BFG KO2 Ride Quality (Stock Size) ??
 

Hi All,

I have a 2018 SR5 Premium 4x4 and have finally switched from the stock Dunlops to the KO2’s in 265/70/r17 C rated (stock size).

After having the KO2’s installed, I went on a 200 mile highway trip. At low speeds, I did not notice much difference, but had subtle, intermittent vibrations, steering wheel feedback at high speeds on fairly smooth road. Though most was subtle, some of the vibrations/shutters would shake the entire truck...

They are on 35 PSI cold/ 40 PSI warm. They were balanced by the shop (but suspect I will have them revisit this).

I knew I would experience a slightly noisier, stiffer tire going to an AT from the stock, but is this the ride quality y’all experience on your runners with the KO2’s?

My stock size but load range E KO2's seem just fine on the road.

So I’m running them in a 285/70 but C load as well and have had no issues with mine. I suspect your balance is off on them or potentially your alignment?

My ride is quiet and pretty smooth all things considered. I run mine at 38psi cold and have been very happy with them.

Since it's the stock size, I'd go with the door sticker PSI.

The door sticker is more based on the P load rating than the size. C and E rated tires typically require higher PSI than a P-Rated tire does.

I had mine installed at a shop that has probably installed over 1000 sets of the BFG KO2 in both C and E rated tires, and that’s just on 4Runners and Tacoma’s haha they put mine at 38psi as they found that was a good psi give or take for the C-Rated tires.

I think the fans of the KO's will always stick up for them.
And I don't blame them, really, I was once one of them.

I ran KO's exclusively on a Pathfinder, then a Rodeo, for a total of probably 10-12 years.
I never, ever got stuck in all those years, not even close, so they are Extremely Reliable.

But when I did the lift on the 4Runner 6 years ago, I decided I wanted a change.
So I did a lot of researching and finally decided on the Cooper AT3's.

Slightly less reliable as a true AT tire, but I'm on asphalt 95% of the time.
The first time I hit snow with the Coopers, my heart jumped a little, compared to the ultra-confidence I had with the KO's.
There was a real difference there, but the Cooper's did fine, I've never got stuck with the Coopers either.
But I did feel the difference.

But the difference in ride, coming from all those years on the KO's, was Very noticeable.
Much smoother, much more asphalt oriented.
I miss the ballsy rugged look, and the sheer 100% confidence that comes with the KO's...
But I don't miss that ride compared to the very smooth and comfortable Coopers.

And my opinion is once they get down to about 50% wear, the ride gets even worse.

It's always a trade-off, it always is, and you can't bluff yourself around that fact.
You have to know your priorities and what it is you really want and then go with that.

New
Update- Have since taken the truck to get a road-force balance from a Discount tire and have taken it back to the original shop where the foreman test drove it at highway speeds.

The conclusion from them: "That balance is perfect, no alignment issues, nothing out of round- The slight vibration at 70+ mph is because the vehicle is too light to smooth out any imperfections that come from the heavier/ aggressive tire"

It still seems like the vibration in the chassis that is just enough to chatter my teeth on a perfectly smooth road should not come from these high end tires....
What do yall think?

Sounds like bullshit and they don't want to make it right.

I cannot emphasize how much I hate my K02s. But they are dead reliable.

My truck always has a shimmy, only way to remediate has been rotating tires every 3k miles.

Shop supervisor you spoke to is full of it. K02s are known with these balance issues. And they aren't lying, when you hit 50% they get loud and annoying. I'm coming from full mud MTR Kevlars. Definitely going with new tires in the future and going to trash the K02s before they even wear completely down.

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