I Dont Think I Would Buy KO2s

I prefer a toyo open country M\T or R\T model! my last set of M\T model went 78,000 miles and 9 years. And i sold them for $500.00 after i was done with them and they still had a 1/3 tread left. On my Toyo R\T i have 12k miles on them and i have worn off on 2-32nds of tread amazing!! These should do 100,000 miles easy they start at 18.9 32nds of tread.
https://www.toyotires.com/tire/pattern/open-country-rt-on-off-road-rugged-terrain-tires.

Also check the Big o bigfoot A\T out! Great smooth all terrain tire with 3yrs FREE road hazard and 3yrs FREE and towing roadside help.

 

Throwing gravel is just a function of tread void area. Treads with greater voids and less rubber contact to the road will throw less gravel. The Duratrac has larger tread voids so it will likely throw less gravel.

I've run both tires. The Duratracs were terrible in the wet after a little wear. My 22re pickup had a hard time keeping the tires hooked up accelerating off the line in the rain. The KO2s do lightyears better. The KO2s are also quieter and smoother at high speed on the highway. They also have superior sidewall protection.

The nod to Duratracs is if you play in the mud. Anything thick will pack up the smaller tread blocks of the KO2, whereas the Duratrac has more open void area to manage it better.

KO2 improvements over the KO:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kp5dVUol778

 

I don't know what the fascination is with KO2's around here. They suck in the mud, suck in the snow/ice, balance poorly, run small for their size, and are expensive.

 

I've ran both, along with a set of KM2's. I pile up miles on 2 trucks....so tires get a LOT of miles. Duratracs outperform KO2's by a wide margin on wet roads, snow covered roads, mud and off road. Not even CLOSE.....KM2's are hazardous on wet roads or with a heavy load. Duratracs are pressure sensitive. You need to play with psi to get them to where they do their best. KO2 doesn't seem to matter....mediocre to average performance at any pressure...I'm on 2nd set of Duratracs. Did E rated before, now on C rated 265/75/16's. Great gas mileage, great handling on highway, drove 5 hours in monsoon rains yesterday...Never a hint of hydroplaning or lost traction.....when others around me were having problems. I'm just passing 25,000 miles on this set. So far, just shy of 3/64th inch wear. Should see 65,000+ before sipes start to wear away. Excellent for this type of tire. Had one that was out of round on install. Goodyear distributor replaced it fee of charge and gave me a $100 gift card for my trouble. (Dealer chipped in another $50 card!) First set went over 70.000 miles. Just keep 'em rotated and good alignment and all is well.

At the 1/2 worn point, Duratracs provide great traction still, where both the KO2 and KM2 fell on their proverbial faces....

KM2 and KO2 off my short list of repeats. Only possible consideration is because I'm vaguely interested in 255/85/16's.... But most likely either another set of 265/75/16 Duratracs OR possibly 285/75/16 Duratracs.

 

So what PSI would you run on the tacoma in a 265/70/17 C rated Dura (assuming they make a c rated in that size)

 

I run 34 psi most of the time. (Best balance of gas mileage, wear, and traction) In snowy weather, I'll drop the rears down to 31 and fronts at 32 UNLESS I'M HAULING A HEAVY LOAD .

Do a chalk test....Get maximum psi with full width contact on tread.

I have ran as high as 40 psi. Gas mileage is great, but they wear in the middle and get a loose in slick conditions when I did that. Also kinda rough riding on such a light truck....

34 will be adequate for loads that a Tacoma SHOULD be hauling. If you tend to overload the truck, maybe a couple pounds higher.... I spent several months playing with pressure to get the best results.

 

Good inputs thank you

 

I noticed they make a durstrac in 4 ply.
265 75 17.

Anything wrong with 4 plys?

 

Anyone have any experience with the Nittos.

 

HA! Hope nobody believes anything you say. Your creditably went out the window when you try to say a "Rugged Terrain" is better and more stable when towing. Those are some of the shittiest tires EVER! They are soft sidewalls and cause the truck to sway when towing, the tread packs full of the slightest amount of mud, and they just spin out on wet roads.
If you are going to drive in mud, get a MUD TIRE, not all terrain. The KO2 are great in the snow, ride nice on the road, and are a great tire for most off-roading.

 

Yes they throw rocks, yes it will chip your paint and/or fender flares, yes you should put mudflaps on if you have KO2's and go down gravel roads on a regular basis. My flares are chipped up pretty bad and it took me way to long to get my flaps on. After that I haven't noticed any new ones.

The original KO's shipped on my Tundra and also threw rocks like nobody's business but it had factory mud flaps and steps that certainly helped keep them off the paint.

 

Which nitto? I ran terra grapplers on 3 trucks and they are awesome for a all terrain.

Debating trail grapplers on this truck

 

Lighter weight will be better for power and MPGs but fewer plus will be lower durability. If your truck is primarily a street truck go 4 ply. If you take it off road on anything more than dirt/gravel roads 6 ply would be advised.

 

Unfortunately, I cannot comment on the KO2 as I only had the KO (so why am I posting here, right?).

A good friend of mine has an Xterra with 265/75-16 Duratracs and to my ears they are/were significantly louder than my KO were. I believe we had approximately equal mileage on our tires. I ran my KO @ 35 PSI, and I cannot comment on what he runs his Duratracs at.

The Load Range "E" never bothered me personally and I noticed after about a week of driving on them, I'd never notice them. The only reason I even noticed a difference was that I ran a dedicated snow tire in the winter that wasn't as heavy duty. I found the KO to be a bit sketchy in rainy/wet weather during braking with my old truck, but I also had the infamous overboosted TRD OR brakes that grabbed real hard initially. It was the only vehicle I've ever driven that I engaged ABS in, and I'd only be able to do it with the KOs. The newer OR (at least the manual version) lacks the touchy brakes, so I'm sure it won't be an issue. I plan on going with the KO2 when I upgrade tires in the future since I want the OWL and the Duratracs were too loud for my liking.

 

I'm going to have a real hard time parting ways with a low rolling resistance tire.

Not that I have to worry anytime soon. Though a lot of these all terrains do look sweet and are tempting.

 

I've run the KO and greatly prefer the KO2 for off road use. While still an A/T it has larger tread voids than the original KO and has sidewall protection the KO lacked.

 

You're comparing two totally different vehicles as well correct? Sound deadening and insulation suspension etc all different

 

If you're worried about fuel Mileage then you shouldn't be driving a truck. One of the least aerodynamic vehicles made.

 

That's good to know since my next set of tires for the new truck will be KO2s.

I am, but I'm looking at size to size on the tire. I've ridden in both vehicles in multiple situations and the KO have always been quieter. I ran KOs on my 93 which had no sound deadening and I heard no tire noise. Granted suspension can play a huge factor in the truck, but I was surprised how loud they were on another vehicle.

Granted, I haven't been in a Tacoma with Duratracs, but my experience with the Xterra says that they're too loud for me.

 

I have some KO2s on my 87 4WD pickup. Seem to work very well everywhere I have had them, but they do seem to really chuck rocks after I've spent some time on mountainous dirt roads. The Duratracs on my Tacoma don't do that, but that is probably due to the larger tread voids. I don't really remember the standard KO throwing rocks as much as the KO2, but I was always able to tell which were my tracks down gravel roads as the KOs would seem to grab at the gravel and leave very noticeable tracks.