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....
Nitto Terra Grappler G2 LT265/70R17 – a review in real time
- Thread starter 2012sr5
- Start date
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....
2012sr5
New member
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.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
- 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.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Hadelson
New member
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.
20k on my ko2s E rated and they are pretty okay in dry but not confidence inspiring in wet conditions. When the overactive EBD kicks in all hell breaks loose ha. I think I just have to keep in mind the 4runner is a heavy beast compared to a sedan and the Tacoma. Overall KO2s are just okay at everything and great at nothing really except looking good and maybe being a quieter A/T of the group.
I'm at 30k with my Nitto tires that came on my Pro. Run them around 33-35 psi, rotated every 5k and the tread depth looks fine. My issue is it's now the rainy season here and these tires are sliding all over the place. I have never had this issue with them before, mind you they have never been really good in the rain. From corning to hard acceleration, you can really feel them loosing grip, not sure I will let my daughter drive it any more.
2012sr5
New member
Interesting. I'm creeping up on 30k and do not have anything like the issues you mentioned, and we've had a ton of rain this fall. My LTs still feel very grippy through cornering, acceleration, and takeoff on an incline whether it's wet or dry.
UtahRnr
New member
There's a reason for this. And it's not necessarily the tire. I'm a pilot, and we learn to calculate hydroplaning speed on the fly.
Dynamic hydroplaning speed is calculated as:
Vp (hydroplaning speed in knots) = the square root of tire PSI x 8.6
So... if your tires are at 35 psi, the square root of that is 5.916, and we multiply that by 8.6 to get 50.87 knots per hour.
Converting 54 knots to mph is 58.5 mph. This is why under 55 mph your tires feel more stable ... because you're under the dynamic hydroplaning speed. Above 58.5 mph at 35 psi your chance of hydroplaning goes up exponentially.
My point is that you may find some slight differences in hydroplaning above the dynamic hydroplaning speed from one model of tire to another, but generally they will all hydroplane (for a given tire size and psi) at the same speed.
And all tires will hydroplane at some point, its inevitable.
Running a lower PSI actually decreases the speed at which you hydroplane (this is bad, not good) because you're increasing your tire surface area coming into contact with the standing water, giving it more room to contact water surface and slip. A smaller tire footprint would technically have a higher hydroplaning speed (this is good) because it has a smaller surface area contact patch with the standing water. I.e. smaller tire surface area, lower chance of hydroplaning.
Tires can hydroplane on as little at 1/1000th of an inch of water.
Science class is dismissed.
Edit: Your first sentence about lack of channels causing issues is absolutely correct. They help because (1) they reduce the surface area (contact patch) with the standing water (this doesn't take into account the added surface area from the channels themselves, which actually increase overall tire surface area), and (2) the channels provide an outlet for the standing water.
Last edited:
2012sr5
New member
So, I'm at 31k on these tires. Just took a trip offroad yesterday at The Land Between The Lakes. Aired down to 24 psi and had no problems getting through some really muddy spots or areas on the beach of very loose lake gravel.
My only concern is that I did have a little bit of slippage about a month ago in rain on wet pavement. I was accelerating on an incline making a left turn from a dead stop. First time I've experienced any slippage at all. It's been about a month since, and I have had no other problems in the rain. Just including that bit of info in the spirit of full transparency.
Overall, still dig these. I'm curious to see if the rain slippage happens again. It's been a month or so and we've had lots of rain since then. I won't take so long till my next update.
My only concern is that I did have a little bit of slippage about a month ago in rain on wet pavement. I was accelerating on an incline making a left turn from a dead stop. First time I've experienced any slippage at all. It's been about a month since, and I have had no other problems in the rain. Just including that bit of info in the spirit of full transparency.
Overall, still dig these. I'm curious to see if the rain slippage happens again. It's been a month or so and we've had lots of rain since then. I won't take so long till my next update.
2012sr5
New member
After a summer of lots of travel, I am at 37.6k on these LT G2s. We are really racking up the miles! We've had lots of rain in the last few months, and I haven't had any more slippage on wet pavement. I did some trails this summer and aired down to 18psi. It was amazing, like floating over the rocks and ruts.
Keep in mind as you read my reviews, I rotate these tires very frequently. Usually around 3-4k miles.
Still very happy with my purchase. I am thinking about going to 285s, but with all the extra weight that comes with jumping up in tire size, I may try to find something that comes in C-load or even P :wow:
Keep in mind as you read my reviews, I rotate these tires very frequently. Usually around 3-4k miles.
Still very happy with my purchase. I am thinking about going to 285s, but with all the extra weight that comes with jumping up in tire size, I may try to find something that comes in C-load or even P :wow:
MAST4R
New member
Great to see someone who knows something about something post something
Many thanks for your informative thread.
We have discussed P-metric offroading ad nauseum in other threads. Just stick to a design with good shoulder protectors, do not air down unnecessarily, and make sure you have a matching spare.
Alternatively, just stick with 265s. A 285 won't get you one extra trail over a 265. It is not like jumping from 29 to 33 or 32 to 37 on a Jeep.
If you go that 285 route, LTC KO2 is 51lb if you are willing to have a Q speed tire. They also have LTC in S but that is much heavier (57-58). You can have a T rated Wildpeak for 50lb.
I just screenshotted your post because that's fascinating and I'm going to look into that. Not questioning you, but am curious about it myself now seeing somebody actually post about it.
WVhillbilly
Member
Every set of BFGs I've had are horrible in the wet at about half tread.
They look great, but get VERY bad in the rain very suddenly.
It's why I don't buy them anymore.
The Nittos are great though.
They look great, but get VERY bad in the rain very suddenly.
It's why I don't buy them anymore.
The Nittos are great though.
GG5thGen
New member
I mentioned this in another thread that I have regular Terra Grapplers on my stock '19 ORP. We recently did a long road trip in which we drove in a lot of heavy rain at around 70 mph a lot of the time. I never once experienced any hydroplaning and the vehicle always felt secure on the West Texas highways we were on. Temperatures were in the 30s and 40s. I try to keep around 32 psi in them. I'm happy with the tires and will probably replace with the same thing, maybe G2s, when I need new tires.
