SR5 Tacoma 2014 - Tire questions

[grizzlyblake]

I am looking to replace my factory 245/75/16 Dunlops and am looking into options. At this point I don't want to lift the truck so I'm looking at the different OEM offered sizes.

Starting with sizes, I see there were OEM options for 245/75/16 and 265/70/16. The 265 is only 0.14" taller, but 0.78" wider. Is there any advantage to that extra 3/4" of width? The price jumps significantly for it - BFGs from $736 to $920.

Now, looking at specific tires I see that the BFG ATs are 48lbs (LT) and the Michelin LTX AT2s are 37lbs (P) and 44lbs (LT). Is the weight of the LT E-rated tires enough to cause a big fuel mileage decrease? Is the E-rated tire necessary for mild off roading?

Now the million dollar question - if the BFG ATs are the best choice, is the new KO2 better enough than the KO to deal with the ugly sidewall lugs?

 

[SDDiver5]

Arent you planning a 5k mile trip around the country soon?

I'd use up the OEM tires on your road trip. Are they the best? No. But, why spend close to a grand on brand new tires if your going to put 5k on them right away?

If you're set on getting new tires, I suggest the Michelin. I do 90% pavement driving with the other 10% on dirt. The Michelin's are great. I've had the BFG AT's many many times before and currently have the Michelins now and love them. Not much road noise and the work surprising well off road. Of course, they are no serious off road tire but they work very well.

IMO the BFG AT need a new design. They are old and slightly outdated. There are tons of better tires for the price.

 

[grizzlyblake]

Yes I am, which is why I was thinking I needed new tires. I have read nothing but bad press on the OEM "Dunflops" on several forums from guys who seem to put these trucks through their paces. They've worked fine for me on the highway and mild dry forest service roads, but I don't want to risk a punctured sidewall or something if I'm going to do some of the Loop Trails in Colorado.

If the Dunlops are not truly horrible tires I'll run them until they're bald. I detest spending a dollar on something that's not worth it, and certainly hate spending money on a vehicle just for looks or to be part of the cool crowd. At the same time I don't want to end up in a bad place all for saving a couple bucks.

 

[justrom]

The Dunlops are P rated tires which can be a little soft on dirt roads. However, I've got 15k on mine which includes the Mojave Road, Death Valley, and lots of forest service roads. We did a 3.5k road trip around the western states last summer. Halfway through the trip (at 10k on the tires) they had about 65% tread remaining. I've had only one flat, a rock in the tread which happened on a graded dirt forest road in Montana. It was easily fixed in the next town.

As long as you're not rock crawling, air down to about 20 psi on the dirt, avoid sharp rocks, and use a spotter if the driving gets weird. If your trip is mostly highways and forest roads, I'd stay with the OEM tires for the trip.

 

[DVexile]

Another option is 235/85/16, presently available in the KO and will be released in KO2 around April 15th. That's what I'm putting on my 2015 as soon as I get around to buying it

Tread width really depends on your application. As far MPG goes narrower is better than wider. For many off road surfaces narrower tends to be better than wider - contrary to common opinion. Where you want wide is in "float" conditions like in very deep mud, very deep and soft sand, very deep snow. But on most everything else (rocky, gravel, shallow mud, snow, sand) the narrower profile actually works better. That's why when you see photos of most true "expedition" vehicles they have narrow tires. If you are hitting dunes or big mud sinks certainly go wide, but for most everything else go narrow. Hence you'll see a lot of people using 235/85/16 with no lift (31.7" tire) or with 3" lift a 255/85/16 (33" tire).

Airing down off road can help a lot with reducing punctures. Somewhere there is a nice video of a test a tire manufacturer did with P, LT and whatever "super" tire they were advertising running over a puncturing device at different pressures. Airing down into the 15-20 psi range improved puncture resistance a lot. So that is a sensible way to run on your current tires on more mild terrain with careful driving if you want to wear them down to bald.

As to which tire, well many opinions. I've run KO for more than a decade on my current rig and like them a lot for my needs. For me that means Mojave desert dirt roads, a fair bit of highway miles getting to or from and CA passes in the winter with chain controls. The KO does all that great (it M+S rated so in CA with 4WD that means I never have to put on chains, just carry them). It is a compromise between passable highway performance and mileage and good offroad performance and durability. The KO2 is suppose to wear quite a bit better on gravel and have more advanced siping to handle ice even better. So I'm going to go KO2. For other uses that might be the wrong choice. A daily driver might want to favor highway performance more and a hard core off roader might like the KM2 better and tolerate more road noise, lower mileage and faster wear. It all depends.

 

[SDDiver5]

Yes I am, which is why I was thinking I needed new tires. I have read nothing but bad press on the OEM "Dunflops" on several forums from guys who seem to put these trucks through their paces. They've worked fine for me on the highway and mild dry forest service roads, but I don't want to risk a punctured sidewall or something if I'm going to do some of the Loop Trails in Colorado.

If the Dunlops are not truly horrible tires I'll run them until they're bald. I detest spending a dollar on something that's not worth it, and certainly hate spending money on a vehicle just for looks or to be part of the cool crowd. At the same time I don't want to end up in a bad place all for saving a couple bucks.

Right on, I got ya. I cant attest to the dunlops being good or bad.

I'd suggest the Michelins then. I took mine through DV with no problems at all. Very grippy for an AT IMO.

 

[aardvarcus]

I will post my experiences. I run 235/85R16 Michelin LTX M/S2 on my 2005 Tacoma on factory 16” TRD alloys. I also have a set of 255/85R16 Cooper Discoverer S/T on a second set of factory 16” TRD alloys for off-road use. On my truck both fit with no lift and don't rub (note I am on stock wheels). I later added Bilstein 5100's on the front at 1.75” and they still fit and don't rub.

The weight of the tire will affect the ride slightly (sprung vs un-sprung ratio increases). My mainly highway MPGs stayed the same (+/- 0.5 or less) between cheap brand 245/75R16 on steels to 235/85R16 Michelin LTX M/S2 on alloys when adjusted for diameter. If I put the off-road 255/85R16 Cooper Discoverer S/T on the truck, the highway MPG goes down approximately 2MPG adjusted for diameter, mainly due to the aggressive tread pattern.

The 235/85R16 Michelin LTX M/S2 are awesome on pavement (wet, dry, whatever) and do ok (better than you would think by looking at them) offroad, except in mud. The 255/85R16 Cooper Discoverer S/T aren't that great on the pavement, but seem to do better off the pavement, especially in mud/soft soil.

Switching back and forth is a pain, so I may just switch to some A/Ts when these wear down.

 

[grizzlyblake]

Two trucks ago I had a Dodge Ram 2500 4x4 and ran Michelin LTX M/S 265/75r16s and it was amazing in the snow. That experience led me to think that the Michelin AT2 would be a great choice for my Tacoma 4x4 since it's mostly a highway rig but with the need for good traction here and there.

My last truck was a stock single cab Tacoma 4x4 and I ran 31x10.5 Goodyear Wranglers on it. It was unstoppable off road but was noisy and I could really feel the weight of the tires with the 4cyl and manual trans.

 

[itshanney]

I just replaced the tires on my 2008 Tacoma (with no lift) and put on the new BFG AT KO2s in 265/75R16. They fit fine on the road but might be a slight rub with full flex on the trail. So far the tires are great on the road. I should be gearing up for a trip in a month or so to comment off road. Overall, I'm looking forward to breaking them in this year.

 

[grizzlyblake]

Can you turn lock to lock with no rubbing on the front mud flaps?

 

[Jeff H]

I'm running 265/75R16 Discoverer AT3's on my 2008 Tacoma and I was rubbing on the front flaps at full lock until I removed the flaps.

 

[grizzlyblake]

Ok. Yeah, I don't want to remove the mud flaps. It looks like the stock size 245/75R16s will be the best option for now until I do suspension modifications. The truck only has 10K miles on it so far so I don't want to do any "hard" modifications like that yet.

The Toyo Open Country AT2 looks like a solid option. They claim 40% more tread life, 65K mile warranty, and 500mi trial period. From what I've heard they perform well off road.

 

[plainjaneFJC]

I own a set of BFG A/T's but most of the tire tests are showing the Falken wild peak to be the best "all around" type of tire.

 

[SIZZLE]

I upgraded to the duratracs in 265 75 16, load range C. No rubbing but I don't have mud flaps either. I've been a huge fan of the BFG KOs but had to go a different route when they stopped making load range D. Tread and size will depend on your personal needs but IMO load range E is too much for this truck. Too stiff and not enough flex off road. But anything is better than the dunflops. If you do any off roading, you should upgrade to an LT tire.

 

[grizzlyblake]

What is the advantage or going C-range LT over P? I see in the case of the Toyo Open Country A/T II that the C-range LT is 45lb and 15.7/32" tread depth, while the P is 34lbs and 12.9/32" tread depth. So you gain a bunch of weight and a slightly deeper tread.

Is it the sidewall strength that you gain?