how much is too much

[wranglertj]

I have a dilemma as I am ready to buy an off road set of tyres and was looking at the nitto trail grapplers and the BFG KM2's but looking at the weight of the nitto's is 80lbs per tyre and that of the KM2's is around 66 lbs. big difference!!

14lbs per tyre, would this make a significant impact on fuel consumption and stress on components?

The nitto's seem to get excellent reviews but are also pricey but now starting to wonder if the KM2's are a better bet purely due to substantial weight deduction

thoughts?

[YamahaDOC]

What size tyre?

[outbreakmonkey]

56lbs is not a huge amount of additional unsprung mass given the total is probably close to 1000lbs. I can't see it having a huge effect on fuel economy given the entire weight of the car is closer to 4000lbs. As for wear? Again, your axles aren't just rotating against the tyre. They're carrying the entire load of the car.
If the tyres are equal in quality, wear and price then by all means go the lighter tyre. But that lighter weight has to come at a price. Either the carcass isn't as reinforced or there is less rubber overall.

[wranglertj]

Originally Posted by YamahaDOC

What size tyre?

yeah good call. 35X 12.5 r17

[wranglertj]

Originally Posted by outbreakmonkey

56lbs is not a huge amount of additional unsprung mass given the total is probably close to 1000lbs. I can't see it having a huge effect on fuel economy given the entire weight of the car is closer to 4000lbs. As for wear? Again, your axles aren't just rotating against the tyre. They're carrying the entire load of the car.
If the tyres are equal in quality, wear and price then by all means go the lighter tyre. But that lighter weight has to come at a price. Either the carcass isn't as reinforced or there is less rubber overall.

km2's seem to get a good rap so unsure if it is tech that allows it to be lighter or simply not as a good a tyre or the nitto's are over engineered or lower tech adding to the weight. either way they both have very good write ups especially the Nitto's but they are expensive.
Was curious if the greater tyre weight makes an overall difference

[samft]

I run 72lb Kumho KL71's

I will be trying a lighter tyre next time for sure, I want to be nearer the 60lb mark

[chris0375]

A 285 75 16 km2 is approx 10kg heavier than a stick 245 75 17.