Help Choosing tires

Hey everyone,

First post up here! I typically stay in the Tacoma forums as that’s what I drive!

My wife and I purchased a 2022 TRD OR premium for her back in April. It’s getting Billy 5100s installed on all 4 corners. My next step is finding some OEM limited rims to run with some sort of 275 tire. My question is this:

I’m looking for a tire that’ll provide a great ride, with similar weight to the stock dunlops (as close as possible) as well as having a more aggressive look and performance. She does 90% highway driving but we own a ski home in a very mountainous area of WV and will occasionally require some good tire performance for trips there as well as beach driving. Let me know what y’all recommend!

these are my goals:

1. salvage MPG as it’s her daily driver
2. Provide a quiet ride
3. Provide good combination highway/offroad driveability
4. Provide a more aggressive look

 

Welcome to the forum.

 

Nitto Ridge Grappler’s.

 

Maxxis razr at

 

I have used Falken Wildpeak AT3W 275/55R20 on OEM limited rims on my 4Runner Limited. I changed them to 17in rims because
1) bigger rims look ugly to me (I don't like seeing things too much through the spokes)
2) 20in tires did not look safe when my wife put lot of weight on the back of the 4Runner. The tires look very squished.




I'm a big fan of stock TRD OR premium wheels as they are the only wheels from factory you can run bigger tires like 285/70R17 with in spec.


In 17in tire world tire sizes like 275/70R17 don't have much good options as most of the tires are Load E which personally I don't like the ride quality. And there is Falken Wildpeak in Load C but that tire is heavier than Load E. Similar story for the size 255/80R17 as every thing is Load E. So to me I prefer tire size 285/70R17 where you have ton of options that suites almost everyone needs.


Tire brand experience;

Past & Current -

• Goodyear wrangler duratrac - Excellent on pavement snow & ice conditions. Noisier than KO2 & Wildpeak
  
• Falken Wildpeak AT3W (SL) - Very nice tire for on road and light offroad. Not bad on snow but not good as GY.
• BFG KO2 (Load C) - My favorite so far as an all-rounder tire for daily driving, offroad & winter wheeling in deep snow. Not good as GY on pavement with snow and ice.
• BFG KO2 (Load E) - Too firm for on road use even at 32ish psi. Will never buy a Load E for 4Runner again.

Future -

• Yokohama Geolandar at g015 - I want to try this on my wife's Limited (285/70R17SL) for been the mostly city driving and maybe once a month off pavement to exercise its 4wd. Its also rated for severe snow service (3PMSF) just like the 3 brands I have listed above also seems to have more siping and closer threads to bite snow.
  
• Toyo TireOpen Country A/T III - I want to try this on my TRD in the size 34 X10.50R17 but I scared because its load D. This tire also has 3PMSF rating for my winter wheeling requirement. Want to try narrow size as I cannot go 285 width with my TRD Pro rims. (Lift and tires might not happen any time soon with a new baby on the way )

 

When I last bought tires I looked into 275. What I found is that they're all significantly heavier than their 265 counterparts. If you care at all about MPG and performance, I would probably avoid this size. The heavier the tire, the more rotating mass, which kills both your acceleration, braking, and MPG. Personally, I don't think it's worth it to run a 275.

I ended up going with a stock size all terrain, which looks noticably larger than stock even though they're technically the same size.

 

Agreed. Anything over stock size and ride height will cause a decrease in MPGs. Probably 95% of the complaints about gas mileage on here involve modified vehicles. I too went with a stock size Continental AT tire once my OEMs were worn enough (about 92k miles). I've gotten a consistent 21.5 MPG across both tires, and my 4R is stock.

 

My notes after @kmeeg thoughts.

• Goodyear wrangler duratrac - Excellent on pavement snow & ice conditions. Noisier than KO2 & Wildpeak Agree
  
• Falken Wildpeak AT3W (SL) - Very nice tire for on road and light offroad. Not bad on snow but not good as GY. Low price point for a reason. Performance tests also show this to take longer to stop on dry and wet pavement.
• BFG KO2 (Load C) - My favorite so far as an all-rounder tire for daily driving, offroad & winter wheeling in deep snow. Not good as GY on pavement with snow and ice. Agree. They are IMO the quietest, aggressive A/T avialble until around 45-50k miles, then they get a bit buzzy. Best A/T dry road braking performer in every test I've seen.
• BFG KO2 (Load E) - Too firm for on road use even at 32ish psi. Will never buy a Load E for 4Runner again. Load E's belong on half ton and up proper pickups, IMO, or at least with someone who does a fair amount of rock driving. Much better sidewall puncture rate.
• Yokohama Geolandar at g015 - I want to try this on my wife's Limited (285/70R17SL) for been the mostly city driving and maybe once a month off pavement to exercise its 4wd. Its also rated for severe snow service (3PMSF) just like the 3 brands I have listed above also seems to have more siping and closer threads to bite snow. Reviews on everything Yokohama in the international overlanding crowd are always high praise.
  
• Toyo Tire Open Country A/T III - I want to try this on my TRD in the size 34 X10.50R17 but I scared because its load D. This tire also has 3PMSF rating for my winter wheeling requirement. Want to try narrow size as I cannot go 285 width with my TRD Pro rims. The downside to a 34x10.5.17 in most instances is the high entry level price. Its not terribly common and with it, comes a higher price. There are exceptions like the Kenda Klever R/T at around $230 a tire at 285/70/17. One of the best looking offroad tires on the market, works amazing down to 12-14psi offroad and wears cleanly and evenly. I buy mine form Walmart and ahve mounted at Discount since none of my local tire shops carry them. As to the A/T III, again, high entry point no matter the size, huge following on the international overlanding scene.

 

Welcome!

Tbh, you're going to have a hard time finding a tire that has all that you are looking for. Best of luck!

 

+1 to what @kmeeg wrote.
When it comes to T4R’s, I’ve run stock 265’s on stock wheels, 275’s on aftermarket wheels and 285’s on stock wheels.

The 275’s come almost uniquely in heavier load ranges which bring a real weight and, arguably, a ride-comfort penalty.

In my case the 275’s introduced the dreaded shimmy. Albeit they were on aftermarket wheels so hard to say real cause of the shimmy.

In fact, many 285’s in SL load are much lighter than any of the 275’s which are mostly E load tires.

Just my .02 if it helps.

 

A more specific answer to your list of requests:
Take a look at All Terrain tires (A/T) in the stock size of 265 70 17 and SL load range
Nitto (Ridge Grapplers)
Toyo Open Country AT3 (just put s set of these in 285 on my 21)
Falken
BFG AT KO2
to name a few.

 

I just put a set of Michelin's on my wifes 4R last week. Had Toyo AT3's and they are the most terrible tire I ever had. I've had Wildpeaks on my Taco and am currently running Duratrac's. Of all the tires I'm had, the duras are pretty nice, but really there are tires and then there are Michelins.

 

I'm curious to know why you hated the Toyo at3.. got a set at the moment, stock size E rated, and I love them, way more comfortable than the ko2 they replaced and they are wearing really good.

 

Look into Michelin LTX A/T2 in 265 stock size. I’m pretty happy with mine.

 

they didn't wear bad, 24K and still at 8/32. 1 tire just wouldn't balance ever and they are louder than my duratracs by far.

 

Interesting to read how sensitive a famed off road SUV reacts to tire/size variations.

 

I like BFG KO2
I have them on my 4Runner and also on my 2013 FJ Cruiser Trail Teams

 

Yeah these things are whiney little b!tches when it comes to tire size.

 

265/70/17 BFG KO2's only come in a LT, not a SL.

 

Michelin LTX AT2

I spent years with steering wheel wobbles. BFGs, Nittos, Generals. Found a shop local with the proper balancer adapter for the six lug wheels that has corrected a lot of other shops balance jobs on 4Runners. My truck has never been so smooth.

I have had them on two trips now off road, 250 miles of dirt aired down to 23 psi and they were great. Very impressed and should have went with Michelin right off the bat.

 

Agreed. I'm a big fan of these as well.


I'm also a big fan of General Grabber ATX.

 

How does the erated ride? Hit in mpg?

 

I think they ride really well. They were a bit rough at first, but, that's because the shop overinflated them. Dropped them to around 35psi and smoothed the ride out beautifully. As for MPG, it doesn't seem like I took too big of a hit when I swapped to them.

Haven't tried them in snow yet, but, they are Three Peak rated which is a must for me. They do handle really well in the wet, however. A lot better than the stock Nittos.

 

I'm really interested in the maxxis razr at in size 285 70 17(p/sl rated). Actually with the price of them and the reviews its my top choice.