All Terrain vs All Season

I have a 2021 4Runner Off Road Premium. It still has the Dunlop All Season tires that came on it (except the new one I had to buy because the flat couldn’t be repaired). I had another flat yesterday and am driving on the spare with the flat in the back. I called the dealership (I bought it new from them and have a good relationship with a salesman there I’ve bought 2 vehicles from over the last 3 years).The service department can’t get me in until Thursday morning.

Then I started thinking because I’ve had more flats over the last year than normal. Then I realized until last year I’d been driving it on city streets/interstate mostly. Now my commute is on rural roads that aren’t in that great shape. The parking lot at work is gravel. I still drive streets/interstates but it’s more county roads in questionable shape and gravel (my gun club is gravel too).

Now I’m thinking screw the dealer and going to the closest Discount Tire on Tuesday and getting BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2 all around instead of waiting for the next flat.

Any advice/comments appreciated.

Thanks!
Ron

 

Welcome to the forum!

I say go for it, but it's not my money. What caused the flats? Not sure a different tire will make that much difference.

I say this because I ran the stock dunflops for the first couple of years until I lifted (about 50k miles total). I did have to replace one but that was because I picked up a screw near the sidewall. You can get heavier tires with thicker sidewalls but they come with tradeoffs (comfort and mpg). Gravel shouldn't be flattening the tires - if you are picking up screws/nails I'm not sure a new set of tires will help

 

I am on the side of getting away from the Dunlops. When I had my 2021, Once again In my opinion, Those tires left a lot to be desired in regards to what I expected from a daily driver/normal performance tire.

 

i dumped the stock Dudlops at 300 miles on the odometer and put Falken wildpeak at3w’s on in 285/70/17 and never looked back. 23,000 miles later and they still look brand new.

forgot to mention, i rotate every 3000. Thats how i get the most miles out of them.

 

@ronpitts Welcome here man! You'll find a wealth of knowledge and advice from these folks.
Do you get much rain in your area? KO2's are very popular but not researched enough - notorious for poor rain performance and sometimes wear/balancing anomalies.

You don't have to succumb to the status quo KO2's!

For that price I recommend more General Grabbers, Michelin Defenders, Yokohama Geolanders, Mickey Thompson Bajas $↑, or fur sure, "the new KO2"; Wildpeaks.
Goodluck regardless! Hell I went with Load E range for the first time, zero flats in years

 

Greetings and welcome to the forum.

I have BFG K02’s on my 2021 TRD OR that replaced the Dunlops about 8k miles ago. Since then, I’ve been cross country and back (Atlanta to Spokane) with about 600 miles of that off road in Wyoming and Montana.

The K02’s (stock size and C load) are working well for me. They are quiet on the pavement, handled the off road without any issue and I am very satisfied with them.

There are other very good all terrain tires out there so you’ll have to determine which ones you get. However, replacing the Dunlops with a good all terrain will be the best thing you can do to improve off pavement service.

Cheers,
Bob

 

If you get all terrains, be sure to air them up properly. The door jam placard is not correct for C or E load rated tires.

 

I found that Tire Rack has comprehensive testing available for the mainstream A/T tires. There is also a decision tool available. I have run KO2s and Duratracs in the past and have been happy with both. I just ordered a set of Toyo Open Country A/T III for my new 4R as they seem to be the best choice for my type of driving and terrain. Long and short, we get quite a bit of snow in my area and my commute goes right through the heart of the snowy hills.

 

I am running my K02’s (265-17-70 C-load) at 35psi vs what the door sticker shows (32 psi) and they are wearing evenly….

Cheers,
Bob

 

All terrains -
Same story here. The only time I ran 32psi is on my KO2 275/70R17 Load E. On my KO2 265/70R17 Load C & 285/70R17 Load C I run 34-35ish psi. When I contacted BFG customer service they told me to run 50psi for a almost stock weight 4runner with KO2 285/70R17 Load C If I do a chalk test for my 285s on almost stock weight 4runner I would bet money I would have to run 32psi, metbe even lower to get full width contact, especially on my 7in wide TRD Pro wheels. Maybe on my 7.5in TRD ORP wheels I might be able to run decent tire pressure to have full width contact patch. A guess from what I see visually.

All seasons


I would never look at all seasons because even the days we had Rav4 and Venza my wife used to puncture them on curbs and what not. Even for our Venza I used A/Ts and it was a trouble free choice for me so I don't have to go in middle of my work to change tires.

 

FWIW, I did a chalk test on my K02’s and settled on 35psi. Interestingly, that’s also the pressure recommended by Discount Tire where I purchased them…

Cheers,
Bob

 

While they may be wearing evenly, you are reducing your load capacity and creating more sidewall flex which can cause heat buildup.

If you follow the math or use the online calculators, the stock size KO2 class C tires should be at 44psi.

The ride will not be as nice, but that’s the trade off…and everyone has to make their own decision.

BF Goodrich customer service will try to get you to run 50psi, which is obviously not the right answer.

 

The KO2 are being replaced by the new KO3. Just be aware that in a year you might not be able to get a replacement. The KO2 on the Jeep wore well despite not being rotated, lasted 40k miles, and were good everywhere except on wet pavement.

The KO2 are overkill for gravel roads. I've used Goodyear Adventurers (now superseded by Territory AT) on my 4runner, they aren't very aggressive AT tires yet they survived lots of gravel roads and sharp rocks. Wouldn't recommend them for gravel, the tread holds onto gravel like crazy. I liked that they were understated.

I'll likely buy the Cooper AT3 next, and that would be my recommendation. They should hold up well off road, but wont be compromised on road like KO2/Wildpeaks. Stay away from the Michelin LTX, they don't use full depth sipes (sipes help in wet traction) to cut cost which is completely unacceptable in its price range.

 

Welcome from Arizona!
Information overload yet? Lots of good choices to be had.

 

You are jumping into a whole new world with C vs E load, Max speed and weight differences and capacity's. Let alone how it will handle and noise level of all AT's.

AT's will likely get less flats, but there is a lot of baggage that comes with it. Well worth it IMO, but baggage none the less.

I went with C load Duratracs since I wanted to keep the great snow and good wet traction plus the durability. A little noisy, but no more and likely less than others.

 

Duratracs are a clear winner with my experience compared to my KO2, Wildpeaks. Unlike my standard load your load C should be studdable. I bet it would be insanely better than mine. And LT285/70R17 Duratracs are true 33in tires.

 

I got the Yokohama Geolander AT's and very happy with them, They are snow peak rated and ride great.

 

The theory is kind of correct but your statement about 44psi is not.

Why? Use the tire size that comes on the limited trim for your calculations instead.

245/60/20 at 32psi = C load 265/70/17 at 35psi.

 

Here’s the problem with that approach:

If you use your same starting point and convert the 245/60R20 to the original 265/70R17, the result is 26psi - which is noticeably below the Toyota recommended 32psi on the stock tire.

 

The point is that you are trying to match a safe load capacity which Toyota set with the 245s at 32psi.

A C load 265 matches that at 35psi.

The 265 P metrics are fine from a load capacity standpoint at 26psi.

Tire pressure doesn’t just account for load though. There is rolling resistance, ride compliance, wet grip, etc that all play a part in that calculation.

This is why upsizing like this typically results in complaints like KO2s are bad on wet pavement, the ride is rough, etc.

 

So we have 35, 44, 50 (per BFG which is crazy)…

Talk about a lot of data points. I’ll probably try the chalk test after all at this rate just to see what that results in.

 

Welcome aboard! I just put on my second set of C-load KO2s but there are plenty of good options out there. All the names have been mentioned here and they're all good choices. Pick one and go! My Dunlops were on for about 2500 miles and I had one winter with them. All terrains are a good choice.

 

Oh, and using this calculator and the rear axle rating for the front gives you 32 and the rear of 37: https://atturo.com/tire-resources/tire-pressure/

 

I just wanted to say “Welcome to the forum Ron,”

 

For the types of roads that you described I wouldn't hesitate to buy Michelin tires. See the two options below.

 

I had K02 on my old Ram and they served my well. I hope to put them on the 4Runner.

 

Ditto for the Bridestone dueler HT's that came stock on my SR5. Awful tires. Replaced them at 36K miles with Geolander AT's and could not be happier.
They ride better, better traction in wet conditions , snow peak rated a plus. No regrets. DUMP THOSE DUNLOPS!

 

To the OP.

I also recommend the Michelins. They are simply the best tire for normal road and gravel usage.

I just swapped out a set of BFG KO2s. They were good for 35k miles and then just started riding really bad. Noisy, rough, poor wet handling.

I’m now on Michelin Defenders (had a set once before) and they can’t be beat for smoothness, quiet, and outstanding dry and wet grip. They do very well on normal non mud off road use as well. They typically last at least 60k miles with no degradation as they wear due to the full depth siping.

The KO2s do well in dry off road but no AT does great in mud. They aren’t great for road use but they’ll work.

I’ve considered buying a second set of used OEM Trail/TRDOR wheels off eBay and mounting BFG mud terrains for true nasty off roading, to be switched on and off as needed. I’ll continue to use the Michelins for daily driving and non extreme off roading.

 

I just put on Falken Wildpeaks... Had them on my Tacoma and we amazing in the Winter weather living in Chicago.

 

I too was going to go with BF Goodrich as that was a tire I regularly went to in the 90’s and early 2000’s however my research like so many other folks have pointed to poor wet weather performance. I hate the hydroplaning on highway driving so took a chance on the Falken Wildpeak AT in oem size last year . They have been fantastic for wet and snow driving here in the northeast for me. I have a place in PA and drive regularly between NY and PA. I would do it again next time I need tires.