I haven't owned a set of Dunlops yet that I have liked. I had some on my '85 RX-7, my Vigor and yes, my 2nd Gen 4Runner as well. All of them were simply terrible. Noisy, short milage life and expensive to boot.

I went with a set of Kumho Venture HT's (heavy duty sidewall) on my 4Runner and I am VERY happy with them (they have about 15k miles on them now). They are almost spooky quiet on the hiway and do very well on the beach. No drift, no roll. Kumho also makes them in an AT tread and I think a set of knobbies as well. You also won't be disappointed with the price. Mine were $325 installed (on stock alum rims).

Let us know what you decide.
Peace!
Reepicheep

 

I had those on my 4Runner when I bought it used at 47,000 miles in dec 2001. I was so impressed with them, they were replaced 3 months. They still had 1/3 of the tread left, but they were horrible in the snow, and pretty noisy for a "street tire"

 

Too bad the '03 tire size is so funky, 265/65 17!? Only a handful of manufacturers make that size tire and unfortunately Kumho is not one of them. I also like the Toyo and Michelin LTX, but both come only in a size larger than I currently run. Not a big problem, except now I have to replace 5 tires instead of 4. Do you think Toyota was trying to save some of the vehicle height through using a bigger tire (17 inch)? The '03 is about 2.5 inches lower than my '02 on a 16 inch wheel. I would almost prefer a 31 x 10.50x16 over the 17 incher.

 

Are you sure you need to worry about replacing the spare? I don't see how it would be required. If it's a little smaller it's no different than the 75% of the vehicles on the road that come with a space saver.

Most vehicles are using lower profile tires than years back. Fine on the street, NFG off road. I think the switch to 17" wheels was just part of the ongoing effort to make the 4Runner more carlike.

Probably smart from Toyotas viewpoint. They know people who wheel are going to buy the tires they need from the aftermarket anyway...

 

I have full time 4x4, wrong spare size will ruin the drivetrain.

 

Kumho does make the Venture AT in a 265/70/17. Would that be an option for you? It will throw your speedo off about 2 mph at 60mph.

Just a suggestion... I really cannot say enough good stuff about Kumho tires (just put a set of Ecsta HP4's on my Acura... excellent tire!)

Peace!
Reepicheep

 

I doubt it provided it's not too different.

You have differentials on both axles and between the two axles. I'd guess it won't matter as long as you don't make huge changes in tire size. As an example using the 3rd gens tires sizes - 265/70 X 16 vs 265/75 X 16 is about a 3 1/2% difference in diameter, roughly 1".

Taking a spare that's never been on the ground vs. an almost completely worn out tire will give you that much difference.

So would 10-15 psi difference in inflation pressure between 1 tire and the next...

 

Hey guys, I carry tires as well if anyone wants a quote. Just give me a buzz I am always happy to quote.

Todd

 

Todd - will replacing the 265/65-17 with 265/70-17 create problems? It's pretty obvious that we would likely need to replace the spare, too, so it may be really tight under there.

 

Well switching between the two will increase height a little bit. As for the spare, if you only use it in an emergency situation for a short period of time shouldn't do any damage. I wouldn't recommend using it longer than that.

Todd

 

back to dunlops... mine have a bit of trail damage, but other than that, they seem to be wearing okay. no real complaints about them here. 32x11.50x15 mud rovers. few miles on them though.