Duratrac vs KO2

How noticeable is the ride difference between c and e rated tires?

 

That is a very subjective question that get's many different answers depending on whom you ask. My work Tacoma is a 2015 with "E" rated, my personal Tacoma is a 2017 with "C" rated. To me, it's a very noticeable difference depending on the road conditions. On newer, well maintained roads, I forget the E rated tires are there. Then I hit a section of old, poorly maintained roads and suddenly it feels like I'm riding in a buckboard. That being said, you can lower the tire pressure on the E's and get a more compliant ride, but it's at the cost of worse gas mileage and poor tire wear. Personally, I will not own another set of E rated tires on a truck this light, it's overkill in my opinion for the roads I drive, the loads I carry, and the limited 4 wheeling I do. Ride quality is very important to me, as is gas mileage. But that's not to say that E's don't have their place, they do if you're constantly exposing them to extremely harsh conditions. It really comes down to what you're using them for and what is important to you in your daily driver. Just my 2 cents.

 

Which C rated tires do you run?

The KO2's i have been reading up on only available in in E.

 

I'm an archaeologist and have owned 6 Toyota pick-ups over the last 30 years. Some of the trails I must negotiate over during that time have eviscerated P series or C rated tires (see DavidK's advice somewhere on TW). That being said, E series do ride rougher off-road. I run my KO2 265/75/16s at 30 psi based on the chalk test, but as 15+1 said my mileage suffers, however I am confident that the sidewalls will withstand anything I toss at them. That's my $0.2.

 

I've heard that about KOs, but I've owned two sets of KO2s and living in the New Mexico we get extreme rains in the monsoon season, and I've found them to be better in the rain than the KOs. If you think that you can drive 80 mph on AT tires in heavy rains, no tire will do well. I stay below 55 when it's raining that hard. And then you can always put it in 4Whi and go up to 62 mph. That's my experience.

 

I considered the Wildpeaks, but my Discount guy said they've had to send many back because of out-of round condition and difficulty balancing. They gave me KO2s at a price near the Wildpeaks. Now it could be that Discount makes a higher profit margin on BFG, but there have been comments on this forum about balancing issues with Wildpeaks. The old BFG KOs had that problem as well, but seem to have been alleviated with the KO2s. I've driven both and the KO2s have been great in rain and snow conditions, especially when in 4WD and using A-Trac. That's my experience over the years.

 

I've ran both in 265/75/16. I obviously felt a large performance improvement going from E rated KO2's to C rated Duratrac's, however, that has been the only advantage for me. The KO2's as a tire are hands down better in every other way. Noise, vibration, balance, durability, ride, all notably better on the KO2's. One of my Duratrac's won't balance for shit and takes a whole load of weight on the rim. My Duratrac's new were louder than my KO2's worn with 50k miles. When my current Duratrac's wear out, I will be replacing them with KO2's again despite the negative performance aspects associated with the weight increase. I may look into going to 17" rims so I'll have a C rated option for less weight. For myself purpose E rated is overkill however I'm a huge fan of the tire.

 

For me ride quality was no different. The E's felt more planted. Acceleration, braking, and turning suffered with the added weight of the E's.

 

Duratracs FTW

 

Got my KO2s delivered. TireBuyer had 10% off using code “ALLTERRAIN10” and BFG had $70 rebate. Ebates for TireBuyer also had 4.5% cashback. I feel like I got a decent deal when it’s all said and done.

 

35in Duratracs!!

 

This right here. I love my KO2’s but just went from a 17” sport rim to 16” SCS rims and BFG only offers load range E for 265/75/16. BFG does, however, offer load range C for the 265/70/17. Just ordered a set of Duratracs so hopefully they’re nice. My friend has been running Duratracs on his 4Runner and I can confirm that they do get a bit noisier with age. But, I don’t mind a bit of noise.

 

If I decide to to keep, this, I may go with a t4r TRD witb a KO2s, and stick some 255/85 Maxxis on my TRD wheels...

Chase

 

I’ve had 3 sets of KO2s in 3 different sizes and all rode rough. Even my new 33” Yokohama mud terrains ride smoother.

just placed an order for a set of 33” duratracs. Excited to try something new.

 

How'd you like the yokohoma?

 

I upgraded from P-Rated Hankook ATM's to C-Rated Duratracs. Both 265/75/16. I did notice a drop in MPG, but no real difference in power.

On-road, I'd probably give the edge to the Hankook, they were less aggressive and were just lighter and quieter around the city. I was also always SUPER impressed with them offroad. They held their own very well.

Off-road the Duratracs shine so bright on rougher terrain. Any type of real incline or mud, those wider lugs just grip grip grip. Hills I'd spin and slide on are rock solid now.

I know it doesn't necessarily pertain to the KO2 vs Duratrac comparison. But for anyone reading that's thinking about upgrading to a more aggressive AT tire, I've been super satisfied with my 3000 miles worth of Duratrac life.

 

Love them. Comfortable compared to the KO2s. I love the mud terrain hum. Only 5k miles on them so far. This will be my summer setup while the duratracs will be my winter setup.

Also like to add that the Yokohama’s in 285/75r16 balanced really well.

 

Compare the numbers between BF Goodrick KO2's and Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's.


17" Stock Tire Rim Width 7.5" to 9.5"
--------------------
BF Goodrich AT KO2 LT265/65R17 120S E-Load Tread 15/32" 50.4 lbs
Goodyear W. Duratrac 265/65R17 112S SL Tread 16/32" 42.0 lbs


17" Popular +3% Rim Width 7.0" to 8.5"
-------------------
BF Goodrich AT KO2 LT265/70R17 112S C-Load Tread 15/32" 45.5 lbs
BF Goodrich AT KO2 LT265/70R17 123R E-Load Tread 15/32" 53.4 lbs

Goodyear W. Duratrac 265/70R17 115S SL Tread 16/32" 45.0 lbs
Goodyear W. Duratrac LT265/70R17 112Q C-Load Tread 18/32" 44.0 lbs
Goodyear W. Duratrac LT265/70R17 121Q E-Load Tread 18/32" 51.0 lbs


17" Skinny +5% Rim Width 6.5" to 8.5"
------------------
BF Goodrich AT KO2 LT255/75R17 111S C-Load Tread 15/32" 46.0 lbs
Goodyear W. Duratrac 255/75R17 115S SL Tread 16/32" 40.0 lbs


17" Lifted +7% Rim Width 7.5" to 9.0" Wheel
-----------------

BF Goodrich AT KO2 LT285/70R17 116Q C-Load Tread 15/32" 51.4 lbs
BF Goodrich AT KO2 LT285/70R17 121R E-Load Tread 15/32" 57.9 lbs

Goodyear W. Duratrac LT285/70R17 121Q D-Load Tread 18/32" 54.0 lbs
Goodyear W. Duratrac LT285/70R17 121Q E-Load Tread 18/32" 55.0 lbs


SL = Standard Load 4 Ply, C = 6 Ply, D = 8 Ply, E = 10 Ply,

Speed Q = 99, R = 106, S = 112, T = 118 mph