damn, didn't know the KO2's were so poor after awhile in the rain. Thankfully I didn't buy any tires yet.

Are these NITTO tires better in the rain than the stock duelers?
Anyone fit these in the 275/70/17 on their stock suspension? On Nitto website they don't have 275's listed in the G2?!
Any rub when locked?


I'm actually quite surprised on the duelers on how acceptable they are in the rain. As for road noise, on hwy I still find them very loud, not sure if it's the tires or just the overall wind / hwy speeds.

It's rains and snows a lot where I live, so I need some solid tires that can handle this with the odd weekend rush into some bush trails.

I asked the guy who did my install at NTB what weight he had for my LT265/70R17 G2, and he said 50 lbs. I said, ha, I knew they couldn't be 45 lbs with an E load rating! He said, no, if Nitto says they're 45 lbs, then they're 45 lbs. He said the weight NTB has on their shipping label is a shipping/freight weight, and it's almost always a little higher than the manufacturer's spec.

We've had one of the wettest years on record as far as rainfall in middle TN, and these G2s have performed really well. We don't get much snow, maybe one snowfall a year that sticks if we're lucky, so I can't really tell you how well they'd do in regular, heavy snow. If you get a lot of snow, maybe a snowflake tire like the Hankook mentioned on page 2 here would be better for you.

Oh darn. No snowflake symbol on these? Thats a deal breaker for me then. Our hwys require them and they have inspectors checking.

Just got mine installed today 265/70/17 G2.
Really like the way they ride, incredibly happy with them.
Very slight noise, more sure footed than stock tires.

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I just checked both my G2’s (285/70/17) and my original Terra Grapplers (265/70/17). Neither has the snowflake. Both are technically passenger/light truck tires and relatively lightweight. Perhaps the heavier E version of the 285’s has the snowflake.

I will say these tires are very good all around tires, and pretty darn good in the rain and the snow. Good mileage. Quiet compared to the rest.

May be worth noting that some states make exceptions on the snowflake for 4WD vehicles with M+S. Too bad yours doesn’t.




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23k miles in. They're maybe slightly louder on the highway, but they still feel and perform great.

Hit 25k on these tires this week!

I wish I had something new to report on the tires, but it's really just more of the same: quiet on the pavement, great offroad.

I replaced my stock SR5 wheels with some SCS F5s in 17x8.5 and had these G2s mounted up. I lost about 7lbs on each corner, and given that these tires are only 4lbs heavier than the Duelers I had before, my tire/wheel combo is 3lbs less per corner than stock, and that's with 10-ply LT tires. Exciting!

I have a set of KO2's stock size C Rating on 17 TRDP. Up to 20K, great Snow traction and no issues on wet surfaces. Very picky about maintaining alignment and Balance and set pressure at 36PSI. Now have 22K on them. At 20K …… literally wet traction went down the tubes. I do not have a heavy foot. Any water on the road when you start and breaks tractions. No lost traction on turns, but I've backed way off throttle when its raining or wet.


I won't be purchasing KO2's again

Thank you everyone for the responses!!!

KO2’s must be inflated properly in order to perform in the rain, I had them on my 16 Trail, at 40psi they were terrible in the rain, at 37psi they performed way better then Nitto’s....

40 psi is way too high. 37psi seems like a rough ride too, honestly. I keep mine at 35. That's where they pass the chalk test for me.

And it's not that people have problems with their KO2s because they're running them at higher psi...it's because the rubber turns hard at about half tread life, and once this happens many people report not being able to even take off at a slight incline from a stop without spinning their tires.

Absolutely, Lack of channels in the treads makes standing water a problem. Once my Tacoma did a freeway power slide where I was looking through the driver’s side window instead of the windshield.

Stay under 55 mph and it’s manageable.



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Tires really aren’t that hard. Compound that’s too soft or hard affects longevity vs longevity. Tread patterns can have:
- blocks , for mud and maybe deep snow
- sipes, snow traction
- channels, standing water

KO2 have a soft compound and fix longevity problems with lots of tread. They have good sipes which means good snow performance. The channels suck so they lose traction in standing water.

Another problem I’ve ran into is side-wall blow outs and tread separation. Side wall punctures on GoodYear A/T’s left me changing a tire on a hill side trail. Had some Firestone A/T tires ply separate. I’ve had 3 sets of KO2, 50,000 miles ease no problem.

KO2 have 3-ply or 5-ply side walls which is great.



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Now at 24K on the KO'S and wet traction from a stop is horrible. Just tap the throttle and they break loose. I have really backed off on speed on wet roads especially turns.