Need new tires, advice?

2021 4Runner SR5 Premium with leveling kit only.
I am about due for new tires. I am between Nitto Ridge Grapplers, Nitto Trail Grapplers or BFG All Terrains.
Pros? Cons? Personal Opinions?

 

I just got BFG KO2 and I love it over the stock Nitto. But the Nitto are good tires and alot cheaper. If I was on a budget I would got with the Nitto.

 

I’m on my second set of Nitto Ridge Grapplers. I like them. They aren’t cheap but of course no tires are cheap these days. They balance well and are very quite on pavement.

For the cons, I would say that there are several reports that they aren’t great in snow/ice. I seldom drive in snowy conditions so this isn’t an issue for me.

If you live in a dry climate, I would recommend Nitto RG’s. If you live in Minnesota for example and winter driving is frequent, then there may be better choices.

 

I haven't tried Nittos, so I can't speak to them, but I've loved every set of BFG's I've had. I've owned the K02's, KM2's, and KM3's, and bought more than one set of each. I'd say go for the K02's, personally.

PS- Welcome to the forum!

 

What weather conditions? How much do you off road?

 

Of the 3, BFG's probably better than the others in snow (and where I live, that plays a big factor for me). (edit: just saw SE Texas so snow not really a concern for you...)

I'm not a huge fan of the BFG's but do not have any experience with the others so...

 

Welcome. The tires mentioned above are all pretty noisy, wear out fast and hurt your gas mileage. Michelin Defender LTX MS is a better choice.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AZUiNip9bCk

 

Well the weather conditions are pretty unpredictable here. Mostly it is hot and humid. No snow or ice really ever. I don't off road now because I have basic street tires. If I had beefier tires, off-roading might be better in the future. Most likely through the sand at the beach.

 

You might consider looking at Toyo Open Country AT3, but the Michelin's are truly the best for ride quality and wear in my opinion

 

I have run Michelin LTX ATII’s on my Tacoma and now my Sequoia. That would be my recommendation for a great all around all season tire.

I tried the Michelin LTX MS on the Sequoia and they barely lasted 2 years. The LTX AT II wear much better on my Sequoia.

 

I personally run Toyo Open Country A/Tiii. The type of weather we get here is mostly rain, but I've also had the chance of driving it through sand and dry conditions as well, and no issues. Loving the tires so far.

 

You're asking about an all-terrain vs mud-terrain vs a hybrid of the two. I guess it comes down to what you actually want to get out of a new set of tires.

In general, the MTs (Nitto TG) are going to be the noisiest, ride rougher, hit your MPG harder, have shorter thread life, and do the worst in the cold and wet conditions out of the 3 bc of the lack of siping and rubber compound used. But they have those beefy lugs and reinforced sidewalls ideal for traction off-road and of course aggressive look.

The ATs (BFGs) will be the opposite of the MTs with better on-road performance in both the dry and wet conditions. Longer thread life and better mpg, quieter, generally cheaper, etc... It's more aggressive than an all-season though so it'll still have decent off-road performance.

Hybrid MT/AT (Nitto RG) tires usually try to combine the best of both worlds... So you get a chunky aggressive looking tire, but with smaller lugs closer together with more siping in an attempt to improve road noise, comfort, MPG and inclement weather driving when compared to a full on MT.

Very generalized pros and cons, but you get the idea and I hope this helps

 

I still have the OEM tires on both my 4R's, but have the BFG KO2's on my FJ40 Land Cruiser. They're great. Pretty quiet considering their tread pattern (not that having a quiet tire matters in the least on an FJ40...) and decent pavement traction. Where they totally shine IMHO is in mud. So with the KO2's you get a tire that has really decent everyday (drive down the interstate, go to Walmart, etc.) behavior, but can do their job off the road incredibly well. Drop the PSI down to about 22 if need to go off-road and they shine even more.

When I finally wear out the OEM Bridgestones on my 21 Venture, KO2's are going on there. One of my good friends has a Tacoma TRD Pro and when his OEM Nitto's wear out, he's going with KO2's also. Hey, nothing against the Nitto's, they're great. But we just think the KO2's are a notch up the ladder from the Nitto's.

Good luck!

 

I put these on my taco and got about 20k before switching back to OEM slicks to trade it in. I put the on the runner for the summer gravel road adventures. Then switched back to the runner factories for fall winter highway driving, and to get more miles out of the factories.
I have been very happy with them, on both vehicles, they seemed to do well on the taco in the snow and rain. They will go back on this summer, and are on my list when replacements are needed.

 

Cool. That makes it easier. I’d strongly consider the Michelin Defender. They don’t have the aggressive look of an AT, but they’d be far safer in the rain. And people are really surprised how well they do off road when that’s needed.

I went Pirelli Scorpion AT, in part because it’s 3-peak rated and I have snow part of the year. But if I could do it over I’d prob go Defenders.

Look them up. They’re one of the very best rated tires of all time. A legend.

 

I have to chime in again now that you're getting all the suggestions for the Michelins and be a dissenting opinion : Coming from my daily commuter being a BMW motorcycle for many years, tire choice made a huge difference in longevity. If you had something like Pirelli Scorpions, I could get about 8k miles on the rear, but if I went with the motorcycle version of a "Mud Terrain", which was the TKC-80, the rear would wear out in 3k miles or less. So HUGE difference. I just don't see that holding true with truck tires. Sure, a street tire will last longer than an AT, and an AT will last longer than an MT, but a street tire will not have triple to quadruple the service life of an MT, like it does on a motorcycle. I get 40-50k miles on my BFG MT's, and a KO2 will be good for 50-60k miles, generally. You're not going to be doubling that with a Michelin.

My own opinion, and of course many others will disagree, is that tires are the number one most effective "mod" for a 4 wheel drive vehicle, like our 4Runners. I die a little inside when I see a 4Runner with street tires. Practical...sure, but fun? Nope. When I go off the beaten path with my 4Runner (or my older Tacos when I had them), I get so much more confidence knowing I have a nice tread and beefy sidewall. Not to mention they make the truck look 1000x better. It's a highly subjective decision, and you'll get many opinions with equal value. But for me, tires are fun, and I'm willing to pay a little more, a little more often, and have a look and performance I love from my truck.

Just so much better...

 

Interesting about the Defenders on the Sequoia. I’ve gotten 80k plus on several sets of Defenders/MS on my tacomas and 4Runners.

I drive so many highway miles that the MS makes the most sense for me. But I’ve been itching to try the Defender AT as my next set. The only thing stopping me is a potential increase in road noise. The Defender MS are sooooo quiet.

Can you comment on the noise difference between the two?

 

I don’t recall a big noise difference, it’s the wife’s ride so I don’t drive/ride in it as often.

I was reluctant to post regarding tire wear on the Sequoia. It’s a lot heavier than our 4Runners on 18” rims which can be an apples to oranges comparison.

The Sequoia has a big appetite for gas, tires and brakes.

 

I have BFG K02, load c, stock size. and they have been great. Yes, louder than a street tire, but they’re not obnoxious. I’ve had street tires that made more noise, now that I think about it lol.

Some say there are better options than the K02s, which could be true. But tires are expensive, and i really avoid trying new tires models if I have one I already like. I’m approaching 40,000 miles with my first set with at least a couple of thousand miles on gravel and off road. They do pretty good in the wet and in snow as well.

 

Between the 3 tires listed my vote for KO2 as well for the weather here in CO. As far as I know only KO2 has severe winter rating of the 3.

Even though I try different tires one of my buddy is big KO2 guy and this is a deal he got last week. This will replace the old KO2 set on the 4Runner and his Jeep has 35in KO2 as well.

 

Anything Michelin and chances are you will have better luck balancing them.

 

I run the Nitto Ridge Grapplers, have had no problems with them.

 

I have an out of Context Question. I know its a winter tire.

Has anyone used Studless Winter tires like Bridgestone Blizzak continuously all year round in warm/cold season

Care to share experience?

I used Studless Winter Dunlop Graspic ds-3 all year round on a minivan way back. Was able to drive the 2WD minivan in deep snow successfully. No drifting either. That was about a decade ago.

My main reason is that the T4R OEM tire/2WD/Part time 4WD might not cut it in a severe interstate Snowstorm travel.

See the case with Texas.

 

Welcome from Arizona!
I spent a month in the Nacogdoches area in February once and rainy doesn't describe it well enough. I see your concern for weather including muddy off road even getting to the beach. A long wearing, lower noise tire should do you well. There are plenty of good choices posted above.

 

I like these if you have a discount tire store nearby. No one else can sell them.

 

@arileighflo91 -- Another reason to go with the Defenders is ease of balancing. Our 4Runners are notorious for being sensitive to wheel balance, and a lot of us have persistent problems with intermittent steering wheel shimmy at around 60 MPH. The issue has been beat to death and I think pretty much everyone agrees the solution is a spot-on wheel balance using a RoadForce machine. But success can still be hard to find, with the diligence of the tire shop tech, the method they use to attach the wheels to the machine etc. all factoring in. So you're just adding to the challenges when you go to heavier and AT style tires. The design, weight and relative quality assurance of Michelin all may reduce your odds of encountering this very annoying problem.

I'd also reemphasize wet weather performance. If it rains a lot where you are, you'll find the Defenders far, far superior to any AT tire. And that could mean the difference between an accident and not.

 

Up here in the land of 6 month winter some folks run winter tires all year and if installed before the first winter can get 2 winter seasons and one summer out of them with careful rotation, summer heat wears them quickly though. A better option is to run all-weather tires such as Michelin Defender or similar. I've run Michelin MS or the newer model Defenders LTX for about 20 years on various vehicles winter and summer on -40C packed snow and ice roads, deep snow and mud and +45C Mexican pothole highways and trails, never been stuck, never slid off the road, never had tire belt seperation or slow leaks, even nail repairs have been rare with these. Another great all-weather tire is the Nokian WRG3 which some professionals use here.

 

Other than curb appeal, the Michelin Defenders appear to be a great tire with few faults!

 

I think these are the newer version for Duratracs. Duratracs were noticeably good in winter conditions. So I bet Ultraterrain would be same if not better.

And yes for us winters here in CO tires like Michelin Defender won't work as they don't have 3PMSF rating.

 

The right tire choice is an interesting question. Most of us want an aggressive looking tire to match our vision of conquering the wilds, but the reality for most of us is how often do we really get to hit the trails. I am located in the western central or the eastern portion of western Maryland (Frederick - beginning of the small mtns in MD) and we average 17" of snowfall and 44" of rainfall per year. There are no network of 4WD trails in close proximity. I am 60 and still mountain bike, ski, hunt, fish - want to add kayaking - but all of this usually entails driving to a trailhead or parking lot. My point is, while leading an active outdoor recreational life (mostly in MD) and driving out west for a annual mtn bike trip, how often do I really need an aggressive all terrain tire? At this point of my life I 4WD out of necessity not recreation - I did that in my younger days with a 77 Bronco, 88 4R, 76 Bronco and 06 Jeep! Ultimately the bland looking Michelin's might be the most prudent choice for my neck of the woods!