burbingus

Hey guys,

Next month I'll be lifting the unlimited and putting on 35s or 37s. I want to make sure I get the right tires for my purpose (trails, some mud, towing, daily driver) so I wanted to get your experience on:

How noisy are these as compared to other M/Ts and as compared to stock tires?

How are the on-road manners, expecially in wet or slippery conditions?

What kind of mileage can I expect?

What is towing like with these tires?


What tire and size would you recommend?


Thanks!

GoodysGotaCuda

How noisy are these as compared to other M/Ts and as compared to stock tires?
Very quiet, in my opinion. I have about 10,000 miles on mine and have rotated them a few times. They are wearing well, and even. Big factor of noise is rotating with mud terrains. I would not say my KM2s are much, if any louder than my factory KMs.

How are the on-road manners, expecially in wet or slippery conditions?
Awesome on the rocks. They are holding up well, I've had some chunking, but we wheel hard. Aired down, locked front/rear on rocks is very hard on a tire. I have little experience in mud (was fine). Wet traction I haven't had an issue with, I have zero experience with them in snow/ice.

What kind of mileage can I expect?
Can't quite comment, with 10,000 miles I have a TON of tread left.

What is towing like with these tires?
Can't comment.

What tire and size would you recommend?
I have 35x12.5x17s on 2.5" coil spacers with no bump stop extensions. Works out fine for me.


For what I've put mine through, I am very happy with them. Though I do wish they were more true to their sizes. I'd tend to try the Kevlars next time. However when I bought my KM2s, it was about a $350 difference with them versus the Kevlars.

My "35s" are about "33.75" off the shelf..

rcdude3

I got mine used and have put about 20,000 miles on them and they still have 10/32nd tread left. I drive 40+ miles a day on the highway. They are ok in wet/ slippery stuff. You just have to use common sense and not wood it. Get them siped. It makes a difference. As Goodys said, they do wear evenly and are quiet on the road. Get 37's, they will look better on the unlimited. They also do fine towing. I have towed a 1 ton trailer (1K lbs trailer with 3 ATV's on it) to and from Moab 3 times, thats about a 750 mile round trip each time.

opdsgt

I ran 33" KM2s last year to include about 10K miles of street driving in all conditions (dry, rain, snow and ice) and various trail excursions.

KM2s are quieter than some of the older style mud tires with more open tread designs/larger voids; they are perhaps a little noisier than my new tires, 35" MTRs.

KM2s are a fine all purpose tire for daily driving. Acceptable in the rain, but clearly not offering the same kind of performance that a heavily siped all season or all terrain tire will offer in wet conditions.

KM2s are outstanding in the rocks. I'm in Colorado and Moab at least 2x a year and, having run both the KM2 and the MTR on the same trails, I think performance off-road is about a push. However, I can run higher pressures in the MTR and get the same sidewall and tread conformity on the rocks (read: same traction with better ground clearance). See below...

I tend to think the KM2 -at similar pressures, be they street or trail psi- results in a firmer/rougher ride than the MTRs; this is perhaps due to the fact the KM2 is a D-range 8 ply sidewall whereas the MTR is a C-load 6 ply. Even my wife comments on the fact the Goodyear is a smoother ride.

Tire size is going to be governed by your choice of lift and gearing. You'll be able to fit 35s with nothing more than a 2.5" budget boost. That's the size tire I run now and I think it's a great compromise between trail capability, road manners and curbside aesthetic.

A note on gearing for 35s: you'll want 4.88s with a manual, 5.13s with an auto.

derekjm14

Hope that helps!

SouthernJK

Hey,

I have actually already gone through a set of them on my JK. I got right at 41K miles out of them and they still had a little tread on them. I also live in the North Georgia mountains so I drive a lot of little switchback roads. So I thought 41K was pretty good. They weren't that loud until I got to the last 10,000-5,000 miles on them. I work at a shop so they were rotated every 3K miles. They were great tires but I have decided to go with another tread style this time. I just wasn't a huge fan of the tread style and disliked it more as they went down and the little bit of siping disappeared (just opinions). Hope this helps.

mdnky

The ones I have are quieter on the JK than the BFG AT KOs I have on my Blazer. If you set the pressure right they're very quiet tires for their intended purpose.

No problems so far in South Louisiana, where it can be a bit wet at times. Handling in dry is very good and wet is good. I've yet to get them to hydroplane.

I increased the size on mine by about 4"s, but still only saw a 1-2MPG drop. Factoring in the difference on the speedo, that basically nulls it out or possibly shows a gain. It was about 14.8 to 15 MPG before, dropped to 13.7 after. 13.7 * 1.12 (12% off on speedo) = 15.34. That's 95% city driving BTW.

Not sure myself, but the size I have (255/85-16) were intended for lifted duallys and are a heavy Load E tire. Doubt they'd have any problems towing. A friend of mine runs the 35 x 12.5 - 17 on his 08 Chevy 2500 QuadCab Duramax with no complaints, even though they're a D range tire in that size. He regularly tows a 11K pound horse/travel trailer combo.

I wish they had a 35x10 or 35x11 version, I'd run those in a heartbeat. Since you're talking about DD use, I'd stick with 35s myself.

burbingus

Thanks for the replies guys. I can't seem to make up my mind between 35s and 37s, and I thought I had settled on the KM2s, but I've been concerned about the practicality, especially with my wife occassionally driving. However, I don't really want to sacrifice too much off-road performance for practicality's sake - that's why I don't drive an FJ

JdTms11

x2 on all this plus...

my first set (33X10.50R16) i had a little over 20,000 miles on them with over 1/2 tread.

towing does not seem effected by these tires at all. i tow a 1/4 ton trailer allot and havent had any problems.

currently im running 35X12.50R15 with no problems at all

PAS

I have around 80000km (49700miles) on mine and they are still going strong, about 25% left. They are the longest lasting MTR's I have ever had. Are they the best off road tire....no but I feel they are an excellent all around tire. I tow a lot with my Unlimited, I once towed a Ford Aerostar on a trailer for 280miles. I am amazed at the great tread life. They work great in the rain snow and decent on icy conditions. Would I purchase them again, yes, but out of curiosity when these ones are gone I want to try the Goodyear Kevlar MTR's.