Lift lift lift.

Discussion in 'Overlanding / Off-Road' started by RedEyedHog, Nov 17, 2017.

  1. RedEyedHog

    RedEyedHog Moderator Staff Member

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    Just added a 3 inch lift to the 4runner. In the market for a new set of tires to fill the gap.

    What’s a good all around tire?

    How much lift do you guys run?
     
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  2. Chuy

    Chuy Member

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    BFG KO2's are my favorite AT tire, but Im running BFG KM2's skinnies on my GX, my favorite off road travel tire. I have a 3" lift kit as well. What a lot of people dont know is that the 4 Runner uses the same frame as a GX. The kits and skids are interchangeable.
     
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  3. RedEyedHog

    RedEyedHog Moderator Staff Member

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    D3629778-13CE-46E7-8E4A-89297C5670E2.jpeg 7B15AB74-009A-487C-9E35-A9D60F4FF98D.jpeg Here’s a before/ after.
     
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  4. Chuy

    Chuy Member

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    Looking good, I would go with a 33" KO2 to fill that gap and give you a little more clearance over stock, its a great all around tire for your vehicle I ran them on my Xterra, and they were amazing in AZ in our sharp rocky roads, sand washes, snow up north, and muddy monsoon flooded trails. Super quiet, long lasting, and grippy as hell, before the KO2's I would have recommended the Nitto AT's but BFG stepped up their game big time with the release. Andrew St Pierre White recommends them as well, and he came to that conclusion after years of expeditions around the world. By the way your lift looks awesome, I just did a 2.5 leveling kit on my buddies 2017 TRD Off Road 4 Runner this morning, I recommended the TRD rims for a better stance and stock tire size in KO2's, but I think your aftermarkets rims are accomplishing the same look with the offset. Only reason Im running the KM2's on the GX is because they dont make skinnes for 17" rim.

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  5. RedEyedHog

    RedEyedHog Moderator Staff Member

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    Thanks for the info. I was thinking 33’s with a 1 inch spacer. It’s my daily driver so tires will be 90% on the road. Been looking at the BF AT and the Goodyear Duratrac.
     
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  6. Chuy

    Chuy Member

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    The DuraTracs are nice on road but they suck off road, side wall is way too thin. I bought them when they first came out, two sidewall tears on two different trips. They look tough but suck off road when it comes to sidewall protection. On the duratracs the side tears almost to the bead every time because it is so thin compared to others tires, aswell as the soft compound. I daily drove the Xterra, Land Cruiser, Jeep and DD the GX. I have tried all of the big names tires over the years and different models. Nothing beats BFG in real world application. Im a gear nerd off road, and always try the newest hype. I always try the latest and greatest, and in 20 years of different brands and tires on multiple 4x4's, BFG has always been king. I have owned every locker brand, fridge, air compressor, armor, winches, etc. etc. So many of these internet articles, forum reviews, and magazine reviews are BS and nothing but advertisement. Im giving it to you straight with no endorsement. This pic is from Box canyon trial in AZ, I have ran this trail over a dozen times on different tires, and on two separate occasions, I had side wall tears on the same brand/model of duratrac tires. Excellent on road tires but the BFG AT's KO2's are just as quiet but far more durable off road. Lots of guys still run the duras "for looks" in one of my clubs and always have issues. So many people I know want to run "XYZ" just to be different, but the reality is certain gear just happens to be the proven best. I have learned this over the years from the old timers in my Toyota club : )

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  7. R Stowe

    R Stowe Moderator Staff Member

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    Don’t forget about Cooper Discoverers AT3s. I’ve had two sets, only because I swapped wheels. They do well on road and I’ve never had a problem off trail. They wear well, seem to be pretty flat resistant, and when aired down offer all the grip I need. There’s a great round up of tires from Expedition Portal

    https://expeditionportal.com/where-the-rubber-meets-the-road/
     
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  8. RedEyedHog

    RedEyedHog Moderator Staff Member

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    @Chuy Glad to know. Thanks for the info. I had read a few reviews saying the new design AT was wearing early and could be hard to balance. Have you or anybody in your club experienced any of that?
     
  9. Chuy

    Chuy Member

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    Dont get me wrong, I like lots of other off-road tires and there are lots of great options, but in my opinion that article is a little out dated. First being, Scott is comparing the original BFG AT that was developed in (1999) to newly developed tires (2011 for the Cooper) and not the new KO2 released one year after this article. The 2nd thing, is that Scott ran BFG KM2's on all of his rigs during is around the world Expedtion 7 , which was also in 2014. Scott is from AZ too running the same trails and multi terrain I do. He has always ran BFG's even before he got big and had his little Taco. If BFG didn't exist I would be running Cooper SST Pro's, The original SST was king for MT's for a long time, and still an excellent tire. From what I was told at the tire shop, Cooper is also one of the last American tire companies still making great tires. Cooper is and has always been an excellent choice for ATs and MT's. They are also less expensive!

    http://www.expeditions7.com/about#vehicles


    I didn't have any balancing issues or heard of anyone else having any. I purchased mine the same month they were released and they still look new and run great today. My guess is someone drew the conclusion that the new AT is harder to balance because it takes more weights compared to XYZ tire they once ran. Reason being is that it is a much thicker tire than almost any other AT on the market, with thick sidewall lugs, and even thicker than the original KO.

    Once you get into larger tires especially heavy duty AT's or MT's, 33's+ on a 16" rim. They almost always require more weights.

    The wearing early isn't a factor, they wear the same or better than any other AT tire except maybe Nittos. In comparison to the old KO, which was one of the longest lasting hard wearing tires ever, sure they wear early. I drove 45min each way to work every day and did about twelve 6 hours road trips on them. Along with a bunch of weekend warrior long off-road trips. Here is how much they wore right before I sold the Xterra a few months ago. Hard to tell but they have lots of tread left, after two years of use and abuse. Freeway speed limit here is 65mph and highway is 75mph, trust me I would know if they were out of balance. Kenda MT's are hard to balance not KO2's by a long shot.

    I really hate to sound all preachy about tires, but over the years I have had friends and family nearly die in car accidents because of more budget friendly tires. The 120 degree heat and sizzling road during the summer, with all of the airing down and airing up puts a lot abnormal stress on tires. Add that to a lifted rig, loaded down with gear and armor, and a fun day of wheeling can turn into a family nightmare on that long highway ride home.

    [​IMG]
     
  10. RedEyedHog

    RedEyedHog Moderator Staff Member

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    I’m leery of a lot of online reviews for the sheer fact of not knowing what kind of person they are or their reasoning for negative reviews. Some folks are just out to hurt businesses....for whatever reason. I’d much prefer to hear real world experience from folks. I greatly appreciate all the info.
     
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  11. Andy the Aussie

    Andy the Aussie Administrator of the Century Staff Member

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    I am onto my third set of Coopers (ST Maxx this time) and I have been really happy with them, in about 200K KM of use I have just now got my first ever puncture, this was a pin hole in the side wall from tearing down a recently dozed fire break, I have driven all kinds of crappy country out here and would not consider a change at this point. Certainly not saying there is nothing better or just as good, but they certainly work for me. Godson and his father both have them on their trucks as well now (TD HiLux dual cab and 78 Series table top) and are thus far happy.
     
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  12. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    Nice! Look at all the tire info too! This thread is full of gold!
     
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  13. Jeff Randall

    Jeff Randall ESEE Knives / Randall's Adventure & Training Staff Member

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    Im paying close attention. I've got 40K on the OEM 4Runner tires so it won't be long until I have to buy new ones. I was hoping I could make the ones off of my Kubota tractor work, but lug nut spacing is different.
     
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  14. RedEyedHog

    RedEyedHog Moderator Staff Member

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    Think outside the box. Don’t you have a welder?
     
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  15. RedEyedHog

    RedEyedHog Moderator Staff Member

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    E9E3BA99-C6BD-4BDF-A108-C54FE6ADBC7E.png

    It’s 2017, anything goes.
     
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  16. DYSPHORIC JOY

    DYSPHORIC JOY Administrator Staff Member

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    There is nothing wrong with that picture.

    Could be this:
    [​IMG]
     
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  17. RedEyedHog

    RedEyedHog Moderator Staff Member

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    That’s pimp...
     
  18. R Stowe

    R Stowe Moderator Staff Member

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    I agree that it's an old piece, and I wish they'd do another in-depth comparison like that. If it wasn't for a lot of highway miles I'd probably go with the SST, and may end up with those eventually as anyways. I have a lot of buddies that run BFG's as well, but I've stuck with Cooper just because they've worked for so far.
     
  19. Strigidae

    Strigidae Administrator Staff Member

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    Still liking your lift?
     
  20. RedEyedHog

    RedEyedHog Moderator Staff Member

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    Loving it so far. One of my tires is cupped a little so it’s got a slight shimmy at about 65 that has gotten a little worse after the lift, that’ll be solved with new tires in January though. So far so good.
     
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