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Tire comparisons, Owner ratings chart. What's good and what's hype
OP
OP
Shots
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- #63
I was considering the KO2 in the same size, and the G.Y. Duratrac in 295/70/17 and the Cooper STT Pro in 295/70/17.
The order of preference:
I would routinely check craigslist for any deals of those 4 tires. One day I came across a guy selling the KM2's that I bought. He only had 4 since he had them on a truck, but at roughly half the price for basically new tires, they jumped to the top of my list. I bought the 5th one from Discount Tire (sponsor here on the forum) to complete the set. I spent about the same for this set of KM2's, that a new set of KO2's would have cost me. I figured it was worth a shot, thinking I should be able to sell them for what I had into them if I didn't like them. No need though, because these tires are great.
An FWIW, no they are not loud. They make a little noise at higher speeds but nothing excessive. I'm not going to rate them on the chart yet because I want to get more miles on them, but so far I'd put the noise at about an 8.
And the reason I picked the KM2 over the KM3, is kinda stupid. I didn't like the look of the KM3 as much and I preferred the 285/75/17, over the 295/70/17. It's not a huge size difference, but I didn't really want wider than 285. i was willing to compromise the 10 mm if the price was right. If was going to do that though, it was going to be for a tire I liked the look of better like the Duratrac or STT.
The order of preference:
- The KO2. I had them on my Grand Cherokee so I knew what to expect. They ride very well, their quite and capable. Not super expensive either.
- The STT. They rate well, but I have no experience with them, so it was a gamble. However the price was a very big incentive, because they were quite a bit cheaper than the other 3 options.
- The Duratrac. Another great tire (like the KO2), that I've actually owned. They were a little on the expensive side at nearly $300 per tire, so they fell slightly lower on my list.
- The KM2. This was 4th on my list because they are expensive and were a gamble like the STT. I love the look, but some reviews said they were loud and at more than $300 a tire they were the most expensive on the list.
I would routinely check craigslist for any deals of those 4 tires. One day I came across a guy selling the KM2's that I bought. He only had 4 since he had them on a truck, but at roughly half the price for basically new tires, they jumped to the top of my list. I bought the 5th one from Discount Tire (sponsor here on the forum) to complete the set. I spent about the same for this set of KM2's, that a new set of KO2's would have cost me. I figured it was worth a shot, thinking I should be able to sell them for what I had into them if I didn't like them. No need though, because these tires are great.
An FWIW, no they are not loud. They make a little noise at higher speeds but nothing excessive. I'm not going to rate them on the chart yet because I want to get more miles on them, but so far I'd put the noise at about an 8.
And the reason I picked the KM2 over the KM3, is kinda stupid. I didn't like the look of the KM3 as much and I preferred the 285/75/17, over the 295/70/17. It's not a huge size difference, but I didn't really want wider than 285. i was willing to compromise the 10 mm if the price was right. If was going to do that though, it was going to be for a tire I liked the look of better like the Duratrac or STT.
jdhunt0
Well-Known Member
I am looking at a 35in tire and have narrowed my choices to the Maxxis Razr and the Milestar. Do you have Jeeps in your club running these tires in a 35? Can you comment on road noise in both?
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TCogs1
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I was thinking the same, but I found several threads on getting a stick or rip with the Milestar (i.e. litebrite) thus I have narrowed to Treps or Razr @ 40" for my general purpose tire.. leaving my 37" creepy's with bead locks for the tough stuff (dusy etc).. still thinking... the extra weight of the treps is "weighing on me"... Cooper SST close 3rd place... lol
CMâ›°
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I’ll add a review of the Stock KO2’s on my Rubicon. To be transparent, this in my first Jeep and my prior off-road tire worthy vehicles were from 20+ years ago, so I don’t have any directly relatable experience with other applicable tires to base my current experience on.
I’m currently at 52,000 miles with about 20% tread wear on a 5 tire rotation. I have driven these tires on half a dozen big 2000+ mile roadtrips. They have been comfortable on the highway, minus the one time I was quite late on my rotation, but were quickly back to what I had come to expect after getting the rotation done. They have been quiet, only starting to raise their voice after hitting 45k. I’ve had them in the rocks and sand all over the southwest, the mud of Arkansas, the Central Texas rain, the ice/snow of the Colorado Mountain towns, fording rivers in Utah and Texas, and both shallow and deep snow in Northern New Mexico. There has never been a moment where they didn’t completely exceed my expectations. If there was one thing I could rate another tire above this one, it would be “Looks”. There may be tires that perform better, but you’d have a hard time convincing me with words. That being said, call me crazy, but I’m on this thread because I’m looking to try something new when these hit 60k and there’s been a lot of good info, but it’s be nice if this was in the general thread where more of the masses would give their ratings to help average out per the goal of the O.P.
Noise - 10
Ride - 9
Dry - 10
Wet - 10
Snow - 10
Trail - 10
Look - 6
Overall - 9
Wear - 10
I’m currently at 52,000 miles with about 20% tread wear on a 5 tire rotation. I have driven these tires on half a dozen big 2000+ mile roadtrips. They have been comfortable on the highway, minus the one time I was quite late on my rotation, but were quickly back to what I had come to expect after getting the rotation done. They have been quiet, only starting to raise their voice after hitting 45k. I’ve had them in the rocks and sand all over the southwest, the mud of Arkansas, the Central Texas rain, the ice/snow of the Colorado Mountain towns, fording rivers in Utah and Texas, and both shallow and deep snow in Northern New Mexico. There has never been a moment where they didn’t completely exceed my expectations. If there was one thing I could rate another tire above this one, it would be “Looks”. There may be tires that perform better, but you’d have a hard time convincing me with words. That being said, call me crazy, but I’m on this thread because I’m looking to try something new when these hit 60k and there’s been a lot of good info, but it’s be nice if this was in the general thread where more of the masses would give their ratings to help average out per the goal of the O.P.
Noise - 10
Ride - 9
Dry - 10
Wet - 10
Snow - 10
Trail - 10
Look - 6
Overall - 9
Wear - 10
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ChattVol
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I'll add an early review for 37/12.50/17 Milestar's. I drank the social media koolaid and decided to try them due to price, weight, claimed respectable offroad performance/quiet ride. Put about 1000 miles on them in 3 months with 2 offroad trips + a day driving in 4" of snow. Previously ran stock 31" hwy tires for 8k miles and 35" ko2's for 17k miles.
Noise - 8
Ride - 8
Dry - 9
Wet - 8
Snow - 7
Trail - 7
Look - 6
Overall - 7
Wear - 5
IMHO, Milestar has done a phenomenal job choosing social media ambassadors to run this tire. Looking at the tire, it's much more of a hybrid tire and not a mud terrain, because the center lugs are close together like an all terrain and they also easily cake up with mud. Offroad performance has been decent on loose dirt/rock....nothing special. At 26psi on road, they ride louder than ko2's and aren't as smooth....not loud by any means, but I do hear a hum above 30mph with radio off. They do seem to grip better offroad than ko2's and perform similar to my friends gladiator on 37" nitto ridge grapplers. However, the ridge grapplers rode smoother on road.
I rate the wear at a 5 bc the tread is rounded off and doesn't make full contact with the road...even at 24psi. As a result, they ride more on the center closely spaced tread resulting in less road noise, but also will lead to uneven wear. Considering this, I can see why most people are only getting 20-25k miles out of them and many complain about cupping.
Noise - 8
Ride - 8
Dry - 9
Wet - 8
Snow - 7
Trail - 7
Look - 6
Overall - 7
Wear - 5
IMHO, Milestar has done a phenomenal job choosing social media ambassadors to run this tire. Looking at the tire, it's much more of a hybrid tire and not a mud terrain, because the center lugs are close together like an all terrain and they also easily cake up with mud. Offroad performance has been decent on loose dirt/rock....nothing special. At 26psi on road, they ride louder than ko2's and aren't as smooth....not loud by any means, but I do hear a hum above 30mph with radio off. They do seem to grip better offroad than ko2's and perform similar to my friends gladiator on 37" nitto ridge grapplers. However, the ridge grapplers rode smoother on road.
I rate the wear at a 5 bc the tread is rounded off and doesn't make full contact with the road...even at 24psi. As a result, they ride more on the center closely spaced tread resulting in less road noise, but also will lead to uneven wear. Considering this, I can see why most people are only getting 20-25k miles out of them and many complain about cupping.
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OP
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Shots
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Thanks for the review, it's been added.
I was considering the MileStar at one point too. At the time there was a lot of hype about them, but nobody with any significant time with them. Good to see some real world reviews trickling out now. FWIW, I ended up getting KM2's which are a surprisingly good tire. I know BFG makes good tires, but for as aggressive as they are I was skeptical about winter, noise and road manners. They're not bad.
I was considering the MileStar at one point too. At the time there was a lot of hype about them, but nobody with any significant time with them. Good to see some real world reviews trickling out now. FWIW, I ended up getting KM2's which are a surprisingly good tire. I know BFG makes good tires, but for as aggressive as they are I was skeptical about winter, noise and road manners. They're not bad.
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OP
OP
Shots
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They've got roughly 8K on them. I got them used from a guy who had them on a truck and decided they were too small after he mounted them. IIRC he had less then 3K on them at the time. I've put around 5K on them.
They're a little loud at 50+, but nothing beyond what I'd expect from a mud tire. They're certainly quieter in the summer when they're warmer/softer.
On the interstate they can be annoying. On the back roads where I typically drive 45 mph I'd rate 7-8. On the interstate I'd rate 3. Overall noise wise though, I put them around a 5-6 which matches up with the average reviews so far.
If you're like me and you drive rural roads around 45 mph they're not bad at all. If you do a lot of interstate driving I'd look at something else (the Duratrac for example).
They're a little loud at 50+, but nothing beyond what I'd expect from a mud tire. They're certainly quieter in the summer when they're warmer/softer.
On the interstate they can be annoying. On the back roads where I typically drive 45 mph I'd rate 7-8. On the interstate I'd rate 3. Overall noise wise though, I put them around a 5-6 which matches up with the average reviews so far.
If you're like me and you drive rural roads around 45 mph they're not bad at all. If you do a lot of interstate driving I'd look at something else (the Duratrac for example).
jeepoch
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Winchell,
Thank you so very much for this chart, this thread and all of your effort. Sorry I can't yet contribute, I'm still driving around on my stock Michelin 245/75/R17s. Not an interesting tire from the factory.
But kudos because before this chart (and thread), I was blindly surfing around all the various tire manufacturer's web-sites getting nothing but their sales pitches. Not fun.
I just installed the 2.5" Mopar lift, at the dealer (in order primarily to not muck with any warranty concerns). My 17x9" wheels are on back order so I was taking this extra time to evaluate a good 35" all terrain for mostly Colorado driving. Mostly as a daily drive commuter (along the Front Range) but certainly some off-roading (perhaps 75/25%). Still I was never really comfortable with any good place to start, until now.
I was leaning towards the Duratracs initially, just because the dealership had them in stock. But there is so much feedback and ratings factors to now consider the many other tire possibilities.
Your chart and rating system has been a god send in helping me feel more comfortable in making a great tire selection based on some science rather than chance. Your effort and all the really great contributor responses are giving, not only me but all on this forum, really sound and informative choices.
I'll reply with a future follow-up response with the tire I finally do select and why. Hopefully soon, it depends on when my desired wheels arrive. But whatever it will be, this thread has made it so that I'll be confident rather than second guessing. Granted, nearly any tire would probably be OK as a starting point, but you're saving me likely a couple grand in not getting it wrong and then additionally buying something else. Because of this thread, I know I'll not regret my choice.
My hats off to you. You are certainly a factor in what is making this JL Community and Jeeping thing in general, so darn cool.
You have my vote for JL Wrangler Forum Man-Of-The-Year. Great job and thanks again for your very informative diligence and hard work. Every one of us has an opinion and you've brought all of them together seamlessly in one very informative thead.
Thanks again,
Jay
Thank you so very much for this chart, this thread and all of your effort. Sorry I can't yet contribute, I'm still driving around on my stock Michelin 245/75/R17s. Not an interesting tire from the factory.
But kudos because before this chart (and thread), I was blindly surfing around all the various tire manufacturer's web-sites getting nothing but their sales pitches. Not fun.
I just installed the 2.5" Mopar lift, at the dealer (in order primarily to not muck with any warranty concerns). My 17x9" wheels are on back order so I was taking this extra time to evaluate a good 35" all terrain for mostly Colorado driving. Mostly as a daily drive commuter (along the Front Range) but certainly some off-roading (perhaps 75/25%). Still I was never really comfortable with any good place to start, until now.
I was leaning towards the Duratracs initially, just because the dealership had them in stock. But there is so much feedback and ratings factors to now consider the many other tire possibilities.
Your chart and rating system has been a god send in helping me feel more comfortable in making a great tire selection based on some science rather than chance. Your effort and all the really great contributor responses are giving, not only me but all on this forum, really sound and informative choices.
I'll reply with a future follow-up response with the tire I finally do select and why. Hopefully soon, it depends on when my desired wheels arrive. But whatever it will be, this thread has made it so that I'll be confident rather than second guessing. Granted, nearly any tire would probably be OK as a starting point, but you're saving me likely a couple grand in not getting it wrong and then additionally buying something else. Because of this thread, I know I'll not regret my choice.
My hats off to you. You are certainly a factor in what is making this JL Community and Jeeping thing in general, so darn cool.
You have my vote for JL Wrangler Forum Man-Of-The-Year. Great job and thanks again for your very informative diligence and hard work. Every one of us has an opinion and you've brought all of them together seamlessly in one very informative thead.
Thanks again,
Jay
OP
OP
Shots
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- #74
Thank you, I appreciate that and will forward the credit to the community who made it possible. This thread would have gone nowhere without the input from everyone who has contributed their ratings, opinions and suggestions. We truly do have a great community here, and I appreciate everyone who has made this thread/chart as useful as it is, and as useful as it will become with more replies.
DadJokes
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Anyone have feedback on KM3’s yet? I’ve asked on several FB groups which MT they would choose for driving days to get to the off road destination on asphalt. I’m looking for competitive performance but hoping to glean the quietest of that group even. I’m getting tons of MT KM3, Trail Grappler, and Wildpeak recommendations.
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