Arizona tire recommendations to replace factory squatch goodyears

[AZMikeL]

We were doing recon on where the best xmas tree cutting area is up on the rim and I popped yet another factory GY Saturday - presumably on a sharp rock. Thankfully, we made it back to the paved part near 260 for some un-planned nocturnal tire rotation! FR 260 is mostly a passenger car road, so I didn't bother airing down.

I've already replaced 2 and am done with these paper thin tires! Not gonna give Goodyear any more of my money! The 3 originals have just under 30k on them - I'll probably hang the newest one I replaced in May on the spare, so looking for a set of 4.

I'm leaning towards BFG KO2/KO3 as I've had good experiences with KO2s in the past, but wanted to get all the AZ folks take on what are your favorite tires. I'm a little hesitant to go with a M/T as this is my daily driver, so on-road manners are a factor for me.

Mostly looking for good offroad traction when aired down and a decent on-road ride. Oh yeah, and ability to not pop from a small sharp rock like the crappy GYs.

On an unrelated note, I pulled over at one point to let an oncoming Subaru by and it was a little old lady driving who was handing out Werther's Original candy. Think I know how I wanna spend my retirement years

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[Fordified1]

Nittos are heavier, but I think heavier (thicker construction) is what you’re looking for. Loved the Nitto Terra Grapplers on both my Excursion and Gladiator, and they were really quiet. I believe the Recon Grappler is the newer version.
I replaced the Nittos on the Ex with MT Baja Legends and they are louder than the Nittos. I wish I had bought another set of the Nittos instead.

 

[Tilzbow]

I live and hunt all over Nevada. We’ve got lots of sharp rocks, similar to AZ. Myself and many others in Northern Nevada moved away from BFG tires to Toyo years ago (due to balancimg issues and soft rubber that’d get shredded but this was KOs, not KO2s).

I’m currently replacing my stock Goodyears with Toyo’s new Open Country Rugged Terrain Trail, it’s got some nice features that should make it good in our desert environment and mountains. It’s available in a D rated version of the metric 35” and a E rated version of the LT version of the 35”. Both are fairly light compared to other D and E rated tires and much lighter than comparable Nittos. (Nittos are made by Toyo BTW). I’m going with the E rated because durability in sharp rocks is more important to me than a soft ride.

 

[One more upgrade]

I run Ridge Grapplers on my Raptor and Trail Grapplers on my Bronco and have no issues. However, the AZ rocks were taking chunks out of my KO2s, and every tire was torn up. Ridge Grapplers, in my opinion, work very well for an all-terrain tire.

 

[swami37]

Nitto ridge grappler

 

[Onestepmore]

We were doing recon on where the best xmas tree cutting area is up on the rim and I popped yet another factory GY Saturday - presumably on a sharp rock. Thankfully, we made it back to the paved part near 260 for some un-planned nocturnal tire rotation! FR 260 is mostly a passenger car road, so I didn't bother airing down.

I've already replaced 2 and am done with these paper thin tires! Not gonna give Goodyear any more of my money! The 3 originals have just under 30k on them - I'll probably hang the newest one I replaced in May on the spare, so looking for a set of 4.

I'm leaning towards BFG KO2/KO3 as I've had good experiences with KO2s in the past, but wanted to get all the AZ folks take on what are your favorite tires. I'm a little hesitant to go with a M/T as this is my daily driver, so on-road manners are a factor for me.

Mostly looking for good offroad traction when aired down and a decent on-road ride. Oh yeah, and ability to not pop from a small sharp rock like the crappy GYs.

On an unrelated note, I pulled over at one point to let an oncoming Subaru by and it was a little old lady driving who was handing out Werther's Original candy. Think I know how I wanna spend my retirement years

I had BFG KO's on my 85 4 Runner and my 2015 jeep and could never get them balanced right...I've only got 15K on the Goodyear Sasquatch 23 Bronco and they have been Great...I never liked Goodyear tires but after having these I'm reconsidering...let me know what you decide on...I know everyone seems to think BFG's are great and probably from an off road standpoint but on the road if you can't balance them well it's a miserable shimmy in my opinion

 

[Mishra42]

So far so good on my KO3's. Way quieter and they did great on the trail. I blew a bead but the tire itself is perfectly fine. I've had about a 0.5 MPG drop in fuel efficiency. They balanced just fine, I've got over 1000 miles on them about 500 highway. I'm honestly really impressed.

 

[STuff1]

I hated the stock GY tires. Awful in so many ways, at least for me. Had two sets that couldn’t balance, threw rocks like crazy and they are so thin. Not worthy of the vehicle itself. Worst tires I’ve ever experienced in my lifetime.

I ended up looking at KO2”s and others and after much research went with bridgestone dueler A/T Revo 3. Super tough, thicker, doesn’t throw even one rock, absolutely quiet and smooth ride and handles much better.

I only have 6k miles on them but they are remarkable on the bronco. Somehow my MOg went from 19 to 21 average as well (2 dr wild track).

When these go bad I’ll replace with the same.

 

[vgodley1]

I just made the same review and went with the Micky thompson baja boss at 35 12.5 17 ant have about 2k miles on them. They are quiet to my ears ride much better and a much better tire. 50 k warranty is nice too.

 

[PWillette]

I'm having good luck w/ Nitto Recon Grapplers. Kenda Klevers another option. Both are "D" load range so happy medium between lightweight "C"s & heavy "E"s

 

[AZMikeL]

Ordered a set of Toyo Open Country R/T Trails from Discount. Should have the new shoes on next week. I figured load rating D was a good compromise for toughness vs harness vs weight. I'm sure these will do better than the factory GYs in terms of rock punctures (Hell, I think even Charmin would).

There was a thread on here where a guy in Oregon did a 30k mile review and was very happy with them. The part that convinced me was the part of the video where he was diving on a mildly rocky trail and made it thru with all the air still in the tires! I bought 4 as one of my GYs was bought in May, so I'll hang that on the spare and consider it a temp tire to get me down the road should I need it.


Also replacing tires and struts on the wife's BMW, so a pretty expensive car week for me! At least discount Tire gave me a bit of a bulk discount!

 

[Jmanly]

I put on 35 10.50 17 Kenda Klevers. Very happy with them. Smooth, pretty quiet. Good traction everywhere I've been. Pic was taken 2 weeks ago with 27K on them.

 

[AZMikeL]

Got the Toyo Open Country R/T Trails on about 2 weeks ago. Did a trip down to Puerto Penasco last week (500 miles R/T). No real offroad yet - unless you count the 'passing lane' in the deep sand on the way out to Cholla bay. On-road I have a couple of observations:

• Ride quality is overall good - once I aired down from 40 - 35psi.
• A bit more road noise than the GYs. It is quieting down a bit after break in though. Easily fixed with the volume knob on the stereo!
• These tires wonder a bit on the pavement. I inflated to 35psi cold, so wondering if changing pressure will help that. Maybe an alignment is in my future.

They seem good in the deep sand at street pressure - and street speeds

As a plus, my dealer will only do a 4 wheel rotate on the maintenance plan, so I bought 4 and hung the newest GY on the spare - basically a really big doughnut spare now!

 

[TruckCamper]

I'd recommend a quality tire (NOT FROM CHINA). 3 ply sidewall.

Lots of great options depending on design and tread pattern.

We've been running Nitto Recon 37x11.5R17. Rolls well. We average over 20mpg with our 2dr 2.3L manual. And have hit 20mpg with the Raptor.

 

[CanadaBaseBronco]

I'd recommend a quality tire (NOT FROM CHINA). 3 ply sidewall.

Lots of great options depending on design and tread pattern.

We've been running Nitto Recon 37x11.5R17. Rolls well. We average over 20mpg with our 2dr 2.3L manual. And have hit 20mpg with the Raptor.

Can you post a picture of your 2 door with the 37x11.5r17s? Thanks

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