Just had these put on as my old AT's were nearing wear bars in the rear.
Obviously, I have no long term or even trail reports to give, but I wanted to start a thread to hopefully put my impressions of them over time up, since they are a new release.
-------------------------------------------------------
A few points on the vehicle and general usage:
-the tires are 285/75's on a 16" rim, under a 3rd Gen 4runner, with front/rear/side armor. I think tire performance is largely vehicle dependent (what works on one type well may be horrible on another).
- They get used primarily onroad (like most), but do see a fair amount of 2wd dirt, and trail conditions in the summer (colorado rockies, some rocks, some roots, mostly dry dirt, also moab slickrock and utah sand).
-------------------------------------------------------
To start off, I am a fan of the KO's. I know there are better AT tires out there, and less expensive, but I have never felt comfortable with any others offroad besides an MTR. The MTR was a bit too loud and wasn't wearing well on road. I've had Yokohamas, and Bridgestones, and while they were much quieter on the street, and both were great in snow, I found myself worried and stressed every time I went off road.
I know that many here will say that they've not torn a side wall on any number of other tires, but that hasn't stopped me from worrying about it. The sidewalls on the KO's never let me down.
Over the years I've had the AT KO's from a 28x9, 31x10.5, 33x9.5, 33x12.5, 265/75, and 285/75. I beat on all of them, especially in my old 4runner, and they took it all very well, only getting one sidewall flat from a shock breaking.
(This is on a difficult trail here in CO, and those are 33x9.5 KO's, and it did drive all the way through under its own power)
So, I wanted to try the newest offering.
My initial impressions are: They are quieter than the KO's, but they are also at a higher pressure and less worn, so time will tell if they get noisier as they wear.
I like the new look. To some extent, we all buy a few things for the rig that make it "look" off-road ish. Tires are a big part of that for many people, and I think they have a more aggressive stance than the old.
We had a light snow last night, just enough to make the neighborhood slick and icy. They hold the road pretty well. I couldn't hoon it about too much (neighborhood) but vastly better than the near wear bar ones I had before. Not nearly as well as the Yokohamas, however, those did the best in snow of any tire I've had yet. These are siped a bit more than the old ones I had (though I didn't have the "snow" rated tires before)
The bad so far is that they haven't improved the ride. They are bricks, just like the old ones. Not too surprising as the 285 sort is an E rated tire, but one was hoping a bit.
They are also heavy still. Not as bad as the MTR's were, but its a lot of tire to have to heft to a tire carrier, or even to a set of lugs when changing the tire. This won't help on the trail.
Lastly, the price. You are buying a badge with these (well, and sidewalls in my world), but they are significantly more costly than other tires of a, shall we say, less puffed up brand that doesn't constantly drivel on about their Baja-1000 victories.
Here they are the day after getting them on:
More to come in January/Feb as I am headed to the Antarctic for 6 weeks. Hopefully I can get some good winter impressions while they are new.
Cheers! :beer:
Obviously, I have no long term or even trail reports to give, but I wanted to start a thread to hopefully put my impressions of them over time up, since they are a new release.
-------------------------------------------------------
A few points on the vehicle and general usage:
-the tires are 285/75's on a 16" rim, under a 3rd Gen 4runner, with front/rear/side armor. I think tire performance is largely vehicle dependent (what works on one type well may be horrible on another).
- They get used primarily onroad (like most), but do see a fair amount of 2wd dirt, and trail conditions in the summer (colorado rockies, some rocks, some roots, mostly dry dirt, also moab slickrock and utah sand).
-------------------------------------------------------
To start off, I am a fan of the KO's. I know there are better AT tires out there, and less expensive, but I have never felt comfortable with any others offroad besides an MTR. The MTR was a bit too loud and wasn't wearing well on road. I've had Yokohamas, and Bridgestones, and while they were much quieter on the street, and both were great in snow, I found myself worried and stressed every time I went off road.
I know that many here will say that they've not torn a side wall on any number of other tires, but that hasn't stopped me from worrying about it. The sidewalls on the KO's never let me down.
Over the years I've had the AT KO's from a 28x9, 31x10.5, 33x9.5, 33x12.5, 265/75, and 285/75. I beat on all of them, especially in my old 4runner, and they took it all very well, only getting one sidewall flat from a shock breaking.
(This is on a difficult trail here in CO, and those are 33x9.5 KO's, and it did drive all the way through under its own power)
So, I wanted to try the newest offering.
My initial impressions are: They are quieter than the KO's, but they are also at a higher pressure and less worn, so time will tell if they get noisier as they wear.
I like the new look. To some extent, we all buy a few things for the rig that make it "look" off-road ish. Tires are a big part of that for many people, and I think they have a more aggressive stance than the old.
We had a light snow last night, just enough to make the neighborhood slick and icy. They hold the road pretty well. I couldn't hoon it about too much (neighborhood) but vastly better than the near wear bar ones I had before. Not nearly as well as the Yokohamas, however, those did the best in snow of any tire I've had yet. These are siped a bit more than the old ones I had (though I didn't have the "snow" rated tires before)
The bad so far is that they haven't improved the ride. They are bricks, just like the old ones. Not too surprising as the 285 sort is an E rated tire, but one was hoping a bit.
They are also heavy still. Not as bad as the MTR's were, but its a lot of tire to have to heft to a tire carrier, or even to a set of lugs when changing the tire. This won't help on the trail.
Lastly, the price. You are buying a badge with these (well, and sidewalls in my world), but they are significantly more costly than other tires of a, shall we say, less puffed up brand that doesn't constantly drivel on about their Baja-1000 victories.
Here they are the day after getting them on:
More to come in January/Feb as I am headed to the Antarctic for 6 weeks. Hopefully I can get some good winter impressions while they are new.
Cheers! :beer: