Lr3 tire recommendations, Advice and insight appreciated!

LKLK

Member
Hello Everyone,
I'm picking up a second set of 18's and wanted to know what was everyones experience with all terrains or mud terrains (and all derivatives in between). No worries about height discussions or fitment. I more curious about tire attributes and issues. Lets do this... and go!
 

LKLK

Member
BFG All-Terrain E-rating, 275/65-18 great highway, not too loud. See RSW Solutions.
Nice. I was always curious about this setup with the Lr3. I had a set before on my old truck I didn't like the noise but liked the stiff sidewall!
 

Blaise

Well-known member
There's a billion threads about this.

I know you didnt ask about this - but 265/65/18 fits with minor work. Same with 285/60/18. Bigger takes more work and doesn't make much sense IMO - why add all the unsprung weight? Also if you have a suspension fault on trail you'll be stuck.

E load rating or not will set off a major flamewar around here. E load rating specifically does NOT mean that a tire will be more puncture resistant - I just verified this with an actual tire engineer at Goodyear and I'm working on talking to one of their lead designers to understand exactly how to interpret these ratings with publicly available info to get the best tire for the job without running a 60lb tire designed for an F-350 when we never run 80psi.

Personally I run 265/65/18 SL114 rated Duratracs. I'm sure Jwest will chime in to say that anything without an E-load rating will puncture immediately. This hasn't been my experience, but I will not say that he is wrong (for now anyway) until I've spoken more to the guys at Goodyear/BFG/etc. Pirate4x4 tends to err on the side of running the lowest load rated tire for your rig, for what it's worth.
 
If it were me, I would stay as close to factory width and diameter or a bit taller and E-rated only.

My top three choices that fit this category would be:

1) BFG KO2 (AT)
2) BFG KO2 (AT)
3) BFG KM2 (MT)
 
BFG KO2 (275/65/18 in my case)

KM3’s are next.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


After Rays knowledge plug, I would like to amend my last!

1) BFG KO2 (AT)
2) BFG KO2 (AT) or KM3 (MT)
3) BFG KM2 (MT) cuz you can't find KM3's for cheaper than the KM2..

(y):cool:
 

merr1ca

Member
Interested to hear more about this. You should make a thread.

As for tires, I have Cooper AT3s. They're quiet and pretty grippy off pavement but awful in the snow. I won't be doing them again.

E load rating or not will set off a major flamewar around here. E load rating specifically does NOT mean that a tire will be more puncture resistant - I just verified this with an actual tire engineer at Goodyear and I'm working on talking to one of their lead designers to understand exactly how to interpret these ratings with publicly available info to get the best tire for the job without running a 60lb tire designed for an F-350 when we never run 80psi.
 

Blaise

Well-known member
I'll share all of the information in a new thread once I can confidently say that I've got all the information needed. Right now all I know is that there's a LOT that I don't know, and making assumptions based purely on tire rating is misleading.
 

LR Max

Local Oaf
Just ran BFG ATs on my LR3 out to Colorado and back. Did very well both highway and trails. Held to the rocks very well, I was surprised at the traction I had. Only had the rear end slip once.

I've got about 6k on the tires and still have excellent tread. I was expecting to only get 20k out of these tires (based on what I've heard 2nd hand) but looks like I'll be getting a decent full life out of them. Overall very pleased. A touch louder on the highway but nothing the radio can't drown out. When coming to a stop, they make road noise pretty good. My LR3 is a "do all" vehicle, so no full mud tire for me. But I'll take it on easy/moderate trails once every few months, a bit of towing, road trips, etc. So this tire is the compromise.

Went with 265/60/18s. Also bought a 245/65/18 off eBay for the spare. Its the same diameter, just narrower. Put it on a full size rim and it tucks into the stock location VERY well. Very happy with my setup.
 

Blaise

Well-known member
Wow, great idea on the 245 width spare! I'm runing a 275/60 in the spare location and wish it didn't stick down so far. Great call!
 

krick3tt

Adventurer
I run 265/65/18 114S Standard Load rated Duratracs on Terra Firma steel rims. Not a concern about road noise as when the windows are closed I don't hear them and if the windows are open the wind noise is more predominate than any tire noise that might be there.
I also have a set of them (stored in the back yard) on the OEM 19 inch rims that came with the vehicle. Probably won't use them as I prefer the 18s on the steel rims.
 
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