BFG A/T T/A KO -or- Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo

[rcdave]

What would you choose for a 2007 Tundra Crewmax 4X4? Staying with the stock 18" tire size.

Looking at online specs, the T/A KO's are E rated tires. Are these heavier than the Revo's?

Predominant usage is as follows:

* 60% highway/city driving.
* 30% towing a 6,000 25' boat and a dry weight 6,000 21' toyhauler (typical wet towing weight 7,500 lbs)
* 10% offroad - mostly sand and rocky terrain.

[rcdave]

Or based on my research - the following tire is getting good ratings:

Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor

[Blaqk Tundra 67]

To be honest I have been obsessed with tirerack and these forums the past month, I have been searching for the tire to get, and I think im going to get the KOs, The Revos arent available in the size I want and its a P-Metric passenger tire from what I hear itll wear quickly compared to the KO which is a 10 ply truck tire.

look and see which one you like more its a big decesion

[rcdave]

I also like the BFG's. The only problem is they do not make the same stock sized tire (275 65R 18)

[fastmhz]

Nitto Terra Grapplers

[LilCuteSurferGrl]

all-terrains hands down. i've gone through 3 sets of bfg all terrains and they have never failed me. my race truck is also sponsored by bfg.. anyways, i have those stupid bridgestones on one of my vehicles right now and they absolutely suck. i'm getting the dealer to replace them at no cost after i put 25k on them. complained since 3k though. lol

[rcdave]

I think I've narrowed the choice down to one of the following:

* BFG A/T T/A KO

My concerns with this tire are: 1) the factory OEM tire size is not available. I either have to go with a 265/65R18 or 285/65R18. I hesitate to change from OEM size. The 265 has a smaller diameter than OEM (31.7" versus 32"). This tire also weights 56lbs each versus 41lbs for the stock tires or 48 lbs for the Wrangler Silent Armors. Will gas mileage and power be reduced by the weight of the tire? I hesitate to go with 285's because the outside diameter of the tire is 32.8". Towing power is very important to me.

The pluses are 1) looks, 2) wear, 3) toughness, 4) E load rating, and 5) they are tried and true in the market

or

* Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor

My concerns are weight. This tire is 48 lbs versus the stock rubber's 41 lbs. Will power or MPG suffer? While adequate, the load rating is only 2,601 lbs per tire. Its a passenger rated tire. I do alot of towing with heavy trailers. My towhauler's tongue weight is 850-1000 lbs.

The pluses seem to be 1) its a newer technology tire, 2) comes in stock size, 3) looks decent, and 4) its rated as the longest wearing tire in its class.

I really do want the BFG's. Should I be concerned about tire size and weight?

[longwoodklon]

I don't know much about Goodyear, I've steered away from them due to past bad experiences.

Regarding BFG T/A KO vs. Bridgestone REVO. I think surfergirl must be talking about OEM Bridgestones, the REVOS are excellent tires. I've had both the BFG and REVOs on my Tundra, though the REVOs I have are the LT type.

BFG's:
Great wear, I got over 80-90k out of those things.
Not the greatest in rain.
Nice looking, agressive tread. Great off roading and towing

REVO's:
Good wear, I am at ~35k and they still have life left. I imagine I'll get 50-60k out of these.
Excellent in rain/snow. They give me confidence in rain I did NOT have with the BFG's.
Look good, agressive tread.

I really like these REVOS, but am already contemplating my next tire and it will probably be the BFG T/A KO. Since you are towing and off roading a decent amount, I'd think the BFG's are the way to go. Actually, the only 3 tires I'd ever consider for our trucks: BFG KO's, REVOS, Michelin LTX. I'd pass on the Goodyear.

/Mike

[rcdave]

What size BFG should I get? (Stock tire is 32" diameter and 10.9" section width)

265/65R18 (lighter than 285 bfg with a 31.7" diameter and "10.7" section width)
or
285/65R18 (heavier, section width ("11.5"), and taller with a 32.8" diameter)

[mhollack]

Id go with the 285/65/18's. If you go any smaller than the oem 275/65 it will look funny. But you are talking about a 60lb tire vs the stock 41 or 43. Personally Im a huge Bridgstone fan and the Revos are top notch tires. They are smoother and quieter and much better in the rain vs the BFG's. Another tire you may want to consider is the new Bstone Dueler D695's. They are a E rated tire but arent quite as heavy as the BFG's. Im seriously considering them in a LT275/70/18 for a bit more height. They weigh in at 48lbs.

[rcdave]

OK - I placed my order.

Bridgestone Dueler A/T D695. LT275/65R18 - E. The weight of this tire (E load) is 53lbs per tire.

I really like the BFG A/T K/O's. But decided that the looks are not worth the .6 inch larger diameter and 60lb tire weight. I was concerned that that the larger diameter and weight would impact towing performance and MPG.

[mhollack]

Let me know how you like those. Like I stated about Im seriously considering them in a 275/70/18.

[rcdave]

Will do. They are scheduled to be installed Wednesday 9/24! Then off to the high sierra for a week. Will be towing our 21' toyhauler up there so I'm looking foward to the tow with these new tires.

[mhollack]

Any update?

[rcdave]

Just got back from an 800 miles round trip with the new tires. I tow a 21' toyhauler that weights 6,000 dry and probably 7000-7500 loaded up. We traveled up to the eastern sierra from southern california.

Formerly, I used to run the OEM P rated tires up to 44 psi. I wasn't sure how much PSI to use on the new E rated tires but went with 50 PSI rear and 46 PSI front for towing.

As far as stability goes, I really couldn't tell that much difference. We towed in some very stiff side winds each way. Not sure if the tires reduced any swaying. However, I use a reese dual cam HP hitch with 1200lb trunion bars. This hitch coupled with the that inherent stability from the Tundra made for a pretty relax driving experience. I kept towing speeds in the 55-60mph range in the areas of high winds (60-65mph in calmer conditions).

Ride quality was significantly stiffer with the tires pressured up to near 50psi. Fine when towing but I've aired down since coming home to around 40psi and this softened the ride considerably.

One thing I did notice is after a few hundred miles of towing, these new tires run significantly cooler than the OEM rubber. My toyhauler's tongue weight is about 1,000 lbs before hitching up the W/D bars. I always feel how hot tires are with every stop.

As far as traction, they do grip dirt roads and snow better than the OEM rubber by a wide margin. We had about 8-12 inches of snow at 9,000 feet. These tires are substantially better in snow than the OEM's.

Overall handling on pavement when not towing is OK. It seems that with the 1/2 tread depth, that the tread does flex a little during cornering which make handling feel less tight. That may go away as the tires wear a bit through.

Overall, I'm happy with these tires. They are very similar in construction to BFG A/T K/O's. They meet my needs of decent on/off road performance, towing capacity, and the ability to air down when towing my toyhauler in sand without worrying about sidewall strength.

My only complaint is they retain small rocks and stones. But this is common in most A/T tires. I also did notice the weight of the tires seem to very slightly effect braking performance.

I still would have choosen the BFG A/T K/O's if they were offered in the OEM tire size.