Real world BFG T/A KO2 experience?

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Rugdoc

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Does anyone use these tires? I'm getting a new truck in a month and I'm told the factory tires just don't cut it for my needs. I guess I'll use them for the summer then get good ones for hunting season.

What is your assessment of the new BFG T/A KO2 please?

Will I wear them out on pavement if I leave them on year-round? I found the previous generaiton of BFG T/A tires were soft and lost tread quickly in regular highway driving.

I find that I actually only drive in tough off-road conditions less than 10% of the time. Going hunting for me mostly involves driving a hundred km plus on highways, sometimes many hundreds to get out of town, then perhaps hundreds in the course of a trip on gravel roads and only then if I am exploring a muddy rutted road, a rocky slide, a knarly deactivated logging road or we get something down a rough track, then I REALLY need off-road tires. Same with snow tires. I have left home, headed out in lovely almost balmy autumn weather and ended up in a one-foot dump of snow before I got to my campsite.

So the question is: Is the BFG T/A KO2 the tire I need? In the middle of writing this I had to take a call from the car dealer. He's offering me the tires (16-inch) mounted for $958.00.

What do you think?
 
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The T/A K02 is what my new to me 98 4runner had on it when I purchased it a few months ago, they were down to 25% tread left when I got it. They were fine on gravel and actually way better on rock than I thought they would be when I tried them out rock crawling(aired down to 12psi). They were completely inadequate on any kind of mud or snow deeper than 2-3 inches however.

So for a mostly highways with light offroading/logging road tire I think they would be fine, that's pretty much what they are designed for, very quiet on road as well.

Since my 4runner is a weekend only truck I don't daily drive it I just put a set of these on my 4runner as they are more aggressive and much better at chewing up mud/snow. If you are looking for something more aggressive than a A/T tire I recommend them.

http://www.hankooktire.com/global/light-trucks-tires/hankook-dynapro-mt-rt03.html

The hankooks also have good tread life I ran a set on my old 4x4(84 chev 3/4ton) and put 50,000kms on it and they had lots of life left, and I wheeled it hard and never had a flat even climbing over large sharp rocks that punched a hole in my buddies goodyear MTR's that are supposed to have Kevlar in them to make them tougher.
 
In my experience most mud tires are not the best on winter roads, I'm in the same boat as you and I personally found the good year dura tracs are an exccelent tire, good off road, but not the kind of tread for mud bogging.

If you really need a mud type tire, the best all around set of tires I ever had were interco trxxus MT. The same company that makes super swampers. They lasted good and were amazing on crappy road conditions, and really good in the mud also. Check them out!
 
My buddy shipped his 4Runner to Russia and drove around the world on All Terrain KO's. He then shipped his truck from the UK to NS and drove back to vancouver. He's still running those tires, and no flats after thousands of miles of #### roads in Mongolia, Russia and the 'Stans.
 
I was in the same boat before Christmas and after talking to some people I decided to go with cooper discovery at3s. My tire needs sound pretty much like yours. The wrangler sra's that came on my truck worked pretty good for the first 2.5 years
 
I have had them on 2 trucks I bought. Both came with them from the dealer. One was an 05 Duramax the other was my 2011 Power Wagon. All I can say is they are garbage tires. I rotate my tires every 10k and both sets did not last. Maybe 25-30k. They dont balance worth a crap, and traction is mediocre at best. I have ran Toyo M/T's General Red Letter's and Goodyear Duratrac's all 35" tall. So far the best has been the General Red Letter's. Very little road noise, balanced well, no vibration at any speed, and traction was great.
 
BigBraz15 said:
In my experience most mud tires are not the best on winter roads, I'm in the same boat as you and I personally found the good year dura tracs are an exccelent tire, good off road, but not the kind of tread for mud bogging.

If you really need a mud type tire, the best all around set of tires I ever had were interco trxxus MT. The same company that makes super swampers. They lasted good and were amazing on crappy road conditions, and really good in the mud also. Check them out!
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I live in the BC interior, the main road outta here is paved, everywhere else is "offroad"
I drive a jeep YJ , notoriously known for being terrible in the snow and ice.
3 years ago I bought a set of Wrangler territory Mud/snow winter rated tires and never looked back.
too bad the tire is now discontinued.
Best tires I've had on my jeep bar none for true winter driving.
last week I blew my transfer case up in the hills above Roger lake in the Canim district...... still lots of snow in the shady areas of the road, over a foot x 100 yards or more in a few places
it was panic when the tcase went and I lost my front end..... and of course I left all my recovery gear at the house, my chains, turfer, everything LOL
aired those puppies down to 10lbs of air, barely holding the bead..... and we made er home.
I thank the tires LOL

on the other hand, I know quite a few guys who swear by the tires the OP is askin about, pretty solid rep.
for my next set of tires I'm going full offroad with 35" Nitto trail grapplers
 
I put a set of KO2 tires on my F-150 for the winter, they worked way better than the factory Pirelli all-season tires. 20 inch 55 profile. About 8000 km over the winter, don't seem to be very worn. Not the best on ice, but good on snow and mud. They do have the snowflake winter rating imprinted on them. Was going to buy Duratrac Wranglers but everybody was sold out by the time I got around to it.
 
I'm not a duratrac fan for short wheelbase or lighter than 1/2 ton vehicles , had them on a K5 blazer and quickly replaced them with the original BFG mud terrains , that was a few years ago now, but they do work well on my buddy's big dodge.
 
bcboarder said:
I was in the same boat before Christmas and after talking to some people I decided to go with cooper discovery at3s. My tire needs sound pretty much like yours. The wrangler sra's that came on my truck worked pretty good for the first 2.5 years
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My experience is similar to this, I've had the same set of cooper AT3's on my jeep for almost 2 years and they have been great. Yes there are better tires out there for a dedicated mud or off road set up, but these a very good balance of on road, snow and off road performance in my opinion (the price doesn't hurt either). It may help that my jeep has a smaller foot print so I can tiptoe around or through some of the bad spots. I know my dad has the same tires on his GMC sierra and has zero complaints as well.
 
Guess I should have said that I've got the at3's on my f150. Just had them out in some foot deep snow that had melted and frozen and was never worried.
 
A buddy talked to a Tacoma owner who tried BFG KO2 tires and said they never balanced right and caused a whole lot of vibration.
 
20 year old technology. Try the Goodyear Duratrac. Great traction, very low noise, smooth ride. I put 4 sets of tires on my new truck a few years ago I kept the Duratracs...
 
Rugdoc said:
Does anyone use these tires? I'm getting a new truck in a month and I'm told the factory tires just don't cut it for my needs. I guess I'll use them for the summer then get good ones for hunting season.

What is your assessment of the new BFG T/A KO2 please?

Will I wear them out on pavement if I leave them on year-round? I found the previous generaiton of BFG T/A tires were soft and lost tread quickly in regular highway driving.

I find that I actually only drive in tough off-road conditions less than 10% of the time. Going hunting for me mostly involves driving a hundred km plus on highways, sometimes many hundreds to get out of town, then perhaps hundreds in the course of a trip on gravel roads and only then if I am exploring a muddy rutted road, a rocky slide, a knarly deactivated logging road or we get something down a rough track, then I REALLY need off-road tires. Same with snow tires. I have left home, headed out in lovely almost balmy autumn weather and ended up in a one-foot dump of snow before I got to my campsite.

So the question is: Is the BFG T/A KO2 the tire I need? In the middle of writing this I had to take a call from the car dealer. He's offering me the tires (16-inch) mounted for $958.00.

What do you think?
Click to expand...

I think if I were a car dealer and I had a customer buying a new truck or suv from me say he goes hunting or does other things "off-road" I would somehow know what his "needs" are and the tires that the vehicle happens to come with wouldn't suitable so I would sell him some popular brand of tires that looked the part.

But I'm not in that business so I don't know.
 
Rifter said:
The T/A K02 is what my new to me 98 4runner had on it when I purchased it a few months ago, they were down to 25% tread left when I got it. They were fine on gravel and actually way better on rock than I thought they would be when I tried them out rock crawling(aired down to 12psi). They were completely inadequate on any kind of mud or snow deeper than 2-3 inches however.

So for a mostly highways with light offroading/logging road tire I think they would be fine, that's pretty much what they are designed for, very quiet on road as well.

Since my 4runner is a weekend only truck I don't daily drive it I just put a set of these on my 4runner as they are more aggressive and much better at chewing up mud/snow. If you are looking for something more aggressive than a A/T tire I recommend them.

http://www.hankooktire.com/global/light-trucks-tires/hankook-dynapro-mt-rt03.html

The hankooks also have good tread life I ran a set on my old 4x4(84 chev 3/4ton) and put 50,000kms on it and they had lots of life left, and I wheeled it hard and never had a flat even climbing over large sharp rocks that punched a hole in my buddies goodyear MTR's that are supposed to have Kevlar in them to make them tougher.
Click to expand...

I smoked one of those dynapros (AT-M tread pattern) on a rock: I was dragging a log with my one tonne using the front tow hooks, and the circumstances were such that I had to turn so that and the weight of the log trying to keep the truck inline, the front tire sidewall got punched on a quite dull loose piece of granite (that I could roll by hand). While I like the tread design for snow plowing (it's superb) even in the load range E (and for the cost) that this tire was, the sidewalls leave much to be desired - Definitely not a BFGoodrich Silvertown. I've not had the dynapros long enough to comment on their longevity... yes, the ruined tire was not a year old.
 
I find these tires great in snow and for a while they were the only off road tire with a winter rating. They are also quite decent for off road. I do however find them very heavy, my size was only available in 8 ply and it was noticeable on power and mileage, strong but too heavy for the size. They wear a bit faster than other tires and need a lot of rotation, they seem to have a bit softer compound. The tread pattern while good for traction holds a lot of small stones which like to let go when you reach 80kph and leave a nice stone chip. After 80,000km they add up. I won't buy them again.
 
The BFGs are top of the line and exactly the tire for what you describe as your needs. I have used many sets of the all terrains including the TKOs. I personally was a mud terrain guy until my hobbies and driving became more road than off-road. Should your needs change more to the off-road and wetter/mud the Goodyear Duratrac are excellent more agreessive type tires and I am running my first set on my Dakota quad cab now and very happy with them as compared to a mud terrain. BFG all terrains are very high quality and race proven with a rich history in off-road although one of the more pricey tires but again all good tires cost good money!---Dieseldog!
 
I ran BFG AT K/Os on several Jeeps before I got seriously into rock crawling. I'd recommend them for street/hunting use. I know the KO's were snow rated as well and I never had a problem with them in the snow on an SWB Jeep. The KO2 which you are thinking about seems to be a simple update/improvement to an already proven design. I would use them if I had a daily driven truck anymore.

The Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac's get excellent feedback as well. I've not hear anything bad about them from guys running dual street/mild trail Jeeps.

I don't think you'd be unhappy with either tire. It comes down to personal preference about brand and look. Keep in mind if you plan on towing/hauling that you need to pay attention to load ratings. A higher load rating means a stiffer tire that will in all likelihood ride a little rougher and wear a little faster. If you don't need a heavy weight rating I'd look to see if there is something rated less (but still in the range you need) in that size/brand/style.
 
My experience with the KO2s, almost 10k on them on a JK... They're not the best in mud at all; they're ok. They're good on packed snow and ice on the street (as noted, they are TRAC snowflake rated), but obviously not as good as a dedicated winter tire. I had no issues this winter driving normally - that is to say, I could accelerate, brake and stopping as on dry pavement without the TC or ABS kicking in. They're only ok in snow on ATV trails, but admittedly I don't bother airing them down. Great on the street, great on gravel and great on dirt. They're absolutely not the best at anything, except being the best all - around all terrain tire. As noted, they're heavy, and too high a load rating for the JK in the size I'm running. The flip side to that is incredible sidewall strength and puncture resistance; I run them at a lower pressure than suggested to mitigate ride harshness, and it doesn't impact fuel economy or wear any. In any case, I'm getting 12.5l/100km highway with the Pentastar at 110km/h cruising. For a 6 cyl, 3.6l, 285 HP engine, that's good enough for me.

The KO2 wouldn't be my choice for a dedicated mudder rig, or for specific off road use. But for a daily driver that sees gravel, trails and say 10% off roading, they're unbeatable IMHO. The KOs had a reputation for wearing like iron, so I'm surprised to hear of issues with tread life. I'm expecting 50k out of the KO2, and I'm well on track for that. Certainly there's not 20% tread wear yet.
 
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