Sahara stock wheels with ko2s?

[waverlyplacesubs]

I was wondering if ride quality was affected with adding stock tire size ko2s (255/70r18) on sahara jlu? I know some sites don’t let me make the selection because speed rating, I think or load rating so I was wondering if there were any downsides. I’m currently running some cheap tires (Ironman R-B SUV) bc those are the tires that CarMax just puts on every car they sell, smh. But there’s a picture of my jeep from carmax site and then the tires that are currently on them for reference.

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[TrailScooter]

Might be a minority opinion here, KO2's suck. There are much better choices out there.

 

[Johnny B]

I wanted KO2's on my JLU. But I also wanted a little more tire under the Jeep. I went with Rocktrix 17 inch wheels, and 285/70/17 KO2's. Beach, trails, daily driven. They got it all covered.

 

[waverlyplacesubs]

Might be a minority opinion here, KO2's suck. There are much better choices out there.

Why do you feel they suck? I had them on my two door rubicon before and they were great imo. But I am open to opinions and suggestions lol. The only thing I remember is water puddles on the road are not your friend and you can easily hydroplane if you don’t slow down for them with ko2s.

Might be a minority opinion here, KO2's suck. There are much better choices out there.

what other options would you recommend?

 

[TrailScooter]

Why do you feel they suck? I had them on my two door rubicon before and they were great imo. But I am open to opinions and suggestions lol. The only thing I remember is water puddles on the road are not your friend and you can easily hydroplane if you don’t slow down for them with ko2s.

what other options would you recommend?

Compared to other tires I have owned, the KO2's are terrible in the wet. Not too good in the dry, heat. Off road, meh.

On the other hand, I've had some very good goodyears but would not suggest them for political reasons. The Falken wildpeaks I have now have been excellent. Very good in the rain and can barely break them loose in the dry even with a supercharged 3.6... I would highly recommend them. There are others but I haven't actually owned them...

 

[2nd 392]

Why do you feel they suck? I had them on my two door rubicon before and they were great imo. But I am open to opinions and suggestions lol. The only thing I remember is water puddles on the road are not your friend and you can easily hydroplane if you don’t slow down for them with ko2s.

what other options would you recommend?

Well- you partially answered your own question. KO2’s are not good in wet, they are also terrible rock magnets. I replaced them with Toyo AT3, superior wet, not near the rock magnets, better ride, also 3peak, high overall ratings, and typically light for size (the lightest 3peak 35/12.50/17 at 59 lbs), worth considering
The others I considered like Falkens, MT’s, Coopers were heavier.

 

[Punkn89]

Not off-roading? Michelin Defender LTX MS2 - best on-road tire, thank me later.

Off-roading? Baja Boss, Toyo AT3, Falken, ran all 3 and all have gotten praised over the years.

Ride quality is subjective, however. I ran KM3s and Nitto Trail Grapplers and thought they weren’t bad either.

+1 for staying away from KO2s.

 

[Sparty]

I've had KO2s and they performed great compared to some other tires. However, (and I'm showing a little vanity here), I don't like they way they look on the Jeep.

My favorite was the Cooper STT that I had on 35s on my TJ. I have 37 MT Baja Boss on my current rig and are happy with them.

 

[Johnny B]

Oh yeah, almost forgot. Doors off, or windows down. Top back and safari mode. I have zero problems holding a conversation with anyone in the jeep, front or back seats. And I also have zero problem listening to my music. Be it 70mph on a highway, or anywhere else.

 

[JesseT]

Compared to other tires I have owned, the KO2's are terrible in the wet. Not too good in the dry, heat. Off road, meh.

On the other hand, I've had some very good goodyears but would not suggest them for political reasons. The Falken wildpeaks I have now have been excellent. Very good in the rain and can barely break them loose in the dry even with a supercharged 3.6... I would highly recommend them. There are others but I haven't actually owned them...

Well yeah, tires in general are a poor choice for politicking. You get much better bang for your buck with the tried-and-true soapbox.

Back to being less flippant, I'm not super stoked on the stock KO2's, though I admittedly lack the experience with other AT tires to really say how they stack up to others in the class. I live in a hilly area and on hot pavement I can hear the tires protesting when braking (yes, conservatively) downhill...not exactly squealing, but definitely chirruping a bit. I've never had that happen with any other tire, on one of my vehicles or a family member's. Also, gravel is indeed a problem. They chipsealed a couple of the more traveled roads in town (don't even get me started on chipseal) and it sounds like a warehouse rave inside my fenders.

The wet season is coming up and I'm thinking it might be prudent to switch. I have a neighbor who is happy with the WildPeaks for our climate, but they weigh a metric ton so I'm looking at the Toyo AT3's. I'll report back if I end up getting them.

 

[2nd 392]

Well yeah, tires in general are a poor choice for politicking. You get much better bang for your buck with the tried-and-true soapbox.

Back to being less flippant, I'm not super stoked on the stock KO2's, though I admittedly lack the experience with other AT tires to really say how they stack up to others in the class. I live in a hilly area and on hot pavement I can hear the tires protesting when braking (yes, conservatively) downhill...not exactly squealing, but definitely chirruping a bit. I've never had that happen with any other tire, on one of my vehicles or a family member's. Also, gravel is indeed a problem. They chipsealed a couple of the more traveled roads in town (don't even get me started on chipseal) and it sounds like a warehouse rave inside my fenders.

The wet season is coming up and I'm thinking it might be prudent to switch. I have a neighbor who is happy with the WildPeaks for our climate, but they weigh a metric ton so I'm looking at the Toyo AT3's. I'll report back if I end up getting them.

The only small disappointment is the sidewall looks kinda bald, but one side is a little better and I pointed out to DT upon mounting. Otherwise, good performance and definitely weight weenie approved, heck, even 5 lbs lighter than “light” 315/70/17/C KO2’s.
Heck, IIRC, the Falkens, Coopers would have put me at gate reinforcement weight, don’t recall the MT’s, but I think so.

 

[bdbjeep]

I got stock Sahara wheels cheap for my 2023 Sport. I got the the Wildpeaks AT4 as the they were significantly cheaper in my area than the ko2 and the ko3s were not in stock yet. The Wildpeaks have been great. Good in snow and rain all while quiet. Quiet even coming from the Michelin highway tires that were on my Sport. Been really happy with my decision. Only negative is I got hit with a 1 to 2 mpg hit.

 

[Upnarms]

Best tires I've owned- falken wildpeak at3s and now at4s. Outlast and out perform ko2s on every vehicle i put them on. I have them on 4 vehicles currently- 2 wranglers, 1 cherokee, 1 ram. 30k miles on the JLUR plenty of tread to go. My ko2s lasted 23k miles. Wet traction far superior to ko2s. Only downside i guess would be they are a little heavier than others, but i really don't notice.

 

[RBesse3333]

I was wondering if ride quality was affected with adding stock tire size ko2s (255/70r18) on sahara jlu? I know some sites don’t let me make the selection because speed rating, I think or load rating so I was wondering if there were any downsides. I’m currently running some cheap tires (Ironman R-B SUV) bc those are the tires that CarMax just puts on every car they sell, smh. But there’s a picture of my jeep from carmax site and then the tires that are currently on them for reference.

I put stock sized KO2's on my Sahara with stock wheels. They replaced the Bridgestone Dueler tires that it came with. The KO2's are noticeably quieter and handle better than the Duelers. I've put about 6k miles on them so far and am very happy with them. They perform well in the Florida heat and in the Florida rain.

 

[Steph1]

Why do you feel they suck? I had them on my two door rubicon before and they were great imo. But I am open to opinions and suggestions lol. The only thing I remember is water puddles on the road are not your friend and you can easily hydroplane if you don’t slow down for them with ko2s.

what other options would you recommend?

You are totally right that hydroplaning is the K02’s biggest weakness due to the closed-in design of the treadblocks. In my experience, one of the best year-round tires that excells in water or slush, is the Good year Duratracs that have open lugs from the middle on out which expels water and slush tons better than the K02s. I’ll be going back to the Duratracs when my K02s approach mid-wear.

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