BFG Ko2 tires are probably in my future, but I will wear out whatever they ship with the vehicle before I go down that road. They say that bigger tires will cost you some gas economy, but not much (1.5 percent?).
load range C = 6 ply "rating" load range E = 10 ply "rating"Now, let's talk about the 265/70R17 tires that are stock on a 4runner. You can get them in either load range C or E. For a KO2, the actual construction is:
load range C = 2 ply construction load range E = 3 ply constructionAha! You say. But there is more to it than that. It has been claimed (and probably rightly so) that a 2 ply KO2 is "beefier" than a 3 ply tire by some other manufacturer. Without talking about specific tires, it is impossible to say more. The take away from this is that you should have a good deal of confidence in a 2 ply load range C KO2 tire.
Now what about choosing C or E for this 265/70R17 tire? Go for the C unless you are towing or hauling heavy loads. Some people do choose the E to get a tougher sidewall. They will be heavier, ride rougher, and need to be aired to higher pressure to be seated (though I have heard people claim otherwise). The C rated tires are plenty tough enough.
The first of the following articles describes the tire change I would like to do. However he also puts on an Icon Stage 2 lift. He also says "there is a big drop in MPG with bigger tires".
However, reviews say that they last forever. The compound is hard and slick. One guy says: "The worst and most dangerous tires I have ever driven. Slippery on dry and deadly on wet. If you corner on a wet road with this tires you have to be so careful ......" I find this surprising, but it may come down to driving style, perhaps this guy is hot rodding around town. Some people like them.
The following article is key to read, the discussion goes on for 70 pages:
A glance at the table will tell you that 265/70/17 (stock tires) are fine, so are 275/70/17, but 285/70/17 are "yellow" requiring slight modifications. And people point out that different tire brands have different dimensions, even if they are marked 285/70/17 -- and each vehicle is unique.And consider. A 285 is only 1.6 inches bigger in diameter than a 265. So it will only lift your vehicle 0.8 inches, is this really a big win? A 275 bumps the diameter 0.5 inches (giving 0.25 inches of lift). And rim width needs to be considered for each tire under consideration. And your speedo with get bumped by 3.4 percent for 285 tires, and your gas mileage may take a bit of a hit. Different rims give different amounts of offset, and some people add spacers to fiddle with offset which raises all kinds of issues.
They say that 275 BFG will fit stock on the 4runner, but may rub in reverse full lock (which you can fix by pushing the fender liner forward). I talked to a guy at a tire shop about this. He pointed out that the 275 is an oddball size, not always in stock, and might be hard to get if you are off somewhere. I doubt that this is a real concern for me.
The BFG 285/70/17 KO 2 run small for a 285 tire (32.7 inches). The first guy says he put them on and has no rubbing at all. The second guy says he had to remove the front mud flaps
As a quick aside -- If you are into big tires, maybe you should get a Jeep!
Look at this video -- you can get 35 inch tires right from the factory.
You can put on 37 inch tires without rubbing and without any modifications.
The Jeep has an 8 speed transmission and a lower gear that helps with big tires.
You also are looking at a solid front axle versus IFS on the 4runner.
Watch this video regardless, and the second one also.
There is a whole kettle of fish involving the sway bar.
The Toyota suspension has about 8 inches of total travel, split evenly between 4 up and 4 down. Adding 3 inches of lift, gives you 7 inches of up and only 1 inch of down. With more than 4 inches of lift, you would have no down travel and the suspension would bottom out during daily driving.
Before lift, it was minor rubbing on the front fender liner. I grab some old sidewalk chalk and colored the tires best I could then back out of the driveway in each direction to see where the rub was coming from. Took about 5 minutes to unbolt and push the liner forward. Fixed itThe 275 are class E, while the 265 are class C. This means the 275 add 10 pounds of extra weight per tire! You might consider this entirely worth it in terms of getting a tougher tire. Class E is an "LT" tire and 10 ply, and the ride will be rougher. Some like it, some don't.
Another option is the 255/75R15, also known as "pizza cutters". They are the same height as the 275 but narrower and some like them. Also they are class C.
People also say that the KO2 tires may not be the best option these days. KO2 is just a marketing "thing", not a technology. All this would deserve some reading and study when the day come to buy tires.
Do I want bigger tires? Stock on my 17 inch rims will be a 31 (31.67) inch tire (265/70R17). They say you can sometimes move to a 32 inch (if it is a small 32 inch) without issue. Some 32 inch (i.e. 275/70R17) are more like 33 inch and may rub. A 33 inch (285/70R17) is 32.71 inch and will rub. Each brand of tire is unique.
The next issue is lift -- but you have to consider a 2 inch leveling kit) versus a 3 inch lift kit. If you put on a skid plate (particularly an aftermarket skid plate), you may also want to add some lift to recover the clearance you sacrifice with the lift kit. It isn't just the thickness of the skid plate metal, but the overall shape of the skid plate.
Four BFG KO2 265/70/17 -- 1468.21 (367 per tire) Five BFG KO2 265/70/17 -- 1872.80 (374 per tire) --- Four Nitto Ridge Grappler -- 1323.32 (330 per tire) Five Nitto Ridge Grappler -- 1654.16 (330 per tire)Both are excellent tires. The Nitto has better on highway performance, yet is a bit louder. The BFG is better off road and will probably last longer. People get 80,000 miles out of the KO2. Getting 50,000 miles is expected and typical.
The compound in the KO2 is harder than the Nitto, hence the tire lasts longer.
One fellow says (and this should be all you need to know):
Dont buy into the Nitto hype. Every mall crawler out there has them. Don't be a lemming.
Ha ha! The truth is that both are fine, and maybe you should get whichever you can get the best deal on. Also look at Falken Wildpeak and Toyo tires. I'll probably go with the KO2.
Tom's Auto repair pages / tom@mmto.org