getting excited for the new BFG KO2

[Impulse Off Road]

Below is a list of the Nov 1 release sizes. The prices listed on the BFGoodrich website are only Suggested retail prices. They will be available for less than those prices. I have been driving on these tires since Sema of last year on the MMP Raptors, I was fortunate to be able to race on them last year at the Baja 1000 as well. I just returned from 18 days in Mexico where BFGoodrich did the media launch for the KO2. Between all of the vehicles used over 36,000 miles were put on the tires in Baja. We only had 3 flats in 36k miles. One was a nail. one was a valid flat, and the other flat happened when a customer ripped half of the wide open buggy's suspension apart hitting a rock that broke the center of the wheel out. These tires outperform the KO in every way possible. They are loaded with features-Silica in the tread compound, 3-D Active Sipes, and Core Gard Side Walls. The center lugs look similar, but notice the rotation of them compared to the KO. There is nearly 70% more biting edges and nearly 70% more siping in the contact patch compared with the KO. The old KO had small slits into the center blocks (Not through the block) and the new tire has sipes- running across the lug one side to the other. I am going to write a tech review on this tire next weekend. We are doing a dealer launch for some of the US tire dealers next week and I wanted to get through that before writing the story. BFGoodrich has planned for 61 sizes in the new All Terrain TA/KO2.

Tires available Nov 1.
LT275/55R20 115/112S ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 LRD RWL
LT275/55R20 115/112S ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 LRD RBL
LT275/65R18 123/120R TL ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 LRE RW
LT275/60R20 119/116S TL ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 LRD RW
LT265/70R18 124/121R TL ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 LRE RW
LT275/70R17 121/118R LRE ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 RWL
LT285/75R16 126/123R TL ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 LRE RW
LT285/65R20 127/124S TL ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 LRE RW
LT265/65R18 122/119R TL ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 LRE RW
LT285/65R18 125/122R TL ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 LRE RW
LT245/75R16 120/116S TL ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 LRE RW
LT315/75R16 127/124R TL ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 LRE RW
LT265/75R16 123/120R TL ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 LRE RW
35X12.50R18LT 123R TL ALL-TERRAIN T/A KO2 LRE RWL

 

[cruiseroutfit]

No 295/75R16 plans uncle John?

 

[SLC97SR5]

I'm getting ready to re-rubber the '97 with the KO2's. FWIW, I have over 40k on my KO's with zero flats or defects. They have chunked pretty heavily but that is my fault for hustling down fire roads at street pressure and trying to keep up with Kurt, Paul R, SAMI and 4Chin.

They have seen a bit of everything; towing quads and moving us to new homes, commuting @ 80mph, mild rockcrawling (AF Canyon, 5 mile, Sand Hollow, Pony Express) and snow duty. The feature I'm most looking forward to is the true snowflake rating.

That other site has some good info:

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/axles-tires-wheels/1850385-bfgoodrich-all-terrain-t-ko2.html

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/general-4x4-discussion/1558521-bfg-t-ko-2-a.html

 

[SLC97SR5]

Last week I took the 4Runner in for some new skins.

Old KO's with my rock rashed rims:



New KO2's with fresh rims:






So far they feel great and balanced out nicely, they are 285/75/16 LRE. I'm hoping for another flawless 40k.

 

[sixstringsteve]

those look great! Keep us updated how they perform.

 

[moab_cj5]

Very interested in performance! If I can find a comparable 37" tire, I might consider them for my Jeep.

 

[skeptic]

Very interested in performance! If I can find a comparable 37" tire, I might consider them for my Jeep.

Check the release dates for various other sizes, 37s for a 17" wheel will come out in the spring (don't have a link handy, forget the exact date but that's the size I checked for my H2).

 

[Marsh99]

How is the road noise?

 

[RogueJeepr]

Damn . I had to pass St/IM last month and got another set of OG KO's but they were a great deal . Cant complain. Dont see my size anyway .
It would be cool to see a new vs. old comparison though .

 

[gijohn40]

I will be buying a set of 35x12.50x15 within the week... really wish they had 15 inch sizes so I could buy those instead. but not looking to spend another $500 on new rims so I could run a 18 inch...

sucks having to save up for new house instead of buying jeep parts!

 

[n1v3kt]

I had the 31" KO's on my 89 4runner for years & years. They were great tires. I never tried much slick rock with them, but in snow,ice, dirt they were great. Still think I'll do 35" KM2's on my Jeep, but the predecessor KO's were great all around tires. Comparatively speaking they were quiet and my wear on them was great.

 

[SLC97SR5]

How is the road noise?

My KO's had developed some wobbles and a whirring sound above 40 mph, there were no visible defects but I suspect a shifted belt. They always balanced decently and were rotated regularly. With that said, there is no comparison...the KO2's are smooth and very quiet. I love the squishyness of new tires.

These are load range E and I can tell that the sidewall is stiffer compared to the D rated KO's. They feel great on road at the normal street psi. They are definitely heavier and I have noticed a small hit to acceleration.

We are going shooting tomorrow so I will have a little feedback on dirt performance.

The marketing from the big manufacturers cracks me up..."mud phobic bars, stone ejectors, 3-D active interlocking sipes".

 

[SLC97SR5]

We got up into the foothills above our home yesterday. The tires did a great job at street psi. Some of the climbs are moderately steep and covered in loose gravel.

I usually use 2-HI and the rear locker to maintain traction while going over the many berms produced by the quads and dirt bikes that frequent the area. I was able to use 2-HI everywhere I wanted. I shifted into 4-LO near the top of one of the hills so I could smooth out the ride and keep the kids lunches in them and not on the floor mats. Starting from a standstill in 4-LO produced zero wheel spin where the old KO's would need some wheel speed to get going. I have no doubt that a fresh set of KO's would have done equally well. All of my feedback is skewed because my KO's were well worn so a test between 5/32nds tread vs 15/32nds is not really fair.

I have no doubt I will be able to accurately compare the snow performance between the KO and KO2's since I was never impressed with their snow traction.

Either way they got us out and back from plinking so I'm happy.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Were you reluctant to go with the E load range? I have been debating on the 255/85 km2 but not sure I want that stiff of a tire.

 

[SLC97SR5]

Were you reluctant to go with the E load range? I have been debating on the 255/85 km2 but not sure I want that stiff of a tire.

Not really, going from a C rated tire to a D rated tire seemed to be a more noticeable difference. The firm ride doesn't bother me, these seem squishier than the KO's.

They had no problems conforming to rocks when aired to 20psi:









I usually air down to 12-15 psi but I wanted to get a baseline for their performance, they did really well out at the snakes and I did the majority of the trail (easy lines) in 2-HI locked in the rear. They grabbed the dirt well and there is no chunking from the loose, shale climbs. Braking and turn in response was solid while I was doing my best hooning impressions.

I drove home without airing up and they were quiet and stable up to 80 mph, not a whole lot of difference from 20psi to 32psi on the street.

EDIT: They emitted a cool racquetball squeal/squeak sound when shoved into the rocks. I haven't heard that sound from any of my previous tires.

 

[SLC97SR5]

Having spent all week in St. George and putting almost 1,000 miles on the KO2's I can confidently say that these are a better tire than their predecessor. We exposed them to 80+mph on I-15, loose shale covered climbs, sandy/slickrock washes, graded dirt roads and gravel service roads.

On the trip down I aired them to 50 psi and this proved to be too much air as they were a little darty on a relatively light 4Runner. For the trip back I aired them to 40 psi and they were perfect, the truck was planted and tracked straight, the squirleyness was gone even with the swaybars disconnected.

While on the trail we aired down to 12psi, they soaked up the choppy graded roads and folded around rocks and ledges. I was a little concerned about the 10ply rating being too stiff but it ended up not hampering us in any way.

Where I really took note of their capability was a steep, loose off camber climb leaving a wash. Typically these ascents are a one shot deal for me since if I don't make it in one continuous motion and I have to stop, the 4Runner will want to slide sideways, downhill. This results in backing down and giving it another shot usually with more momentum. After sizing up this climb I approached it to feel it out figuring I would fail the first attempt and give it another couple tries. Well, I did end up stopping mid climb and then instead of skidding aft with the brakes locked the 4Runner simply stopped. With the front end unloaded and the majority of the weight transferred to the downhill right rear tire I applied a bit of throttle and finished the climb. I was in 4-Low with the rear e-locker disengaged. This seemed to indicate much improved lateral stability and good grip from the RR sidewall that was taking the brunt of the weight...or maybe I got lucky. Either way we were travelling alone and it gave my wife and I the warm fuzzys.

The trails we ran (Honeymoon, Temple and Hurricance Cliffs trail) are not "hard or technical" trails in terms of rockcrawling, probably a 2-2.5 out of 5. We spent all day in the desert and found ourselves with a setting sun and less than a sure location. This had me hustling the 4Runner down some unmarked roads, the skating around turns and unsettled rear end that accompanied the previous tires when presented with rutted roads at speed was nowhere to be found with the KO2's.

After making it home I inspected the rubber and didn't find any chunking, missing tread blocks or anything aside from some lightly scuffed sidewalls and light scratches to the tread face where I must have spun the tires.

Overall, I'm pleased. Surely there are better tires for specific conditions but these have not left me wanting, especially given their current price.


Here is a major drawback to the new sidewall, it is more difficult to get even coverage with tire shine...

 

[moab_cj5]

Great info! Thanks for sharing your experience.

 

[jeep-N-montero]

Having spent all week in St. George and putting almost 1,000 miles on the KO2's I can confidently say that these are a better tire than their predecessor. We exposed them to 80+mph on I-15, loose shale covered climbs, sandy/slickrock washes, graded dirt roads and gravel service roads.

On the trip down I aired them to 50 psi and this proved to be too much air as they were a little darty on a relatively light 4Runner. For the trip back I aired them to 40 psi and they were perfect, the truck was planted and tracked straight, the squirleyness was gone even with the swaybars disconnected.

While on the trail we aired down to 12psi, they soaked up the choppy graded roads and folded around rocks and ledges. I was a little concerned about the 10ply rating being too stiff but it ended up not hampering us in any way.

Where I really took note of their capability was a steep, loose off camber climb leaving a wash. Typically these ascents are a one shot deal for me since if I don't make it in one continuous motion and I have to stop, the 4Runner will want to slide sideways, downhill. This results in backing down and giving it another shot usually with more momentum. After sizing up this climb I approached it to feel it out figuring I would fail the first attempt and give it another couple tries. Well, I did end up stopping mid climb and then instead of skidding aft with the brakes locked the 4Runner simply stopped. With the front end unloaded and the majority of the weight transferred to the downhill right rear tire I applied a bit of throttle and finished the climb. I was in 4-Low with the rear e-locker disengaged. This seemed to indicate much improved lateral stability and good grip from the RR sidewall that was taking the brunt of the weight...or maybe I got lucky. Either way we were travelling alone and it gave my wife and I the warm fuzzys.

The trails we ran (Honeymoon, Temple and Hurricance Cliffs trail) are not "hard or technical" trails in terms of rockcrawling, probably a 2-2.5 out of 5. We spent all day in the desert and found ourselves with a setting sun and less than a sure location. This had me hustling the 4Runner down some unmarked roads, the skating around turns and unsettled rear end that accompanied the previous tires when presented with rutted roads at speed was nowhere to be found with the KO2's.

After making it home I inspected the rubber and didn't find any chunking, missing tread blocks or anything aside from some lightly scuffed sidewalls and light scratches to the tread face where I must have spun the tires.

Overall, I'm pleased. Surely there are better tires for specific conditions but these have not left me wanting, especially given their current price.


Here is a major drawback to the new sidewall, it is more difficult to get even coverage with tire shine...

I'm pretty much sold on these, the wait for 34x10.50r17 is going to kill me.

 

[Rot Box]

Considering a set of KO2 285/75-16's for my F350. Looks like my beloved 255/85 KM2's are being discontinued

 

[fjsomething]

I'm also running the 285/75r 16 on my lx470. Haven't had them off road yet, but on road I've been very impressed. The ride is very smooth and no vibrations up to 85 mph.