For the last 5 years, I've very much enjoyed the wheel-and-tire combination I've been running. Not only did the 3rd gen 4Runner 5-star wheels look great - especially after I went to all the trouble to paint them - but they fit the larger calipers I installed as part of the Tundra Brake Upgrade and are the lightest OEM wheel manufactured by Toyota! Likewise, while I felt that the Cooper S/T Maxx were a little stiff and heavy - largely because they are only available in a 10-ply, E-range rating - they have been a great tire from a performance perspective. I've had four sets and have never gotten a flat or felt like I was lacking in traction on the trail. They also seemed reasonably quiet - especially given their hybrid tread - on the pavement. I recently posted my S/T Maxx 6-year review, for anyone interested.
But there has been one major downside: I'd like to have more choice in tires. I'm a fan of skinny tires - something in the 10-10.5" range - since they are generally lighter and incur less rubbing in the wheel well than wider tires of the same diameter. The 255/85 R16 S/T Maxx have fit that bill nicely, but they are one of the only tall, skinny, hybrid tires out there for 16" wheels.
So, hoping that I'd have more tire choice, I started looking into 17" wheels. There are lots of aftermarket options, but they all seem to be at least 8" wide and push the wheel further out of the wheel well, the exact problem that had provoked me to replace my SCS Stealth6s with the 3rd gen 4Runner 5-star wheels.
Then I discovered the 1st gen Sequoia Double 5-spoke wheels. Turns out that I'd probably known of these previously, given that they were already on my list of wheels that fit the Tundra brake upgrade, but I'd never really considered them at the time I added them, since my 4Runner wheels were great. The Sequioa wheels are slightly wider at 17x7.5", and they weigh significantly more at 27.5 lbs each (the 4Runner wheels were 22 lbs each).
So, I headed over to Craigslist, and with the help of a couple buddies who ferried wheels to me from around Washington state, I soon found myself with eight wheels, five of which I'd be putting to use. First though, I needed to paint them. Luckily, I knew that with Extreme Labor, the result would be a Totally Non-Functional Mod.
Sandblasting five wheels took about 10-hours and reminded me that I really hate sandblasting. Or at least, I hate my janky setup which entails a cheap nozzle, play sand, and a big tarp in the driveway.
I did learn one thing the last time I'd done this - it would have been much easier to paint the wheels off the ground. So, I built a jig that would hold them in the perfect position.
I really like the flat-army-green color of the primer. If the Tacoma weren't green itself, I think I'd keep them this color.
Ahh, bronze. Or, as Monte @Blackdawg would call it, "shit poop brown."
One thing about Craigslist wheels are that they rarely come with center caps. New OEM Toyota center caps are expensive, so I was on the hunt again for an alternative. Amazon had some without a Toyota logo, but eventually I found caps - likely unlicensed - on eBay for $10/cap which seemed pretty good to me!
The caps looked pretty good, except for the color!
After more work sanding, etching, and painting, I had the caps looking passable from a distance.
With the wheels sorted, it was time to find tires. Thinking I'd have tons of choices, I set off to find something great - and significantly less expensive - than the Coopers that I've been running. I figured that one of the following sizes - in this order - would be where I'd end up:
- 255/80 R17 - my ideal size, since I'd maintain a 10" wide tire @ 33.1" diameter.
- 33x10.5 R17 - close to the ideal size
- 34x10.5 R17 - I wouldn't mind a slightly larger diameter, though I'd likely need to do some firewall modification (tubbing) to make it fit.
- 285/75 R17 - similar to the 34x10.5, but even wider
Given those sizes, the tires I considered were:
| Size | Deets (Theoretical) |
Tire |
|---|---|---|
| 255/80 R17 |
Diameter : 33.1"
Width : 10.0"
Wheel : 17" x 6.5-8.5"
Sidewall : 8.0"
Circum. : 103.8"
Revs/Mile : 610
|
Falken Wildpeak R/T Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx Nitto Ridge Grappler Toyo Open Country R/T Trail |
| 33x10.5 R17 |
Diameter : 33.0"
Width : 10.5"
Wheel : 17" x 7-9"
Sidewall : 8.0"
Circum. : 103.6"
Revs/Mile : 611
|
Kenda Klever RT |
| 34x10.5 R17 |
Diameter : 34.0"
Width : 10.5"
Wheel : 17" x 7-9"
Sidewall : 8.5"
Circum. : 106.8"
Revs/Mile : 593
|
Toyo Open Country A/T III |
| 255/85 R17 |
Diameter : 34.1"
Width : 10.0"
Wheel : 17"
Sidewall : 8.5"
Circum. : 107.0"
Revs/Mile : 59
|
Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T |
| 285/75 R17 |
Diameter : 33.8"
Width : 11.2"
Wheel : 17" x 7.5-9.5"
Sidewall : 8.4"
Circum. : 106.2"
Revs/Mile : 596
|
Nitto Ridge Grappler (C load) Nitto Ridge Grappler (E load) Toyo Open Country R/T Trail Falken Wildpeak R/T (C load) Falken Wildpeak R/T (E load) Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx |
Unfortunately, this really had me wanting to choose the S/T Maxx again, since it came in my ideal 255/80 R17 size, but I'd heard a lot of good feedback on the Kenda Klever RT, not the least of which included:
Very quiet [on the highway]. Much quieter than the S/T Maxx. And still are quite quiet with some wear on them. They've been some of my favorite tires I've ever had. I don't think you'd be disappointed. They perform better than the S/T Maxx in every way. Quieter, better grip on all surfaces including snow, and are a tall 33. They were noticeably taller than my 255/85s.
"Might be the best tires I've owned."
@Blackdawg
Not only that, but the price - at $1,420 for a set of five tires installed - wasn't cheap but was significantly less than the $1,834 that a set of S/T Maxx would cost.
I had a bit of trouble finding a place where I could purchase these tires with installation - DiscountTire doesn't sell Kenda tires at all, SimpleTire won't sell installation, and Amazon doesn't have an installation option - but ultimately, I was able to buy them on eBay, and use eBay's installation service to get them installed at my local Firestone.
That new tire smell.
Once my tires showed up, it was off to the installer!
Turns out that my local Firestone was undergoing renovations, so the two-hour appointment - which I already considered to be one hour longer than necessary - turned into a 24-hour affair. Luckily, I wasn't in a huge rush, and my favorite burger joint - Wibbley's Hamburgers - is nearby, so I was able to drown my disappointment in charbroiled goodness, fries, and a chocolate shake.
A full day later, the tires were on the truck, and they looked good.
Driving home, I put 11 miles on the tires. They felt significantly softer than the S/T Maxx and seemed quiet enough on the highway, so hopefully they will live up to expectations. I will say - they are definitely more aggressive-looking than the S/T Maxx, something that I'll have to get used to, and that has me a bit worried.
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Very interesting. Nice work and they look good, hope they work out for you. I'm always careful about tires, my father was in the tire business most of his life. He was foreman at a couple of recap shops and then had his own shop recapping and also selling new tires in the Van Nuys area and had quite a few local movie star customers. I spent time at some of the shops so learned about tires from him.
Well, after the first couple of trips, they definitely aren't perfect, hahaha! I've got a bit of rubbing in places I didn't have before, so I'll be dealing with that in the coming month or so before I take the Tacoma back down to Las Vegas for the winter.
They do seem to have great traction (good) and softer rubber (good and bad) than the S/T Maxx, so only time will tell as far as which ones I like more!
I know you keep your truck in Vegas. Here's an area you might be interested in. It's called Oasis Valley just north of Beatty. I'll estimate 100 miles of trails back here, including the 'Anglo Gold Ashanti' gold strike trails in the Bald Mountains. It actually skirts the Nevada test site. Very colorful area with easy trails. I've been all over the gold operation next to the Tram Mountain. I assume they are still finishing the infrastructure for the coming massive operation they are planning. (I've heard as much as 8 million troy oz's in the total area involved). Anyhow this valley area is nice, and as yet theirs no gates keeping us out of the new future boom operations. All the new trails have been blasted with incredible mountain top views. I've yet to compile a video for the mining district, but the Oasis Valley will post on my Youtube site Friday 27 Sept at noon. When heading north out of Beatty look for a large orange shipping container saying HYUNDI on it, the gate is about 100 yards before it on the right. If you blink you'll miss it.... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYz1EWRrhGw
Thanks James, I might check it out this winter! 👍
Dan,
Good God tires have gotten expensive. Those Kenda's are probably great but a set of Toyos would be less expensive and in my estimation they are absolutely rock solid tires. I currently need to replace a set of Open Country M/T 285/75R17 tires. Tread life I can only classify as OK with about 36,000 mile but I think that is one of the weaknesses of the M/T style tires.
I initially had balancing beads in the tire. There must have been some crushed beads mixed in because I had recurring problems with the Schrader valves not sealing after I aired down or pumped the tires up.
On a trip to Death Valley I aired up tires at home and we broke the drive up into 3 days and we pulled into a friends place in Pahrump. The next morning to my horror I notices that the passenger rear tire was badly deflated. When I checked it had 5 PSI in that tire. On the last stage from Austin, NV I was typically driving at 70-75 mph with the bed heavily loaded and God knows how much pressure was in that tire. I figured it was probably destroyed and figured there would be a pile of rubber fragments resting in the bottom of the tire.
I took it to a tire shop and had them dismount the tire and do a thorough inspection. To my amazement there was no damage.
Anyway I will probably replace the current M/Ts with a Toyo AT design.
Kind regards,
Kurt
Thanks Kurt,
There are some Toyo Open Country R/T Trail that came in the 255/80 R17 size that I like - I’m a big fan of the narrow tires, as compared to the 285s - so depending on how these Kenda’s do, I take a close look at the Toyos in the future, because price is one of the things that moved me away from the S/T Maxx.
It’s amazing how much punishment good tires can take these days. With the S/T Maxx I’ve run in the past, I too have done extended periods on (unnoticed) very low pressures and yet the tires seemed to take it with no bad side-effects, lasting several more years.
Cheers,
Dan
The Kendas do very well in just about any terrain that I tried them in when I had them on my truck. Decent snow traction on road. They work extremely well in Moab and on Granite in Colorado and New Mexico. But one thing to keep and eye on, if they start to cup, its almost impossible to get them to recover. I had one start due to my Toe being knocked out, and not matter what I tried it just got worse, even post alignment and rotations, the ones that stayed true had no issues at all, but one just really wanted to wear poorly. I plan on running them again in the future on F250 Camper Combo. I had them on a Ranger with a Super Pacific Camper.
Thanks for the heads up Wyatt, I'll keep an eye on the wear of the Kendas. I generally rotate about every 7500 miles (every oil change) so hopefully that, along with keeping a reasonable alignment, will keep them in top shape for the entirety of their service life. 👍
If you keep the alignment dialed it you should have no issues with the tires. I would say they have a similar if not better traction to the ST Maxx, I've run both albeit 7 years apart. but they both wore well and I would say they are extremely comparable.
I too am interested in a future review on those Kendas. I'm running K02's on my truck and have a tad over 65k miles on them with plenty of tread left. But one is getting noisy. Am debating going to a hybrid... Like the B.F. Goodrich Terrain. Especially since I'm 76 years young and really don't go overlanding much anymore.
Nice, well, it'll be a minute, but I'll have a full review of these through their life, I'm sure. For a really good hybrid, it's hard to beat the S/T Maxx. I recently posted my six-year review of them, and I'd say there's a 50% chance that they'll be the next tire after the Klever's, again! 😁
Kept trying to figure out why you were painting five rims.....duh, spare!! Good looking job! I really need to go to 17 inch rims verses the stock 16 on mine. Kept us posted on durability of this new rubber!!
Thanks Bill, I think they turned out sharp! 17's are a great option for larger tire sizes, but I was surprised to see how few options there were for the tall-and-skinny that I prefer. Might not have gone to all the trouble if I'd realized that beforehand, but for now I'm really liking the look of the new rims, so I'm not losing too much sleep over it, hahaha!
By far one of the best tires I’ve owned have had 3 sets of them on various vehicles in a 35x10.50 . biggest surprise to me is their snow/ice performance 12psi seemed to be the sweet spot and they did a great job on keeping my first gen sequoia on top of a couple feet of snow . Will be putting a set on my frontier as soon as my current tires wear down .
Thanks for your experience Shaun, nice to hear another positive vote for the Kenda's! 👍