Selecting a light weight wheel/tire combo (TRD Rock Warriors & KO2s)

That last one is a great photo!

 

I decided to order a matching spare Rock Warrior wheel, since these wheels require special lugs, I thought it would be ideal to have 5. Turns out these 4Runner Rock Warrior wheels are a "VIN locked" part, meaning you need the VIN of the vehicle the wheels came on to purchase. Which is not my Tacoma VIN since I bought them NIB off Craigslist. This is like a special club Toyota has created to ensure the most desirable parts are only sold to those who's vehicle came with them, to keep their exclusivity. This seems like a ridiculous business practice. But I was able to track down the original owner of my wheels, whom I purchased them from 4 years ago, he was a little surprised that I still had his contact info and he was happy to provide me with the 4Runner Pro VIN to order a 5th wheel. But it doesn't stop there, after giving the VIN to the Toyota dealer, they have to pass it up the Toyota chain of command to ensure others have not used/abused the provided VIN to order wheels, which then results in the VIN being blacklisted. So I need to wait for 1-2 days for approval from the higher chain of Toyota command before I am allowed to give them money for one of their products.

 

This is absolutely nuts! I can’t believe it but yet I can.

 

I wanted to post up my setup to this thread as it was a big part of my inspiration/research for my tire choice.

So I was pretty much ready to pull the trigger on Falken wildpeaks for a long time. Then the night before I was going to order them up I read a few bad reviews and a thread here on TW about them having some issues. I just had a bad feeling. Like a bad juju about it.

So my decision went to my second choice BFG KO2s. I’ve always loved the look and reputation of these tires and the only deterrent was the higher price for me (hence the Falkens, because they’re cheaper). However sometimes I think what you pay is what you get / buy once, cry once really does have some truth to it.

The problem with KO2s was they didn’t have the size I wanted in the load rating I wanted: 265/75R16 in a C Load. So I began trying to source some 4 runner trd sema rims but soon realized I was stretching my budget too much to do these and KO2s.

So I basically went back to the drawing board and came back here first. I then started looking at Wrangler Duratracs and Toyo Open Country AT2s. After some number crunching on tire weights and specs and some review reading, I decided on the Toyos.

My local tire shop quoted me about $160 more for the set of Toyos compared to the Falkens. But they highly recommended the Toyos and, Toyo as a brand, over Falken in general. Even the owner of the shop runs Open Country’s on his truck. A lot of tire shops that I called did push the Falkens as well so I don’t really know though...

Anyways, I’ve had my 265/75R16 load C Toyo Open Country AT2s on for about 500 miles. I took them on a long highway trip and then off-road in some high desert sand and gravel. So far they’ve been amazing. Definitely a more comfortable ride than the stock wrangler kevalrs that come on the 3rd gens. The differences/positives I notice are:

More stability
More response on off-road features like bumps, off camber sections and ruts.
On highway - slightly less “bounce” on bumpy asphalt.

Another interesting thing is that I feel like the 1” I gained in tire height makes the truck stance noticeably better, makes it look more aggressive and I feel like my transmission actually shifts more predictably! This one was unexpected for sure. I might be crazy but it feels better to drive.

A couple downsides (but these were expected):

They are louder than my stock tires, but not my much.
They did seem to drop my gas mileage by about 1-2 mpgs so far but I haven’t had enough miles to really confirm this yet.

Anyways, stoked on this new setup and wanted to share with anyone who’s looking into this option.

Cheers

 

Recently sold my Tundra Rock Warrior-had the terrific wheels on it. A 2010 with 52K miles on it-actually miss it. The size was just too big for a DD, and I have a whole bunch of other cars that I regularly drive, hence the low miles.

Just bought a OR4WD, and due to nostalgia's sake, when they had their TRD 40% off sale, picked up the faux bead locks. Nostalgia is expensive.

 

Sorry about the multiple pictures, am a newbie here.

My new truck. BTW, note the dual exhaust, which is another story for another day...

 

Quoting myself to track Rock Warrior ring part numbers for later.

 

@Onwarrds whats the beef with Falkens? I had wildpeak at3ws on my last taco for a very short amount of time and they worked just fine, were lighter weight than similar ko2s, cheaper, and from all accounts a little quieter and had better on road manners?

Big ups on this thread @crashnburn80 super helpful stuff as always

 

Hey @crashnburn80, where'd you find the weight specs for all of those rims on the first page? I can't seem to find squat about a bunch of ones I'm looking into. Also, do you have pics or part #s of each of those? I'm looking in to a few pairs of OEM rims just to see what's up but I can't find weights on these models:

• Toyota PT946-35160 (Anthracite Alloy) - Shipping weight 24lbs
  
• Toyota PT75835080 (Baja) - Shipping weight 23lbs

I called toyota HQ, two (useless) local dealers, hubcaphaven, and a bunch of other spots but the best I could get was the shipping weights listed above.

 

I’ve collected them from various posts in the forum and online research. I cannot comment on the Anthracite wheels, but the Baja wheels are the same as the TRD Pro, just a different color, which are 23.5lbs.

I don’t have part numbers off hand, but that would be a good thing to add to the post! Is there any specifically that you are looking at?

 

@crashnburn80 Nah nothing in particular but I'm just a huge nerd that started a spread sheet for the wheels and tires I'm considering. Mostly I just don't know the lingo for which wheels are which so I have a hard time figuring out what rims you're talking about.

 

Who doesn’t love a good spreadsheet! I need to put the data from the OP in a spreadsheet for better presentation than plain text.

The Tacoma 2nd Gen Pro wheels are just like the Baja but a different color, I believe they come in 3 colors.

The other ones I’d consider are the 4Runner Pro ‘SEMA’ wheels, they are 17” which allows for more tire selection options at lighter weights. These weigh 25lbs and are available in black, grey and silver.
https://parts.toyotaoflakecity.com/...romotion&partnerDevice=m&userLocation=9033254

 

Yeah yeah, definitely considering the 17" wheel as an option but honestly, the best setups I'm seeing for weight/price/style are coming out ahead on 16". FWIW, it's gonna be a good long while before I can actually make anything happen here financially but I'm trying to improve on this non-ideal setup which came on the truck I bought:

Current Setup:
- 1st Gen TRD 16" Wheels 29.0Lbs - PT#:42611AD030
- Kelly Safari ATR LT245/75/R16 - 44.56lbs, 31"OD, E load
TOTAL WEIGHT: 73.56lbs

Probably going to go with this setup as it sounds pretty primo at about 63lb and looks super sexy
- SCS F5 Jet Matte Black 16"X8" - 6X139.7 - 4.5"/0mm – 18lb13oz
- Falken Wildpeak AT3W - 265/75/R16 - SL load – OD31.65" – 44lb

Potential Wheels:
- SCS F5's 16 X 8 6 X 139.7 4.5"/0mm – 18lb13oz
- FN Konig Countersteer 16x8 4.5"/0mm – 19lb
- 16" Toyota Anthracite alloy - PT946-35160 – Est.24lbs
- 17" TRD SEMA (ALY75167U Toyota 4Runner, Tacoma TRD Wheel) -

$1,025 PTR20-35110-BK (Fits: 4Runner - Tacoma - FJ Cruiser) (4)

PTR20-35110-BK – 25lbs
- 16" Baja Wheel - PT758-35080 - 23.5lbs

I'll do the potential tires later or I can copy anyone to the spreadsheet if you want. Just pm me your email

 

I can confirm that the SCS F5 + Falken Wildpeak combo is great. I felt an immediate difference in acceleration over my old tires because they are so light and they were much quieter than my old mud terrains.

 

@jchav That's a mean machine right there. Pretty sure that's the combo I'm gonna go with

 

No beef really. Just some experiences that made me personally steer away from the Wildpeaks. I was set on getting these and a friend of mine was gonna get the KO2s on his 4 runner around the same time. I talked him out of the KO2s at the last minute because of the E load. It was much more than he needed for a 2wd truck.

He got the wildpeaks in SL and has had balancing issues with them ever since. He’s been back for 2 roadforce balancing appointments and 2 alignments and his truck shakes on the freeway after adding those tires. After seeing his issues I just walked away from the idea of Wildpeaks altogether.

I did some more reading and have seen a lot of mixed reviews about the Wildpeaks being great and others about balancing issues. Personally I love the toyos I went with and the true deciding factor for me was the option for a C load in the size I needed vs the sl option that the Wildpeaks had.

Just go with the tires you’ve done your research on and I’m sure they’ll be fine.

Only my 2 cents.

 

@Onwarrds Thanks for that story man, that's all good stuff to know. I didn't have any balancing issues with my last set and hadn't heard anything about that. Happy to hear a good review of the Toyos and will definitely consider those for the next set if the price/avail is right.

 

Hi Crash,

Just wondering if your opinion around c-load vs e-load changes with heavily loaded vehicles? I own an FJ (different vehicle, yes - but this is the best thread I have found on the topic) that weighs in around 3 tonne (~6600lb), with approximately 2.5 tonne (~5500lb) unloaded.

The FJ comes with 265/70R17 stock (115 load rating) and there really isn't a decent size increase that doesn't result in running a 285 width. I currently run Toyo MT tyres in a 285/75R16, but these weigh in at a crazy 67lb each. BFG make the KO2 in an e-load @ 58lb, and I can find a c-load but availability seems to be an issue, and no specs on weight. There are also some other lighter options out there - Wrangler Duratrac @ 54lb for example.

Just thought I'd get your take on the whole e vs c debate when considering heavier vehicles.

Cheers!

 

Check out the load rating on the tires you are evaluating. For example the KO2 in 285/70/R17 C-load is rated at 2755lbs per tire, aka 11,020lbs for the vehicle. Even at 6600lbs you are not close to the capacity of the tires to require upping the load capacity based on weight. In the case of KO2 it is also available in E-load 285/70R17 (same size), capacity increases to 3195lbs per tire, or 12,780lbs for the vehicle with a 7lb per tire weight penalty. Note though that peak capacity is also at peak air pressure, which is not something you'd want to be driving around with every day, so you don't want to be near the limit. C-loads are a challenge in large sizes and may not be available in the tire you are looking for. Duratrac does seem to do a better job at providing C-load availability across the tire sizes than many others. But even dropping 9lbs a tire from your current setup by switching to E-load KO2s would be a big improvement from where you are at now.

And... I just realized you have 16" wheels, I'll leave the above still as an example.

You mention the 285/70/R16 in C-load? I don't see that on BFGs site.
https://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/tires/all-terrain/all-terrain-t-a-ko2.html

They do offer the 17" equivalent in C-load, 285/70R17, which is 51lbs, and I listed the weight capacity specs above which are available on BFG's site. You'd need to swap wheels to 17s though. The stock FJ 16" wheels are not light, 28lbs IIRC, so you could find additional weight savings in a different wheel. You could also consider a slightly different size or narrower tire as well. For example I'm running 255/75/R17 which is 32.1" diameter and 45lbs. The 275/70R17 is 32.2" diameter and 55lbs. My tire is just 20mm narrower than the 275, which is only 10mm less of protrusion to the sides of the fender, but my TRD wheels also push my tires out further than stock so the difference to the fender is fairly minimal.

 

Some good logic there Crash - many thanks. I do love the rims that you run, but being in Australia they are just too far out of my price range. I'm running Pro-Comp Series 31 wheels in a 16x8 which are actually lighter than the TRD alloys in the same size, so not too bad on that front. Duratracs are available in this size @ 54lb, or Toyo AT2's at the same, so one of those may be a good option to drop some further weight. I was more concerned about the weight, and if I should even bother with a c-load tyre but this doesn't appear to be a factor.