New Shoes - Final Decision - Help a Brotha Out

The thought has crossed our minds... especially since we would really like a 4x4 with a better tow capacity. If we were in a position to do it financially, we might. Kind of emotionally attached to this 4 banger for some reason...and thinking about keeping it until 250K...we're at about 134k now...

If we traded it in for 10k and got a newer, lower mileage 6cyl. 4x4 for, let's say, 25k...our payments would be around 300/mo...that is tempting.

If we did buy a newer Tacoma, I think I might just stick with a lower mileage 2nd Gen. I'd want to research which are the best years to buy...and don't feel that I would want to jump into that purchase without doing some research and finding just the right vehicle. That's an even bigger deal than buying tires and wheels. Considering keeping the 4 banger and buying Tundra for TT/boat towing...

 

My 2nd gen has the tow package and is rated at 6500#. I would never do that much but that is what they say.

 

New Faulken 265 75 16 on 16"x8" rim next to 265 70 16 Cooper AT3 on stock 16"x7" rim with about 10k miles. Tread width much narrower and not much deeper than old tire. Not trying to start any fights, just trying to help you make an informed decision.
I have been building 4x4 trucks, crawlers and vans since the 80's, and I have tried all kinds of tires. I will say I have the best all around luck with BFG all terrains for daily driver/ weekend wheeler, especially for the rocky terrain where we wheel. Just my 2 cents.
And another pic so you can see how they look underinflated at recommended pressure.

 

Like my post that you’re quoting me on i’ve always been a loyal BFG supporter.Just purchased a new set of KO2’s AT’s less than a month ago.Was almost persuaded to go with the Falken’s as i’ve mentioned as i have friends from the forum who are very impressed with them on and offroad.

And absolutely JW’s baseline moves were sweet!

 

Thanks for throwing up the pics @chilitoy Appreciate your help in making an informed decision. That's what I'm attempting to do...

What part of the country are you in with that rocky terrain?

 

No problem. I'm in Eagle, Colorado, about 20 minutes from Vail and 4 hours from Moab. The western slope of the ROCKY mountains.

 

Just got an email from 4 Wheel Parts...

Looks like $50 off + $50 promo card + they pay sales tax on bfg...Not a bad deal.

I already pulled the trigger yesterday and got an additional $25 off on top of the $160 + plus interest free for 12 months...DT is closer, has more locations and I found someone and a location that I really like working with. Will post pics as soon as I get them mounted up.

 

Ordered some 285 75 16 BFG ko2's today from 4wp. Sale, no tax, free shipping and getting another 5% off was too tempting. I'll have a set of brand new Faulken Wildpeaks 265 75 16's16's for sale this weekend to try to recoup some $$.

 

Ordered on Wednesday afternoon, got them on Thursday and install by 3:30. Love the new better stance and drives and rides so much nicer than the Faulkens. I really don't know why there is so much hype over those tires except price.

 

Thanks for everyone's information and suggestions.

We ended up going with the KMX Enduros (for no mod install / weight savings) and KO2s. I know we bucked the general consensus which had the Falkens with the most votes, then KO2s, then Coopers... If we didn't do the KO2s, probably would have gone with the Coopers...nice looking tire...good reviews for the LT version.

So far, I'm happy with the decision. No vibration at speed, no real noticeable loss of power (slight, if any), fairly quiet, looks great, $345 off wheels and tires through DT... Obviously, they don't handle as well on road as our Michelin Defender XTs...but we knew there would be trade offs.

Slight black box rubbing on the 235/75R15 KO2s...so I'm going to do the BB removal as soon as I can find that one member's post where he did minimal cutting and folded the material so that there wasn't a big gaping hole in the wheel well.

I really agonized over the wheel/tire decision for months...did a lot of research and learned a lot thanks to the good peeps on this forum. I would say a +6 to neutral offset would have probably worked (per @HackD recommendation), but the -6 looks alright with about 1 to 1.5" of tire outside the fender.





I'll throw up some better pics later...

One last thing...since the Enduros have a larger hub than the OEM steelies, the spare tire cable end is too small to hold the new wheel...any ideas on a fix for that?

 

Found the BB removal thread:

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads/how-to-black-box-removal.357919/#post-17063265

 

Too late now but highly recommend the falken. When I bought my truck it had the previous generation AT, the AT02. And I can not praise those little bastards enough!!!! They got me through so much stuff I never even belonged in when trailing riding/crawling. So when it came down to new tires I researched tons of brands and still settled on price knowing the bang for your buck factor. But once I decided on wheels I knew I had to go with the new falken MT to match the aggressiveness of my wheel. I'm a 100% believe and advocate of Falken and will always get them. Here is a pic of when I went with for anything curious. I do a good amount and push this truck to it's limits. Some say I'm too hard and rough with her but I know she likes it like that I still have tons of trimming to do for these to fit and not rub. I'm on a 2in leveling kit and the wheel is a black rhino armory 17x9.5 with -18offset and the tire is a 285/70 r17. Wheels weighs in at 35 pounds and tires at 63 pounds. With my music off, windows up, a.c. fan off and a sound meter app on my phone sitting on my center console the average decibel rating going 70mph on a concrete surface highway is ~71db. It's a relatively quite MT. My buddy has the Michelin HT and his reading is 66db and my other buddy with the pro comp MT read 83db. All under same conditions. I will say my tires only have about 700 miles on them so take those noise levels with a grain of salt. Hope this helps anyone's future decisions.

 

Nice choices, I am also considering those exact same 3 tire choices, but I added the new Continental Terrain Contact A/T.
For me I tried to rate and compare them and it got me no closer to making my decision so I'll watch this thread.

Looks- KO2
Quiet ride- TC A/T
Wet Traction- Tie?
Off Road- KO2
Tread life- ?

 

Looks like someone doesn't know about alignment or Tire rotation . . . So here's my.02, I've Run BFG since late 70,s, yes Im a F.O.G, and alot has been with BFG BAJA Score, Best in the Desert and SCCA Rally Racing, and I run skinnies 235/85/16's on my 2010 Tacoma, my last set of KM2's with good tire maintenance, rotation and inflation I got 64,000 mi., This past year thinking of cost got a set of Cooper STT Pro, well I only got 34,000 mi. with good tire maintenance, rotation and inflation, now I not dissing Cooper but for the mileage and money I'm going back to BFG for the money and the mileage . . . was very sadden by the Coops but again thats me
So Lookin for New BFGs, Costco is having a sale on them untill Mar.4 2018
$910.00 out the door for set of KM2,s and and even better for KO2,s $775.00 M/Bal

 

Don't forget load ratings.