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Smoothest Riding 35 inch tire?

porkchop

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I’ve had the E rated 35” KO2s on a JK and they were very smooth. The E rating on those were not harsh at all.
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OldBird

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I have the 315/70/17 KO2s and they've taken me everywhere I want to go and really are great on road. Their weakness is in thick mud and deep snow.

These are the C rated ones, I have a feeling that the 35" E rated ones might be a little bit of a harsher ride.

Keep in mind that the Bridgestones tend to run a little small, mine should be 34.4" but when I measured them at 34 PSI they measured in just a hair below 34"
 

DanW

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It's not the added physical weight of the E tire that makes the ride harsher than with the C, it's the overall stiffer structure of the tire that doesn't offer enough give when rolling over imperfections. The E rated tire is meant for a vehicle that's capable of carrying more weight than our wranglers.
Yep, I realize that. You are spot on with the weight carrying, too. The C rated KO2 easily exceeds the GVWR of the JLUR.

I just mentioned the weight in light of a conversation I had with a BFG rep when I was shopping for my tires. He said the difference was mre in the way it was constructed (specifically, he said people think of plies but that's not the difference). He pointed out that the weight of the tires wasn't that different because with other tires usually an E rated version would be much heavier and ride much worse than the C. He said the E in the KO2 rides very similarly. I haven't driven it, so I can't speak to that. The BFG rep claimed there was no significant difference in sidewall puncture resistance, either. I wanted the ride/handling to be as close to the stock 285 KO2's (C rated) as possible, as well as the slightly lighter weight. I've found the sidewall puncture resistance to be quite good, so far.
 

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Yep, I realize that. You are spot on with the weight carrying, too. The C rated KO2 easily exceeds the GVWR of the JLUR.

I just mentioned the weight in light of a conversation I had with a BFG rep when I was shopping for my tires. He said the difference was mre in the way it was constructed (specifically, he said people think of plies but that's not the difference). He pointed out that the weight of the tires wasn't that different because with other tires usually an E rated version would be much heavier and ride much worse than the C. He said the E in the KO2 rides very similarly. I haven't driven it, so I can't speak to that. The BFG rep claimed there was no significant difference in sidewall puncture resistance, either. I wanted the ride/handling to be as close to the stock 285 KO2's (C rated) as possible, as well as the slightly lighter weight. I've found the sidewall puncture resistance to be quite good, so far.
Only having experience with the C rated 285 and now 315 ko2's, I too have been hesitant to stray from the C's. That was one of my reasons for not jumping up to the 37x12.5 ko2, which has a D rating. I'll admit, I'm still curious whether the D will feel noticeably stiffer, or will the added diameter, from the 37 over the 315, offset that? I may have to take the plunge to find that answer.
 

Dave91gt

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We have Falken Wildpeak AT3's on the wife's lifted JLU Sahara. 315/70/17.
I run 30 lbs cold in them.
And I will say, they are great tires all around. Ride, noise, traction, wear (so far), and balance. They also look good.
 

Bill 13

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Shouldn't one take the tire pressure into account for smooth ride not just tires along?
Yeah, was waiting for someone to throw this out there. It's an important consideration for sure. I've got the Ridge Grapplers and love how they ride. I don't notice much road noise at all, no more than the stock Rubicon tires. I'm running 26-28 I believe. In the summer I was heading up to the cottage pretty much every weekend with the top down and it rode great (84 miles/135km mix of highway and rural).
 

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Only having experience with the C rated 285 and now 315 ko2's, I too have been hesitant to stray from the C's. That was one of my reasons for not jumping up to the 37x12.5 ko2, which has a D rating. I'll admit, I'm still curious whether the D will feel noticeably stiffer, or will the added diameter, from the 37 over the 315, offset that? I may have to take the plunge to find that answer.
I run 37s KO2 D rated on stock rims and they are fantastic. Silky smooth at 85 mph and pretty unstoppable when aired down. Barely lose any ride height at 14 psi.

I have to run 28-30 psi cause any more and my stock rims aren't wide enough, i lose contact patch, and the handling gets squirrelly
 

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Ok, just a note about the KO2 and mud. Until yesterday, I only had one experience with this tire and deep mud, although it was pretty significant. In Moab, my buddy and I drove a trail (I'll have to find the name of it) that went through cow pastures that were nothing but mud. The mud was soupy and thin in some areas and some areas where it thickened up a bit. The KO2's didn't dig in like my buddy's mud tires (I can't remember what tire he's running, but it is a typical aggressive big lug mud tire), but they didn't leave me stuck, either, even though they caked a bit. I went everywhere he did, even though I had to work harder at it.

Yesterday, I did Hurricane Creek Rd. in the Pisgah National Forest in North Carolina. I did this trail a few years ago and it was mostly rocky with some hard packed dirt. In the two or three years since, the "road" has deteriorated. There were some big ruts full of mud. The KO2's carried the Jeep through them with no trouble. Then, at the end, we tood a shortcut to Max Patch road. The short cut was a trail that had been newly plowed and we'd had a couple days of rain, so it was thick gumbo mud with some piles that I thought would high-center us. We had gone in too far to turn back when it got really ugly. I put a few rpm's on it to help shed mud, but it was moderate, not crazy. There were washouts where I needed some momentum but if I got crazy with the throttle, I feared losing control and hitting a tree or worse, going over the edge. I honestly felt 100% certain I was going to have to do LOTS of winching up the hill. The KO2's caked up quickly, but never quit pulling. Mud was flying everywhere, including inside the Sunrider, so I know it was doing some decent shedding. Remember, this was uphill! I was quite frankly shocked. I really thought there was no way we'd get through

The conclusion? These tires are just fine in mud, and driven well, they can get you out of it, even if a very thick mud. I would still recommend a mud tire if mudding is something you enjoy, but this one will get you out of a jam. I chose the KO2 over the KM2 or KM3 because I don't seek mud. Funny, though, as soon as I go to an AT, the mud finds me more than ever, Lol! It certainly takes more skill and finesse than an MT, but I was VERY impressed. On the rocks and dirt, the tire's performance was outstanding, as always.

We then had a nice long 7 or so hour country road and highway drive home, where they were too quiet to hear over the normal Jeep wind noise. Another trip, another admiring smile chalked up for these tires.

I forgot about 1 other time....in some deep Kentucky mud. It pulled us through about 30 yards of deep gumbo where I also thought we were sure to need the winch. So that makes 3x. I don't think I got into mud nearly this badly in 70k miles of using KM2's on my JK, Lol! I can only think of once with it, but those KM2's did shine, as expected. They were just horribly noisy and rode very roughly.
 

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I run 37s KO2 D rated on stock rims and they are fantastic. Silky smooth at 85 mph and pretty unstoppable when aired down. Barely lose any ride height at 14 psi.

I have to run 28-30 psi cause any more and my stock rims aren't wide enough, i lose contact patch, and the handling gets squirrelly
So, the D rated 37 ko2's aren't that much rougher of a ride than the stock C rated 285 ko2's? Thanks for the valued input!
 

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So, the D rated 37 ko2's aren't that much rougher of a ride than the stock C rated 285 ko2's? Thanks for the valued input!
Rides much nicer than original 33s. Big part of it probably because bumps are smaller in comparison to the 37s
 

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From multiple sources, I think for good on street performance, quietness and still good off road, my list will either be
Milestar Patagonia or Good Year Duratrac

I was hard set on the Milestars, but met 2 people with the Duratracs who did fantastic off road with them and swear they are very quiet on pavement.
 

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I have the 315/70/17 KO2s and they've taken me everywhere I want to go and really are great on road. Their weakness is in thick mud and deep snow.

These are the C rated ones, I have a feeling that the 35" E rated ones might be a little bit of a harsher ride.

Keep in mind that the Bridgestones tend to run a little small, mine should be 34.4" but when I measured them at 34 PSI they measured in just a hair below 34"
Do you have any lift on your JLUR? Was wondering if you hit the fenders with the KO2 315's.
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