planning on going from 22 to 18 and switching to KO2

[FirstTimeRamDriver]

I would need new tires soon enough and thinking of going from mall crawling 22inch rims to 18 and switching the tires to KO2. current tire is 22 OEM 285/45r22xl 114H and planning to go to KO2 LT275/65R18 with E rating. i dont haul much if at all, so thats not a concern.

My question is about the ride quality when going from the OEM tires to KO2. i absolutely love the ride of my RAM and do not want to compromise on it. KO2 being more aggressive, i am not sure if it will ruin the ride quality or not. Anyone done a similar switch ? I am open to other tire ideas as well. I was thinking of KO2 primarily because more often than not I find myself in forest service roads and i could use something little more aggressive than the stock ones .

 

[mikeru82]

You will notice a difference. How much you notice it varies from person to person. I'm planning to do the exact same thing before winter hits. But I haven't narrowed down my tire decision. I'm leaning towards the OEM Falken Wildpeaks that come with the ORG package. They are still capable for mild off-roading, but since they are C rated, are not as heavy as E rated tires. I had them on my previous truck and they were great in the snow and slush we get around here.

 

[FirstTimeRamDriver]

You will notice a difference. How much you notice it varies from person to person. I'm planning to do the exact same thing before winter hits. But I haven't narrowed down my tire decision. I'm leaning towards the OEM Falken Wildpeaks that come with the ORG package. They are still capable for mild off-roading, but since they are C rated, are not as heavy as E rated tires. I had them on my previous truck and they were great in the snow and slush we get around here.

I am in SE, so snow and slush isnt a concern. I do have a set of Bridgestore Blizzak in my garage and i plan on keeping it and using it when i inevitably drive north in the middle of the winter lol. I dont understand much about the ratings.. i guess i'll research them a little

 

[mikeru82]

I am in SE, so snow and slush isnt a concern. I do have a set of Bridgestore Blizzak in my garage and i plan on keeping it and using it when i inevitably drive north in the middle of the winter lol. I dont understand much about the ratings.. i guess i'll research them a little

It's pretty simple really. The E rated KO2's you're wanting are 10 ply tires. The Falken Wildpeaks I talked about are C rated, meaning they are 6 ply. Generally, the higher number of plies there are, the stiffer the sidewall. Which translates to a harsher ride.

 

[djevox]

I have nothing to add to this except let me know if you decide to get rid of those 22’s.

 

[mikeru82]

I have nothing to add to this except let me know if you decide to get rid of those 22’s.

I have two sets of 22's if you're talking to me. Not sure you'd want to pay the shipping from WA though LOL.

 

[FirstTimeRamDriver]

I have nothing to add to this except let me know if you decide to get rid of those 22’s.

and if you are talking to me, I am keeping those 22s for my winter tire. even though KO2's has those 3 peaks denoting its good on snow, nothing beats a true winter tire

 

[djevox]

I have two sets of 22's if you're talking to me. Not sure you'd want to pay the shipping from WA though LOL.

I don’t mind paying a lot for shipping, but it depends on the price of the wheels.

 

[jimothy]

It's pretty simple really. The E rated KO2's you're wanting are 10 ply tires. The Falken Wildpeaks I talked about are C rated, meaning they are 6 ply. Generally, the higher number of plies there are, the stiffer the sidewall. Which translates to a harsher ride.

All things being equal, that's true. But not all things are equal: Going from a 22" wheel to an 18" wheel results in an additional 2" of sidewall. That makes for a less harsh ride. Is that more or less of a difference than the tire load rating? I don't know. It's not entirely simple.

 

[mikeru82]

All things being equal, that's true. But not all things are equal: Going from a 22" wheel to an 18" wheel results in an additional 2" of sidewall. That makes for a less harsh ride. Is that more or less of a difference than the tire load rating? I don't know. It's not entirely simple.

I was pointing out the ratings (C vs E), which he said he didn't understand in the post I quoted. I purposely didn't include a discussion of differing sidewall heights because, as you pointed out, it's not as simple LOL.

 

[Abesosa]

You will notice a difference. How much you notice it varies from person to person. I'm planning to do the exact same thing before winter hits. But I haven't narrowed down my tire decision. I'm leaning towards the OEM Falken Wildpeaks that come with the ORG package. They are still capable for mild off-roading, but since they are C rated, are not as heavy as E rated tires. I had them on my previous truck and they were great in the snow and slush we get around here.

You definitely want the wildpeak at3 but NOT oem ORG… they screwed us on them… they are wildpeak at3a … that little A at the end makes them lesser tires than real at3…. They aren’t aggressive… kinda sucks because I wish they gave us the real ones in our off road group but they cut corners….


2019 Ram 1500 Limited Granite Crystal 4x4 with Off-Road Group and air ride
20% Cermanic Tint
USA Flag Decal on rear 5th Window
Xpel Door Edge and door handle Protection
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[mikeru82]

You definitely want the wildpeak at3 but NOT oem ORG… they screwed us on them… they are wildpeak at3a … that little A at the end makes them lesser tires than real at3…. They aren’t aggressive… kinda sucks because I wish they gave us the real ones in our off road group but they cut corners….


2019 Ram 1500 Limited Granite Crystal 4x4 with Off-Road Group and air ride
20% Cermanic Tint
USA Flag Decal on rear 5th Window
Xpel Door Edge and door handle Protection
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I had those (at3a's) on my last truck and loved them. Only had that truck for two winters but I never had any issues. I don't need more aggressive tires because the closest I get to off-road is gravel LOL. I agree with you for anyone who needs a more aggressive tire for off-road use. But for my purposes I was very happy with the wildpeak at3a's

 

[djevox]

I had those (at3a's) on my last truck and loved them. Only had that truck for two winters but I never had any issues. I don't need more aggressive tires because the closest I get to off-road is gravel LOL. I agree with you for anyone who needs a more aggressive tire for off-road use. But for my purposes I was very happy with the wildpeak at3a's

Edit: nevermind, found it

 

[Kaderast]

I put LT rated (E load range) cooper discoverer XLTs on my old 2014 silverado. Regretted it almost instantly. Much harsher ride, killed fuel economy, and the truck was way more sluggish turning heavier tires. Unless you tow or haul very heavy loads, get a C load rated AT tire. All the traction of the KO2, but none of the rest of the garbage that comes with a stiff, heavy E rated tire.

Look at the weight specs sometime online. An identical tire in a 32" size weighs about 45lbs with a C load rating, and 55-60lbs with an E load rating. That's a big difference in rotational mass.

Also, KO2s are obnoxiously expensive. You're paying for a name and the cool factor. Plenty of other cheaper AT tires out there with just as good of traction and mileage rating as the KO2s.

 

[CalvinC]

If you can, test drive a stock rebel of similar options to get a pretty good picture of what it’s like. They come stock with e rated, aggressive meats. It’s not terrible. But be prepared to loose 1-2 mpg.

Alternatively and contrary to some folks’ intuition, e range tired have to run at higher psi, size for size. That contributes greatly to the ride quality decreasing, actually less than there being stiffer sidewalls.

You can run e range duratracks at 35 psi and it feels pretty stock. But handling and tread wear turn to garbage. Try bumping your current tires to 45-50 (51 is max for stock sl tires) for another approximation.

Then finally in general, the more aggressive the all terrain tread pattern, the sloppier the handling and worse the mpg.

If they made more options for larger sizes in c or sl load ranges, I’d be all over it!

 

[mikeru82]

I put LT rated (E load range) cooper discoverer XLTs on my old 2014 silverado. Regretted it almost instantly. Much harsher ride, killed fuel economy, and the truck was way more sluggish turning heavier tires. Unless you tow or haul very heavy loads, get a C load rated AT tire. All the traction of the KO2, but none of the rest of the garbage that comes with a stiff, heavy E rated tire.

This definitely depends on the vehicle. The wife and I put E rated AT tires on her 2020 Limited a few months after getting it. The main difference here is that we went from 22's to 20's. The ride did suffer slightly IMO, but it's really only noticeable on very smooth pavement. And she swears the ride didn't change at all. As long as she's happy I'm happy.

 

[FirstTimeRamDriver]

Thanks everyone for chiming in. I guess I need more research on this. I don’t plan on taking this truck off road much, May be some gravel and forest service roads. I do it today anyway and the stock tires have held up just fine. Might just get the same ones… donno yet. Went to a off road shop today just to get some opinion and prices, they recommended Nitto terra grappler G2 - anyone running those?

Obviously their prices are on the higher side so I will buy whatever I decide from tire rack and put it on myself.

 

[jimothy]

I’ve got Nitto Terra Grappler G2s (XL rating), and I’m perfectly happy with them, but I haven’t put them through the wringer. They’ve got about 4,000 miles on them, and have seen rain, highway, gravel, dirt, a little mud, and a few small stream crossings. They haven’t seen snow (I live in Georgia).

They definitely do the job, they look good for me, and they’re not too loud. But I’ve got nothing to compare them to, other than the stock tires.

A big factor in my decision was the availability for XL load rating (slightly higher than SL, but much less beefy and heavy than LT E).

 

[CalvinC]

There should be plenty of C and standard load range options in the all terrain class for 275/65r18. That’s stock size for most every trim of half ton truck.


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[Pyleketerson]

You will definitely notice a difference in ride quality, although going down to an 18 will give you more tire which will help. Don’t underestimate those KO2’s in snow. I live in snow country and used them year round on my last 5th gen, as well as my previous truck. I commute 55 miles round trip daily, ski on the weekends…the KO2’s performed incredibly well in snow, and lots of it. Never once considered swapping out for a dedicated snow tire. Just my little addition there for ya. Good luck and enjoy!