BFG Vs Nitto,

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mybenje

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I am in the market for some 285/70/17 for my 04 4 Runner SE, just asking opinions and experiences with both brands, they are both about the same price. I just purchased the 2.5 Daystar level kit, can't wait to put it all together,

Thanks for your help,
 
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They are both a great tire (Assuming you are comparing the Nitto Terra Grappler to the BFG AT KO). I am running my second set of Nitto's, and have had no issues with them yet. BFG's are the only other tire I would consider in the AT category, so you are on a good path choosing between these two tires. Can't go wrong either way.

What will your driving needs be? This will help us determine which one would best suite you.

An example would be the KO's tendency to lose traction, poor ride comfort, huge increases in road noise, etc as they wear.

On the flip side, Nitto's generally wear fairly fast, and you may only see 40-50K out of them. However, by 40-50K you would want to throw away your BFG's anyways, so I don't see that as a weakness of the Nitto's.
 
I've got a tad over 40k miles on my Nittos and I won't hesitate to buy another set by fall.

I'm not saying BFGs are crap but the Nittos are better for a daily driver due to their better dry grip and wet weather manners but I'd give the edge to BFGs when it come to off road but my Nittos have been fine over the last 4 years (and 40k miles) of daily driving and plenty of off road trips and at Discount Tire they saved me over $150 out the door over the BFGs.

And I do have over 10 years of driving on BFGs so I do know the diff between the two and the Nittos have the edge on a daily driver but the BFGs do look the best when parked.
 
Thanks guys, That is very helpful, yes, i was talking AT, I was wondering how the both tires would look on a 04 4Runner SE, mine is not 4Wd, but I was wondering about the wear and look,
 
mybenje said:
Thanks guys, That is very helpful, yes, i was talking AT, I was wondering how the both tires would look on a 04 4Runner SE, mine is not 4Wd, but I was wondering about the wear and look,

So, you are doing this for looks? The BFG has the best looking side profile, IMO. I question whether you NEED this tire. NTG's look good as do many other AT's. Since you are going for looks, you can save money, weight and improve street performance by going for a passenger rated tire. The Bridgestone REVO is available in 285/70/17 for much less than BFG KO's. Kuhmo SAT KL 61's are a decent choice for a mostly on-road lifted 2WD. NTG's are also a good option and available as a p-rated tire as well.
 
As others have stated, if you are staying on-road, then Nittos are fine...however, if that is all that you do, then there are better choices around. Nittos do hum significantly on the highway, more so than BFG AT KO at least on my truck. Bridgestone Dueler REVO is another fine choice that i would pick over Nittos for on-road ride. Other choices: Michelin LTX series, Yokohama Geolander HT/S or AT-S, Goodyear Fortera series, Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmor.

If you do take your rig off-road and are looking for a TRUE all-terrain tire, then there is nothing better than BFG AT KO. But, like people stated above, you do give up some ride comfort and fuel economy to the highway tires. (BFG AT KO only comes in LT, which means that they are heavy tires as opposed to P-rated tires.) If you do NOT off-road, then i would NOT recommend BFG AT KO, even for just looks.

The other thing to consider...if you see snow/ice a lot, then i would also make sure to get a tire with the "snowflake on moutain" symbol.

Good luck...there are many selections out there....
 
Re: Another consideration

jeremysoca said:
Take a look at yokohama ats. Great at tire for the money!

I can state from personal experience that the Yoko Geolander A/T's SUCK on snow. They just can't hold traction anywhere near where a good tire can on the white stuff. I had BFG KO's on my Tacoma, and they were several orders of magnitude higher in performance on snow.

These are what came on mine when I bought her used last November, and I can tell you one thing for sure. They will be gone by next winter.

Yes, I'm aware that these tires are very highly rated by such places as consumer reports, and such, but in this case, they are nuts.
 
If you aren't seeing dirt at all and a true pavement pounder I don't really recommend the Nittos or the KOs and the tires Thai suggested are better for DD driving period.

My mom has the Yok AT-S on her '99 Limited and she has no complaints so far.
 
You may want to read reviews on the BFG's. Here's an example of how people view them. Overall rating is good, but as you can see, they now get pretty bad reviews. Did they change something recently? I knew they drove crappy, had bad wet/snow traction, etc but never to this extent...

I'll copy the first few in the order they are displayed.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars:

"Due to BFG's reputaion for 4x4 vehicles, I bought these with the thought I had made a wise choice. I sure got that wrong. These tires have been troublesome after about the first 5000 miles. Ride and handling are not what I expected for a set of tire that cost the better part of $1000 (all in.) Ride comfort is no good and handling on anything other than a dry surface has been poor. In addition and despite keeping my Explorer in tip top shape, tire wear is surprisingly poor as well. Tire gauge indicates that I might have ~10,000 mile left !! I honestly feel that BFGs are not what they used to be and I don't understand their popularity due to my personal experience. This latest Michigan winter has once again proven to me that I made a bad decision in purchasing these TKOs. I'll be heading to my local tire Discount Store within a week to replace these. Am returning to the Goodyear camp as they've never failed me in many years of driving. I sincerely hope that anyone reading this will look around carefully before paying big $$$ for BFG TKOs. Pat Kalamazoo, Michigan"

Rated 1 out of 5 stars:

"did not get any tread life out of tire, 40,000 miles would great but did not get but 25,000 miles out of the tires. The ride was terrible, noise was to loud. I had these tires ontwo of my older F250 4wd trucks and was a great tire, what happened between 16 & 17 inch wheels to the 18inch wheels the tire is by no comparison to the smaller tires."

Rated 2 out of 5 stars:

" I bought these TKOs based on reputation and positive reviews. Sorry to report that I am very dissapointed. All the criteria for this review (Comfort, Noise, Treadlife, and handling) have been sub-par for a tire of this price. Very poor in snow, rain, and mud. I really don't think the TKO qualifies as a true all-terrain tire. I'ts design is far more biased toward off-road use than highyway and/or city driving. Although, It didn't prove to be anything special when driving over the dunes of Lake Michigan near my home. I've managed 47,000+ miles and am confident that I'll make 50,000+ before replacement. That's hardly anything to brag about though for a tire with a 60,000 guarantee. As soon as these are history (and it won't be too long,) I'm going back to either Goodyear or Michelin as 90% of my driving involves on-road performance. Unless you spend at least 1/2 your time off-road, you'd better look elswhere before buying these."

Rated 1 out of 5 stars:

"Tires are awful. We drove from Mich. To Alaska and had them rotated and had a warranty on them and the tires have no tread left. We bought tires when truck had 98,000 truck now has 109,000. The warranty line sent me to diffrent places to have them looked at and each time they were not "certified dealers" Told me to go back to were I purchased them. Well i'm not driving back to michigan. I will never buy this brand again and make sure people I know do not. What did I buy a warranty? I'm out a lot of time and money. Not Happy!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Rated 1 out of 5 stars:

"Tires were OK ride wise and with acceptable road noise until I had them rotated. Then they became EXTREMELY LOUD and rode horribly. Had to get rid of them. I couldn't put of with the noise. I was suprised how bad these tires were considering their reputation. Wasted my money. Will never buy again."

Rated 1 out of 5 stars:

"Has an unstable ride to it. Does not do well on snow or ice in high altitudes. Loads up and stays loaded up, making it feel like you are on a skating rink with no control. Will not buy this tread design again."
 
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Josh, what is the source of your info? TireRack? DiscountTire consumer reviews? We all know how useful those consumer surveys are! :(

They are probably written by you in multiple forms! :D

Dude, get over it...BFG AT KO is a standard for TRUE all-terrain tires. It is well-proven...hell, just ask Toyota themselves what they use on their off-road trucks!! Hey, just look at what tires Toyota FJ Team had in their official off-road race. Ask Ford what they put on their new upcoming off-road truck, Raptor. Since BFG AT KO is not a cheap tire, you gotta wonder why these big manufacturers are using them on their off-road trucks. I can go on and on. Hey, Hummers still use Nittos...on their bling out 22" rim trucks! Hahaha! It's true...go look it up!!

Got anything else? :p
 
Thai said:
Josh, what is the source of your info? TireRack? DiscountTire consumer reviews? We all know how useful those consumer surveys are! :(

They are probably written by you in multiple forms! :D

Dude, get over it...BFG AT KO is a standard for TRUE all-terrain tires. It is well-proven...hell, just ask Toyota themselves what they use on their off-road trucks!! Hey, just look at what tires Toyota FJ Team had on their off-road race. Ask Ford what they put on their new off-road truck, Raptor. Since BFG AT KO is not a cheap tire, you gotta wonder why these big manufacturers are using them on their off-road trucks. I can go on and on. Hey, Hummers still use Nittos...on their bling out 22" rim trucks! Hahaha! It's true...go look it up!

Got anything else? :p

They are the views of others, not based on my own experiences (although I have owned KO's on my previous trucks, but not my by own choice).

You might be able to find some form of contact information on everyone who gave poor reviews so you can hunt each one down and tell them why they are wrong...
 
HB 4X4 said:
They are the views of others, not based on my own experiences (although I have owned KO's on my previous trucks, but not my by own choice).

You might be able to find some form of contact information on everyone who gave poor reviews so you can hunt each one down and tell them why they are wrong...

Why would i want to? I just look at what the big boys are using in their off-road trucks. And when i say "big boys" i mean people with REAL off-roading experience and/or off-road instructors and/or off-road trucks that come from factory.
 
Thai said:
Why would i want to? I just look at what the big boys are using in their off-road trucks. And when i say "big boys" i mean people with REAL off-roading experience and/or off-road instructors and/or off-road trucks that come from factory.

Not all companies run BFG. On that note, don't race companies ride the tires of the highest bidder? They certainly do not pay for their own tires. Are they free, or does the tire company pay them, in which case, it goes to the highest bidder?

I've never looked into if they are sponsored or if they get paid to run the ads of the company on their truck so I am curious.

I know Camburg is required to race with stickers of their sponsors or they get in trouble, so I would think it's the same for all race companies w/ their sponsors and paid advertisers.

Anyone know?
 
HB 4X4 said:
Not all companies run BFG. On that note, don't race companies ride the tires of the highest bidder? They certainly do not pay for their own tires. Are they free, or does the tire company pay them, in which case, it goes to the highest bidder?

I've never looked into if they are sponsored or if they get paid to run the ads of the company on their truck so I am curious.

I know Camburg is required to race with stickers of their sponsors or they get in trouble, so I would think it's the same for all race companies w/ their sponsors and paid advertisers.

Anyone know?

So, BFG is supplying the FJ Cruiser Trail Editions and the Ford Raptors with the tires for free??? ahhh...no.
 
Bling? Those "flames" or "lightning rods" on the sidewall of the Nittos do appeal to the bling-bling crowd! (BTW, the sidewall design is so cheesy...i laugh everytime i see it! :D ) That along destroys any credibility in my eyes! Come on, it is just too funny...and then you come on here to argue about off-road tires when you are using passenger-rated tires...too funny Josh.

Sorry...but back on topic, i think that the original poster should not go with BFG AT KO due to the reasons listed above.
 
Thai said:
So, BFG is supplying the FJ Cruiser Trail Editions and the Ford Raptors with the tires for free??? ahhh...no.
I never said anything about consumer level vehicles, I said that race trucks use the tires of the highest bidder, such as the Baja races. Hence, the giant logo's plastered all over their trucks.

You also seem to be overlooking the fact that all of the companies that BFG pays to run their tires, run nothing but brand new tires in perfect condition. That's a lot different than consumers who pay over $1k for tires and would like to see more than 20-25k out of their purchase before their teeth rattle out.

Thai said:
Bling? Those "flames" or "lightning rods" on the sidewall of the Nittos do appeal to the bling-bling crowd! (BTW, the sidewall design is so cheesy...i laugh everytime i see it! :D ) That along destroys any credibility in my eyes! Come on, it is just too funny...and then you come on here to argue about off-road tires when you are using passenger-rated tires...too funny Josh.

Sorry...but back on topic, i think that the original poster should not go with BFG AT KO due to the reasons listed above.

Who said anything about bling? You seem to be talking to yourself on this one.

Alas, you speak words of truth. To the original poster, Nitto's would be best for your needs, or you can also expand your search to other tires as well since these aren't the only 2 great tires out there. Take a look at the Goodyear Silent Armors.
 
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