255 KM2 or 285 Duratrac?

Stupid question, but why do you want snow tires living in LA?

 

My next tire will be 255/75/16 KM2s. I've had 3 sets of 285/75/16 KM2s and have absolutely no complaints about them. My last set had 40,000 miles on them and still had about 25% tread left. Just want to try out the 255s.

 

Not a stupid question. I was looking at Duratracs more for road-driven miles versus the KM2's. When my job has me stay in the nation I enjoy driving to wherever they want me rather than fly, so my new 2.5k trip to FL has me debating. Also, w/ all the armor that my truck will get in the coming days I wouldn't mind saving an mpg or two, which is doubtful no matter how I cut it. But, in Los Angeles, we can drive 90 minutes and be in the snowy mountains. Simple drive through the Grapevine in winter months has caught me in snow squalls. My Wrangler pulled a BMW out of snow only 40 minutes North of me. I also plan on Yosemite trips, trips back to MA, and even an AK trip is looking possible.

I keep looking at your 265's, though, and am wondering what my lift is about to look like w/ only stock tires.

I thought upgrading this truck was a ton easier than it's turned out to be. All this minutiae is killing me in the best possible way.

 

What about 275/70/17 ?

 

Yours is a daily driver, right? I've read your posts on the KM2's, and you've never waivered with your loyalty. Did the tires (not the suspension) ride rough? How about balancing problems with them?

 

I'm running 16" at the moment. From what I've read, 17" are more expensive tires anyway, not to mention the cost of new wheels. More importantly, isn't that size tough to come by?

 

Yes to all of the above , sorry I missed you were on 16's .

I was in this same boat as you between 255 km2's and 285 , I ended up ordering C rated LT 275/70/17 Hankook ATm's , but I don't think it is offered in a comparable size 16

 

Why didn't you go with the 255's? AND you switched from M/T's to A/T's, huh? The snow, right?

 

I currently run 265/70/17 E rated Hankook MT's , and I wanted to move away from an E rated tire , but stay with an LT .

The 255/80/17 km2's are E rated .

And , yes , I wanted to go to an AT for better snow performance .

 

ah...now I get it. Stay away from any MT if you plan on doing a good deal of on road driving. I chose the Duratracs because at the time I was putting approx 30k a year on my truck. We get plenty of snow in my region so that helped me decide. I know a few local guys with MT tires and I can say with 100% confidence they SUCK in the snow unless sipped.

My trucks pretty much fully armored and lifted and I think it looks fine with 265/70/17's.




off topic but I was in a 18 wheeler in the grapevine many years ago with a n00b driver who didn't use a low enough gear to go down it. We ran out of air and had to take one of the run offs....not fun.

 

No regrets on my 255 km2's there great on the highway and I've run many of the top selling mt and at tires on the market.... They ride real nice on the road I drive almost 4 hours each way to wheel at Rausch creek and I have no problems I run 38-40psi on the street and 15psi on the rocks.. No chunking or cupping or vibes from all the highway use either... Will probly last 40-50k miles

 

So, you're not planning on taking your truck off-roading any more than the nutty weather in Canada throws at you? E-rated ran rough?

 

Naw, it looks real good w/ 265s. I just meant I'll have the Rugged Fails on my new lift. I'm partly debating 265 Duratracs like Whipper's. What're your mpg's like w/ all that armor? I also enjoy the thought of not having to regear.

Sounds like a pucker moment on the Grapevine. Things can get gnarly there very quickly. Fog, snow, rain, hail, etc. You're lucky none of that was happening if this guy didn't know how to drive.

 

I'm not an offroader like lots of others are here on the site , my truck sees logging roads , and some light offroad but no serious booney bashing trails , a C rated LT tire is tons for what I need .

The E rated MT's I have now have an extremely stiff sidewall , and most of the paved roads I am on are rutted , leading to a somewhat harsh ride , so I decided to try a C rated tire , I haul firewood and materials / tools in my truck and wanted to stick with an LT , the Hankook ATm in 275/70/17 was my compromise .

I would love to go with the 255/80/17 size , but I want to try a C rated

 

Hmmmmmmm...... how're your mpg's? Did you regear?

 

I am running 255-75-17 BFG MT Km's on a Dodge Ram Quad Cab, with excellent results as far as handling and getting miles out of them. These are the older C rated ones, they put out for the Jeep Rubicons. You can find them used pretty cheap, and the last new set I got off ebay was in the 400.00 range . They pull really good in the deep snow and mud, but can be a little squirrely on wet or icey roads, at least in the Dodge,very hard to start out without spinning them. I just picked up another new set of 5 from a guy for 450.00, along with a set of TRD Sport rims, and am going to try running this set up on the Tacoma for the rest of the winter. Here is the ad for them, but you can get them a bunch cheaper if you shop around.

BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM 255/75-17 C Tire
The Mud-Terrain T/A KM ("KM" stands forKey benefit Mud traction) is BFGoodrich's Off-Road Maximum Traction light truck tire designed for pickup truck and sport utility vehicle driving enthusiasts looking for race-proven performance. The Mud-Terrain T/A KM is designed to deliver aggressive good…

$209.00​

Related Searches: Bfg Mud Terrain | Aggressive Tread | Mud Tires

 

This is a facile argument for the simple reasons of:

- What IF the muck IS deeper than diff?
- What IF you NEED flotation, such as sand or snow?
- What IF you're on a suface with variable traction (loose dirt) where having a larger tire contact patch gives you the best chance of hooking something up?

Offroad and traction all comes down to physics: pressure, friction, deformation, reaction forces.

In some situations, a slim tire is more advantageous. In some situations, a wider tire is better. What type of tire YOU need depends on what you do most with your truck.

If you're a generalist and do some of everything (like me), you want the WIDER TIRE. Wider is as good as slim most of the time, better some of the time, and worse almost never. Slim is as good as wide most of the time, worse some of the time, and better almost never.

HOWEVER: If you aren't looking at the tire primarily for offroad use, then get the 255. It'll always be better on road because it's lighter and offers less rolling resistance.

DD is a nice thing to have with the way these things suck gas once you get 'em modified.

I'm gonna be trying 285/75/17s after I wear out my current set. 34" pizza cutter. Should be interesting to see what I have to do to my truck to fit them.

 

265 duratracs look bigger than 90% of all 265 brand tires because of the large tread pattern on the sidewalls.

 

Yep it is my DD.


The tires don't seem too rough, at least not in my opinion. I do however prefer a slightly stiffer ride. Never had any balancing problems.




Just got back from the snow with them, and I didn't slid or skid or anything.



Also, they affect MPGs, but not as much as you may think. It comes back to how you drive with them.

 

I'll be running the same size as jandrews 285-75-17 this spring just not sure if I wanna stay with my km2's or go with Toyo mt's.... I'm leaning towards the toyo's cause there one of the few tires I have t tried and there pretty amazing from what eveyone says