Grabbers were able to get purchase and move two cars and the KO2s just spun out, even after letting out a ton of air.

The KO2s are a great tire, and last a long time. We are between 30 and 40k miles on ours and they look practically new. I think the hard compound is the reason they suck in slick conditions. My At2s were pretty worn out at 35k miles.

We ended up putting dedicated snows on my wife's 4Runner, and the Blizzaks are amazingly better. I'd never run dedicated winters before, and even with my current Falken At3/Ws, which are good in snow, I recently decided to get dedicated winter tires (studded Cooper M+S). Haven't had much snow to test them, but we can cars sliding around yesterday morning with some icy fog and I was firmly planted.

I think winters are a bit overkill, but I drive through some sketchy passes regularly, so for the low cost I decided it was worth the extra control.

If I go to a year round AT again, I will probably get the Cooper ATW or ST Maxx. Based on the poor traction of the KO2, I will never buy them again.

How often do you rotate your KO2's for wear?

 

[40Man]

How often do you rotate your KO2's for wear?

Once a year when I put on snows. Probably 7 to 8k miles on average. Definitely went over 10k at least once. They have held up well and have not been finicky about rotation. I do not track a pattern when I take them off, just use a tread gauge and put the tires with > tread up front. Guessing they will go 60k plus as 3 season tires before needing to replace. Keep in mind this is on my 4R, so treadwear may be a bit more on a LC.

 

[fubuki]

Spotted at Stevens Pass, WA yesterday. Plate was USG (Army). Still trying to figure out which market it's from. Pretty sure the badge said V8, so that would mean the 4.6L VDJ200. Some markets have the 4.0L V6 in the GXR.

 

[NMNORSSE]

I'm pretty sure the 0 miles left is when the gas light goes on. Not when the tank is empty.

Gas light goes on you have around 4.5 gallons .... at 10mpg (at worst) you can get another 45 miles BUT DO NOT hold me to that

Older post, but thought I'd toss something into the mix on the early fuel warnings.

Fuel pump failure is hastened by heat. The LC's fuel pump is mounted in the tank and cooled by the fuel. The fuel that comes back to the tank from the engine bay in the return line is pretty warm, hot even when it gets low. If your tank is empty empty, your pump is getting pretty warm, and stepping closer and faster to failure. So, maybe the early fuel warnings are designed to extend pump life.

My mechanic is pushing 70 and has been wrenching professionally on german cars since his teens (his mid 40s son does the work now). This is what he told me when reccomending not getting much below a quarter tank to make the fuel pump live longer.

 

[Markuson]

Older post, but thought I'd toss something into the mix on the early fuel warnings.

Fuel pump failure is hastened by heat. The LC's fuel pump is mounted in the tank and cooled by the fuel. The fuel that comes back to the tank from the engine bay in the return line is pretty warm, hot even when it gets low. If your tank is empty empty, your pump is getting pretty warm, and stepping closer and faster to failure. So, maybe the early fuel warnings are designed to extend pump life.

My mechanic is pushing 70 and has been wrenching professionally on german cars since his teens (his mid 40s son does the work now). This is what he told me when reccomending not getting much below a quarter tank to make the fuel pump live longer.

Never would have thought of that factor with the pump. Interesting.

 

[KLF]

I like the steering wheel, but I'll keep my "boring beige" thanks.

Beige Interior Banished from Toyota Land Cruiser in Latest Vilner Creation | Automobile Magazine

 

[TexAZ]

@fubuki , there was a member stationed overseas that posted a picture of this truck a few months back. was looking at buying one when they returned stateside....

I just remember asking about those wheels. solid aluminum. would be cool to be able to check it out if stateside.

 

[stridertexas]

In my estimation, the Cooper ATW, Falken AT3W and Goodyear Duratracs are probably the best year round AT tires for winter weather. Both the Duratrac and At3w have softer compounds, and the p rated at3w has a silica in the tread that is supposed to enhance traction on wet and icy surfaces. The downside to softer tires is wear, and you need to rotate them religiously or they get noisy, especially duratracs. The ATW has a lot more siping than any other AT I have seen, it is like an all terrain version of the Michelin MS/2:

I only used the Falkens in one snowstorm and they were great.

To meet the snowflake symbol, a tire only has to have 10% better than a baseline tire, which is an outdated all season. So a dedicated winter like a Blizzak and a KO2 will both have snowflakes. I believe all of the KOs had the same compound, but not all were tested for snowflake compliance, as it is expensive to do so.

Do you think Michelin M/S2’s are worth a darn in the snow. Thinking of taking a road trip to CO in February with these.

Just curious.

 

[40Man]

Do you think Michelin M/S2’s are worth a darn in the snow. Thinking of taking a road trip to CO in February with these.

Just curious.

I had them on my Tacoma and drove them through Donner Pass with a lot of snow a few times. Did pretty well.

 

[slowride]

Michelin M/S2's are great tires!!! I've being using the LTX M/S and M/S2's since 2002 on a variety of Honda SUV's... They are GREAT tires and you can easily get 80K+ out of them without trying... They are good in snow, look at Tirerack for reviews... The ONLY thing to be aware of is they tend to soft spot when sitting for a weekend or week... The tires flat spot while cold, but they will get round again after a few miles of building up heat and roll quietly... Yes, I have KO2's on the Cruiser becauZZZe they belong on the cruiser and to look like a badass at Nordstrom's...LOL...

You can't go wrong with the LTX M/S2's... I will put them on my other than LC SUV's again and again... See Tire Rack...

Jeff

 

[MrCWineMan]

Do you think Michelin M/S2’s are worth a darn in the snow. Thinking of taking a road trip to CO in February with these.

Just curious.

Don’t worry, summers will be fine at this point unless it actually snows here soon.

Back to the KO v. the KO2’s - I had two sets of KO’s on my 97 4Runner while I was a ski coach in NH and CO, and they were pretty good in the snow, deiced-snow-slush junk, in snow, and below average on ice. On the 200 I swapped to the KO2’s pretty fast, and last winter hit a pretty big snow storm returning from a client meeting in the mountains; they are similar to the KO’s but with maybe a 10-20% better ice grip. Granted the difference could be the LC weight vs. the 4Runner.

So far nothing is as good as my SQ5 on blizzaks.

 

[ryanCA]

just did Nokian Hakkapeliitta 285/60/18

Like them way more than blizzaks

 

[SWUtah]

just did Nokian Hakkapeliitta 285/60/18

Like them way more than blizzaks

Your Ryan from California “why snow tires”. But if you need dedicated snow tires Nokians are supposed to be the best.

 

[ryanCA]

Your Ryan from California “why snow tires”. But if you need dedicated snow tires Nokians are supposed to be the best.

Because I need snow tires to go to the mall to look cool in my land cruiser


In all seriousness, I have two properties in California (away from my permanent home), where snow tires/chains are required

Lived 10 years in Boston and used blizzaks then in NE

After having Nokian never going back

 

[SWUtah]

Merry Christmas everyone!

 

[Chip503]

I read the iH8mud 200 series forum daily. I purchased a 2hundo last November, then ended up moving overseas. I have noticed as I have lurked and read your guys threads that there are numerous military and former military guys. Just curious as to where y’all work and what you do. I’ll start, I am Army (Inf) stationed in Italy.

 

[usmcHOG]

Thanks for your service @Chip503. Former Marine, now an LEO.

 

[SWUtah]

Marine 69-71 active duty. LEO in the 80's and old retired guy present

 

[TonyP]

I read the iH8mud 200 series forum daily. I purchased a 2hundo last November, then ended up moving overseas. I have noticed as I have lurked and read your guys threads that there are numerous military and former military guys. Just curious as to where y’all work and what you do. I’ll start, I am Army (Inf) stationed in Italy.

AF, Munitions, Aug '01 - Current