looking for tire suggestions to replace the OEM junk tires.

E load is way too heavy for our 4Runners, and a Michelin E load just sounds wrong. lol People can get away with it but i would avoided if you mostly do highway. Definitely a great load for off road only IMO.

 

I’ve been happy with my Toyo RT Trails. Excellent off road and quieter than the KO2s I had before. They balance better and are wearing evenly w/ my rotations so far. Any concerns I had w/ rain performance was totally unfounded having been hit a few storms in the area. They were bought specifically for an off road trip so I may dial things down w/ their AT3s next. Or not.

 

Many manufacturers claim virtually no weight difference between C and E load ranges. Nitto Ridge Grappler for instance claims the E rated 285/70/17 is actually a pound lighter than the same tire in a C load rating. When I contacted them about this they said it was due to the way the plies are laid out in tire.

They also said sidewall deformation makes a big difference though so I'd agree that E load range is likely overkill for a stock 4Runner... but not because of tire weight.

Once you add a few hundred pounds of armor/ constant weight E load makes much more sense. C load range will flex a lot when fully loaded. Even during on road driving.

 

But we can still get into the weeds of deciding between trying to find some old stock of KO2s, or going with the untested KO3s.

I also saw Yokohama Geolander AT's weren't mentioned, but it sounds like OP might snub them like the Defenders (effective tire, but doesn't have a wow factor).

 

This guy did an interesting experiment with some lightweight 35s. One thing he found was his particular rig was too heavy for his C Load AT3's. Too much tire deflection in this particular case. Although I'm sure this is sort of an outlier situation since this is a very heavy rig on a very lightweight C load 35" tire.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tPc9Hsq4DF8

 

Per OP, 100% street and gravel. Super Swampers?

 

Unfortunately Michelin discontinued the C load. Really strange.

 

You guys can debate this until you’re blue in the face, but I’m sticking with my E load tires. After 46k miles, they’ve been quiet, comfortable and knock on wood, I haven’t had a tire failure with many off road excursions over sharp basalt rocks.

In contrast, I’ve been through nine P-series tires on my Sequoia in the last two years, all street use.

 

The Shandong 3000s are my favorite.

 

I thought you were kidding until I googled it.

 

It’s too bad that there’s not an objective measurement or rating for sidewall cut resistance. We like to pretend that load rating correlates to cut resistance but it really doesn’t.

 

Can we submit requests for Tinkerer experiments? This seems up his alley.

 

Good news is that they’re real tires. Bad news is that I think they may dissolve in water, so, dry pavement only…

 

Is someone debating your experience with someone else?

 

I think the OP is the only one who can call the winner for this tire battle.

 

I have Kumho Road Venture AT52 275/70/17 load E and zero issues. Very nice riding tire compared to the stock tires.

 

and... in comes the Kumho... forgot about that one

I'm trying to think of another tire to recommend...

 

Nice looking tires. How do they fit, trimming, lift kit, mpg drop?

 

This has the potential for being another epic tire thread. "In this corner, weighing in at a fighting weight of 49 lbs..." Can you call it a corner if the "ring" has 32 sides...?

 

Has anyone mentioned General Grabbers yet?

 

Michelin LTX AT2

 

Definitely my fave. Only available in E load now.

 

I have Eibach Pro Truck Coilovers 2R so idk how they would fit on OEM suspension.

also mpg loss, yes being a lot heavier the mpg dropped but then again, I didn’t buy a 4Runner for mpg bought for being so capable and reliable.