BGJLU
Well-Known Member
Awesome. Thanks again. It would have taken me several hours to learn all that!Great question.
DuraTracs - they were great for me, but I wanted to try something new this time around. They’re snowflake rated which means they do great in the snow. I didn’t hear any road noise at all with these. I noticed bumps a bit more I’d say, but nothing that would really deter me from them again. Some of people say these tires are old news now and that some of the options below have replaced these as the leader in this category.
KO2 - also snowflake rated. Can be had in “C load” which means a softer ride. Very practical choice for on road use! But, I’m not a big fan of the sidewall pattern. My vanity got in the way of my logic here
Wildpeaks - IIRC, these are also snowflake rated (confirm to be sure, if you care). Newer tire - and getting good reviews from people here so far. My vanity got in the way again, though. Nothing wrong with them, I just don’t love the sidewall pattern.
Ridge Grapplers - note, Nitto uses “Grappler” in a bunch of their tire lines - so be sure you look at which grappler (Terra, Ridge, Trail, Mud - in order from least aggressive to most). There are some other options like Dune, but I don’t remember them all. These are also newer tires, and are getting great reviews. They are not snowflake rated which is a bummer for me, though some people are indicating that they could be snowflake rated based on performance, but Nitto just didn’t go through the paperwork to get the official approval. Who knows. I went with these to try something new and because I like the aggressive looking sidewall pattern. People are loving this tire in the 285/75r17 size (34”) with no lift needed AND available in a load C, to boot! These would have been a great choice for me over the 35s in load E, but I’m illogical and vain with tires, I’m learning I really want to try 35s (for no logical reason - other than they look cool).
I had the opportunity to test drive the KO2s in load D (315s) and load E (35s) and could not tell a difference between the load ranges on the road. I had an opportunity to drive the Nitto RGs in 35 as well, and they seemed a bit stiffer, perhaps.
At the end of the day, I went with the RGs because they look awesome, lol. They do meet my other requirements besides the load range (E is more strength than I need, and less comfortable of a ride), and my biggest concern is how comfortable they’ll ride. If we end up thinking they’re too harsh, we’ll swap them out at Discount Tire (100% refund available within 30 days, no questions asked).
Lastly - I also considered Nitto Trail Grapplers, Cooper STT Pros, and Yokohama Geolander G003s - which are all more aggressive but supposedly not as tame on the road.
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