Who's running 37x12.5 r17 KM2's? (1 Viewer)

[jlg32281]

I'm about to pull the trigger on these and they come with some wheels with 5" back spacing, discuss.

 

[BadReligion]

How much lift do you have? Bumpstop extensions? Fender flares?

 

[Trapper50cal]

I have a friend running 345's on J's and front spacers on stock rims with very little rubbing.

 

[azTony]

In my experience, the KM2's were softer than what I wanted but a good trail tire with thin side walls

 

[jlg32281]

here are some pics of the tires: Flickr: landonr2003's Photostream

Right now I have zero lift. I will be installing FOR gen II springs up front with 30mm spacers with Ironman 2.5" springs in the back with 30mm spacers. I'm also doing a 1" body lift.

What wheels are ya'll running?

azTony, expound on this: "softer than what I wanted" . I daily drive the 80 and hit the trails when I can.

 

[jlg32281]

I do still have flares, but I won't be upset if they get ripped off. I also have 2" bump stop spacers.

 

[darwink1]

Im running the same tires but have rims with a 4" bs. I have no flares or running boards and the tires tuck nicely w/o rubbing. The van has an ome heavy front/med rear lift, no body lift, no bump stop extensions, trimmed rad mount/rear 1/4's and stock gears. 17x9x4"bs pro comp rock crawler rims.

DD'd the km2's all winter and they were fine. Mine are siped though.

D

 

[jlg32281]

"trimmed rad mount/rear 1/4's " What does this mean?

We don't have winter, so I'm not worried about that.

Will 5" back spacing create more rubbing or improve my chances of not rubbing?

 

[darwink1]

"trimmed rad mount/rear 1/4's " What does this mean?

If you look at the head on picture of my van youll notice that it has a pretty low profile front bumper. The lower rad mount (the part that is in front of the tire and attached to the inner fender/front body mount) used to hang low and it bugged me so I cut a triangle out of it, folded it up, and welded it back together. Dont really know if it did anything to clear the tires since I had 285's on there when I did it.

When you look at the picture of the rear end of the van you can see where I cut the rear 1/4 pannel at an angle and the low profile bumper. Again this was done before the 37's were on not out of necessity.

We don't have winter, so I'm not worried about that.

Will 5" back spacing create more rubbing or improve my chances of not rubbing?

5" will tuck tour wheel in closer to the axle and Id think you would be rubbing the inner wheel wells at full stuff and the radius arms at full lock. It seems the consensus is that 4" is perfect for 37x12.5's. You could run a 1" wheel spacer but Id opt for selling the 5" rims and gettinf 4" bs'd ones.

D

 

[80BajaBound]

In my experience, the KM2's were softer than what I wanted but a good trail tire with thin side walls

Soft compound yes, they don't have the longest mileage life plus they chunk from playing in the rocks.
Thin side walls? As in weak? This is the first I've heard of that. I've had a gash in 2 of my tires for almost a year with no issues.
The only knock I've heard of on these tires is the snow and ice performance. It sounds like weather isn't an issue for you.

I have 345's on stock wheels with a 4 inch suspension lift, 1" body lift, 1" wheel spacers, landtank's LCA's and stock bump stops. The front doesn't rub at all, but the rear rubs like crazy at full articulation.

I would worry about the rear more so than the front. You might think about going with a taller spring for the rear.

 

[BadReligion]

Soft compound yes, they don't have the longest mileage life plus they chunk from playing in the rocks.
Thin side walls? As in weak? This is the first I've heard of that. I've had a gash in 2 of my tires for almost a year with no issues.
The only knock I've heard of on these tires is the snow and ice performance. It sounds like weather isn't an issue for you.

I have 345's on stock wheels with a 4 inch suspension lift, 1" body lift, 1" wheel spacers, landtank's LCA's and stock bump stops. The front doesn't rub at all, but the rear rubs like crazy at full articulation.

I would worry about the rear more so than the front. You might think about going with a taller spring for the rear.

I also have the 345s on stock wheels and 4'' lift. Like BajaBound said, no rubbing issues up front. Lots of rub in the rear, added 4" extended bump stops and only minor rub on the frame rails at full flex. Did take a cut off wheel to sections of the rear mud flap and shaved about 1/4 inch of the inner lip of the rear flares. ***edit, didnt realize he is running 1" spacers, that will make you rub a bit more.

Again, kind of scary in hardpack snow/ice but great in the soft stuff. Sounds like once you sipe them they are a great tire in every condition.

Aired down to 16 psi in steep wet rocks, only had to lock the rear to climb some waterfalls and didnt have ANY wheelspin. These are sticky offroad.

Would I buy them again?....definitely. Thought about running these in the 37x12.5x17 but like the OEM wheels. 17'' wheels do open up a lot of options though.

 

[LandCruiserPhil]

The width of the wheel can make a difference on searching for optimum wheel off set. I see that darwink1 is running A 9" width wheel what are the other guys on 37" KM2's running?

As for the KM2 I agree with others on not the greatest on snow but everything they stick like glue.

 

[jlg32281]

I can't count the times I've seen snow here on one hand, not to mention that it's flat here. The tallest hills around here are overpasses on the freeway. I'm not sure the backspacing on the wheel is 5", that's what the seller "thinks" it is. I'll check it out Sunday when I go look at them.

 

[azTony]

Soft compound yes, they don't have the longest mileage life plus they chunk from playing in the rocks.
Thin side walls? As in weak? This is the first I've heard of that. I've had a gash in 2 of my tires for almost a year with no issues.
The only knock I've heard of on these tires is the snow and ice performance. It sounds like weather isn't an issue for you.

I have 345's on stock wheels with a 4 inch suspension lift, 1" body lift, 1" wheel spacers, landtank's LCA's and stock bump stops. The front doesn't rub at all, but the rear rubs like crazy at full articulation.

I would worry about the rear more so than the front. You might think about going with a taller spring for the rear.

That is exactly what my tires looked like when I removed them, cuts in the sidewalls and all. They are soft so will wear much quicker than I thought they would but I agree with LandCruiser Phil, they stick very well and virtually no tire spin.

 

[jlg32281]

I'm still considering these tires and I'm working a good wheel solution. I found out that for $78, Discount Tire can order a basic Cragar steel wheel with whatever back spacing you want. So the question is, what would be the ideal back spacing? I'm thinking 3 or 3.5. Discuss.

 

[therealg]

I am running 35x12.5 KM2's and i love them! I think they are a great tire overall. I don't have a lot of harsh rocks but lots of rough dirt trails and v-cracks and they have performed well. I am running steel wheels from Summit racing with 3.75 backspacing and without flares i have about 1" of tire hanging out from the fenders. They are also not too noisy, but i have less than 10k miles and they have a lot of tread left still. I expect a few more years at least.