Soliciting Guidance: My Tire Finalists Post Lift

[cervelo15]

Hello all....at the risk of adding to another debate that has been beat to death, I've been racking my brain trying to decide what is the best tire I can put on my truck post lift. I have scoured a lot of threads and Custom Offsets, looked at other members posts of tire pics on their truck. To set this up, I will list the constants below and then list out my finalists for tire choices. Please feel free to comment on what you think is best, or what has worked for you. I'm appreciative of your input!

Constants:
2021 Bighorn
2" Mopar Level/Lift w/ supplied UCAs
Using stock night edition wheels (19.05 offset) for now
Sizing of tire is LT295/60/20

Tire finalists:
Falken Wildpeak AT3W
Pros: Great reviews, heard good reviews of snow (get a fair amount in PA) & off-road, and all-around good riding tire
Cons: heavy as s***

Toyo Open Country ATIII
Pros: this just came onto my radar and saw great reviews, comparable to Wildpeaks, also looks to be good in snow and off-road
Cons: saw some reviews that they run small, so much to the point that if your expecting a certain size, once it's mounted, it almost measures/looks smaller than advertised. I do realize tires will measure a smidge smaller once mounted because of the flex, but these reviews make it sound like its considerably smaller. But then again, what can you believe on the internet.

BF Goodrich KO2s
Pros: been around a while, everyone who runs these seems to be happy with them
Cons: not my first choice and seemingly unoriginal since a mass of people run this tire

I think my choices would lean more towards the Toyos, but the only hangup I have is some reviews saying they run considerably smaller. I'm not buying tires on looks and the Toyos seem to fit what I'm looking for performance-wise, but I don't want to pay for a tire that I'm expecting to be a little beefier only for it to look like a donut when mounted. Needless to say, my truck looks goofy now with the lift and stock tires on, so I'm looking to close the wheel well gap a bit.

The Falkens are heavy, I think to the tune of almost being close to 70lbs per tire. My friend runs these on his 4Runner and swears by them and has been hounding me to put them on my truck, but I'm not sold on them because of the weight penalty.

 

[wiuretto]

Kanati trail are the same as the Toyo open country ,, way cheaper…I’m not disappointed at all with them.

 

[wiuretto]

Kanati

 

[securityguy]

Kanati trail are the same as the Toyo open country ,, way cheaper…I’m not disappointed at all with them.

There the same...really? Are they made by TOYO?

 

[Jack.]

I got the falken, and I can say they are quite amazing. I'm from jersey so we get the same weather haha, while they are heavy I don't think they impact mpg by much. I think overall from the ****ty stock touring eagle > falken I lost like .03 in terms of fuel economy.

 

[XmikeX]

Was looking at pretty much the same options you are with the exception of Goodyear Dyuratracs/ultraterrains. I settled on Ultraterrains for the fact they are rebranded duratracs and have great reviews for snow and daily driving. I was going to go with Falkens but like you stated they are pretty damn heavy and I'm trying to conserve as much MPG's as I can. Don't think you can go wrong with BFG's, they are tested and proven to be great tires but seemed to has mixed reviews for snow handling. The Toyos were kind of bringing up the rear due to the fact that they were expensive and didn't really stand out as being a better tire than the others mentioned.

People have had mixed reviews but I would also take a look at Goodyears, they seem to have a good track record for good reviews. People will always have their own opinions on brands and will say X manufacturer has crappy tires don't get them but do your own research. I worked for Discount Tire for 4 years and was around when Wild peaks aka "rocky mountains" came out and we were getting them coming back with wear issues and generally being a crappy tire. Seems like Falken has made some improvements and everyone seems to like them now.

IMO... Falkens, Goodyears, BFG's are all interchangeable and whatever one you go with will serve you well. Toyo would be my last pick but I haven't had any experience with them and people seem to like them I would just prefer the others over them.

 

[cervelo15]

Thanks for the responses! So I think no matter what one I pick, I think I might have issues getting tires. I'm hoping to get them before thanksgiving, because it's snowed around here before that. Another angle I was considering was a 285/60-65/20 size. All those choices seem to be in stock and would be closer to the 35" tire I was originally hoping to have. Any comments on the 285 size route?

I think 285's are a taller, thinner tire than a smidge shorter, fatter 295 tire. I have also heard 285's ride a bit better.

I'm with you @XmikeX trying to conserve as much MPG as possible. I have a rear bumper to replace with one of those heavier aftermarket ones, so I have to watch how much extra weight I'm adding because I'll be hefting around quite a bit already.

 

[XmikeX]

Was going to go with a bigger tire but they were all E loads and right now I don't need that beefy of a tire so went with 275/60/20, little taller but same width. are you using a local shop for tires and thy cant get stuff in? Not being able to get them for over a month seems bit crazy, you can use discount tire direct they ship for free and have a bunch of stuff in stock.

 

[cervelo15]

Was going to go with a bigger tire but they were all E loads and right now I don't need that beefy of a tire so went with 275/60/20, little taller but same width. are you using a local shop for tires and thy cant get stuff in? Not being able to get them for over a month seems bit crazy, you can use discount tire direct they ship for free and have a bunch of stuff in stock.

Yeah, I have a local shop I've dealt with since I started driving, but they're having issues getting all kind of tires. There's another local place I have yet to call, so I might try them too.

I looked online too and a lot are citing for the 295/60 size 'on backorder, available 11/27' or a date in that general vicinity. I did notice when I switched sizes, they seemed to have more in stock, so that might be the guiding force at this point. 295/60 must be a pretty popular size.

I did also research, like the semiconductor shortage, it sounds like a rubber and tire shortage is on the horizon. I've heard because of COVID, a lot of rubber trees aren't getting replanted. And those can't regenerate overnight. So anyone looking for tires better get in on it soon.

 

[XmikeX]

https://www.discounttiredirect.com/fitmentresult/tires/size/295-60-20?q=%3Aprice-asc%3Abrands%3Abrand-BFG%3Abrands%3Abrand-FAL%3Abrands%3Abrand-TOY&sort=price-asc&page=0

except for the BFG's all are in stock in the 295/60 and ship 2-5 days, free shipping. They also price match any legit shop in pricing and so will their brick and mortar stores.

 

[cervelo15]

@XmikeX thanks Mike! I am assuming that special order wouldnt be subject to availability issues? This might be a more solid option than the local guys and I can just take them the tires to mount and balance.

 

[XmikeX]

They say 7 days special order I believe so I wouldn't think it would be longer than that. Just FYI if you get them mounted somewhere else you don't get lifetime balancing for free from DT BUT if you buy the certificates (warranty) on them then that covers the lifetime maintenance. I am going through this right now at the moment on my tires. I actually had the online retailer refund my certs to buy them at the store so everything is local and no questions asked, they are the same price online or instore.

I usually don't buy warranties on retail purchases but from the 4 yrs of working there I have seen certs save people thousands of dollar. I always recommend my family/ friends to get the certs if you use them once they pay for themselves. I'm not sure how close or accessible DT is to you so your might have a different outcome. If you don't have a store near you you can actually buy them online and they will send you a full purchase price of a tire if you need another shop to replace them or they will mail you out a new tire.

 

[jmt8706]

I would go with the toyo's out of the three. Seen some good reviews on them.

 

[cervelo15]

So to put this in perspective, stopped by a local 4x4 shop today that was recommended by a friend. He looked at my setup and recommended going no wider than a 285. This was one of the tire sizes I had in my head, 285/65/20. This is because I’m using the stock night edition wheels with the 19.05 positive offset.

Problem now is the guy said we re at a bad time of year for tire makers, and getting a full set of tires is proving to be a challenge. I was gonna go the online route, but getting a set of tires here and they don’t work, it’s gonna be hard to return them. So I’d prefer to go a local route. But he couldn’t locate 285/65/20 in the Wildpeaks. He’s gonna make some calls tomorrow to see what else he could find.

Another thought I had was if this tire size doesn’t work, I might be able to get a tire/wheel combo with a more negative offset to ensure the tire comes and clears the UCA. I have a fingers width right now with the stock wheels.

If anything, I got a great education about offset and backspacing today.

 

[djevox]

https://www.discounttiredirect.com/fitmentresult/tires/size/295-60-20?q=%3Aprice-asc%3Abrands%3Abrand-BFG%3Abrands%3Abrand-FAL%3Abrands%3Abrand-TOY&sort=price-asc&page=0

except for the BFG's all are in stock in the 295/60 and ship 2-5 days, free shipping. They also price match any legit shop in pricing and so will their brick and mortar stores.

I just ordered the Toyo open country AT3’s and 285/50/22 and rims from them yesterday

 

[cervelo15]

So this is getting a little ridiculous, and in part it's because I'm dragging my feet worrying I'm going to be making a big mistake. Struck out at all the local tire shops, and I think tire inventory is drying up fast for specific sizes. Which brought me to my next options, Nitto Ridge Grapplers or BF Goodrich KO2s.

I have even considered a different size (which was in my original list of sizes), 295/60/20. I've searched and some say they have had rubbing issues, others have not. I think some of these posts are subjective, so it's hard to discern what's true or not. 295/65/20 is a risk I'm not willing to take, even though I think those tires would have a wider footprint. I think using the stock rims, the key is keeping under that 12" width to avoid the UCA rub. I'm good with having an 11.5-11.7" wide tire. Wheel well rub, not sure how I can comfortably calculate if it will rub or not.

Interested more in hearing of your experiences with the Ridge Grapplers. I think BF Goodrich is an older design that has been around for a while, but has been proven.

I know putting tire performance before looks is important, I just don't want it to look dumb after paying all the money for the lift.

This shortage crap is really getting out of control!

 

[XmikeX]

Go with 285/60/20? little less wide and seems to have some in stock

 

[djevox]

So this is getting a little ridiculous, and in part it's because I'm dragging my feet worrying I'm going to be making a big mistake. Struck out at all the local tire shops, and I think tire inventory is drying up fast for specific sizes. Which brought me to my next options, Nitto Ridge Grapplers or BF Goodrich KO2s.

I have even considered a different size (which was in my original list of sizes), 295/60/20. I've searched and some say they have had rubbing issues, others have not. I think some of these posts are subjective, so it's hard to discern what's true or not. 295/65/20 is a risk I'm not willing to take, even though I think those tires would have a wider footprint. I think using the stock rims, the key is keeping under that 12" width to avoid the UCA rub. I'm good with having an 11.5-11.7" wide tire. Wheel well rub, not sure how I can comfortably calculate if it will rub or not.

Interested more in hearing of your experiences with the Ridge Grapplers. I think BF Goodrich is an older design that has been around for a while, but has been proven.

I know putting tire performance before looks is important, I just don't want it to look dumb after paying all the money for the lift.

This shortage crap is really getting out of control!

If you want a definitive answer, use the calculator and measure on your own truck- that way you know it’s right for your truck. All the measurements you need can be had in this calculator. I personally used this measurement tool and have clearance of 3 sheets of paper between the tire and fenderwell. (See pic below)

Wheel/tire difference calculator

 

[Finn5033]

Ridge grapplers don’t have the 3peak winter rating and IMO are ridiculously over priced. I asked my local discount tire guy about them. He said they sell a ton of them but if winter traction is important there are much better options.

I’ve been looking at getting 295/70/18 tires on my current truck. The ridge grapplers are $380 a tire. The falken wildpeak a/t3w is $286 a tire. The ridge grappler has no mileage warranty in that size and Wild peaks have a 55k mile warranty. I can’t think any reason to buy the ridge grapplers over the Wildpeaks.

 

[ktl5005]

Cooper AT3 4S. Severe weather rated with the 3 peak. Great tire.