What is the lightest AT or mild AT tires? Need to get a set to save gas.

Hi all, I am Currently on 315/70r17 KO2s load range E, due to the increasing gas price I am planning on getting a set specifically for daily driving, and family road trips to beach, so I am looking for 275/65r18 or 255/70r18 (stock tundra size) with stock alloy wheels, my KO2s weigh in at around 65lbs and I think with the smaller size and around 45-50lbs weight, it will save me around 3-4mpg which is 33% better than what I am getting now. Please share your thoughts on the lightest tires in this size (275/70r18) and preferably not as aggressive as ko2 but still has some more aggressiveness than highway tires?

pfa


Thank you

 

Saving 3-4 mpg i would say is super optimistic. I have 325/60r20 which work out to about 36s and its only about 2 mpg worse than I was stock. These trucks are what they are. With 275/60r20 and oem 20s( same size as 275/70r18) I only got a .5 mpg better than I do now. You're chasing a unicorn imo

 

That is a bummer lol. I did calculate mine to be around 14-15mpg mixed when I was on stock ones (the steelies and 255/70r18), and got down to 11-12mpg mixed with the current setup. Maybe I will just mount the stock 255/70r18s on the alloy and call it a day?

 

That ko2 is one of the lighter A/T's I've seen with the most capability.

 

It the little bit of looking I have done, the K02s are on the light side. Moving to a lighter load will be squishy with sidewall flex if you load your truck up.

 

I did find this firestone destination X/T being super light for a load range E

top is KO2 and bottom is Firestone destination X/T.

 

Firestone still makes tires?

 

Best way is to get non-LT all terrains, or load range D. Those are a good bit lighter, but the mpg difference might not be as drastic as you’d think. Other than that there’s not too much to do unless you go back to stock size or highway terrain tires

 

haha. Right? Apparently their MT tires are one of the better ones out there.

 

I had less aggressive AT on before this new setup and it felt like more effort and potential of getting stuck compared to my old mans ko2. Yes you may save some weight but at what other expense? Depends on the wheeling also.

 

For the price of a new set of tires and wheels, and the minimal gains possible , is it even worth the hassle of switching tires and spending in all liklihood 2k to save a dollar each fill up? That's a big hell no for me. Use the money toward buying more gas lol

 

Airing up will help out too. I ran the 34.5" K02s on my Tundra at 48psi and the 33"s on my GX at 45psi.

 

That is true, I did the math, if I am saving 30% of gas, that means a saving of $150 a month (gas price at$5) and $180 a month (gas at $6).
I assume the gas price isn't coming down anytime soon and may still go up?
I guess I will just mount my stock size 255/70r18 highway tires back onto the used set of alloy wheels I got for ($600) and see where the MPG is at, that way, I am only shedding $600, and if the math is correct, I may get that all back in 4 months.

 

Ture, I will keep my current set of kO2s for offroad adventures, just the daily driving thats eating away my wallet.

 

The General Grabber APT is listed as AT and weighs 42lbs in 275/70r18 if you're willing to get a tire with a standard load rating.

 

Get rid of your lightbar on top and your ditch lights and fold your mirrors in...you're likely to get better MPG then changing tires...or lower your truck...ha, I know...I feel your pain man...I bought a hoopty car to wait it out...hopefully

 

Also is your speedo corrected for the 35s? If not you need to start all your math over and refigure. Plus account for all the extra weight you added since stock.

 

ha, i was hoping someone wouldn't tell me to remove them, haha I hear you, but lights are more of a must for me at the moment lol
While I agree with you, I also believe the downsize and lighter wheels/tires will be the most impacting factor for MPGs and the aerodynamics of the truck would come second lol

 

Not trying to shit on your parade but this is a useless exercise lol

 

my speedo isnt calibrated but when I did the MPG calculation, I did factor in however much the % of the circumference delta. so the MPG calculation would be accurate.

 

lol You maybe right, but I just keep thinking if I switched I could save almost $200 a month with the amount of driving I do lol

 

You are right but you have to compromise in size or load rating.

 

I was looking for same "light" E load tire last year too. Ended up with Bridgestone Dueller Revos 3. Firestone had a buy one, get one sale if you purchased a lifetime alignment....too good to pass up!

 

Are you re-geared?

 

True, hopefully with this firestone finding, I wouldn't be compromising in load rating, but I am keeping my Ko2s for when I do serious offroad stuff.

 

No, I decided to not go that route when I added my rear locker, power felt adequate on the tires I have now.

 

Exactly. Power is fine, efficiency is not. You have a heavy front bumper, winch, sliders, and whatever else is in the back along with 34" tires. If you had re-geared you probably wouldn't be downsizing tires.

 

darn it, too late now lol

 

tundra is heavy and not aerodynamic so I dont think you will see much difference with new set of tires/rims.
If you really want to save gas, get a beater car and save the truck for the family trip to the beach.

 

Sorry but no. I'm on 36s and have all the stuff this dude has minus the sliders and I get 13mpg. I've got as high as 17 straight highway. These trucks do not need a regear and certainly not for efficiency purposes. This seems to be a myth that just gets repeated over and over on this forum. If you want to do it for power or towing that's one thing but to say it is needed is just plain wrong. If youre towing with big tires , then you need a regear maybe depending on weight you're towing. I've regeared vehicles that needed it before really bad before, 4 cyl tj jeep on 33s. Until i regeared i couldnt do over 65mph.......and while the power gains were worth it, nothing about the "efficiency" of it was. I'm willing to bet his mpg isn't as bad as he thinks but since he's not recalibrated he doesn't realize that.