Tire reviews.

[LT.]

I thought it would be a good idea to have a section dedicated to some tire reviews. If y'all have a review, and this is okay with the powers that be, then let's post them up here.

I now have 2 sets of the newer BF Goodrich All Terrain TA KO2's. This will be my review of them.

The first set I bought were for my old GMC K-25. Tire size is 315 75r16 load range E mounted on some 16x10 pro comp 1069's. This truck has a 4" lift. Thus far the tires have about 2,000 miles on them since I purchased them in August 2015. The tires on this truck are excellent. Great road manners, very quiet, great on the highway, and have done everything I have asked of them off road. Mud traction is good, snow traction is great, gravel roads are excellent, and the limited sand I have been in has been second to none.

The second set is on a 2014 GMC yukon xl. Size is 265 70r17 load range C. Tires are on stock wheels and The vehicle only has a leveling kit. So far we have about 3,000 miles on the rears and 500 miles on The front. The tires on this truck are mirror images of the ones on the K-25 except, I have found them to want to hydroplane on the highway while there is standing water and slush. The reason for the difference between the 2 sets is because the old truck doesn't go very fast on the highway like the yukon does. If it did then I bet the same could be said.

The reason for the tendency for hydroplaning is due to the tread design. The same reason the tread does so well in snow and other off road terrains is due to the interlocking tread blocks. The tread blocks don't allow for water to escape and this causes the hydroplaning effect.

Please feel free to add to this. Please also include specs for the vehicle, wheels, that kind of thing.

LT.

 

[LT.]

The Toyo Open Country AT2's I have are mounted on a 2010 Dodge Ram 3500 mega cab dually. This truck has a 2" suspension lift and the tire size is 285 75r17 load range E. Tires are mounted on Alcoa aluminum dually wheels.

These tires have been nothing short of fantastic overall. Snow traction is good to great, sand traction has been good to great as well. The tires have an incredible load capacity and the mileage has been fantastic thus far. These tires really shine on the road. Standing water and slush is no problem for these tires. So far I have 30,000 miles on them and they will probably go another 15,000 to 20,000 on the fronts. The rears will go another 30,000. I have never rotated them and the truck has only had one alignment when the tires were installed. Interestingly enough I have never been stuck with these tires on my truck.

For the bad there really isn't much. Mud traction is okay to good and they do make some very slight noise at highway speeds.

I did have another set of Toyo AR's on a 2005 Ford Escape I owned. Tires went an increadible 56,000 miles and were never rotated and it was only aligned when the tires were installed. Same results as above for traction.

LT.

 

[mbryson]

Good to hear on the the Toyo AT II. I just put a set on the "pig" 7.3L truck and like them so far.

i had EXCELLENT luck some E-rated Toyo MT on my other 7.3. Put 50k on them and sold them with 4-5/32 to buy new skins. Couldn't ask for more

 

[Tacoma]

My $0.02. I've been running BFG AT's forever, on several vehicles and only the Cooper-made magical tires I had on the Blazer of Doom were better, but they don't make those anymore. I'll have to try some Coopers sometime.

Anyway, the BFGs are not awesome at anything, but they are reeeeeaaalllly good at nearly everything, except mud. In snow, they are superb. On rock, they're awesome but I've had one totally fall apart on the Suburban-- just one, the other three were fine. By "fall apart" I mean, horrible chunking, just really bad crumbling edges, and one big chunk that ripped a lug off down to the cords. I'm not at all upset about this because those tires were H2 take-offs, and I suspect the bad one was the spare, sitting in the sun.
Tire wear has been great, with about 35k on this set, and a Detroit in the back the whole time.

At any rate, I've been extremely pleased with their performance on a daily-driven, mild-trail Suburban, and would happily put them on everything I own with 4wd for the rest of my life. That is all.

 

[Bart]

I'm running a set of the Toyo AT IIs on the DMax and really like them so far. They worked well in the snow and slush yesterday.

 

[ID Bronco]

Goodyear Duratracs on my DMax are awesome. Great traction in snow/ice/rain. Not loud. 285-17's. Great looks and aside from the price I love them.

 

[Kevin B.]

Goodyear Duratracs on my DMax are awesome. Great traction in snow/ice/rain. Not loud. 285-17's. Great looks and aside from the price I love them.

I have the same tires on the '99 4Runner and think they're the most overrated tire ever. Average traction at best in the slick stuff, they're about half worn and terribly loud, I don't think they're anywhere near worth the price.

 

[ID Bronco]

I have the same tires on the '99 4Runner and think they're the most overrated tire ever. Average traction at best in the slick stuff, they're about half worn and terribly loud, I don't think they're anywhere near worth the price.

Maybe it's the weight of the rig, or that mine are fairly new still. But, to each his own.

 

[Kevin B.]

But, to each his own.

For sure. You want mine?

 

[ID Bronco]

For sure. You want mine?

Sure, send them my way!

 

[gertsch]

Goodyear wrangler authority 31-10.50r15. Running them on a Cherokee. Work amazing in the snow. Really impressed with them in Moab. For a tire that was only 138 a tire. They've been awesome so far.

 

[LT.]

Toyo Open Country MT tire review. I had a set size 275 65r20 load range E on a 2008 Dodge Ram 1500. These tires were truly a fantastic mud terrain. For starters they were more quiet than I ever thought a mud terrain could ever be. I had a set of Falken high country at tires that made more noise the the Toyo MT's did. Mileage was great. I had 25,000 miles on them when I traded off the truck. The dealer gave me full value for the tires. I suspect they would have gone another 20,000 maybe more. Mud traction was excellent but, we don't get deep mud here. The mud we have is more like clay and only a few inches deep at most. Snow traction was better when the snow was deeper. With snow packed roads there just was not enough siping in the tread. Sand was good not great but good. Gravel and dirt roads were great for the tire. Standing water and slush were not much of an issue either. Not as good as the Toyo AT2 but, better than the BF Goodrich KO2 for sure. Again, this is probably due to the extra depth of the tread and more open voids.

The bad well, not much. They do make some noise, it isn't much but the 1500 I had was a pretty quiet truck. I could hear the tires when going down the highway. The tires were way over kill for the truck. The 1500 only really needed a load range C tire and not the E range I was running. The look of this tire really doesn't look all that great on an older truck. The tread is modern looking and I think it needs to be on a truck that is a little more modern as well. Say from the 90's on up but, just my opinion.

LT.

 

[glockman]

I've ran BFG a/ts on multiple vehicles with the last set on my F350 in 275/75/18 LR E. They are ko's not ko2 but I'm not going to try the ko2 on a heavy tow rig. I have just over 20k miles on them and they are 3/4 worn. That is the worst mileage I have had by about 1/2 on any of my bfg at's. I think they use the same rubber compound in the E and the lighter tires. This makes them grip well but wear terribly. I also had a lug tear off on tire at around 12k miles.
My next set on this truck Wil be Cooper stt max.

My Lj is about due for some new skins as well. It's got BFG km2 in 315/75/16 on it now and will probably get more of the same. They have been great. I'd go for the at KO2s on this rig but the wife really likes the look of the mud Terrains and it's her dd so she gets to pick.


Sent from my HTC One_M8 using Tapatalk

 

[LT.]

I thought I should do a small update on the BF Goodrich KO2's on our Yukon XL. Yesterday early afternoon I drove the Yukon up AF canyon. The roads had not been plowed and when we started there was about 14" of snow. Further up the canyon there is a fork in the road. SF 92 continues up to the right and I think it was 144 that took off to the left. Anyhow, the left fork goes up to a small resivior. At the resivior I think the snow was more like 30" or so. The Yukon is leveled and the snow was over the bumper and into the second slat in the grille. We did end up pulling out a Cadillac Esclade that was on some big wheels and street tires and continued all the way up. I was the only one who went all the way til the road was closed just above the little lake. I turned around in the parking lot by the little station there and came back down. We went to go sleding but, the hills were pretty steep and the kids were having a hard time getting up the hill anyways. Heck, I was having a hard time going up the hill. The Yukon went further than the 2 Jeeps in our group and there was a Tacoma that may have been able to get there but, didn't. The Tacoma was really a nice rig. TRD double cab with a leveling kit and Mickey Thompson MTZ tires. All in all the Yukon was a champ. The KO2's were nothing short of amazing in the snow that day. The tires pulled the Yukon along every way I pointed it. We broke trail everywhere we went that day and the tires pulled us through everything. Usually without any tire spin. I do think they Yukon could use a good strap inside the vehicle. Gonna have to get one. Not because the rig isn't capable but, because others may need the assistance.

LT.

 

[LT.]

I should also add that the entire 700 mile trip here was very quiet. I never heard the tires at all at any speed.

LT.

 

[nnnnnate]

I got a flat on Saturday on the freeze your tail off run with my ko2s. It looked like a tread block tore which was kind of weird. I was able to plug it on the trail and after adding a few more psi the next morning got home fine.

Discount Tire looked at it Monday and said it was a large hole but that it didn't look like a tear to them. The guy said he was impressed with my patch job. Not sure if that's because he knew it was off a Lexus or because I had a patch kit with me... They said they couldn't patch it and gave me a new one since I had the tire certs. Less than 8k miles on the set.

 

[OCNORB]

I just purchased a set of Cooper ST MAXX in 285 R16 for our Landcruiser, so I can update here. Before buying I spent some time searching for a thread like this with no luck. The Maxx was chosen for its 3-ply sidewall, good reviews in the overland community, and its middle of the road tread pattern.

I moved down from 315s of some off-brand. The Coopers are quieter and handle much better on the highway and around town. During our big storm commute last week they allowed me to maintain a good speed in 4-5 inches of heavy wet snow/slush. I leave early enough that there were few cars out, allowing me to safely maintain about 40-45 miles an hour most of the 15 miles. I was able to change lanes at will, with a little pull crossing the ruts. They did slip if pushed hard in a corner while accelerating, but it was controllable. Braking was ok, but not as good as I've experienced with A/T tires that have more siping.

Hoping to get out and push these tires off-road over the holiday weekend and can add how that goes.

 

[TRD270]

I have the same tires on the '99 4Runner and think they're the most overrated tire ever. Average traction at best in the slick stuff, they're about half worn and terribly loud, I don't think they're anywhere near worth the price.

I have them on my work expedition, they have about 20k miles on them now and are probably a little more than half worn. When I first had these tires I was in love with them and about ready to throw them on my personal rig. After about 5k miles they became very loud and have maintained that over the last 15k. When brand new they were awesome in the snow, ice yada yada. This year my opinion of them has changed a lot. My traction seems to be about the same as my KO's on the Tacoma that are near bald, braking distance has suffered a lot now as well. They are a good tire, and I loved them new, but from 5k miles on they have lost my faith in them.

 

[Jesser04]

I have them on my work expedition, they have about 20k miles on them now and are probably a little more than half worn. When I first had these tires I was in love with them and about ready to throw them on my personal rig. After about 5k miles they became very loud and have maintained that over the last 15k. When brand new they were awesome in the snow, ice yada yada. This year my opinion of them has changed a lot. My traction seems to be about the same as my KO's on the Tacoma that are near bald, breaking distance has suffered a lot now as well. They are a good tire, and I loved them new, but from 5k miles on they have lost my faith in them.

This review is spot on for me. I put a set in my wife's 4Runner were great at first but got loud after 5-10k miles I don't know that I'd buy another set of them. That being said I've been disappointed in almost every tire I've bought in the last 5 years. I have 33/12.5r22 Toyo m/t's on my daily driver and they are garbage I've got 25k on them and there about shot. Not to mention I can't talk on my phone and drive on the freeway there so damn loud. I think the days of had truck tires lasting 40-50k are a thing of the past. My old man is running ko2's on his work truck and he may get 25k out of them I was hoping he would get upwards of 40k. That being said the ko2 kills it in the snow I will be putting the on my wife's GX when I put tires on it.

 

[Kevin B.]

I just purchased a set of Cooper ST MAXX in 285 R16 for our Landcruiser, so I can update here. Before buying I spent some time searching for a thread like this with no luck. The Maxx was chosen for its 3-ply sidewall, good reviews in the overland community, and its middle of the road tread pattern.

I moved down from 315s of some off-brand. The Coopers are quieter and handle much better on the highway and around town. During our big storm commute last week they allowed me to maintain a good speed in 4-5 inches of heavy wet snow/slush. I leave early enough that there were few cars out, allowing me to safely maintain about 40-45 miles an hour most of the 15 miles. I was able to change lanes at will, with a little pull crossing the ruts. They did slip if pushed hard in a corner while accelerating, but it was controllable. Braking was ok, but not as good as I've experienced with A/T tires that have more siping.

Hoping to get out and push these tires off-road over the holiday weekend and can add how that goes.

Liking the ST Maxx on the F150 so far. Pretty quiet, and they're handling ridiculously wet Oregon roads with no drama (no hydroplaning!).