Kumho AT78

[06reddragon]

Anyone have any experience with these tires?? The guy at my local tire shop said they have a special on them this week....$185 mounted out the door for 325/65/18's. Sounds like a heck of a deal to me. Just wondering if they'll actually hold up?

He also said he can get me the Kumho KL71's(which i like the looks of better) for $265 out the door. I'm just wondering if i'd be better off ponying up the extra $80 a tire and going with the 71's??

Also like the BFG KM2's....havent got a price on those yet.

[KuHL 951]

I just bought a new set of the Kumho Road Venture AT KL78 a few months ago in 285-75/16 for my F250 and have logged about 3K miles. I based my decision on having run them before on my son's Ranger 4x4 and they were excellent. Compared to the lousy Dumbflop Rover AT's that were on there before I couldn't be happier. They are surprisingly quiet, grip well wet/dry, and have done great in the snow the 5 times I've used them. I tow and do mostly highway/forest service roads so the KL 71's were much too aggressive for my needs. The reviews at tirerack.com are pretty good also for such an inexpensive tire. I would give them a '9' for performance and a '10' for value.

[gottabadf250]

Originally Posted by KuHL 951

I just bought a new set of the Kumho Road Venture AT KL78 a few months ago in 285-75/16 for my F250 and have logged about 3K miles. I based my decision on having run them before on my son's Ranger 4x4 and they were excellent. Compared to the lousy Dumbflop Rover AT's that were on there before I couldn't be happier. They are surprisingly quiet, grip well wet/dry, and have done great in the snow the 5 times I've used them. I tow and do mostly highway/forest service roads so the KL 71's were much too aggressive for my needs. The reviews at tirerack.com are pretty good also for such an inexpensive tire. I would give them a '9' for performance and a '10' for value.

What number would you put on mileage??? haha

I like the looks of the 71s but figure that they can't last too long since they're so cheap. Hopefully, however, I'm wrong.

Man I've changed my mind about tires at least 5 times and still don't know what I want. haha

[KuHL 951]

Originally Posted by gottabadf250

What number would you put on mileage??? haha

I like the looks of the 71s but figure that they can't last too long since they're so cheap. Hopefully, however, I'm wrong.

Man I've changed my mind about tires at least 5 times and still don't know what I want. haha

Mileage? I can't really say but when I sold the Ranger the tires had probably 25k on them and still had at least 1/3 of the tread blocks still solid. The non-load rated version of the KL78 has a 640 UTOG. Now on the other hand the KL71's have quite a few really negative reviews about the highway stability(safety), wet grip, poor wear, and noise of the KL71's. Everyone is looking for something different in a tire so no tire is perfect. What works great in stock size for one truck can be a death wish in a much larger size for the same truck with a big lift.

I try to avoid how the tire 'looks'. I read reviews on similar use, size, and weight of my vehicle which is basically stock. Then it's price, grip, noise, wear ratings, load rating for towing, and a tire that won't tear my suspension to shreds. Personally I have no use for oversize off-road mudders although I see them all the time on street trucks. I'm sure there are better tires than the KL78's but at what price? I will say this, the only tires I've ever lost complete control of on a truck were Michelin LTX's @ $260 a pop. YMMV

[06reddragon]

Thanks for the input KUHL951. The price is def right just didn't know if they would be junk in 25k or not. It's still $750 for a set of tires so I'd like to get 40k out of them if i could.

Most of my driving is highway at about 60mph unloaded. I don't know how well a Kumho KL71 or BFG KM2 would hold up, but i def prefer the looks of the mud tires over the all terrains

[gottabadf250]

Originally Posted by 06reddragon

Thanks for the input KUHL951. The price is def right just didn't know if they would be junk in 25k or not. It's still $750 for a set of tires so I'd like to get 40k out of them if i could.

Most of my driving is highway at about 60mph unloaded. I don't know how well a Kumho KL71 or BFG KM2 would hold up, but i def prefer the looks of the mud tires over the all terrains

I'm with ya man.

Why don't you try them and let me know how it turns out for ya! haha

With the reviews I read on the Kumhos it's about 50/50 for love/hate so who knows.

I suppose it's a crapshoot.

[06reddragon]

Haha thanks. I might just spend a little more and go with the sure bet....I've rarely ever heard a bad thing about BF Goodrich tires.

[Tony721]

I just put them on my truck about a month ago. So far I am pleased with them, but let's see how they hold up about 25K from now. I have had them on my Jeep before and had about 30K on them when I sold it, they still had lots of life left in them, but the Jeep is alot lighter.

Seems as if some people love them and other hate them, as their reviews are about 50/50. I was a little leary myself, but I got them at a wholesale price, about $120 each so I thought I would give them a try.

[06reddragon]

Thats the advantage I have too. My buddy's dad owns a big tire shop, so he gives me a pretty good deal on tires. $265 for KL71's when they are $315 on Discount tire, and you still have to pay someone to mount and balance them.

But $185 would be a steal. They don't feel spongy or anything, or wander all over the road?

[Tony721]

No, they are not spongy at all. As far as wandering all over the road, I'm still working on that. I have had a problem with this truck for a while, even got to experience the "death wobble" once, something I never want to experience again. Had my son in the back seat, scared the hell out of him too!! I honestly did not think I was gonna pull out of that one.

Since then I have changed the shocks all the way around went with the Skyjacker Nitro's, changed the steering stabilizer as well, changed brakes and rotors all the way around, replaced rt front wheel hub/bearing assembly and rt upper ball joint, changed carrier bearing and greased the slip yolk. No more squeaks, rattles, vibrations, pops while turning etc!!!

Still having some trouble with the truck wandering, so I'm about to bring it in to the shop, set the steering wheel back to center, tension up the steering gearbox and align it!! Gonna be doing that in about an hour, so I should be finished with it by lunch, and we will see this evening when I get on the freeway if that helped any.