I went from the OEM tires straight to a 10-ply. I hated it. My FJ weighs a lot less than the 3/4 ton pickups those 10-ply tires were designed for. A year ago I purchased ProComp A/T Sport tires from 4 Wheel Parts. They were available in an 8-ply. I prefer the softer ride these provide to running the 10-ply tires. I've never seen anyone else on the forum talk about these tires, but they've done great for me.

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any of the good name-brand tires that everyone on the forum seems to really like in a 285 in anything but a 10-ply.

 

Unfortunately, I couldn't find any of the good name-brand tires that everyone on the forum seems to really like in a 285 in anything but a 10-ply.[/QUOTE]

Thats my problem right there. Anything I like is 10 ply...hard to even find stuff in an 8 ply. But gonna look into the ones you mentioned. Thanks

 

I have a trail teams and it came with the BFG AT in load rating E. I moved to Cooper STT Pros and at 285/75/16 they only came in load rating E so I did not notice a difference. For me I need 10-ply tires due to the sharp rocks here in Idaho, specifically the Owyhee Mountain range. My friend has experienced numerous punctures so I wanted to try and avoid that.

Discount Tires has a few load D AT and MT tires in 285/75/16 like Nitto Terra Grappler AT and Pro Comp Extreme MT2. I am surprised the Duratracs were not listed, but I did not do an extensive search.

Good luck.

 

I went from stock tires to 10ply tires and didn’t notice any difference. That being said Nitto Ridge Grapplers and BFG KO2’s come in load C tires in 285/70/17. I am currently running Nitto Ridge Grapplers in 285/75/17 E.


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I run the 285/70/17 ridge grappler on my work truck explicitly because I wanted the lighter C rated tire. I had an E rated Toyo on it before and my mileage shot back dramatically and the ride smoothed out considerably.

I run a set of 35” Ridge Grapplers now on the FJ and I can’t see ever using another tire, I love the things.

 

8-ply and 10-ply radial tires do not exist in the sizes you are discussing.

What you are seeing is an 8 or 10 ply "rating", an archaic reference to the load carrying capacity of bias-ply tires of the '60's and '70's.

Most of the tires you are discussing have 3-5 physical plies in the tread, and 1 or two physical plies in the sidewall. A very few tires have 3-ply sidewalls.

For more information on the "ply rating" system, see:
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=55

 

Try a 295. There's a few more options. I had Hankook MT that were D ply rating. Or search out tires based on weight. Tire weight vary and it won't matter much on the load rating unless you're in a dedicated rig.

 

In 19 years of wheeling I haven't noticed any particular correlation between ply rating and puncture resistance. I have punctured LT-E tires and wheeled a set of P tires for two years with no issue. I think LT-C is the best compromise between durability and ride quality. And if you aren't going off road much, even that is overkill.

 

You can get a KO2 285 in C-load I believe...New OEM Rubicon tire......About your best case scenario.

 

Thanks guys. Got some thinking to do now. Leaning towards the general grapplers as I run them on my truck and they perform well for where and how I drive.
Thanks again

 

Do most or many of you think the ply rating has an influence on MPG? I know or at least think I know that higher air pressure may ride worse but does help MPG, would the stiffer (higher ply) tire also help mileage?

 

Typically the E rated tires are heavier than the others and tend to drop gas mileage a bit for the same diameter tire...maybe 1 to 2 MPG from what I have experienced.
That was with going to pizza cutters that were the same diameter but narrower to get close to the weight of the load range C tires I had (and shredded).

Pat

 

I recently installed the BF goodrich km3 285-70-17 (~66 lbs / tire) after having the OEM tires
Not much of a rough ride but definitely heavier

And i was experimenting with the tires pressure
At 32 psi you feel the weight a bit in the steering wheel
At 35 psi the ride is muuuch better the steering is precise
Still want to try it at 38 psi

Some people here run at 42 psi

I emailed BF goodrich support they recommend 50 psi for the km3 on an FJ bcz of its 2 tons weight
But IMO 50 is over kill

 

In 2014 I ditched the OEM tires and went to E rated Nitto Trailgrapplers. At first they were smooth, didn't notice a MPG hit.
After 55K miles there were loud (as to be expected).
I switched to Nitto Ridgegrapplers E Rated also. They were super smooth and still are after 15K miles.
What I really like is they are JUST as great on the trail as the Trailgrapplers. I've had em in the dusty/silty trails, muddy and rocky trails, desert dirt, rock and thorns.

I switched to them because my wife got tired of the road noise on the first set, and I thought I might loose wheel-ability.
So far I'm loving them.

 

In 2014 I ditched the OEM tires and went to E rated Nitto Trailgrapplers. At first they were smooth, didn't notice a MPG hit.
After 55K miles there were loud (as to be expected).
I switched to Nitto Ridgegrapplers E Rated also. They were super smooth and still are after 15K miles.
What I really like is they are JUST as great on the trail as the Trailgrapplers. I've had em in the dusty/silty trails, muddy and rocky trails, desert dirt, rock and thorns.

I switched to them because my wife got tired of the road noise on the first set, and I thought I might loose wheel-ability.
So far I'm loving them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OXQcFUVakXM&t=

i also have the nitto ridge grapplers E rated (stock tire size) and love them. before them, i previously had the nitto terra grapplers (passenger rated) and was surprised when i switched that i didn't really notice that much of a difference in ride quality or even gas mileage. then again, i've only had them on my fj for just over a year, so will see once there's many more miles on them. i was going to get the ridge grapplers in C rated, but for some reason, they actually were more expensive then the E-rated. (don't know the reason, but it could just have been the tire shop). the only down-side to these tires for me is the fact that they do weigh a bit more. definitely noticeable when doing my regular 5-tire rotation - especially when lifting the tire up to the spare mount.

 

I'm running BFG KO2's on 16" wheels in the stock size (265) and am extremely satisfied with them after about 20K miles.

I run them on-road at 42 PSI, and if rough, off road at 15-17 PSI. Great handling and a slightly firm ride on the street, nice and compliant and great traction at 15 PSI off road. Balance and rotate every 6K miles (5 tire set), and they are wearing perfectly uniformly.