Cooper ST Maxx or BF Goodrich T/A KO2

i love my ST Maxx. they have handeled snow, rain, dirt whatever i throw at it with ease. best investment in my vehicle so far

 

I ran both on my 4Runner. The KO2's tried to put me in a ditch on a highway in a dusting of snow going maybe 30mph. They were absolutely crap in the snow. I have the Maxx ST's now and holy crap what a difference. They dig in everything, in a good way. I will continue to buy the Maxx ST's from now on.

 

I'll be willing to bet your installer doesn't know what's correct for your truck and will get it totally wrong. your pressures, if you're installing E's will almost certainly be WAY too high. chalk test recommended... look it up! takes 10 minutes and you'll be dialed in.

FYI i run the smallest diameter STMaxx for our truck, 265/65-17, so they can go lower on pressure. i run 30psi front and 27psi rear when warm. cold is 3-4psi less. you can go very low with the Maxx because of the firm construction.

 

agree... it's a good feeling knowing I've found my tires for this truck. don't ever need to think about it again, just hoping they keep making my beloved 265/65 (since those are basically never seen on another Tacoma).

 

I went with 255/85 and have been very happy with them so far.

 

Ive driven AT3s for years and always liked them, but they just dont have enough meat on them. Got my set of ST Maxx 265 75 16for $960 out the door from local Road Mart. Absolutely love these tires.

 

You’re probably right. I had a flat fixed at a different place than normal a couple of months ago and the guy doing the work had no clue as to the correct pressure to run and basically told me I was wrong until his boss told him to put the 35 psi in it that I wanted. These are the AT3's that I want to get rid of and tread wear is very even.

I was just looking thru the thread “Show me your ST Maxx’s” and read that a lot of people run higher pressures in front than rear. Never heard of that before, but it makes sense since there is a lot more weight up front. Currently my AT3's are 265/70/16. New tires will be 265/75/16. I’ll see what they put in the tires when they mount them and probably experiment a little from what I’ve read in this forum. I’ve heard of the chalk test, but have not read up on it. I’ll see what I can find out about it from a search.

 

i just run 35psi in mine.

 

I run 34 front, 32 rear on my ST MAXX with no issues.

 

my opinion? definitely keep a lower pressure in the rear if you're not loaded down. it will keep a far more stable rear end on the road.

 

I went from Dakota Definity AT (basically cheap BFG A/T knockoffs) load range E to ST maxx. The ride was slightly worse and I had slight wandering at highway speeds but I got used to it after a few days and no longer notice it.

That said, the reason I got rid of the knockoff ATs is I popped one on a piece of logging debris while on a fire road in Shasta Trinity. I have since put my ST maxx through 10x worse punishment and they've held up like a dream. I also commute daily with them with zero complaints. I'm sure if I did a close comparison with a street tire I might notice less noise but I don't notice them making road noise at all.

Here's a good video that gave me confidence after my Dakota AT's failed me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9Kz8mmLkeks


And here's one of my ST Maxx after 23,000 miles, they're about 16 months old. ~1000 miles of that has been aired down over rough terrain including sharp rocks in the Sierras and California coastal range. This particular tire spent about 6000 miles on each corner of my truck. They're proabably only about 40% worn if that. I run them at 35 PSI daily and 15-20 PSI on trails.

When they wear out I'm buying another set of the same.

 

This thread has Definitely clinched my decision on the ST Maxx’s. 72% of the poll along with the comments, video and photos is most likely going to have me buying the ST Maxx’s before I’m ready. In fact, that might happen soon.

 

Just brace yourself. I do a 5 tire rotation so I bought 5 in 235/85/16 with road hazard certs from Americas Tire, tack on some extra mounts and balances (I had them put one of my old Dakotas on my steel spare so I can have 2 spares) and I think I swiped for $1,400 that day.

 

Already braced. These will set me back about $980.

 

I had planned to go with the ko2, but now I'm thinking st maxx. My main concern is gas milage as many others have stated. I do mostly city driving, but do go on trails a decent amount and really don't want a flat out in the wood.

There are just so many choices with so many good tires on the market.

 

You guys are costing me $! I had settled on the KO2's, and can get them for $712 OTD at the local military service station, but now you've changed my mind, i'm going for the St Maxx's. Only question left is 265/75-16 or 255/85-16? I'm a little apprehensive about rubbing with the 255/85's, so I might go with the 265/75's. Also, I'd really like to keep the mud flaps, if possible.

 

I started this thread one week ago today after having yet another flat fixed on my Cooper AT3's. Well, today I was having Another flat fixed. Different tire from last week. Tiny little rock. Before I left, I ordered the ST Maxx’s in 265/75/16 and they will be installed next Wednesday. I can hardly wait. I probably would have ordered them sometime before the end of February, but todays flat within one week of another flat was the last straw and the end of the AT3's for me.

They say there is a lot of tread left on the AT3's so I plan to sell them to someone who spends most of their time on asphalt to help ease the pain of the cost of the new tires. I wonder what they would be worth. Below is a photo I took a week or two ago.

 

If you are lifting it 2-3", go 255/85/16. If not, go 265/75/16

 

I've run original KO's in 33x12.50/15s on a '97 Jeep and 265/70R16 on my current '13 Taco Baja. They were noisy toward the end plus left me stuck in the mud, getting pulled out by Dodge Rams and Jeeps, on multiple occasions. Have 285/75R16 ST Maxx with over 25,000 miles, now, and noise is close to new but with only 5/32" wear and it has much better puncture resistance in my opinion (compared to original KOs). Not as good as Duratracs in the snow. I ran the Goodyears in 265/75R16 and, sadly, never put my truck in 4WD during the "big blizzard of 2013" in the NOVA/DC area. With the ST Maxx, you still need to put in 4WD but it has no issues after that in deep (but fluffy and cute) snow. However, you have actual sidewalls and puncture resistance. Best all-terrain I've ridden on in 20 years. But I have the wandering eye and wonder about the new Yokohama Geolandar M/T 003. Looks like a Toyo M/T with lesser void ratio. Hmmmmmm???

 

Any idea what I should sell some General Grabber AT2s for in order to buy bigger tires?

Good shape, 35K, 265/70R16s