Hope everyone is having a great weekend!

This weekend I acquired my mechanic’s ‘03. It’s a well maintained, rust free truck, complete with AB top hat motor. The motor was installed in 2015 and it only has had maybe 20k likes put on it since then. 122k miles total. It needs some cosmetic help, the front bumper is falling a part, but it’s in excellent shape and runs extremely well. Installed the inline thermostat yesterday to keep her cool.

It needs tires ASAP. The general Grabber AT2’s on it are 2011 date codes. 3/4 tires have super low tread depth and they all have major dry rot and sidewalk cracking.

I knew this going into buying it, but the tire I was planning to buy is no longer available.

Seeming as though many of you have been through this decision making process, I need some opinions!!!

Here’s are the specific criteria and some options:

• Sticking with the new 18” Hurricanes, so only suggestions for 18” wheels please!
• The stock 255/55 size looks a little small. But anything more than a 60 profile side wall ends up being more than 30” in diameter. What can you fit without major rubbing? (Yes, I’ve read tons of forum posts about this…)
• Would a 245/60 looks right on a D2 in your opinion?
• Looking to stay around $200/ tire - my company has a tire rack wholesale account so that’s not an issue with most tires
• The way the tire looks is important, want a nice aggressive off-road look to complement the truck. I’ll do some light off-roading, mostly commuting on surface roads with occasional interstate driving.

Tire options:

• Stock size: BFG KO2 (a little small, very $$$’s)
• Slightly larger diameter than stock: Hankook Dynapto AT2 (255/60/18), Firestone destination AT/2 (245/60/18), I don’t like the Falkens, and have heard the Goodyear options are not very good either. The Continental is appealing but I don’t think I’d be happy with the look of it.
• 265/60/18: will this size fit okay on a stock D2? This truck appears to sit close to factory ride height, minimal spring sag. This size opens up lots of options. But I kind of like the skinnier tire look. At this size there’s several tires: BFG K02, Pirelli Scorpion AT+, General Grabber APT (not in stock at TR), Hankook Dynapro AT2 and AT-M.
  
• Does anyone run the 265/60/18 size on a stock truck? Is your turning radius diminished due to rubbing? Mind posting a picture or two?

I mainly just wanted to share that I’m pumped to have a D2 in the garage again. Need to buy tires before I do any driving outside of going to work and back and need some thoughts to help make up my mind.

Most important for me is 1) the look of the tire 2) driveability/ noise (ideally not a super loud tire) 3) price - lower cost the better. Don’t care about MPG’s and don’t really care about how long the tire will last. TBH shopping for tires is fun and I won’t mind doing it again in a few years…

Give me your opinion!

 

Nice rig! Chloe needed new shoes. Just because of my needs and intended use, I just went back with stock sized Ridge Grapplers.
I still think they improved the look and performance for all season, all terrain, light off road duties.

FWIW..

 

@Daytoman those look good! I didn’t include any Nitto options because Tire Rack doesn’t carry Nitto, so I won’t get wholesale pricing on any of their tires. I’m not sure what they cost though, might be reasonable without wholesale.

 

thanks! I was pleasantly surprised for the stock size. I just wanted to show these as to what’s possible in stock sizing.

 

From what I saw on the TR portal, I think a good choice might also be the Toyo Open Countries or the Cooper Discoverer AT3 might also be a good choice. I haven't tried but I read that 265/60/18 will fit on a truck with stock suspension and minimal sag. I ran 265/65/18 and they def rub when running stock. I ran that setup for a week or two before I was able to install my lift.

 

A friend of mine has the Coopers and loves them. About to go measure the tires on the truck and get a feel for how tall of a tire I think I want. I think the Coopers would be my preference over the Toyo’s. Thanks!

 

I've been extremely happy with the grabber x3s on my truck and I'd consider the general ATX? whatever the new version of the AT2 is. I'm definitely not a huge fan of the KO2s or the duratracs. I would take the KO2s all day over the duratracs however.

 

I also have a newly acquired D2. From my searches so far and peoples input. I might go with 265/60/18 BFG (apparently this one has no rubbing) 265/65/18 has slight rub..

still debating on duratracs vs BFG Ko2.. but I’m leaning towards BFG. But then I got a 60 dollar coupon with Goodyear LOL. But like you I care more about looks.. hmm actually the rubbing for me then the looks. So we’ll see. Keep this updated see what you ended up getting!

 

The duratracs have some of the weakest sidewalls so if you plan on leaving pavement I'd strongly recommend anything other than them. The KO2s are far from what I'd call good but they are lightyears better than the Duratracs

 

yepp! I heard! I’m doing minimal off-roading maybe a week overland trip once a year nothing crazy. Just mainly for the looks.

just not sure about lifting for now as I want to change the suspension of my boxster. Can only get a set of suspension smh. Possibly in the future though