TIRES- Kicking a Dead Horse

[GNB]

Hello. I saw your post whilst roaming the forum and thought I can give my opinion. I have a 2016 Trail Premium and am running BF Goodrich T/A KO2 tires 285/70 R17. I bought them immediately along with Pro Comp rims after purchasing my 4Runner 3 years ago. So far I have taken them in mud, snow, and sand and have yet had an issue. I have 65k mikes on them and dealer told me last week during my oil change I still have 40% tread left. I have driven from California to Florida twice, just to give you an idea of the road conditions these tires have been through. When I lived in CA and had quads I would pull them on the 2500lb uhaul trailer and would take them to sand dunes like Sandy Hallow in Utah or Superstition and Glamis in California. Not once did I get stuck. The tread on these tires make it for a quiet ride and have overall great offroad capability. This new version of the tires that came out a few years ago added a thicker portion where the tread meets the sidewall and it helps with traction should you decide to rock crawl or something like that.

Thanks for the write up! The BF T/A KO2's are giving you very impressive mileage longevity for such an aggressive off road tire . They certainly look good for a vehicle like the 4Runner. The vast majority of my driving is in the city and on the hightway. So, smooth riding, excellent rain performance and low rolling resistance for the MPG would be considerations.

The OEM tires on my 2015 TRD are the Nitto Terra Grapplers (265/70-17). They are a bit noisy on the highway. I wonder how the K02's might compare to the Nittos in terms of highway noise, wet conditions, and longevity ? I don't think the Nitto's great in the rain on highways, I'd rate the tire maybe a C plus overall.

 

[newchapter]

I'm between Michelin's and AT/3's

 

[joebagadoughnuts]

I had a local shop provide road force balance on a set of tires on my wife's 2007 Saturn Vue. Made a positive difference. They charged $25.00/wheel as I did not purchase those tires from them.
When purchasing the Continental TerrainContact A/T OWL 255/75/17 for my 2016 TR4 SR5, there was no additional charge as they always use the road force balance machine as standard practice.

 

[jbinmd]

I'm running the Cooper AT3 4S's in 265/70-17 for a few thousand miles now and they are excellent at everything. I'm a big fan of Conti's on all of my other vehicles, so next time, I plan to try to Conti's in 255/75-17 since I now have a lift and the larger diameter will feel out the wheel well a little more.

On my 4runner, the speedo reads fast by about 1.5mph @65mph when compared to an outboard GPS. I'm thinking the slightly larger 255/75 diameter might make the speedo more accurate.

 

[DanTh3Man]

I'm between Michelin's and AT/3's

I've got the AT3's. No complaints from me.

Definitely a lot quieter than the Duratracs I was running.

 

[GNB]

Ok, I looked at the Michelin Defender Tire while at Costco the other day.

Aesthetically, to me they look 100% street . Other than that, it seemed to me the thread patch is noticeably narrower than the sidewalls. Or was that just me ? Would going to an alternate sizing on the factory wheels help ( and no modification to vehicle)?

I live in Houston, drive 90% or more on highways and city streets . Down here, the primary drivers for a tire for me are 1) Wet Road Performance and 2) Dry Road Performance.

It seems the Michelin Defender shines in those areas. But I also don't want to "castrate" the looks of my 2015 $Runner TRD's aggressive look.

Thoughts?

 

[mteolus]

Take a look at Toyo Open Country P-Rated. A buddy of mine has them on his Jeep Rubicon and they are nice looking, quiet and he's never had any problems with them off-road. Toyo is the same company that manufactures Nitto's too.

I bought my KO2's at a Discount Tire store and they did a road force balance no charge.

 

[Rcrai]

I haven't used the terraincontacts. I didn't know they existed. But I do run the contact line on my commuters. I really like the conti contact line.

 

[sarcoid]

I ran Michelins LTX M/S for 175,000 miles on a Tacoma and they are great tires in wet and dry. I switched to Firestone Destinations for about 40,000 miles which were very similar to the Michelins. The stock Deulers that are on the 4Runner are a step down from the Firestones, if that gives you any reference.

I do a lot of highway miles and researched for the past 3 months which tire will give me good performance and looks. I ordered the Mickey Thompson Deegan 38 A/T. Stayed with the 265 size to avoid gas milage issues. Should be here Monday and on the truck later this week.

 

[Swipter]

Please post a pic once installed.

 

[heybert]

I’ve been doing some research and was about to tell you to look into the Cooper Discoverer ATW’s then I saw you were in Houston. Guess we have different priorities on what we need in a tire. Having said that, the AT3’s may fit the bill!

 

[lyodbraun]

I’ve been doing some research and was about to tell you to look into the Cooper Discoverer ATW’s then I saw you were in Houston. Guess we have different priorities on what we need in a tire. Having said that, the AT3’s may fit the bill!

That’s what I put on mine the cooper AT/w and so far I’m loving them so far they move water like crazy.. my other choice was gonna be the continental terrain contact A/T I put those on the wife’s highlander and they perform great...

 

[GNB]

That’s what I put on mine the cooper AT/w and so far I’m loving them so far they move water like crazy.. my other choice was gonna be the continental terrain contact A/T I put those on the wife’s highlander and they perform great...

Leaning towards the Continental ALL TerrainContacts. The Michelin Defenders get great reviews. I compared them side by side at Costco with the Michelin M/S, the Defenders definitely have a narrower tire patch compared to the sidewalls. I am sure they are great tires, but, just have a hard time seeing them on my TRD.

 

[lyodbraun]

Leaning towards the Continental ALL TerrainContacts. The Michelin Defenders get great reviews. I compared them side by side at Costco with the Michelin M/S, the Defenders definitely have a narrower tire patch compared to the sidewalls. I am sure they are great tires, but, just have a hard time seeing them on my TRD.

Yeah the looks are definitely not the greatest, I was into the looks more so at one point as well, but I chose function over looks this time around and went with a tire that’s gonna work well for my driving habits.. on my old taco I ran cooper ST MAX tires which were great but just a bit too heavy for the tacos fuel consumption lol... but definitely a great tire..

 

[efinkens1]

I’ve been doing some research and was about to tell you to look into the Cooper Discoverer ATW’s then I saw you were in Houston. Guess we have different priorities on what we need in a tire. Having said that, the AT3’s may fit the bill!

I had ‘em and did not like them one bit. Super loud. I swapped them out for a set Of Continental TerrainContacts and was much happier.


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[heybert]

I had ‘em and did not like them one bit. Super loud. I swapped them out for a set Of Continental TerrainContacts and was much happier.


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Thanks! I will have to research more regarding noise. Also looking at the newer Pirelli Scorpion A/T Plus. Seems to be getting great reviews.

 

[heybert]

That’s what I put on mine the cooper AT/w and so far I’m loving them so far they move water like crazy.. my other choice was gonna be the continental terrain contact A/T I put those on the wife’s highlander and they perform great...

Any issues with road noise?

 

[lyodbraun]

Any issues with road noise?

There’s hardly any really IMHO, the wife said they were a tad louder than the stock tires but nothing overly loud or annoying, I’m very happy with them ..

 

[heybert]

There’s hardly any really IMHO, the wife said they were a tad louder than the stock tires but nothing overly loud or annoying, I’m very happy with them ..

Thanks. Going to see if I can find any more info.

 

[GNB]

Yeah the looks are definitely not the greatest, I was into the looks more so at one point as well, but I chose function over looks this time around and went with a tire that’s gonna work well for my driving habits.. on my old taco I ran cooper ST MAX tires which were great but just a bit too heavy for the tacos fuel consumption lol... but definitely a great tire..

Function over form is a prudent choice when it comes to a safety item like tires. I’ve run Michelin tires for many years and was always satisfied with the ride, and most important to me wet weather driving performance.

My TRD has about 32.5K miles and running OEM Nitto Terra Grapplers (I think they are called). I think these tires would have been better for someone that spends more time off-roading. I will make a few trips to Big Bend and go off-road, but nothing technically challenging . The majority of my driving is city and highway. The Nitto tires are really aggressive , and thus I think pretty noisy on the highway . My guess is a less aggressive M/S tire mights be quieter and might improve the MPG (?).

So I think I’ve narrowed down my choices to:

1. Continental AT Terrain Contact
2. Michelin LTX A/T 2 ( these look better visually than the Defenders)
3. Michelin Defender LTX ( wonderful reviews - but having a hard time with the narrower tire patch than sidewall )

The Continentals are the most economical at about $155 per tire at Discount Tires. But I learned a very long time ago that tires aren’t where I want to save money. It’s totally about performance , which in this it hole of Houston is wet and dry weather (emphasis on wet).

I really appreciate everyone’s input !!!