Pic's (lots) New BFG TA/KO 265/70/r17

The Story: I have been looking for new tires since I got the truck ( 20,000 miles ago ). The dunlop AT 20's were horrible but I figured I would use them for as long as possible. They were 75 percent worn out when I finally upgraded.

I spent a lot of time on here confirming that BFG 265/70/r17's would A) fit without any trimming other than the mud flaps and B) wouldn't dramatically reduce my power as some larger tires do. I ordered tires trusting the opinions of fellow TW members and am pleased to say that the tires meet both my requirements.

They are as I could tell about 2 inches taller than the worn Dunlops. I have not noticed any drop in milage or power and there is no rubbing all though when the suspension is slammed in some of the pix below the tire is about a hair away from rubbing at full crank. ( I do not have a lift ).

Performance:

ON ROAD: It has rained more than any other December I can remember in San Diego and these tires are great! The Dunlops would slide at the most gentle touch of the accelerator, but the new tires grip even under jerk'y acceleration. It really makes me feel much better about the truck in the rain and later on in the Sand / Dirt. I would recommend these tires hand's down and would agree that the Dunlop's are a safety hazard.

OFF ROAD:

So, I have a TRD Sport Prerunner. To those of you that don't know, that means I have 1 wheel drive plus my simulated LSD ( limited slip differential ). I have no off road modifications

That said, the BFG's must have doubled my off road performance! In the canyon 15 min from my house, the tires did great in the mud, didn't slide anywhere and held traction while breaking down some steep fire roads.

On my grandparent's small ranch (Where the pictures are from): This is light off roading, but the tires did great. I mostly just used this for taking the pictures though. They did flex nicely and they fit deep into the wheel wells without rubbing (even at full crank). They just get very very close to rubbing. There was one hill on the property that the tacoma couldn't make it up if I stopped half way. The tires would just spin when I touched the accelerator and I didn't want to test it and end up digging in and getting stuck, so I just reversed down the hill. BFG's are great, but they aren't 4 wheel drive or a locker...

The Desert: I've been out to the desert a number of times in the Tacoma but this was my first time camping! I loved it. It was a great night for looking at the stars, and we slept in the bed even though we had a tent and it was close to freezing outside. The truck drove so much better with these tires!! I go out there for dirt biking, not pre-running though I wish I had long travel, but we did take some time to drive the Taco on a couple little sandy trails. I didn't air down the tires ( kept them at 35 psi ) and we found a great sandy little trail about the width of the tacoma with lots of shrubs on either side. It started with lots of whoops (obviously for dirt biking) and I took them slowly on the tacoma but it was fun in a little kid sort of way. Then it got much sandier and the trail made lots of "S" curves so there was room to slide the back around gently and the tires did great even though they didn't really want to let go. I got to the end of the trail ( a hill that I wasn't going to attempt without sliders ) and I found a spot to make a 3 point turn. This meant that I had to trust the tires and not momentum as us Pre-runner guys usually do. Once I was done with the turn, I jumped on the accelerator a little and watched a tail of sand fly up behind the truck. It dug for a second or two ( which scared me ) and then it pulled out perfectly, a little tail slide and off I was back down the trail! In all, the tires did great and I can't wait to get back out there and spend more time on the trails in the Tacoma. For you so cal people, I was out in Occotillo Wells.

Please ask me any questions. I will bump this thread tomorrow because I'm sure most people are off line right now.

Thanks to all for all the tips when I was looking for these tires.




























In the morning after the camp was mostly taken down.





A family friend took this picture of his C2. Silly Carrera thinks it's a pre-runner.

 

Thanks for the great review!!

 

Glad I could finally contribute!

 

Nice write up, just what I wanted to hear.
I'm looking at buying the same tire and size if u don't mind my asking how much did you pay and from what shop?

 

Looks great! What a fun place to wheel too.

 

Tires were 950 with tax and shipped. I had "Charlie's Foreign Car" in Encinitas, Ca put them on. They charged a lot, $100, but we know them and they do all the work on our other cars and they always do good work. We have had A LOT of bad experiences with Discount Tire to the point where they mounted the wrong tires on my dads car..

 

Good write up! I love my BFG AT's! i paid $1100 for mine.

 

Great choice, I just did the same thing 6 weeks ago, I went with the 10 ply... what psi do you run? I am having a hard time getting the right pressure, tire shop set them at 65 PSI, I noticed the rear edges where not even rubbing on the road, I bumped them down to 42psi it definately rides nicer,
Truck looks great!!
I paid $1100 CAD for 10ply mounted, balanced. !! with the snow flake !!

 

Best tires out there....

 

care to elaborate on why you got the 10 ply (e range) ones?


for me, the C load range is plenty. The shop set mine at 29 which is whats listed on the door, but I put them at 35. 65 sounds awfully high!

 

Well... I bought them from a friend who owns the shop, I told him when I needed tires I only do light towing and 4x4'ing, I got them for the price of load C, atleast this way it will be harder to get a flat...

 

well haha, you'll probably never get a flat.... I don't know if you've ever driven a tacoma with C range BFG's. I'd be interested to know if you can feel the difference of the E range in the drivability..