I put my XJ on stock size, 235/75R15, all season tires. Quiet, good fuel economy, good steering. Highly recommended.
I put my XJ on stock size, 235/75R15, all season tires. Quiet, good fuel economy, good steering. Highly recommended.
My truck won't clear the brakes with 17s. 18 is a small as I can go. I've been thinking about downsizing the factory 20s to 18s when the tires eventually wear or I get sick of the terrible wet traction of the stock tires. I don't have any complaints about the 20s but I think the 18s would likely ride better. Even though it's still the smoothest riding vehicle I've owned since my 85 riviera.
I run BFG AT Ko2 Load Range E's on my Sequoia, 5% taller sidewall than stock but same width and wheel.
- they're heavy, but the 5.7 doesn't seem to notice much (my old 4.7 Sequoia definitely noticed). I did downsize from the factory 20's to LX470 18's, since I wanted more sidewall for offroad. 18's are the smallest wheels that can fit over the huge brakes on this thing (maybe some 17s would fit as well, but not many).
- they're louder than I'd like - but the Wildpeaks (also LR-E) I used to have were silent, so I'm going to blame this specific tire.
- I actually love the extra-stiff sidewall. Makes the truck handle really well and no "mushy" lean into turns like with P-rated or ligher-duty tires
- It's a tow rig.
- Obviously for rally, we are usually paddocked in muddy fields. So you need something with all-terrain traction. A "street" all-terrain just won't do.
- I will fully admit I bought the KO2 over the Wildpeaks this time because they look more aggressive.
- Let's face it, tires are just like anything else you do to your vehicle - you want it to look good. We do plenty of things that may hurt performance (plenty of "performance cars" have more wheel and tire than they need, for instance). Or roof racks, or whatever. Or, frankly, just owning a big truck or 400hp car in the first place (do you NEED 400hp on the street, or would 150hp do just fine....but you'll burn a ton of gas just to have that power...) I just don't like the way non-aggressive tires look on a 4x4 (I hate Jeeps, but they look way better with some M/Ts than with some highway tire, let's face it).
2010 Sequoia on the factory tires. Looks like a soccer mom family-hauler
mine. I won't lie. I like the look and the noise/weight penalty is worth it to me. BUT, my truck DOES go off-road, quite a bit, often while towing. So I actually need A/Ts - unlike all the mall-crawlers out there.
This whole situation is how I ended up with a massive stack of wheels / tires for the Jeep. When I was DD-ing it, it sat on the highest performance street tires I could get in a reasonable size for it all summer (without going larger than a 17" wheel), snows for winter, and I had a set of M/Ts for it for off-road stuff. When I was rallycrossing it, if it was already on the snow tires, I generally just ran them as-is. If it wasn't, the M/Ts usually went on, although I did run a rallycross (with decent results, although it would have been better with less mud) on a set of General Grabber UHPs once.
It's time for me to buy tires for my truck again and I always struggle with that decision.
I use the truck for everything so tire are a compromise. They need to work in mud and snow, be stable when towing and be quiet on the highway. It would be nice if they lasted a long time as well but with all the other requirements that's a lower priority and I've never been able to achieve that.
It doesn't help that I'm terrible about tire rotation and that I've occasionally made laps with my truck either as a pace vehicle or when instructing.
In reply to APEowner :
That's exactly why I bought the Conti TerrainContact A/T. I don't see any draw backs to it over a highway tire. Silent, handles dirt, rain, and dry wonderfully. It might be a bit heavier than an e load range HT, but not sure. It looks rugged, though not as cool as the K02s, which is probably why no one buys the Conti, except Curtis, who turned me onto them.
They appear to be wearing really well too. I haven't rotated them yet, and wear is even after 10k miles.
In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :
The way yours looks versus the photo above is exactly why everyone buys ATs/MTs. Even if they have no use for them. One says "snore," the other, "adventure." Image matters. More than performance. At least with this type of vehicle.
I agree with most of what has been said. With cars it depends on the OE tire, but I have often found the grip is worth the tradeoff. Also the tradeoffs seem to be minimal there, unlike larger diameter heavy noisy AT tires.
A little more aggressive tires can be fun.
I don't think anyones advocating against the correct tires for a given use. If you drive your truck offroad frequently, then offroad tires make perfect sense. That's why the XJ wears proper chunky tires, as does the old Land Rover. They're not doing the school run. If you only drive offroad for 6 hours a year, then you have to decide if the compromise for the remaining 364.75 days is worth it.
The Ridgeline work truck is on a street AT tire. Wildpeak AT Trail tires. Basically an aggressive winter-rated all-season tire. It's the perfect compromise, quiet with no mileage hit but still capable of negotiating a job site without getting stuck. It had a plus one size on it when I bought it but I went back to the stock size to get the speedo to read correctly.
The wife's Suburban is on Wildpeak AT3s in the stock size. Quite, great ride quality, capable but with a little mileage hit. It doesn't spend a lot of time off-road, but the GMT800 chassis isn't particular about tires like some vehicles and I have been known to find a dirt road to explore when we are driving it.
The XJ is also on Wildpeak AT3s. They are 32x10.5x15s. It has been regeared to 4:10s and lifted 2" to run the larger tires. The speedo has also been regeared to read correctly. It spends as much time off-road as I can manage so I'm perfectly willing to sacrifice some road manners for off-road performance.
To change gears, the G35 ran RE71R or 595RS-RR for several years. While I loved the track performance the tires sucked on the street. They were bad enough that I seldom drove it. The last set of tires to go on it were Indy 500s. What a change. I sacrificed some stickiness but the noise level and ride quality more than made up for it.
CyberEric said:In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :
The way yours looks versus the photo above is exactly why everyone buys ATs/MTs. Even if they have no use for them. One says "snore," the other, "adventure." Image matters. More than performance. At least with this type of vehicle.
I wouldn't say "everyone." I go offroading with a good-sized group of mostly suburban friends who actually use theirs. And the K02s are far better in "performance" in almost every tangible way than the crap highway all-seasons the truck came with (slight MPG and noise penalty, but better ride, better handing, better traction in rain/winter/offroad).
But still, who cares? People (including most of the GRM membes here) modify their cars in all kinds of ways that aren't practical - lifted pickups, lowered cars, big "rims," LS swaps, and the list goes on forever. I don't see any exciting build threads here where the person is building "my bone-stock Tercel with low rolling-resistance 185-width economy tires that gets 41 mpgs"
(ok, you have an old Fiesta, so maybe you'd actually read that thread ;) )
Of course image matters. If we all drove stock Camrys around, the road would be a boring place.
Keith Tanner said:I don't think anyones advocating against the correct tires for a given use. If you drive your truck offroad frequently, then offroad tires make perfect sense. That's why the XJ wears proper chunky tires, as does the old Land Rover. They're not doing the school run. If you only drive offroad for 6 hours a year, then you have to decide if the compromise for the remaining 364.75 days is worth it.
Also, sometimes you go pick up a project car and find the guy has it stashed at the bottom of a muddy hill. Happy I had A/Ts on my rig that day (as I watched an F250 get pulled up the same hill by a bulldozer since he couldn't make it WITHOUT a trailer, on "street" tires).
CyberEric said:In reply to APEowner :
That's exactly why I bought the Conti TerrainContact A/T. I don't see any draw backs to it over a highway tire. Silent, handles dirt, rain, and dry wonderfully. It might be a bit heavier than an e load range HT, but not sure. It looks rugged, though not as cool as the K02s, which is probably why no one buys the Conti, except Curtis, who turned me onto them.
They appear to be wearing really well too. I haven't rotated them yet, and wear is even after 10k miles.
I'm currently shopping truck tires too for my Colorado Z71. It sees about 15k miles a year, 3-10 days of towing per year, 3-10 days of offroading / camping per year, and the rest is onroad with potholes, bad weather, winter, etc.
I'm leaning to the K02 because I loved them on my Jeep and they are load rated to handle towing. You can air them up to level the ride and rock on. Will the Contis do well for me? I've always liked Continental tires and currently have the ECS on my Boxster.
The OEM Goodyears have lasted 32k miles and are due to be replaced. I'm not big on low tread depth tires in the winter, so I may replace them soon.
irish44j (Forum Supporter) said:CyberEric said:But still, who cares? People (including most of the GRM membes here) modify their cars in all kinds of ways that aren't practical - lifted pickups, lowered cars, big "rims," LS swaps, and the list goes on forever. I don't see any exciting build threads here where the person is building "my bone-stock Tercel with low rolling-resistance 185-width economy tires that gets 41 mpgs"
(ok, you have an old Fiesta, so maybe you'd actually read that thread ;) )
Of course image matters. If we all drove stock Camrys around, the road would be a boring place.
I think I remember a thread over at Bobistheoilguy where a guy modified a stockish Ford Ranger into a "high miler" and he got it up around 50 mpg or so. It wasn't your normal build but it was quite interesting. My new job will soon likely lead to a move and long commute. Maybe I need to do a boring high miler project too.
In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :
I resonate with what you're saying. To clarify, I didn't mean that image was the only reason "everyone" buys AT/MT tires, I meant that "everyone," mall crawlers or off-roaders, likes the way your Sequoia looks more than the one pictured above. It's exciting, not boring. And I believe that many people ("everyone")care as much or more about that image than the actual performance advantages/disadvantages.
And I get it, I really do... looks are a BIG reason I like cars. And looks are a BIG reason people started buying SUVs over mini vans, that actually meet the need to move a family from A to B more than SUVs in many ways.
AT tires look cool 100% of the time, regardless of whether it's mall crawling or in the mud, which is what for most people, less than 5% of the time? Even folks who buy them to truly 4x4 like the way they look. I think it depends person to person whether they are used that way. But we all know some folks have them just for a look, and some have them to use them, and surely they also appreciate the look.
In reply to buzzboy :
225/75r15 is stock XJ size.
Many years ago I ran Sears Tire and Auto centers. We sold the Michelins and always saw them ride and wear well. You get what you pay for.
I've owned lifted trucks with giant tires but as I've aged a bit I've grown to appreciate the way a truck was engineered from the factory.
My 2005 RAM 2500 diesel remains bone stock, with factory alloys and stock-sized LTXs. As a result we drove it from CT to Iowa and back over the summer and overall it performed great and was reasonably comfortable.
While it would look cooler, I can't bring myself to lift it or add giant tires because it just performs too well as-is.
In reply to Toyman! :
I run the Wildpeak ATs for the same reasons you listed. I live in NW Michigan, in the fall/winter/spring having a winter rated AT instead of an all season can be the difference between walking to where you're going and driving.
In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :
Preach!!!
I like the abundance of Toyotas in this thread.
In reply to AnthonyGS (Forum Supporter) :
I think the Contis would be a good fit for your use case. They are VERY quiet on the highway, more so than other ATs according to my online (not real world) research. I thought about the K02 but was nervous about the noise. I do a lot of freeway driving. The Conti doesn't look quite as aggressive though, back to the image thing, so there's that. The K02 is the off-road poster tire.
I absolutely love them for what I need. I have them I'm in stock size on a 2WD Econoline with an open diff and I go on rough dirt roads, campsites (sandy, wet grass, mud, loose rock) and I've never gotten stuck and see no downside over a HT tire. I passed a group of lifted 4Runners on K02s in Death Valley on a pretty technical road, not saying the van is on the same level, just that the tires took me to some intense places.
If you decide you want more aggressive looks, the GOodyear Wrangler Duratrac is what I would look at. Someone on here was saying they had it back to back with the K02 and preferred the Wrangler in every way.
In reply to CyberEric :
This brings up a great point. A good driver with mild ATs will get further than a bad driver with super swampers. Scott Brady over at Expedition Portal has said good things about the Contis and his opinion is worth listening too.
CyberEric said:In reply to irish44j (Forum Supporter) :
I resonate with what you're saying. To clarify, I didn't mean that image was the only reason "everyone" buys AT/MT tires, I meant that "everyone," mall crawlers or off-roaders, likes the way your Sequoia looks more than the one pictured above. It's exciting, not boring. And I believe that many people ("everyone")care as much or more about that image than the actual performance advantages/disadvantages.
And I get it, I really do... looks are a BIG reason I like cars. And looks are a BIG reason people started buying SUVs over mini vans, that actually meet the need to move a family from A to B more than SUVs in many ways.
AT tires look cool 100% of the time, regardless of whether it's mall crawling or in the mud, which is what for most people, less than 5% of the time? Even folks who buy them to truly 4x4 like the way they look. I think it depends person to person whether they are used that way. But we all know some folks have them just for a look, and some have them to use them, and surely they also appreciate the look.
Admittedly I am also the same person who thinks that minivans are cool and should be way more popular with the general populace than most of these worthless crossover SUVs like my wife's CX-9.
But yeah my buddy has a lifted Titan with like 37-in tires on it and I always give him a hard time about why it is all poser off-road when he never takes it off the pavement. Also he is like 5'6 so it's funny watching him climb into it :)
Tires are the single largest contributor to all measures of performance on a vehicle.
I don't mind a slightly larger oe+ type fitment with a high quality all terrain on most vehicles because you can do that without sacrificing much but gaining a substantial amount of all terrain capability, and a normal all terrain us more than most will ever need. Most people don't do this though, they find a bigger size and a price point they want and they end up with a bigger crappy all terrain and everything suffers greatly.
Also most people haven't owned actually good tires so their frame of reference is small and they will tell you how awesome their mid to low tier tire is, and have no idea how much they are missing.
Loweguy5 (Forum Supporter) said:Many years ago I ran Sears Tire and Auto centers. We sold the Michelins and always saw them ride and wear well. You get what you pay for.
I've owned lifted trucks with giant tires but as I've aged a bit I've grown to appreciate the way a truck was engineered from the factory.
My 2005 RAM 2500 diesel remains bone stock, with factory alloys and stock-sized LTXs. As a result we drove it from CT to Iowa and back over the summer and overall it performed great and was reasonably comfortable.
While it would look cooler, I can't bring myself to lift it or add giant tires because it just performs too well as-is.
The fact that my diesel Dodge 2500 was equipped with LTX tires from the factory was a legit selling point for me. It said "we could have saved some money here but it's worth putting on the good stuff even if you may not notice. This truck is for working."
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