Stock Dunlops (are they bad)?

i drive my truck pretty hard and havent had any problems in the rain, even drove 40 miles in completly snow covered highways and did well enough, suck ass offroad but are sufficient for me as a commuter tire

 

The same factory A20 tires came on my Tacoma and the FJ (just slightly different sizes). I've found them to be just fine on the road, average OEM tires in the wet, and basically crappy/scary in the snow. That's how they're designed though, so take them for what they're worth. Change them out if you don't like them.

Personally, I got a set of black steelies with Goodyear Silent Armours for the FJ in winter. Much better in wet/bad conditions. I'm only using the AT20s in the summers until they wear out.

For the Tacoma, I'll just replace them with the same as the FJ tires, when they're done. So far, I've got 28,000 on the AT20s on the FJ and they'll last most of this summer. They're not THAT bad a tire when you consider what they're designed for.

 

I just bought a a new Taco and it had the Dunlop AT20 on it. After reading all the negitive comments I was ready to take them off and put some General Grabbers on. Had these on my previous truck. I'm glad I didn't do it till I drove the Dunlops awhile. Actually the Dunlops seem fine. Good ride, traction, low noise. All this talk about the tires being "dangerous" is just BS. I'm not saying its as good as the Generals, but its really not the problem that a lot of people are making it out to be.

 

I do have to say that this past winter, baltimore received record breaking snowfall, and for the depth of snow that I was putting those at20s thru, I really can't complain, i would actually have to praise them. My last vehicle was a wrangler with bfg muds so the comparison is a little off, but the at20s did great in the snow in my opinion, got stuck 2, both times in 2 feet plus of snow that I probably shouldnt have been in anyway. I think it all boils down to ur driving style. they are a pretty lame looking tire though cant wait to replace them for looks alone

 

Going from AT20s to BFG AT (I assume KOs?) will be a big change. You'll get a lot more traction (although some complain about lack of wet road traction with the KOs). You'll probably get marginally more noise, worse MPG (KOs are heavy) and a stiffer ride. If you get the "E" rated tires it'll be a very stiff ride.

Definitely recommend reading through tirerack.com for feedback. There's a fair number of Tacoma owners who post their opinions. As with any retailer website, take the reviews with a grain (or shaker) of salt but the overall trends you'll find from reading through them tend to hold true.

I've taken my stock Dunlops through lots of rain, gravel, flat (dry) fields, 5+" of snow and packed snow/ice on the roads and a little mud. For each of those types of terrain they got progressively worse. I never lost traction in any of these situations until I hit the mud, although I credit my careful driving in the snow/ice for preventing skids/spins more than I thank the tires.

When I say "mud" I mean packed but soaked clay dirt on the side of a highway... pulled over after a heavy rain to do something (can't remember what) and literally spent 3 minutes trying to get enough forward momentum to get back on the road. The stock Dunlops absolutely suck in clay mud... they were completely caked and spinning from the slightest acceleration and I was all of 6' from the highway. There was barely 2" of mud before hitting roadbed gravel! I seriously thought I was going to have to get out and start digging on the side of the road just to get "unstuck"

Personally I'm looking to get a set of Bridgestone Revo 2s, Firestone Destination ATs or Hankook Dynapro ATMs. Those are definitely enough for what I do without being overkill.