Expensive tire lesson..

I recently replaced my old Michelin LTX/MS tires and went for a different look with BF Goodrich T/ A KO2's..My truck is an 07 Prerunner w/ a 4.0....I have heard alot of people complain about gear searching before..Mine started doing it for the first time with them...And the truck being known for the stiff rear end..When crossing over an expansion joint that's not smooth, the rear end could jump to the side quickly..The new tires exacerbated top speed ( of course ) , and most of all, the handling going over anything rough takes 2 hands on the wheel..Damn tires have got less than 2000 miles on them...Having Michelins mounted tomorrow...Lesson. Learned...And the cheapest way to soften the ride is to secure about 150 lbs of something in the rear..

 

E rated tires do that, but you also may be due for shocks, have you changed them in recent memory?

 

As mentioned above, sounds like you got E-load tires which are very stiff and heavy, C-load tires ride significantly better and are lighter which are available for KO2s in the 17" wheel size. The trucks come with light weight and soft riding P-load tires. In terms of weight, stiffness and durability, generally speaking it goes P<C<D<E. The Tacoma is a very light truck in the world of trucks, C loads are plenty.

 

I have E load tires on my truck and they are pretty stiff when I'm at highway tire pressures. Airing down to about 15-20 psi when I'm off-road makes them smooth as butter though.

 

what were the tire PSI, at? they installed them on my work truck, and air them up according to the tire. i lowered it down to what it says on the door jam, and it was almost normal.

 

What's wrong with your truck?

I have E tires, my back end does not "jump to the side quickly".

 

Yeah, Michelin Defenders for the win. Despite folks best efforts, the truck was designed for P rated tires so anything else will come with a steep price in basically every department.

I’m a guitar guy so I get wanting stuff that looks cool, but I just can’t understand buying consumable rubber for looks lol. Glad you’ve come back to the light side OP!

 

agreed 100%. i just put the M/S Michelins on my 2006 a few weeks ago. so friggen smooth and quiet. awesome offroad as well.

i will put them on my 2023, when the time comes. works for 99% of my driving, which is on the road..so that is what i buy the tire to match (conditions)

 

or just slow down? I've ran E rated tires on my truck for the last 5 years and haven't had any issues.

 

I had a set of 265/75 - 16 Toyo open country mud terrain E rated tires on my 2002 Pre Runner never had an issue with driveability . Told the tire tech to only inflate them to 35 psi and the ride quality was very smooth . I had them on my truck for 25k miles no issues

Even my 72 Camaro which has 275/ 60 -15 MT Drag radials they only have 20psi in them and these tires are almost 10 yrs old

 

This is my question as well. I have had E rated tires on mine for the past 3 years or so, and never experienced this sort of description. And I don't drive like a grandma, nor was I always carrying heavy stuff in the bed...When I first got them the sprung weight of the truck was virtually bone stock minus aftermarket suspension changes and some front skids. Sure the suspension got a little unsettled at times when I had the rear springs at too high a spring rate before adding more stuff, but never would i have said the truck jumped to the side.

i also run my tires at 40PSI, so any effects should be even more noticeable. They ride stiff but have never given me concern.

 

I'm betting the OP was running 50+ PSI in the E rated tires. That is about right when they are mounted on a 3/4 or 1 ton truck with a curb weight of around 7000 lbs. Your Tacoma is about 2000-2500 bs lighter. If you run E rated tires on a Tacoma 30-35 PSI is plenty. Yes, they will ride stiff and not nearly as good as a P rated Michelin. But with the right PSI in the tires they aren't horrible.

 

I've always adjusted tire pressure by using the chalk line on the tread surface trick .Draw two lines across the tread surface 180deg from ea other . Drive it around for 10 minutes then check the chalk lines on the tread surface and adjust air pressure until the chalk line is scuffed away

I've done it this way since the early 70's and never had an issue

 

When my K02's were installed they put them at 40psi, I dropped them down to 34psi. And yes they are stiff but my driving habits are not your normal habits my average speed is 45-50mph. Since January I've put 3500 miles on it.

 

E-tire user here for the last 4 years straight, never had the issue described.

Sounds like the OP needs to work on other things like proper tire pressure and skipping KO2's indefinitely.

 

I've gone through numerous sets of e rated bfg a/t's over the years... love the way they track and never had a flat. E rated is a harsher ride but hell.. it's a truck. As far as loss of power never really noticed. Just switched to E rated 275/70/17 Toyo R/T's and still don't have the gear hunting you described.

 

The cheapest way is to understand the tires and simply adjust your tire air pressure. But spend your money or haul some trash any way you think you need to.

 

let me tell you after wheeling my tacoma with a set of load range E MTs airing way down was down in the teens and still had a fairly stiff sidewall. they ride rough. i daily a set in load range C and they are stiff too but not quite as bad

 

I went from Goodyear dura to Wildpeaks. C to E rated. I run them much lower than the Goodyears. Started at 36. Now at 34. Much different. I heard some folks run low 30s with E rated. Off road I’m in the teens easy.

 

KO2s don't even look that aggressive? They are basically the most common AT tire.