Pulled the Trigger - 275/70/17 KO2 on SR5P

[TexasTEQFan]

275/70/17 KO2’s here a couple of months ago and installed the Bilstein FJ TRD Pro suspension with a Daystar 1.25” Coil Isolator and T13 rear springs. Ended up with a mild 2” up front and an inch in the rear and overall I’m pleased with the stance and the ride is a night to day improvement from stock even with the E rated tires. Looks like I’m giving up about 2 mpg in town and 1 mpg on the highway.

 

[yzhan225]

looks great!

 

[AMFAM Shan]

Looks sharp

 

[RuskiE39]

I got mine from Discount Tire. They matched the lowest price I could find, I was under $200 a tire.

Sweet! Thanks for the info.

Also as a heads up, I did a quick search for these tires on ebay and a whole set sells for $779 (265/70/17), if you wait until one of those 15-20% off coupons for ebay you can get the wheels shipped for as low as $623.

But then you gotta pay mount and balance.

 

[Bumbo]

The truck looks awesome, but you couldn't pay me to get into an E load tire on our trucks.

 

[91324]

The truck looks awesome, but you couldn't pay me to get into an E load tire on our trucks.

Very curious - why is that? Is it because of the gas mileage hit? I’m guessing there is an added 40-50 lbs with the 275 E load vs the 265 C load?


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[p0pe]

The truck looks awesome, but you couldn't pay me to get into an E load tire on our trucks.

Have you tried them? I love my 275 KO2s... they feel way more planted and solid than the 265 rugged terrains I had one before. Slight hit on acceleration but after driving a while it really isn't noticeable. Also extremely quiet.

 

[Bumbo]

Have you tried them? I love my 275 KO2s... they feel way more planted and solid than the 265 rugged terrains I had one before. Slight hit on acceleration but after driving a while it really isn't noticeable. Also extremely quiet.

Of course I have tried them... I used to run E load exclusively on 2 of my trucks for years until I decided to get another set of rims with some road tires and saw nothing but improvement in overall ride quality, handling, and general feel. It got me thinking and I started trying ATs in C and D and really liked it a lot more.

These days I run a 3 ply MT 255 off-road and 265 or 275 P or C load AT for road.

Very curious - why is that? Is it because of the gas mileage hit? I’m guessing there is an added 40-50 lbs with the 275 E load vs the 265 C load?


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Gas mileage is the last thing on my mind... but you could absolutely feel the weight of the tire.

To be honest I used to wonder why everything felt so stiff and why my shocks felt like they were not doing a good job until I realized it was just the tire that didn't want to give.

E load compared to a Passenger tire made is super obvious to me and I found a middle ground was where I wanted to be.

E load made my ride feel chattery and harsh, where a C load allowed the tire to soak up a lot more road junk instead of transferring it into the suspension.

Its similar feeling to airing down on the trail... running full pressure off-road give you the same sensation vs airing down brings the ride quality up.

The only truck that keeps an E load these days is my tow rig which is a 2500 diesel truck.

Unless ur crawling sharp rocks on a regular basis, E load isn't ideal.

 

[91324]

Have you tried them? I love my 275 KO2s... they feel way more planted and solid than the 265 rugged terrains I had one before. Slight hit on acceleration but after driving a while it really isn't noticeable. Also extremely quiet.

What PSI are you running your tires at? I think Discount set mine at 44. I've only driven about 60 miles since install, but I'm wondering if I should lower it just a tad.

 

[p0pe]

What PSI are you running your tires at? I think Discount set mine at 44. I've only driven about 60 miles since install, but I'm wondering if I should lower it just a tad.

Haven't checked them in a while, but I had filled them to about 38 psi last time I aired up. 44 might be too harsh driving on the shitty roads here in Louisiana, lol.

 

[salong53]

Not to hijack a thread, but I've been increasingly displeased with my set of 275/70R17 KO2. I had the initial awe factor just as the OP. They look really cool, and the increased sidewall stiffness definitely improves handling feel compared to the OEM tires.

Now for the problems... I've had them for 45000 miles, and they visibly probably have another 10k left on them, but during that life span they've needed to be rebalanced at almost every rotation, and they've been rotated religiously at 5000 miles. The outer lugs are cupping and wearing very unevenly, causing them to be significantly louder (I've had 2 alignments in their life). The wet pavement traction is completely unacceptable from 20k miles on, even with plenty of tread life left. Stiff sidewalls on the E load tires, while improving handling feel, also result in very harsh manners over choppy pavement. Lastly, they are heavy as hell (about 15lbs heavier per tire). Needless to say, I won't buy them again.

 

[Tejas]

Not to hijack a thread, but I've been increasingly displeased with my set of 275/70R17 KO2. I had the initial awe factor just as the OP. They look really cool, and the increased sidewall stiffness definitely improves handling feel compared to the OEM tires.

Now for the problems... I've had them for 45000 miles, and they visibly probably have another 10k left on them, but during that life span they've needed to be rebalanced at almost every rotation, and they've been rotated religiously at 5000 miles. The outer lugs are cupping and wearing very unevenly, causing them to be significantly louder (I've had 2 alignments in their life). The wet pavement traction is completely unacceptable from 20k miles on, even with plenty of tread life left. Stiff sidewalls on the E load tires, while improving handling feel, also result in very harsh manners over choppy pavement. Lastly, they are heavy as hell (about 15lbs heavier per tire). Needless to say, I won't buy them again.

I couldn't take the factory Pro Nitto's any longer with their crap load range P/SL and overly loud highway noise for such a mild tread pattern. I chose to go with the factory size 265/70R17 BFG KO2's in a load range C because of posts like yours about the load range E's being too harsh on these trucks. At least now I have a more durable and better looking tire with only a 5lb weight gain and no lift or alignment needed. These will do until I can figure out which lift and tire size I want to jump to next year.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

Not to hijack a thread, but I've been increasingly displeased with my set of 275/70R17 KO2. I had the initial awe factor just as the OP. They look really cool, and the increased sidewall stiffness definitely improves handling feel compared to the OEM tires.

Now for the problems... I've had them for 45000 miles, and they visibly probably have another 10k left on them, but during that life span they've needed to be rebalanced at almost every rotation, and they've been rotated religiously at 5000 miles. The outer lugs are cupping and wearing very unevenly, causing them to be significantly louder (I've had 2 alignments in their life). The wet pavement traction is completely unacceptable from 20k miles on, even with plenty of tread life left. Stiff sidewalls on the E load tires, while improving handling feel, also result in very harsh manners over choppy pavement. Lastly, they are heavy as hell (about 15lbs heavier per tire). Needless to say, I won't buy them again.

I have never had any tire on any vehicle last 45k miles let alone have another 10k miles left on them. I would say you got your monies worth out of them.

 

[Bumbo]

I have never had any tire on any vehicle last 45k miles let alone have another 10k miles left on them. I would say you got your monies worth out of them.

My 2nd set of rims/tires are the Michelin LTX MS2 lasted a solid 80k miles... I know road tires are not that popular around here but it was one of the best tires I have ever used on my 4Runner in both milage and on-road performance.

Solid option depending on what you use your truck for.