TA KO2 vs Goodyear Duratrac on TRD OR

All this tire talk has made me tired.

 

I run Toyo MT a very good mud tire.

 

It's not a tacoma, but I'm currently running LT265/70R17 load E Duratracs on my FJ cruiser with 35k miles of usage. They're starting to get very loud above 40mph, almost sounds like I'm running a set of mud boggers. Although the FJ looks badass with them on, I'll probably go back to a lower rolling resistance AT like P-metric dynapro atm or cooper AT3 in the near future.

 

For the price, nothing beats the General Grabber AT2, Cooper Discoverer AT3, or Falken Wildpeak. The KO2 absolutely sucks in ice compared to the other ATs listed. If you don't have ice to deal with, the KO2 is a great tire, that due to it's hard compound, will last a long time and remain relatively quiet.

If you do deal with ice, The Wildpeaks and Goodyear Duratracs are both great with their hybrid softer compounds, but don't tend to last as long/get noisy as the tread wears. I like the General's myself, as you can get a set of four from Tirebuyer with coupon for about $520 last time I checked. I've run the AT2s for about 40k miles and love them. I did wait too long on the last rotation, so I am currently dealing with a bit of road noise, but that is entirely my fault, and not the tire. Edit, with the $50 coupon on their site, Tirebuyer has the AT2s for $501 delivered to a tire shop (at least in my locale).

 

I had them on my 2009 Tacoma for 30k before selling. They had better than 1/2 the tread left. I estimated they would go at least 70k. Never got noisy like others have said. I am pretty easy on tires. I changed my OEM BFG ATs on current truck at 80k and they could have gone another 5 and still not be at the wear bars.

 

I am returning to the Goodyear Authority tire, they are a hybrid tire between an A/T and a M/T. They worked great on my 4Runner and they come in 265/75/16 C.

 

The moral of the thread is this:

A dedicated-hardcore "Mud-terrain-specific" tire is objectively superior for mud-conditions. It is unlikely you will be confronted with deep mud on a daily basis to justify outfitting your daily-driver truck with these, because of the requisite performance loss your vehicle will take in all other environments (pavement, highway, gas milage, tire weight, tire sizes, cost, fitment, availability, tread life etc..)

285 KO'2 are this boards lemming tire and every Tacomaworld member here will do Olmypic level mental-gymnastics to justify why they had to have them. Just like many automotive message boards, Tacomaworld prints out its signature build (sema's/K0'2s/spacer lifts) and overwhelming disappointment and inadequacy consumes them untill their truck has these parts. KO'2s are not bad tires, and remain industry AT favorites. but objectively, K02's do not have any performance gains over the Goodyear Adventure Kevlars, and infact perform worse in cold weather/snow/ice terrain. any gains they do have are marginal, and do not logically justify trashing the OEM's. K02's +1 cool looks.

Goodyear Wrangler Adventure W/kevlar: the best factory tires to ever come on a production truck. All-season, all terrain performance, good overall weight, good gas-milage. "They dont look aggressive". and "in deep mud, my xxxxxx xxxx are better". Yet tacomaworld single handedly made this tire the most discarded factory tire to ever be produced. The irony is not surprising in this brave new world.

 

But they’re complete garbage in snow or any mud at all.

So what do you get if you want something good in the slippery stuff, but don’t want a rumbling mud hog M-F?

 

Michelin m+s or Cooper AT3 with good all year, quiet performance. For a more aggressive look, but stilk fairly quiet tire go for Falken Wildpeak AT3w, General Grabber AT2 or Cooper ST Maxx.

 

Just had the Duratracs on for about 3 days and brought them back, I bought them on the recommendation of the guy at the tire shop even though I knew better but he said I could try them out and see for myself so I did and hated them. I told him I drive mostly freeway at high speeds but he still seemed to think this was the tire for me.

These tire feel very heavy when taking off or passing, I really had to hit the gas pedal much harder than before and ended up loosing about 2mpg, this is on the stock size 265 65 17 tires. When cornering it would turn in slow then turn hard, much more unpredictable then my Michelan Defenders. My last grip is they shook pretty good at high speeds like I knew they would and have yet to see an aggressive tire actually balance out right.

They do look good though but its not worth the BS that comes with these tires and after re thinking the Duratracs I don't see what purpose these serve. They absolutely suck on the highway and are not really a good offroad tire so you might as well just go with a real off road tire if thats what your after. If your mostly running down the highway stay away from the Duratracs.

 

People like to put down what is popular because it makes them feel smarter than the "sheep" they figure. Both top of the heap as far as tires go but nothing is perfect.
BFG is a solid tough wearing tire that works better than most on the market. They have been the benchmark for years in the AT category .
The Goodyear is also a top shelf product that does some things better than the BFG.
The Goodyear wears and chunks far faster than a BFG and is loud as hell after some miles on them.

I don't claim to be one of the 4x4 off road warriors that some do but I do use my truck off road once a month. I use my truck to get to far off fishing spots in the mountains and thats about it.
If I was one of the "Offroad Hardcore " guys I wouldn't be discussing AT tires.

 

I put down tires that I've had experience with to try to describe them the best I can so others can get an unbiased opinion.

I can't speak for the BFG AT because that tire is not designed for our Taco's, thats an E rated heavy duty tire that is designed to carry a heavy load, this does not fit our needs but would probably be a good choice if they made it in a C or passenger rated and kept the weight under 40lbs. This tire will "work" but so will boggers if you know what I mean.

 

The BFG comes in at least a D rating as I have them on my 4Runner. They are quiet, balance well, and last a long time. With that longevity, comes trade offs. They are pretty good in snow, but HORRIBLE on ice. The softer compound on the Duratrac is much better in winter, but you need to rotate them more, they will wear faster (still last a long time) and will get louder.

I offroad, but like most, I spend most of my time on the road. For safety on ice, I'd stay away from BFG, and because of their poor performance I swap to dedicated winter tires/rims, which I never did before with over 20 years driving through mountain passes to ski 20-40 times a year. But we have run our BFGs almost 50k miles, and the tread looks like they are new. Probably the best wearing tires I have ever owned.

My Land Cruisers both run the Falken AT3W. Much better in snow, and after 20k miles, good treadwear and they are quiet. If I wanted a dedicated winter tire, it would be the ST Maxx Falken or Duratracs. If I never drove on ice, the BFG is a great choice.

 

I have these on my '16 TRDOR but I bumped up a size (265/75 r16). I also had a 1-2 mpg hit but I chalk it up to the bigger size. I'm really surprised you saw a that big of a difference with the same size. Could it be the load rating? The Duratracs come in a SL (40lbs), E1 (42lbs), and C1 (45lbs). If you got the C1 then that might explain needing more power to get going.

This is probably the tire shop. I had the same issues with cornering and was going to take it in. After reading some threads on TW a few people recommended checking the tire pressure and I did. After my drive home from work they were at 47psi. I aired them down to 35 (warm) and the problem went away. Vibrations sound like a bad balancing job; mine have never vibrated outside of what I would expect for the tire.

Totally disagree with you on this. They have been great tires for me as well as many other members on this forum. It sounds like you either got some bad tires or your tire place doesn't know what they're doing (I suspect the latter).

 

That's exactly what happens when you go from a P-rated to LT tires. No surprise there. If all you do is highway, definitely stick to P-rated, all-season, highway tires.

Duratrac's are loud though (relatively). Definitely louder than KO2's. When I go to an A/T tire, I will probably go KO2's. I do like that DT's do come in LR C, though.

Plenty people run them just fine. Though I do agree C or D would be better suited. I do believe they do make them in LR D in your 17" sizing.

 

Running 265/70/17, C rated KO2's. Love em.

G.

 

I’ve beeen running the KO2’s and love them.
Question: Anyone know if on a stock taco if 32’s will rub? Can’t lift due to using my truck for work, but I’d like to switch from 31’s to 32’s. Whatya think?

 

My KO2's are not measured by diameter. The 265/70/17's do rub a little at full lock on the Weathertech mud guards. I live with it.

G.

 

Well documented every gen Tacoma will clear 32's without any issue.

 

Anyone see heavy winter conditions recommend KO2 or Duratract (or something else) for snow use? I know I should get a snow tire and on all of my other cars I have. I am a cheap bastard though and want to know if one of these A/T would be good. I've had my ass come undone with the stock firestones when I hit slick spots.