I bought a used 2015 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Sahara and need to get some new tires. The tires/wheels are stock 255/70R18 BF Goodrich Dueller A/T and the jeep hasn't been lifted. I mainly use the car for highway driving (80%), some light trail use and on sand -- not doing any rock climbing with it.
Right now I don't think I want to lift it (I see many people doing that in my research on this forum) and am looking at the following tires:
- BF Goodrich KO2
- DynaPro ATM RF10
- GoodYear DuraTrac
Some questions I have:
Of my choices and driving prefs, does one brand stand out as an obvious choice?
Should I get the same size as my previous tires in the new tire brand? I've seen some people write that they put 33s on their jeeps without a lift and they look cool; however, I'm not looking to screw up my vehicle or spend a ton of money trying to get things working correctly.
Also, do some brands like the KO2's run small? I thought I saw someone mention that as well....
Anything else I should be aware of? Pitfalls or rookie mistakes? I plan on having a local tire place do the install.
The KO2's do run small. That said, of the three you listed that would be my choice. I think they are an excellent tire, having great street manners and still working well off road in anything but mud. They are also great on wet pavement compared to other off road oriented tires. You can get better road tires, but for an off road tire they have great street manners. If you are into mud (I am not) you might prefer the Duratracs. But I am not a fan of Goodyear tires, and would rather have the BFGs. As to them running small, I took that into consideration when picking out which size to go with, basically buying a size larger to make sure I got the size tire I wanted.
Thanks for the info on the KO2's and the link. Man, there's so much to take into consideration before pulling the trigger on a new set of tires. I'm leaning toward the KO2's as well at this point.
I bought BFGs KO2s about 18 months ago 255/70 17s and have liked them - street only. My only regret was not getting a larger size (which was my intent). I am now waiting on a 2” Rancho lift delivery, and will be with this tire size until replacement.
I went with Falken WildPeak A/T’s on my daughter’s Jeep. Haven’t had them off road yet, but wonderful on road, especially in the wet. Jeep had the stock M/T’s on it before.
I went with 285/70 R17’s. If you decide to go with a 33” tire, you will need to add 1.5” spacers if you’re keeping your stock wheels.
I had duratracs 265/70 r 16 on my ‘15 JK. Put close to 30k on the tires before I traded in for my current ‘17 jku big bear. Big bear package has ko2 265/70 r 17. I’ve racked up about 33k miles. Not quite the same distance on both brands, but close enough for rock n roll...seems to me my ko2 have more tread life at this point than the duratracs. Both tires are considered a 32” tire. Both brand tires worked great in weather in my area. We see all four seasons in the Kansas City area. Vast majority of miles are hiway. I make off road a couple times a year & both performed great. Likely to replace with ko2 when the time comes. But if duratracs has a nice sale I’d go that route too. Fairly certain both brands come in r18 but check to make sure. If you go with the 265 or 32” tire...no lift needed & fills the wheel well a bit
I put the KO-2's on two weeks ago and quite honestly expected a negative return for the cool factor, but they improved my driving and handling like night and day. I lost no big notable gearing, I just have to run each gear out just a little farther, still have 5th useable and they have drastically improved the handling characteristics of my Jeep.
I run stock height too and I went with the 285/70/R17 AT's.
Hey Tray, your jeep looks excellent with the 285/70/R17! Glad to hear about the gearing. Did have to change anything to prevent rubbing against the fender or any other part of the vehicle?
I was pricing some tires yesterday and was told I could probably go as high as 275/70/R18 without issue.
I lucked out and found a set of KO2 tires with wheels that were takeoffs from a winter edition. The size is below. They look great on a stock jeep. Craigslist can be your friend. You might also check your local jeep dealers. The dealer I ordered from home a big selection of takeoffs in the back because they do some custom work on new jeeps that come in. I didn't get mine from them but they had many available.
My opinion, as long as you go with a decent tire for your intended driving you will be fine. I ran Hancook, Nitto, Falken, Toyo, BFG, Goodyear, General,...all ATs - and each had pros and cons. All of them got me through rain & snow without any issues, and handled mild trails just fine.
I am now running KO2s in 285/70-17 and they are only an inch taller than the stock 255/75-17s (they run smaller). They are a bit wider and heavier, you can feel it, but are smooth on the road and handle everything but mud just fine. I made my choice on tire weight. I went with a C load which is lighter, and like you I spend the majority of my time on the road. With the lighter weight and minimal size change, I only lost @ 1 mpg.
I have stock Duelers on my 2015 Sahara Unltd and was going to buy Goodrich All-Terrain T/a KO2- but was going with 70R18 because that is what it says on the door! Are you guys saying you got a different size (major newbie when it comes to buying tires...)? I would say I am 80% on-road/ highway, 20% running around Death Valley in serious sharp-rock back country non-maintained trails/ "roads".
I went with DuraTracs on my 2016 JKU this past Oct., they are a significant improvement over the stock tires I had been running.....need a good snow tire in my local and so far so good. size: 265/ 70 R17
I finally went out and got a set of KO2 275s for my jeep. They look awesome, and the ride and responsiveness are miles away from the stock Duellers. Having just got them I will probably not get till next weekend to try them out on a trail our two. I can't wait.
The only hiccup I noticed is if I turn the wheel to the absolute extreme right (doesn't happen left), it rubs slightly against the plastic lip that hangs near the front bumper. The plastic is not the bumper itself, I believe its purpose is to shield the front undercarriage from water splashes, mud, etc. I'll be going back to the place I got the tires in the next week so I will ask them about it then, but it is really not a big deal.
So, thanks again everyone for your help! Happy Jeep owner here.
The original rubber dog bones just do what they are suppose to, Flex and stretch. I replaced mine with factory JL latches.
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