Tire Question (especially for you Pros out there)

This is mainly about tires. And I know there are a lot of threads about tires. I’ve read through ALOT of them.

I got a ‘20 Pro and it’s about time for me to replace the original Nittos that it came with. I think I’m set on BFG KO2s. Anyone out there running them on your pro?

I thought I was just gonna keep it stock with 265/70/R17, but then I was filling up next to a sweet lifted ‘14 and talking to the owner. He said I should size up lol. But he also was fully setup with KINGS and runs MTs in the summer. Pretty jealous of his setup not gonna lie haha.

Anyway my main question is, anybody out there with a mainly stock pro that runs 285/70/R17 KO2s? Or really any tire that size. Do you off road? Have you had any rubbing problems? How has it impacted your performance or MPG sizing up? Hope for some personal experience insight instead especially from a Pro owner.

Thanks for anyone’s insight out there. I really like this group and read up a lot on here. Even about things that don’t really impact me and my vehicle haha. This is my first 4x4 and I don’t do anything crazy with it but hope to gain experience and insight and explore more out there.

Thanks everyone!

 

22 Pro owner here, haven't replaced my Nittos yet, but likely will in the spring (I drive a LOT of miles!).

First of all, I don't think that 285s will work "rub-free), even on a Pro, without lift and/or mods. The Pro has about a 1" higher stance than other trim models, but it's still no where near enough. The fender wells are just too close at full lock. I've seen Pros run 275s, but that's about the limit, I believe.

Also, no experience with KO2s on a 4Runner - but I did have a set on my previous vehicle, a 2016 F150. LOVED them, except in rain. Great off-road, decent on pavement (although I DID lose a couple mpg after putting them on), and weren't too noisy. Got a decent amount of miles from them, too. But, as I said, a little mist or more of rain on the road, and my rear end would break loose much too easily.

I went with a different tire after the KO2s (Firestone Destination XT2) and it never had that issue again. The XT2s were just as good off road and on dry roads, but were also great in wet conditions on pavement. Highly recommended.

 

I believe a few people have run 285's on stock PROs. A good alignment and maybe some minor plastic trimming should be all you'll need, if anything. Lift doesn't clear tires if you off-road.

 

I thought people liked the KO2s in bad weather on road. Do you think they are worse than the stock nittos in rain? In my opinion the nittos get squirrely when its wet, rain or snow. Haven’t felt super comfortable with them unless it’s dry honestly. Thanks for sharing your experience

 

I cannot comment for the rain as may be I'm a slow driver in rain where I did not feel noticeable difference between KO2 vs stock Nitto Terra Grapplers. Or even Falken Wildpeak AT3W, Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac or my newest Toyo Open country AT3. However with all those tire I have to hold the steering firmly driving over water on one side of the car as the car pulls to that side which I think is expected. The biggest difference I see is on pavement with wet snow and ice is Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac where it perform noticeably well other other tires I have mentioned above. Braking is noticeably improved.

For offroad on rocky trails, driving faster on sandy / gravel roads and winter wheeling on deep snow I absolutely love BFG KO2. I could not test Toyo Open country AT3 offroad yet but I loved KO2 over other tires. The only KO2 I dislike was the Load E LT275/70R17. It was too rough on pavement as a daily driver / road trips even running at 32psi. I tried from 40 all the way down to 32. None worked for me. I had no complains for BFG KO2 Load C LT265/70R17 or LT285/70R17.


**The reason I high lighted "stock" for Nitto Terra Grappler is I beleave after market Nitto Terra Grappler has better compound that the Nitto Terra Grappler comes on 4R TRD Pro. Aftermarket Nitto Terra Grappler have 3 peak mountain snow flake rating if I'm not mistaken vs stock Nitto Terra Grappler only have M+S.

 

The KO2s were FAR worse than my experience with the stock Nittos. It was the only thing I didn't care for with the KO2s, but it was bad enough that I did NOT replace them with new KO2s once they were worn down. I have not had one single instance (knocking on wood!) with my stock Nitro's on the 4Runner Pro. Wet pavement is not an issue. Snow is not an issue. And it wasn't because the rear end of my F150 was too light, because I had a bed cover and kept about 600-800 lbs of equipment in the back, so it was fairly well weighted down. It just would not hold traction on any wet paved surface. Even to the point that I had to feather the throttle taking off from red lights. Otherwise it would spin quite a bit if wet.