C or E KO2

I don't "wheel" anything like what Mike330 did in his great post about his off road gen3. TRDORDCLB coming in soon and need to decide which tires to get. New wheels are 17" so going 265/70/17 just need to know if I really need E rated. Road ride is really important.

My off roading is only on fire roads, but they can have larger sized gravel chunks and some larger rocks in the road. I am on these roads 2+ times/week. Thoughts?

 

E is unnecessary. Stick with C if you can. Your ride quality will be a lot better and your fuel economy will not take that much of a hit.

 

E is for a 1-ton full size trucks carrying loads that would crush the Tacoma. They should be avoided if possible as they are very heavy and will have a stiff sidewall resulting in a poor ride and poor mpgs. Go with C-load whenever possible, they will handle off road conditions far better than stock.

 

I just notice a lot of people on here go with E load. Is that because of lack of load options for the KO2?

Avoiding punctures is important.

 

Thats the only reason I have E tires. mastercraft C/T.

 

C-load will avoid punctures just fine. Many go with E-load because the KO2 is not available in C-load in the 16" wheel size, which most Tacomas have. I switched to 17" wheels specifically so I could run them in C.

Cs weigh 45lbs, Es weigh 53lbs. Rotating mass is equivilant to 4x static mass, meaning that 8lbs x4 wheels X 4 factor is equivalent to adding 128lbs to your truck. I wheel in sharp volcanic rock with Cs for 10 years and never punctured a sidewall.

 

What about tread punctures? When I mountain bike its tread punctures that seem more common than anything. Mike330 had a rock gash through the tread on the stock GY adventure At w/ Kevlar.

 

You don't need E.. don't talk yourself into an E, either.

Mountain bike tires are not at all comparable or relevant to what is an appropriate tire for a Tacoma.

 

C, but it has to be a quality c. E rated tires are not needed on a small truck like the tacoma. I have driven thousands and thousands of dirt road and jeep trail miles in Tacomas and F150s doing overland trips and biological work all over the west. C range is all we run and we rarely get flats. When we do, it is usually a nail that even an E rated tire would have picked up.

 

The C load KO2's have a 2 ply sidewall the E load has 3 ply sidewall. I personally feel by what the OP described (driving on fire roads) that the C load will be fine but if anyone is going to really push their trucks they should probably get the E load just for the extra margin of durability.

 

I think as long as it's not a duratrac C should be fine :/

My offroading friends with C rated duratracs all went thru multiple sidewalls, but the ones with E rated duratracs have been fine... I really hope the KO2 is a better tire anyways.

 

Duratracs are known for having no side wall protection and not being a very durable tire despite their looks, they are classified as a 'commercial tire'. KO2s are purpose built to be a real off-road tire, designed to be air down and take significant sidewall abuse. BFG has won the Baja 1000 using the same exact KO2s we use on the street.

I've posted this video before on the technical improvements of the KO2, including the sidewall puncture test:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K-mSQDOBmh8

 

C

 

But no 265 75 16s in C, right?

 

I got E's because I couldn't find the size I wanted in C. I don't notice any difference between my E KO2's and D Duratracs.

 

KO2's come in a "D" rated 275/70/16, just a touch taller and wider than 265/70/16. Just ordered some earlier this week.

 

No rub without a lift?

 

Not installed yet, but they're only about 1/2" bigger in width and height, so should't be a problem.

 

Correct. You need to go 265/70R17 to get Cs, which are the same size but use a 17" wheel. I switched to 17s for that reason.

 

Anything the C rated can't do that the E can?