Do You Have KO2, Mud-Terrain, or Deep Lug Tires? Here’s Why You Need a Larger Tire Chain

Running KO2 tires, deep tread mud-terrain tires, or aggressive all-terrain setups? You’ll need to size up your tire chains. Here’s why thousands of drivers make the mistake of ordering “standard fit” chains — and end up with chains that don’t fit.

Deep lug tires are larger than they look. The extra tread depth, wide shoulder lugs, and stiffer Load Range E sidewalls mean your tire has a bigger circumference than standard tires of the same labeled size. That means standard tire chains — even if they match your size — will often come up short.

Why Standard Tire Chains Don’t Fit KO2 or Deep Tread Tires

• Deeper tread blocks and aggressive shoulder lugs increase the surface your chains must wrap around.
• Load Range E tires with stiff sidewalls don’t compress like P-metric tires — which means less give when installing chains.
• Real-world size > listed size: Deep tread tires run larger in practice, especially when inflated on a wide rim.

Result? Chains for “265/70R17” might work on stock tires — but they’ll fall short on a KO2 or deep lug version of the same size.

Best Practices: Sizing Chains for KO2, Deep Lug & Load Range E Tires

Chain May Require Tailoring — and That’s Okay

Because we size up for KO2 and deep lug tires, the chains you receive may have a bit of extra length. In some cases, you may need to remove a link or two to get a snug, custom fit for your specific tire. This is normal and easy to do with bolt cutters or a chain shortening tool.

It's far better to have to shorten a chain than to receive one that’s too small to install. Since we ship these chains via mail order, we prefer to err on the side of caution — making sure you have enough chain to fit over your larger-than-standard tread profile. Being safe beats being stuck with a chain that won't go on when you need it most.

• Choose one size up from standard fit when selecting chains for KO2 or mud tires.
• Use the fitment chart below to shop by tire size. It’s designed for aggressive tread profiles.
• Don’t guess: Contact our team if you’re unsure — we’ll confirm the exact chain size for your tire.

Below is a 4-column chart with links to heavy-duty tire chains that are matched for KO2, Load Range E, and deep tread tires: