Which one would you pick?

These all seem like solid options for on/off-road driving. I'm getting either 285/70r17 or 255/80r17 tires depending on which tire I choose.

Tread patterns below:
BFG KO2 | Cooper ST MAXX | Falken Wildpeak AT3W

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I personally chose the Wildpeaks myself after researching and reading reviews for months on all of the various brands, including the 3 you have listed. In the end it came down to price, availability, and aesthetics, since they all did well in the various categories I was interested in, such as wet traction, snow, noise, mud, etc. I opted for the 265/70/17 after rolling them out to the parking lot and comparing to the stock sized tires I was running. They had just the right scale I was looking for, and the sidewalls had the nice aggressive look as well, so I was sold. My second choice was the KO2, but after comparing all of the ratings in various categories, they just didn’t make sense over Wildpeaks because of the additional cost. I’ve had them for about 8 months, and I’m just as happy with them as the day I got them. They absolutely rocked in the snow too!

I have had LT-D KO2s and I have P-metric Wildpeaks on the 4Runner. I looked carefully at ST Maxx recently and talked to a person in the industry I trust as well as to forum members who have had the Maxx.

I would rather choose between 265 70 and 255 75 due to much better tire weight and other options, but in 285 70 17 I would rank them like this:

1. P-metric Wildpeaks. Best overall. Best road performance of the bunch, best road comfort/noise level, great on dirt, great on rock, great in mixed desert terrain, NO airing down offroad, CHEAPER BY A LOT, weighs 50lb. Weaknesses: least strong sidewalls (but see cheaper by a lot), extremely fast initial wear, then wear slows down tremendously so it evens out with the KO2 in my use (soft, high-performance compound outside? Falken would not answer that question).

Big gap, then:

2. LT-E ST Maxx. Best offroad of the bunch, strongest tire by far even over LTE KO2, and the only of the three tires that should do reasonably well in mud. Other than that it is a litany of negatives: commercial offroad tire with questionable on road manners, tough to balance, wanders on road, and is the heaviest of the bunch. I would love to have a dedicated set for offroad use, which might actually happen but I am trying to stay away from that (been there, done it before).

3. LT-C KO2. Known commodity off and on road. Good everywhere, great nowhere, may or may not be appreciably stronger than P-metric Wildpeak offroad, debatable. But good enough and light enough on road. In my use, KO2 wear was opposite Wildpeak wear. It was nonexistent at first and then sped up a lot, evening out with the Wildpeak after 16000 miles.

4. Tie: LT-E KO2 and LT-E Wildpeak. I don't see the point, personally. If it will be LTE, I would rather just go all the way to the best offroad tire of the bunch, which is the Maxx. I would not want to put up with the LTE KO2 on road knowing there is a better offroad tire with similar on road performance. As for the Wildpeak, I would not want LTE without a 3-ply sidewall.

That's me though. Tires are like shoes. What fits me may not fit you at all.

EDIT: there will soon be a 285 70 17 LT-C Wildpeak. It is not on the website but that's the new stock tire of the Gladiator Rubicon. Considering how heavy the LTC 275 70 17 Wildpeak is, I would not hold my breadth for the 285 version being any better in that department.

I went with the Maxx because I wanted 255/80/17's. They pull to the right as others have mentioned, have some road noise, and are a bit heavier then the others. Been too busy to really test out thier traction offroad, but that's why I bought them. I don't commute with my 4R either..

That seems perfect for you then.

If I were to go dual setup again, it would have to be the opposite to what I previously had (mild tires in town and KO2s for trips). Since the desert here is harsher than in UT or CO (and we travel further than that), I would have to have the Maxx as daily and weekend tire and the P Wildpeaks as long trips tire. Kinda crazy. That's why I hope to stay with one set!

I also agree that going to an 80 profile, the E-load may not be a negative as you would want that extra stiff sidewall in corners.

At the end, there is no one-size-fits-all with tires.

Your summary is excellent, and mirrors what I have read through countless reviews and threads that I researched in the many months prior to my purchase. The reason it took me so long was that I couldn’t make a decision on wheels mainly, so it bought me extra time for tire research. Since most of my use is on road, and I hate the whining of most off road tires (but love the look), it narrowed the field considerably for me. Just want to mention another tire to consider, which I personally ran and liked. The Toyo Open Country ATII. They had a nice look, and were super quiet, also reviewed very well in most categories. I just wanted to try something different this time, and since the Falkens were quite a bit cheaper (the Toyos were on par with KO2 price wise), I decided to give them a shot, since I really liked the aesthetics of them.

St maxx is the only thing I’ll ever run again.

Quiet for how aggressive they are.

Mine don’t pull either direction....

Why did you rank the LT-E ST Maxx over the LT-C KO2? KO2 sounds like a good all-rounder, while the ST Maxx is great off road, but questionable on road.

I too am rocking the ST MAXX 255/80/17 and they are the best tires I have ever used on the 4runner. Excellent on-road manners for me, no wandering (if rotated correctly and aired up!) and absolutely amazing in ice, mud, and snow...They are heavy, but it's a truck tire, not a car tire. I have the 10plys and keep them at 70psi in the summer months and 60 psi in the winter months (more psi in front by 5psi for better handling). On road you feel more of the road...so if your roads are "crappy" and full of frost heaves and potholes, yes, you will feel them more int he ST MAXX then other , softer tires...my opinion is, you WANT to feel the road to make the best decisions while driving...there is nothing numb-feeling about the tires and if one wanted a car-like driving experience it always makes me smile hearing people's thoughts/desires when they chose to own a 4runner over a Prius...regardless, the ST MAXX will last the longest, give you the best traction depending on your purpose of use, and look great like the others! I've rocked the KO2s and the MAXX outperforms them hands down.

For what it's worth, this is merely my candid opinion so calm down if it offended you ;)

I loved my ATII, they did exceptionally well on dirt, until they became very loud right at the 20,000 mile mark. Did that never happen to your set? It was a very annoying noise, not humming, more like flapping. Not on the 4Runner.

Good to know! Have they remained quiet with age?

As I said, that's me. For me, the gulf is between P metric and LT. Once you decide on LT, you are married to airing down as SoP, which in my use is a big hassle. We don't want it, we go solo and don't have to wait for others either.

So, for me, once I have to put up with airing down and up, I would rather move all the way to the best offroad tire on the table.

If you want to go 0.5" lower, there two amazing options and a third to consider:

LT-C 255 75 17 Cooper Maxx is super appealing, 54lb vs 62 in LTE 285 70.
P 265 70 17 Wildpeaks are 140/tire
LT-D 265 70 KO2 does not exist on the BFG page but are on the Discount Tire site, have been for months.

If I wanted back into KO2, the LTD 265 70 17 would be my choice.

For me, 285 70 is an irrelevant size because of high prices and big weight penalties plus mods all for an inconsequential 0.5" lift. But, again, that's me. Mileage will vary!

With regard to the ATIIs, no, they were very quiet, in fact I’m probably going to sell the factory wheels with them on it. They weren’t awesome in snow though the last year I ran them though. They still have useable tread, but just not enough for the winters here in NE. The Falkens on the other hand are better than anything I’ve run in the snow so far. I’d say their triple peak snow rating is well deserved! I’m also loving the 265/70 size, as you pointed out, the 285 just isn’t worth the extra .5 inch for the weight penalty.

Agreed. As much as I like the look of beefy tires, I find myself coming back to "skinnier" tires out of practicality (lighter, better off-road in certain situations, and no bodymount chop).


The 255/80r17 Coopers are currently my top choice. Will likely pull the trigger on Memorial day off discount tire.

How'd you land at 60-70 PSI for the tires?

I run mine at 38 and 36.. that seem really high to me too.

I was in a similar spot and went with Falken 255/80r17's because they are easier to fit (no BMC), and they are very light for an E load tire, which definitely helps the mpg's.