Another Nerdy Tire Thread - KO2 vs Duratrac vs ATx vs Baja Boss AT vs Rugged Trek

I find myself going in circles over what tires to select for my 2010 5th Gen 4runner. It's basically a weekend warrior that goes caving, fishing, and does see some action getting the family to remote recreation opportunities in the hidden places. But we don't trail ride or anything like that. Also, we have a lot of gravel roads that we're on daily, including our steep gravel driveway that can chew up tires quickly if you're not careful. I'm in TN, so lots of clay on limestone when off-road or on logging roads.

I made the above spreadsheet and wanted to share it for a couple of reasons.

#1 - I would love any input this community might offer. Some of the spaces are blank and the subjective scores are all my best guesses based on reviews I can find and some personal experience. I would love to see some gut checks and rescoring from folks with more experience with these tires.

#2 - Some of this information might be useful to others looking at some of these same tire options. It might save someone a lot of clicky-clicky.

So feel free to yell at me about how I got this all wrong, and correct it as you see fit. With enough input, maybe we'll see some common trends.

Recommendations are welcome as well, of course.

I'm basically looking for a tire with maximum off-road traction and resilience, super comfortable and planted on the road in all conditions, that won't cost me any reduction in MPG...you know, simple.

 

I'm planning on trying out a set of rugged treks. I haven't run BFG's since the original KO's - they were great except for a little slippage on wet surfaces once they started to really wear. I see you mention TN clay... they did not handle the carolina clay well at all but I don't think any AT would. Have you made a choice yet? Interested in what you decided.

 

ATX are the bee's knees

 

I ended up going with the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT in the XL load rating. I have a few thousand miles on them and so far I really like them. I have tested them in some clay already, and they did Pretty well. I’d say off road they are slightly less aggressive then the Duratracs, but much quieter on road. They also don’t chuck gravel like the Duratracs. They don’t have any rim protection, which I would prefer, but I also didn’t see much of a mileage loss as the weight and rolling resistance isn’t too bad.

remoguy55, I don’t doubt it, however I’m pretty sure with something less aggressive like the ATX, I would have already been stuck in this dang clay we have around here. Steep slopes with clay and slick limestone are a weird test for tires that might be regionally specific, but is common around here.

 

Totally missed this thread.

I would have gone with the Mickeys as well. I've been looking at them for my next set.

Any pictures?

 

I also have been considering them, but in the MT variety.

 

The Baja legend MTZ was on my list when I was shopping for MT's. They were highly recommended by my off-road shop. The Baja Boss MT looks great as well. I might go with one of those two if I decide to do another set of MT's after the Yokohamas.

 

My Experience;

If I compare BFG KO2 LT285/70R17C vs Falken Wildpeak AT3W P285/70R17SL vs GY Wrangler Duratrac 265/70R17SL vs Nitto Terra Grappler 265/70R17SL (stock TRD Pro tire).


Most comfortable pavement - Falken Wildpeak AT3W
Comparatively quiet on pavement - Both Falken Wildpeak AT3W & BFG KO2 about the same
Best for winter on pavement - GY Wrangler Duratrac
Best offroad traction (mostly rocky, gravel, sand'ish but not soft - BFG KO2
Best for deep snow offroad - BFG KO2
Comparatively good in mud - BFG KO2
Best for hydroplaning - I better not say anything <No problems so far with any, may be I'm a slow driver / CO doesn't get much rain to test>

 

And here I was thinking my endless hours of tire comparisons were over because I had made a decision on the rugged treks... I just noticed your chart listed 255/75s as basically the same weight as the 265/70s. Thought I had ruled out that size because of the weight and lack of options and now I find all kinds of options in C load on tire rack. The geolander m/t g003s are now looking like a good option as well. I sometimes wonder if I should have never googled "4runner forum" that first time and untold monies ago...

And I second the request for pictures!

 

Here are a few pics of the 265/70-17 Mickey Thompson XL-rated mounted up on my 2010 SR5.

A few notes...I have 265/75-16 C-rated Duratracs on my old T100, and the Baja Boss AT's are quieter with slightly smaller voids between the tread blocks. I really like the variable spacing between the shoulder lugs. This seems to fit my needs better for this truck. We have snot slick hard packed clay that I occasionally need to get up, but this tire is fairly quiet and comfortable on the road. There are definitely regional differences for tire needs. KO2's do not seem to do well in the mud/clay we have here, but clearly they work wonderfully for a lot people. If this Baja Boss is anywhere near as good as my Duratracs on snow and ice, this will be the perfect tire for my application on this 4Runner.

 

Thanks for the pics, those look great on the 4runner!

 

I noticed a lot of the heavily modified Land Cruisers in Iceland ran Mickey Thompsons. Just when I thought I had settled my mind on the Toyo AT3s I'm now reconsidering. Even better, the Mickey's are considerably cheaper. If they were highly used in Iceland's wild weather, I think they might be perfect for New England.

 

Lol. Yeah. Some jokes to be had there for sure.

 

oh, they only get one year out of those tires. they rip the studs out to drive them in the warmer months.

 

Love those Nissan Patrols that run on Diesel.

 

I didn't see many Patrols. Land Cruiser Prado's outnumber them like 50-1

But yeah, they're all Turbo Diesel's over there.

 

Hmm, now that I think about it, that does look more like a Patrol than Prado. The rear window is a give away.

I only took pictures of it for the tires at the time.

 

FWIW I have Toyo AT3’s (p-rated)on my work truck (Frontier) and I don’t love them in the snow and ice here in TN. But they are light weight and very good on gravel and asphalt. Terrible on clay which you may not have there.