Good offroad tire that is decent on-road

I'm currently running KO2's (275/70/17) and not unhappy with them. Despite their "bro" status they do seem to perform decent on and off road. Next time I'm going to 33s and would like better offroad performance without getting too noisy/poor mileage on road. Basically something between A/T and M/T. I wheel a lot of big bear trails, which are dry and rocky. Nitto Ridge Grapplers?

 

So it sounds like you are looking for a hybrid tire - something between an AT and a MT.

Check out the Nitto Ridge Grapplers, Cooper ST Maxx, GG X3's, Wrangler Duratracs, etc.

 

Michelin AT2

 

Thanks guys, will check them out.

 

Duratracs. Maybe a hair noisy as they get old, but they have a nice coarse self cleaning tread pattern that works for me.

 

So I like the duratracs and nitto ridge grapplers. Searching for reviews...

 

There are plenty of reviews on here, but you can't go wrong with either. The duratracs are known for having weakish sidewalls but people love them. I don't know a ton about the ridge grapplers except that people like them.

 

Forgot about Toyo Open Country RT's - you could check those out as well. I don't know much about them though.

 

ST Maxx are amazing for everything. and so quiet. E rated, and tough as nails. the E load isn't for everyone but i personally cannot get along with C or SL tires. for E's you probably won't find better. they're studdable, too.

 

IMHO, anything E rated is overkill on a light truck like a Tacoma unless you’re heading up the Dempster Highway, but they’re not illegal so buy what you think you need haha. 90% of the time my truck is on highways and gravel roads so the Duratracs are perfect for me. Plenty tough off road too. Never had a problem with them and I’ll probably buy them again when the time comes.

 

i mostly agree with you from a work standpoint. i prefer E tires, just like i prefer high load tires on my road cars, because i like a very firm sidewall for ride and steering response. i absolutely hate driving soft C tires. there's a lot of fun handling available on this chassis as well, and you'll barely even find out about it with C or SL tires. it's not everyone's thing and my truck isn't a work truck, so just living in my zone out here (E tires, high caster uca's, rsb, etc..)

that you can even discuss handling with these tires is pretty amazing. they really have a dual personality and can impress on road w/o big noise while taking care of all the business off road.

 

Been seriously impressed with the ridge grapplers in E.

 

Toyo recently released their Open Country R/T in 255/80r17. Many people are pleased with their performance and I almost went with these but decided I wanted to just go with the STT Pros and be done with it.

 

X2

 

Duratracs get my vote