wondering about tire noise

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enginehead

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I am looking at getting some tires for my stock 20" wheels, on my 2010 Tahoe with a 2" front level lift. I want a more aggressive look so was looking at getting some KO2s in 305/50R20. was wondering if anyone can tell me about any or how much tire noise they have from those tires in a size like that? what would you all recommend for an A/T type of tire for these and what size?
 
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enginehead

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Some folks here run the KO2s, and they will chime in.

I run a 305/50x20 on-road tire, and I am very happy with the tire size.
I am wondering more about potential tire noise with that tire size. do you notice more tire wear in the center of the tread?
 

Joseph Garcia

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I am wondering more about potential tire noise with that tire size. do you notice more tire wear in the center of the tread?
I am running Michelin Defenders, which are an on-road tire. They are very quiet, and I have even tire wear so far..

I'm surprised that no one has responded to your question yet, regarding KO2s, as they are fairly common. I'm reasonably sure that they will generate more noise than a purely on-road tire, but I don't know how large the difference is.
 
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enginehead

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I am running Michelin Defenders, which are an on-road tire. They are very quiet, and I have even tire wear so far..

I'm surprised that no one has responded to your question yet, regarding KO2s, as they are fairly common. I'm reasonably sure that they will generate more noise than a purely on-road tire, but I don't know how large the difference is.
you are correct, surprised not more replys.

my sister has KO2s on her 2013 Tacoma and we took it on a road trip from Columbia, SC to Milwaukee, WI and it didn't seem to have a lot of road noise. that is why I am asking what others have experienced.
 

Sparksalot

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you are correct, surprised not more replys.

my sister has KO2s on her 2013 Tacoma and we took it on a road trip from Columbia, SC to Milwaukee, WI and it didn't seem to have a lot of road noise. that is why I am asking what others have experienced.
I have KO2s on both of mine. The noise isn’t really noticeable to me. Until you reach the last 10k or so of treadlife. Then they get noisy. I’ve been thinking of trying the Falken Wildpeaks to next go around, but it will be a while.

tire size is 285/65/18 on my K2. I set them at 40 psi cold. No issues with wear.
 

swathdiver

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I am wondering more about potential tire noise with that tire size. do you notice more tire wear in the center of the tread?
First of all, more tire wear in the center of the tread is indicative of low air pressure and or a mismatch between tire and wheel sizing.

I have run 2 sets of KO2s in two different sizes on my trucks but not your size. They did get noisier as they aged and were so loud towards the end of life that I thought my front differential was going out. Noise in my Yukon XL was not objectionable when they were new. Curiously, the other set installed on my pickup was louder from day one.

The tires are fantastic off-road, mud, beach sand, sugar sand, dirt, etc. They are fantastic in the rain too. They picked up and moved a lot of rocks and dirt, but shed the rocks and dirt from the treads really well. They picked up road hazards too. My touch up paint pen was kept pretty busy until I put splash shields on both trucks. I got into some pretty hairy situations off-road and they never left me stranded.

About once a year the Load Range C tires were punctured and required patching. It was always a slow enough leak to not require a tire change. Then the pickup with Load Range E tires picked up a bigger nail that broke a belt and destroyed the tire. That's when I sold the remaining three and put Defenders on it.

Replaced both sets with Michelin Defenders. Sure, they don't look near as nice but they are quiet, even better in the rain and have gone just about everywhere we went with the KO2s off road and didn't get stuck. On top of that, knock on wood, no road hazards either. Mileage wise, the KO2s will last about 50-60K miles, the Defenders 80-100K miles. Down here in Florida, they all rot out from the sun's UV rays in about 4 years.

We also saved a ton of rotational weight going back to a P-Metric tire that weighs about 38 pounds versus the 48 and 54 pound KO2s. Each pound of rotational weight is like adding 8.4 pounds to your payload. We proved this by our runs at the drag strip with the truck. The truck picked up about 4 mph in the quarter mile and our times to 60 feet dropped .4 tenths of a second on average as well.

Of course, coasting improved, off the line performance improved and gas mileage improved.

KO2s are great tires and when I bought my first set in 2017, they were king of the hill. If you are set on getting them, go for it. Just realize what you are giving up for looks and off-roady performance.

One last word of caution, if your new wheels extend the tires and wheels out past the fenders, keep a couple of paint pens handy for all the rock chips.
 

Sparksalot

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First of all, more tire wear in the center of the tread is indicative of low air pressure and or a mismatch between tire and wheel sizing.

I have run 2 sets of KO2s in two different sizes on my trucks but not your size. They did get noisier as they aged and were so loud towards the end of life that I thought my front differential was going out. Noise in my Yukon XL was not objectionable when they were new. Curiously, the other set installed on my pickup was louder from day one.

The tires are fantastic off-road, mud, beach sand, sugar sand, dirt, etc. They are fantastic in the rain too. They picked up and moved a lot of rocks and dirt, but shed the rocks and dirt from the treads really well. They picked up road hazards too. My touch up paint pen was kept pretty busy until I put splash shields on both trucks. I got into some pretty hairy situations off-road and they never left me stranded.

About once a year the Load Range C tires were punctured and required patching. It was always a slow enough leak to not require a tire change. Then the pickup with Load Range E tires picked up a bigger nail that broke a belt and destroyed the tire. That's when I sold the remaining three and put Defenders on it.

Replaced both sets with Michelin Defenders. Sure, they don't look near as nice but they are quiet, even better in the rain and have gone just about everywhere we went with the KO2s off road and didn't get stuck. On top of that, knock on wood, no road hazards either. Mileage wise, the KO2s will last about 50-60K miles, the Defenders 80-100K miles. Down here in Florida, they all rot out from the sun's UV rays in about 4 years.

We also saved a ton of rotational weight going back to a P-Metric tire that weighs about 38 pounds versus the 48 and 54 pound KO2s. Each pound of rotational weight is like adding 8.4 pounds to your payload. We proved this by our runs at the drag strip with the truck. The truck picked up about 4 mph in the quarter mile and our times to 60 feet dropped .4 tenths of a second on average as well.

Of course, coasting improved, off the line performance improved and gas mileage improved.

KO2s are great tires and when I bought my first set in 2017, they were king of the hill. If you are set on getting them, go for it. Just realize what you are giving up for looks and off-roady performance.

One last word of caution, if your new wheels extend the tires and wheels out past the fenders, keep a couple of paint pens handy for all the rock chips.
Paint pen???
IMG_2706.jpeg

Not for the wheels. lol
 
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enginehead

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First of all, more tire wear in the center of the tread is indicative of low air pressure and or a mismatch between tire and wheel sizing.

I have run 2 sets of KO2s in two different sizes on my trucks but not your size. They did get noisier as they aged and were so loud towards the end of life that I thought my front differential was going out. Noise in my Yukon XL was not objectionable when they were new. Curiously, the other set installed on my pickup was louder from day one.

The tires are fantastic off-road, mud, beach sand, sugar sand, dirt, etc. They are fantastic in the rain too. They picked up and moved a lot of rocks and dirt, but shed the rocks and dirt from the treads really well. They picked up road hazards too. My touch up paint pen was kept pretty busy until I put splash shields on both trucks. I got into some pretty hairy situations off-road and they never left me stranded.

About once a year the Load Range C tires were punctured and required patching. It was always a slow enough leak to not require a tire change. Then the pickup with Load Range E tires picked up a bigger nail that broke a belt and destroyed the tire. That's when I sold the remaining three and put Defenders on it.

Replaced both sets with Michelin Defenders. Sure, they don't look near as nice but they are quiet, even better in the rain and have gone just about everywhere we went with the KO2s off road and didn't get stuck. On top of that, knock on wood, no road hazards either. Mileage wise, the KO2s will last about 50-60K miles, the Defenders 80-100K miles. Down here in Florida, they all rot out from the sun's UV rays in about 4 years.

We also saved a ton of rotational weight going back to a P-Metric tire that weighs about 38 pounds versus the 48 and 54 pound KO2s. Each pound of rotational weight is like adding 8.4 pounds to your payload. We proved this by our runs at the drag strip with the truck. The truck picked up about 4 mph in the quarter mile and our times to 60 feet dropped .4 tenths of a second on average as well.

Of course, coasting improved, off the line performance improved and gas mileage improved.

KO2s are great tires and when I bought my first set in 2017, they were king of the hill. If you are set on getting them, go for it. Just realize what you are giving up for looks and off-roady performance.

One last word of caution, if your new wheels extend the tires and wheels out past the fenders, keep a couple of paint pens handy for all the rock chips.
thanks for the info. I am not going to be drag racing any, so not worried about the weight. will mostly be driving around at 50mph or lower, not really planning to go off road, but more interested in the look but I know a lot of A/T tires make noise, and I know the KO2 don't
 

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