Tough SL rated tires in 265/70/16?

I am starting to shop for new tires for my 2019 TRD Off Road as my OEM Wranglers with Kevlar are starting to get to the point of replacement.

I have done a ton of research and surprisingly for a truck as popular as the Tacoma, I have been unable to find even one Load range C tire in the OEM size 265/70/16. I am not interested in sizing up to the 265/75/16 tires, so that leaves me starting to consider SL passenger tires to replace the stock Wranglers with Kevlar.

I do use my truck as a daily commuter, but when I off road I do off road on some tough trails with sharp rocks that can chew up tires. My breakdown is about 90% on road and 10% off road but I want to feel secure about the toughness of my tires when using them off road that 10%. I would love to replace the OEM tires with a tire that has a slightly more aggressive tread than the Kevlars and a sidewall that is as strong as possible. But I don't want to go to an E rated tire like the BFG KO2 that does come in the 265/70/16 size. I would love to keep the weight of the tires down as much as possible and those E rated KO2s in the 265/70/16 size are 51 lbs!

Can't believe how hard this is to find a tough sidewall tire in the OEM 265/70/16 size. Any help or suggestions out there would be greatly appreciated. I did see Hankook makes an AT tire in load range D size 265/70/16.....but other than that not seeing anything else?

Nitto Trail Grappler makes an XL size tire in 265/70/16. How many plys is an XL rated tire? Still 4 like the SL's?

Anyway....appreciate any suggestions given.

 

Toyo AT2 in 265 70 16 SL weights around 40Lbs and are a tough tire.

 

Thanks for the post. Do you have personal experience off roading with these tires?

 

I don't, but I have read some reviews and they did well. Its a tough picking a new tire, lots of choices! Lots of guys here run the Falken Wildpeak AT3W.
I'm on my second set of KOs and KO2s and have been happy with their performance but they don't have a light weight option in your size.

 

Thanks. Honestly I would prefer to have the side wall strength of the BFG TA KO2 (I have had them before on previous trucks and they have been amazing) but not sure I want to deal with the load E ride and weight penalty in the size I want.

 

as I always suggest......SL Goodyear UT's

 

Actually the Goodyear Ultraterrain AT are number one on my list. They literally check all the boxes for me with minimal weight in the OEM size SL tire. Mountain snowflake rated. Great looking tire and tread depth is the deepest I have found for an SL tire at 16/32. But I have seen some post here about their sidewalls being weaker...that is the only thing giving me a bit of pause on them. Otherwise they are my number one option at this point.

 

I do, I have then in 265/75r16 load range C. They are an aggressive AT. You will think they are loud on the highway coming from the wranglers. They have dug me out of some pretty soupy mud and handled lots of rocks just fine. I have taken them up to flagpole knob and The Golden Road, as well as local stuff. Something bit a sidewall in VA and caused a very slow leak. I drove on it for 5 more days and it was fine. They are cheap, too, compared to duratracs, MTRs and such. People also like Cooper at3's, falken wildpeaks and hankook atm's. I had the hankooks on my last taco in P range and they were excellent, especially in winter driving. The Toyos are not great in snow but much better in mud and rocks.

 

My P265/75R16 Hankook Dynapro ATMs have held up great. No punctures, minimal tread chunking (almost none). I'm about 2/32 from the wear bars now and they have started to roar at low speeds (~10-20mph). They have seen uncapped blast rock roads, shale, deactivated logging/mining roads.

Very impressed for how light they are! It's the OEM size for my truck (Frontier Pro-4x) and there aren't too many that are P-metric.

 

Thanks for your first hand experiences. That is great to hear about the durability of both the Toyo and the Hankook. I do a lot of commute driving 90% of the time but that 10% of the time I am off road it is on touch volcanic rock roads, shale covered trails, and just all around forest trails with lots of various rocks exposed at different angles. It is important to me to have a tire that has good strength in the sidewall for those moments where you slide into rocks or off camber climbs out of river beds like I do going through the desert a lot. I guess I am trying to have my cake and eat it too with a SL tire that is good for commute during the week and tough enough to deliver the weekend fun.

Sounds like the following are ones to consider:

Toyo AT2
Hankook Dynapro
Goodyear Ultraterrain AT

 

There are big compromises to be made with any tire choice. If you are 90% on road, I would not consider the Toyos if fuel economy or noise are factors for you. I plan on stepping down to Cooper at3's next for both of those reasons, even though it sounds like I go off-road more than you. If the wranglers did everything you need them to, why go more aggressive?

 

Get the falken At3w. I beat the crap out of my first set for 56,000. I had one flat from a nail in that time.

 

Yeah all good points. The reason I am looking for a more aggressive tread is when I do go off road I tend to get in pretty remote areas and the sticky clay I hit in the desert has been a real issue at times with the stock wranglers kevlars. Although I do have to say the OEM wranglers have been awesome in the durability department regarding sidewall strength. I have probably around 700 miles off road on them and they have been rock solid there.

I would like to do more snow/winter off roading and I have been afraid to do that with the OEM wranglers....another reason why I am looking for something with a mountain snow flake rating and a slightly deeper tread pattern

 

If you want deep snow traction, I believe MT's do the best, but I have no personal experience with them. If you want something that is good for commuting, light weight, low noise, with tough sidewalls, great in thick mud and deep snow...it doesn't exist. I think if you consider the compromises you are willing to live with you will come to an answer more easily. I may not go off-road more than you, but when I do, I generally have to drive many hours on interstates to get there, and I go without any other vehicles. Because of that, I do not try to conquer obstacles and see what my truck will do before it breaks a CV. My goal is to get deep into the woods, enjoy nature and get back out. And I don't drive my taco daily. Because of my end goals, I decided to take the compromise of less off-road traction and went with the Toyos over MTs I was considering. I also keep lots of recovery equipment on board, so I can afford to not have the best traction. That was my decision making process anyway.

 

Sounds like you had the same conversation I am having with myself right now. You are correct also in saying something that is good for commuting, light weight, low noise, with tough sidewalls, great in thick mud and deep snow...doesn't exist. I am confirming that is true. I go alone off road a lot as do you....and because of that I do carry a ton of self recovery gear. SO if I did get a flat out in the wilderness or desert it wouldn't be the end of the world as I do carry a spare and a tire repair kit. But I also daily drive my Tacoma....drive a ton of commute miles and I drive over a thousand miles round trip every few months to visit my daughter in Oregon so I do need something that has good on road manners.

I guess in the end that is why I came to the realization that I need to stick with the SL tires and stay away from the E rated options which can have a jarring ride quality on road and also the weight penalty will add up in mpg loss. Compromise will have to be made and off road and I will have to still play it safe in the snow. Maybe just getting another set of the OEM Wranglers with Kevlar would be the way to go as honestly I have had very good luck with them so far except for clay mud and deep snow. Cant have it all in one tire like you said.

 

Why would you not want to size up? Just curious.

 

Yeah I have thought a lot about that. Decreased mpg and decreased acceleration being another. Also my odometer and speedo would be off (It is dead on right now). These are the two major factors. Slightly smaller factor is some folks (not all) still have rubbing issues by going up to 265/75/16 and I don't want to lift the truck or mod my suspension at all while I am still inside my 7 year/100k mile extended bumper to bumper warranty period.

 

An XL is 'rated' at 4-ply, just like an SL. As to actual ply count....

Kind of like E-rated KO2s being 'rated as 10-ply' but the actual ply count is 3.

 

Fair enough. I've never heard of anyone rubbing on that size, but who knows. I ran one size up for a long time and never had any issues, but I hear you. Good luck with the tire search!

 

Yeah I am confused on all get out what XL means versus SL. I assume XL has a higher load capacity than the SL. Whether or not that makes for a stronger sidewall tire when offroading who knows. I sure don't.

I see Nitto Trail (or maybe its the Ridge) Grappler offers an XL tire in the 265/70/16 size but I don't know if that translates into a tougher carcass for offroading? But then again these tires won't be as good on road as the Wrangler Kevlars or Cooper AT3s because of the tread block voids. So where you get you have to give.