Are "Expensive" Tires Even Worth It?

[CarbonSteel]

Tires in the past 10 years or so do not seem to last as long as they once did which is starting to make me question why I would buy a premium brand versus a mid-tier or lower tier tire.

In the past, the statement "you get what you pay for" may have been true, but I becoming more and more skeptical of that.

I do not feel like I got what I paid for with the 37" BFG K02's I bought. They have not held up any better than the 35" Kanati Trail Hogs I had previously, perhaps even lesser, yet they were about $800 more (as compared to 37" Kanati's).

Not intended to turn into a bash K02 thread (though I would be first in line), but what are the general thoughts?

Buy BFG, Nitto, Toyo, M/T or look to a cheaper brand?

Money is not the issue for me, it is the service life and minimal maintenance that wins.

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[DOOKEY]

BFG sucks.

 

[jeepoch]

I've been as happy as a pig in shit with my Goodyear Duratracs.

[Edit]
Check out this remarkably awesome tire comparison effort by @Shots (Winchell). Everything you wanted to know about tires. The whole thread is about user experience and reviews. It's way cool.

https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...atings-chart-whats-good-and-whats-hype.24118/

 

[CarbonSteel]

I've been as happy as a pig in shit with my Goodyear Duratracs.

Yeah, if they made them in 37's, I'd grab a set (only up to 35" the last time I checked).

The Kanati's are basically a Duratrac clone.

 

[Jeep Dude]

I've had zero issues with my 37 K02's, happy with the longevity, ride quality, and number one on the list, their light weight.

Not very happy with their hydroplaning tendencies at highway speeds for such a huge sized tire, and whilst acceleration in snow is not too shabbyat all, quite predictable and fun, BRAKING on the other hand, on icier surfaces or even very hard packed snow sucks.

Subscribing to this thread, because I like try out new , but if nothing convinces me in the end, when I begin to cross shop tires, I might just opt for them slightly bigger, albeit uglier, bubble looking 39in K02's, and why? Because they are LIGHT!

Note* I don't have the reinforcement hinge thingy on my rear tailgate, nor do I plan to install one, I hate the look, and knock on wood, they still look straight and true, tight as a whistle. Weight is important to me, for ride quality, and the rear tailgate weight.

 

[2nd 392]

FWIW— my son said his Toyo’s are the best, longest lasting tires he has had on his old 6.0 F250. 35/12.50/18/ highest avail, or metric equivalent. Put 35/12.50/17/C AT3’s ( 59lbs) on my Jeep, just ~500 mi, no review other than better ride, similar road manners , a little more aggressive so a little louder than the KO2’s

 

[Cycle11111]

I've been as happy as a pig in shit with my Goodyear Duratracs.

That is what I roll with and have studs in a second set for the winter and they are amazing - I live in the Tahoe are and deal with tons of snow

 

[Mudduck]

Tires in the past 10 years or so do not seem to last as long as they once did which is starting to make me question why I would buy a premium brand versus a mid-tier or lower tier tire.

In the past, the statement "you get what you pay for" may have been true, but I becoming more and more skeptical of that.

I do not feel like I got what I paid for with the 37" BFG K02's I bought. They have not held up any better than the 35" Kanati Trail Hogs I had previously, perhaps even lesser, yet they were about $800 more (as compared to 37" Kanati's).

Not intended to turn into a bash K02 thread (though I would be first in line), but what are the general thoughts?

Buy BFG, Nitto, Toyo, M/T or look to a cheaper brand?

Money is not the issue for me, it is the service life and minimal maintenance that wins.

Certainly, you never get what you pay for these days as everything is overpriced. I do know that a lot of cheaper tires are harder compound. You already know the issues there.

I generally dont buy tires based on price. When I start looking for tires, I look at reviews across multiple sights, and obviously rely on previous experience. Ive never had a bad Duratrac or OC AT. Depending on what style tires youre looking at, the Yoko G015 are awesome tires too.

Best of luck! And I agree with the other post.... BFG sucks.

 

[lowmpg]

Tires in the past 10 years or so do not seem to last as long as they once did which is starting to make me question why I would buy a premium brand versus a mid-tier or lower tier tire.

In the past, the statement "you get what you pay for" may have been true, but I becoming more and more skeptical of that.

I do not feel like I got what I paid for with the 37" BFG K02's I bought. They have not held up any better than the 35" Kanati Trail Hogs I had previously, perhaps even lesser, yet they were about $800 more (as compared to 37" Kanati's).

Not intended to turn into a bash K02 thread (though I would be first in line), but what are the general thoughts?

Buy BFG, Nitto, Toyo, M/T or look to a cheaper brand?

Money is not the issue for me, it is the service life and minimal maintenance that wins.

What a great question, though I'm not sure how you get a real answer outside of just buying the tires and trying them personally. I know having had Nitto, Toyo, General, Falken from size 35-38 on different vehicles, all of them wore pretty quick and it definitely felt as though you were paying more for marketing and 'look' than actual performance. Curious to see what others say about 'lesser' costing tires.

 

[Whaler27]

FWIW— my son said his Toyo’s are the best, longest lasting tires he has had on his old 6.0 F250. 35/12.50/18/ highest avail, or metric equivalent. Put 35/12.50/17/C AT3’s ( 59lbs) on my Jeep, just ~500 mi, no review other than better ride, similar road manners , a little more aggressive so a little louder than the KO2’s

I‘ve had several sets of Toyo MTs. Two sets of 35s on F350s, a set of 35s on my wife’s JK, and one set of 33s on my last TJ.

The Toyos were good in mud, fine on the rocks, less prone to hydroplane, very quiet for a MT, and they lasted forever. I loved them on everything but ice, where they were like wearing football cleats to jog up polished concrete. Much better to have tennis sneakers (KO2) for that. The best compromise for me, for winter, is studded Duratracs. They drive over/through anything. I have 35“ Duratracs on our Raptor, which is great snow and ice mobile with 400 pounds of sand in the back.

The Duratracs are available in 37s, but only sized for a 20” wheel, which looks silly, drives harsh, and leaves less sidewall for airing down.

 

[Dyolfknip74]

I also have an issue with there being no standard in sizing. Literally every tire you consider, you need to look that up.

I would be pissed if I bought some 37" KO2s and they're the same size as my 35" Duratracs.

 

[Industrialwrench]

Different tires wear slower because of different compounds. One that last longer will not bite as well into rock. It’s pretty much that simple. Long life doesn’t equal high performance to most people other than truckers. A street slick on my challenger would be amazing, but would not last anywhere near the 6k miles a set of Goodyears do on it now. Wouldn’t be worth it for me, but I can still understand why it’s a better tire.

 

[XX4XEXX]

We typically run BFGs and in the pasthave ran Duratracs and they performed great. The past 4 sets have all been Niittos as we wanted to run an American made tire. The last set we decided to buy Nitto MT and HATE them but we did pavement driving as well. MTs are not for anything but MT period. We just bought a hybrid Toyo (again American made) and these guys rock in every sense so much 2 other buddies are swapping out MT.

If you are on the hunt take a look at the Toyo Trail RT but get your hands on them. They balanced great with minimal weight is any.

 

[blackthought_]

Instead of talking about how good/not good my KO2s or some other brands is, I’ll actually answer your question. In my experience, yes, paying a premium for tires is worth it. Tires are literally the only thing that touch the ground when you drive and I’d really not mess around and try to save a few bucks and get a no-name brand. God forbid a tire explodes when you’re cruising down the highway. There is a reason people pay a premium for example, a Michelin tire. When it comes to debating the brand and which is best, everyone will have their own opinion so you’ll need to try out different ones.

 

[roaniecowpony]

I've been having good service life out of Cooper STMaxx or Mickey Thompson (Cooper made) equivalents on my full size pickup.

For the JL, I just bought my first set to replace the OE K02s. It's always a research project buying tires and then I put the blindfold on and throw a dart. I ended up with the Maxxis Razr AT in 37x12.50R17. We'll see how it goes.

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