Truck Tire Time

[Danno]

The only BFG KO available in my car's size is E rated. That's probably why it's so fucking expensive.

[LightRanger]

^^^ That's part of it for sure. They generally get more expensive as you go up the load range. It's also not a cheap tire, generally.

[adrenalated]

The only BFG KO available in my car's size is E rated. That's probably why it's so fucking expensive.

Danno what size rims are on your Sequoia? Most likely you can change the tire size slightly (slightly wider or narrower) with no ill effects and find a more common size, available in C rated.

Edit: I'm guessing 265/70 R16, and the only thing close to that in the KO2 is 275/70 R16 Load D, which aren't any cheaper. Balls.

Edit 2: If I'm correct about the tire size, you should buy the shit out of some Hankook Dynapro ATMs right now from Discount Tire. They're $117 ea. Cheaper than the Michelin you were asking about and universally regarded as a better tire.

[Danno]

Again, tire jong, but the OEM size is 265/65/17

And I'm not ready to buy, I plan on running my current tires (General Grabber AT2) through the summer. In the fall, I will either: buy snow tires (and maybe rims?), and try to get another summer out of the Grabbers, or just buy new do-everything tires.

[adrenalated]

So a really quick explanation of tire sizing:

The last #, the R, is the most important because that's your rim diameter. So R17 means you have 17" rims, you have to get a R17 tire, can't change that without buying new rims.

The first # is the tire width in mm. Your 265s are 265mm wide. Generally speaking unless you have a good reason to do so you should stick within about +/-10-20mm of your stock size. Changing much more than that might require different width rims or cause a bunch of other problems if you don't know what you're doing. Narrower theoretically cuts through snow better (I haven't really noticed this, personally), wider has better grip in dry, both on and off-road. Narrower might increase fuel mileage slightly, wider might decrease it.

The second # is aspect ratio. Your ratio of 65 means the sidewall height is 65% of the width of the tire. This is a fucking annoying way of specifying tire size because you care more about the diameter than you do about the sidewall height, but it is what it is.

If you go to a wider tire, you need to decrease the aspect ratio to keep the diameter the same. For example a 265/65 R17 and a 285/60 R17 are nearly the exact same diameter. You can totally get away with changing the diameter of the tire a little bit - say up to about 5% - without much concern but it does affect your speedometer and odometer readings. More change than that, and you need to know what you're doing and why. Sites like this are incredibly useful for comparing tire sizes: https://tiresize.com/comparison/

You don't have to buy the exact same size that came with the vehicle and many times it's advantageous to change slightly for performance reasons, availability, or price.

[Danno]

Thanks, that's helpful, and really fucking confusing. Using that site, it lists "alternative sizes", and then searching on the BFGs, it lists all sizes they come in. Doesn't look like there is anything but E rated tires in a reasonably similar size.

[El Chupacabra]

Good explanation from adrenalated on interpreting tire size numbers.

Danno - assuming your Sequoia is like other similar Toyota 4WDs, with your stock tire size of 265/65/17, you can probably use -- without causing any problems -- 255/75/17 or 265/70/17. Maybe you can find the tire you're looking for in one of those sizes. Sometimes you can find deals on alternative sizes when they're on sale, or on closeout.

Google it to be sure. I'm sure there are Toyota forums where someone has confirmed max tire size fitment on a Sequoia on stock wheels.

[jackattack]

Dynapro comes in 265/65R17, pretty cheap. I imagine Discount would be able to source it for a bit less installed.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...0OWL&tab=Specs

[Norseman]

Might find more fitment info by searching for Tundra, as those are more commonly modified but share the front end with the Sequoia.

[El Chupacabra]

Might find more fitment info by searching for Tundra, as those are more commonly modified but share the front end with the Sequoia.

Yes, but are the rear wheel wells the same on a Tundra as on a Sequoia? IDK.

And there's really only one tire choice for you:

[Norseman]

Yes, but are the rear wheel wells the same on a Tundra as on a Sequoia? IDK.

No, but the limiting geometry is in the front end for both... upper control arm, frame pinch weld, skid plate, bumper.

[adrenalated]

Yes, but are the rear wheel wells the same on a Tundra as on a Sequoia? IDK.

They're pretty close. The front is definitely the limiting factor on both trucks.

[anotherVTskibum]

FWIW, I had a Nokian truck tire, now discontinued, something like the Vatiiva?, on my Frontier. It had good traction but was toast in 35k miles.

I had Nokians of some variety on my Suburban. The thing was damn near unstoppable at that point (i.e. I'd have needed to pull a total JONG move to get it stuck), the feedback was excellent (making them super-easy to hold right around the point of letting go), and gas mileage didn't seem to be adversely affected.

Yeah, they cost a good chunk of change, but consider the cost of one body panel meeting a deer, guardrail, etc., or the time lost to getting out of a ditch on the way to a powder day, and a couple hundred extra bucks on tires doesn't seem so bad.

[bodywhomper]

I put the c rated cooper atw on my cruiser. I picked a slightly different size that I knew would work. Oem size was super expensive.

[DeepHelmet]

Danno, you have a Costco in B-town, yeah? Buy the p-rated or c-rated KO2s and call it good. Long treadlife, excellent reviews, and better than average traction in snow and ice.

I need some new tires for my 3/4 ton. It came with Firestone Transforce 285/60/20E tires on it. They suck in rain, mud, and especially snow, but at least they're showing significant tread wear after 11,000 miles. Ugh. Anyway, I think the Ko2's are what I'm looking for. We have Costco, Big O, and Tire Rack available here. Tire Rack is the lowest price at $340, but obviously I need to have someone install them. Never bought tires from Costco before, is the warranty and service really that much better than what Big O offers?

[mattig]

I had Nokians of some variety on my Suburban. The thing was damn near unstoppable at that point (i.e. I'd have needed to pull a total JONG move to get it stuck), the feedback was excellent (making them super-easy to hold right around the point of letting go), and gas mileage didn't seem to be adversely affected.

Yeah, they cost a good chunk of change, but consider the cost of one body panel meeting a deer, guardrail, etc., or the time lost to getting out of a ditch on the way to a powder day, and a couple hundred extra bucks on tires doesn't seem so bad.

Have nokian WR G2's on wife's rig (all-season, snowflake) and after 50k miles, they're not looking too close to needing to be replaced. Really nice to leave one set of tires on all year (for 3-4 years now).

[LightRanger]

I need some new tires for my 3/4 ton. It came with Firestone Transforce 285/60/20E tires on it. They suck in rain, mud, and especially snow, but at least they're showing significant tread wear after 11,000 miles. Ugh. Anyway, I think the Ko2's are what I'm looking for. We have Costco, Big O, and Tire Rack available here. Tire Rack is the lowest price at $340, but obviously I need to have someone install them. Never bought tires from Costco before, is the warranty and service really that much better than what Big O offers?

My ATWs are from BigO, but always done Costco otherwise. Same lifetime balancing and rotation. But Costco has a deal where if the tire fails, they'll prorate you the remaining value based on a mileage calculation. At least that's what I recall from the one time I cashed it in.

[zion zig zag]

Just in case anyone in Utah needs some tires I have some Cooper A/T 3's for sale. I honestly changed them out about 20k miles too soon as they are still in great shape. 265/70/R17, set of 4 for $100.

[wicked_sick]

I put the c rated cooper atw on my cruiser. I picked a slightly different size that I knew would work. Oem size was super expensive.

I ran these tires on my 4Runner last season (in a P Metric size) and was very happy with their winter and all round performance on all types of roads and terrain. They're also pretty affordable.

I took them from the 49th parallel to beyond the arctic circle and back. My only complaint is that 1000s of km of rough gravel roads towing a small trailer chewed the shit out of the treads.

[bodywhomper]

I ran these tires on my 4Runner last season (in a P Metric size) and was very happy with their winter and all round performance on all types of roads and terrain. They're also pretty affordable.

I took them from the 49th parallel to beyond the arctic circle and back. My only complaint is that 1000s of km of rough gravel roads towing a small trailer chewed the shit out of the treads.

That's great input and interesting to know about the tread durability. I bought them over the KO2 because of cost and potential for longer wear life. We drive ours quite a bit on dirt and gravel in our area, but it's typical at slow speed due to roughness (fs trails and ungraded "roads" or dust control (residential and high use roads). We'll probably put a couple 100mi on them this week while out in the desert. I'll see if there is a noticeable difference pre- and post trip.

[shafty85]

Looking for a set of tires for April- October. Got new winters last season but need new ones for he off-season. Primarily highway driving, but go down logging roads for adventures and on job sites often. Running 265/75R16 on an 06 Sierra 3500 lbz extended cab long bed. Recommendations?

[TAFKALVS]

Looking for a set of tires for April- October. Got new winters last season but need new ones for he off-season. Primarily highway driving, but go down logging roads for adventures and on job sites often. Running 265/75R16 on an 06 Sierra 3500 lbz extended cab long bed. Recommendations?

Duratracs
BFG KO2

Pick which one you think looks cooler, in an E-rating.

[tom tuttle from tacoma washington]

Nissan Frontier. 2003. 150+K on it now

The Tires that came on it were shit. BFGs.

Tried Bridgestones, Meh.

Replaced them with some Cooper Bigfoots. They sucked.

Bit the bullet a bit and bought some Hankook Dynapro ATMs.

They have been by far the best tires I have ever owned. Bar none.

[adrenalated]

I mean I love my Duratracs, but for a guy that is driving mostly highway with some basic logging road use and no winter driving? Holy overkill, batman. Duratracs are loud and a bit wandery on pavement.

And besides, if you want to look cool, get mud terrains in the largest size possible.

The Hankook Dynapro ATM was a better highway tire than my Duratracs and could be a good choice, but maybe still more aggressive than you need. Honestly for that use just about any decently reviewed all-terrain tire should be just fine.

[Cruiser]

Looking for a set of tires for April- October. Got new winters last season but need new ones for he off-season. Primarily highway driving, but go down logging roads for adventures and on job sites often. Running 265/75R16 on an 06 Sierra 3500 lbz extended cab long bed. Recommendations?

Michelin ltx ms2 maybe?