BF KO 2's

[calcrc]

Correct me if I am wrong, but I heard/was told that the new KO's 2 are not an upgrade from the iconic originals but are made of a brand new material thread design. I see the similarity but material wise it is a brand new tire. EVEN if the 285's look like 265's

I will post pics when I throw 305's on my Runner boys !

 

[mcarey86]

I'm not sure what anyone is supposed to correct...

 

[TheDozer]

The answer is either C or 'Merica...:rockon::ak472:

I have "factory" size 265/70/17 BFG KO2s and for what it's worth they are awesome. KO Vs. KO2 are different...

 

[Jeremy556]

The Original KOs were revolutionary, 30 years ago. They have been outdated crap for at least 20 years, but the tread pattern is popular and the rock hard rubber lasts a long time under heavy bro trucks. I would be utterly shocked if the KO2s were not a light year jump ahead of the KOs in every way, other than tread wear.

 

[kingofZroad]

I've owned both... The KO2's are a major upgrade in performance!


Sent from my iPhone using the "Hunt and Peck" method...

 

[bluecollarjock]

I gotta say though the old BFG ATs for me lasted a LONG time even when doing lots of burnouts and driving like a madman teenager, did well in mud and snow for an AT, and not noisy on the highway on an old K5. And I had them on a Jeep TJ the tread lasted so long that the frigging sidewalls were dry rotting....so I could never complain about the old ones.

The new ones sure look good, everyone and their brother has them in LA...but that is more practical than all the mud tires around here on trucks that will never see mud...

 

[Diesel_Dog]

I just popped a set of 285/70/17 ko2s on my buggy last week. Have 40psi in them and the ride seems a bit rough. What are others running for tire pressure?

 

[GzTEP]

What you heard is wrong. Phenomenal tire. Better then the last. Have fun with those 305's.

 

[Ray Dunakin]

I gotta say though the old BFG ATs for me lasted a LONG time even when doing lots of burnouts and driving like a madman teenager, did well in mud and snow for an AT, and not noisy on the highway on an old K5. And I had them on a Jeep TJ the tread lasted so long that the frigging sidewalls were dry rotting....so I could never complain about the old ones.

I used BFG ATs for years… great, long-lasting tires. Very rarely got flats, too.

There were a few times when I had Goodyear Wranglers… those were awful. Seem to get flats in them all the time, and the tread didn't last as long either.

 

[gm350reratliff]

I've owned both... The KO2's are a major upgrade in performance!

I agree with this. I've had KO's on a few different trucks over the years and they have always treated me good. I've even had a couple sets of the original BFG AT before the KO and those seemed good as well. The KO2 does seem like a much better tire than the KO though.

 

[Friggin Idiot]

I just popped a set of 285/70/17 ko2s on my buggy last week. Have 40psi in them and the ride seems a bit rough. What are others running for tire pressure?

I ran 40psi in my 275's initially and thought the same thing. I've found it much better at 37. Some others in a different thread have reported well at 34-35, others have gone as low as 32 for normal driving. I would think your steering would be mush at 32, but to each their own.

 

[Diesel_Dog]

I ran 40psi in my 275's initially and thought the same thing. I've found it much better at 37. Some others in a different thread have reported well at 34-35, others have gone as low as 32 for normal driving. I would think your steering would be mush at 32, but to each their own.

Thanks, I might take a couple pounds out. When I researched I felt most were in the 38 pound range with 285's... I didn't think that 2 pounds would make a difference. Time to experiment.

 

[STX4Runner]

The Original KOs were revolutionary, 30 years ago. They have been outdated crap for at least 20 years, but the tread pattern is popular and the rock hard rubber lasts a long time under heavy bro trucks. I would be utterly shocked if the KO2s were not a light year jump ahead of the KOs in every way, other than tread wear.

Agree totally. I got my first set of KOs 15 years ago because that's what just about everyone got if they swapped tires, and they worked fine for my uses, but street tires probably would have too. They did last a long time under my heavy 3/4 ton suburban, too. Once I got the Trail I got KOs again because I didn't know any better and I wasn't into real wheeling yet. After just one, ONE trail in Moab they had tread blocks torn off. After a few trips to Moab, many more tread blocks were missing. For on road, and occasional light off road, or even heavy off road use, they're fine, if you don't mind tread blocks tearing off. I've seen the light and have MTRs now.

 

[sf jakey]

MTR's. Ha, worst tire I ever owned on my Jeeps. Weak sidewalls, terrible chunking, crappy wear and loud as hell on the street. The new BFG AT2 is amazing in snow, dirt, rock and pavement. Nothing like the original except appearance. Mickey Thompson MTZ was the best off road tire I owned that still was decent on the pavement. I have NEVER had a Goodyear tire that was worth a crap.

 

[ASIAN_TSUNAMI]

I'm running LT285/75R18. When I first installed them I was running the tires at 40 psi for the first 3 months, and of course when I'm off road i'll air down to 25-30 psi. But 90% of the time the truck is on the street. At 40 PSI I've noticed the vehicle seemed sluggish. I did my tire rotation and noticed that the tires are wearing as if it was low on PSI. The alignment has been done at installation and the truck still drives straight even after off-roading for more than 100 miles. Then I realized these are LT (light truck) tires. Specs. on tires indicate max PSI is 80 @ 3650 lbs. The Runner is only 6500 lbs GVWR. That's like 1625 lbs per tires. So I've bumped up the PSI to 60, and now my
4Runner doesn't feel sluggish. Cornering and braking on those tires are top notch and I've gained back 1.2 MPG, and it seems that the tires are now evenly wearing straight across. Anybody out there having the same results?

 

[STX4Runner]

MTR's. Ha, worst tire I ever owned on my Jeeps. Weak sidewalls, terrible chunking, crappy wear and loud as hell on the street. The new BFG AT2 is amazing in snow, dirt, rock and pavement. Nothing like the original except appearance. Mickey Thompson MTZ was the best off road tire I owned that still was decent on the pavement. I have NEVER had a Goodyear tire that was worth a crap.

You can't be serious that your MTRs had weak sidewalls. Are you thinking of Duratracs? Those things have two ply sidewalls and are notoriously weak off road. MTRs have Kevlar 3 ply sidewalls and are beasts off road.

 

[Gabex35]

My buddy just installed some 34x10.5-17 on his TRD pro wheels. I haven't seen them in person but photos look nice.

 

[wfo9]

MTR's. Ha, worst tire I ever owned on my Jeeps. Weak sidewalls, terrible chunking, crappy wear and loud as hell on the street. The new BFG AT2 is amazing in snow, dirt, rock and pavement. Nothing like the original except appearance. Mickey Thompson MTZ was the best off road tire I owned that still was decent on the pavement. I have NEVER had a Goodyear tire that was worth a crap.

You must be talking about the old MTRs. The new ones have very strong sidewalls. Still think it is the best overall tire on the market for a mix of hard trail use and street driving... They have their pros and cons, but overall they are fantastic and most people who run a new set keep going back. Goodyear makes good tires just like most other brands.

 

[Jetboy]

FWIW - the original MTRs did have pretty weak sidewalls. I was in high school when they came out and worked in a tires shop. We had enough coming back with torn out sidewalls to become a trend. The BFG MT of that era was just as bad. Tires have come a long way since then. The fact that people think a cooper tire is the best in any category is testament to how much things have changed. Of course if you want the toughest tires you want bias ply, but they're terrible on the highway.

In the dirt I don't think it's a fair comparison with MTRs. MTRs are off road tires. KM2s are ATs. I've never been impressed by KMs off road, but along the same lines where someone brings a heep on 35" KMs on a trail run and I'm usually running TSLs on my junk and the other comparisons are to Maxis/Interco/MickeyThompson/etc. So it's always been apples to oranges. Of course a KM isn't going to do very well in that comparison. I'd bet they're a lot nicer on the highway though.

 

[wfo9]

FWIW - the original MTRs did have pretty weak sidewalls. I was in high school when they came out and worked in a tires shop. We had enough coming back with torn out sidewalls to become a trend. The BFG MT of that era was just as bad. Tires have come a long way since then. The fact that people think a cooper tire is the best in any category is testament to how much things have changed. Of course if you want the toughest tires you want bias ply, but they're terrible on the highway.

In the dirt I don't think it's a fair comparison with MTRs. MTRs are off road tires. KM2s are ATs. I've never been impressed by KMs off road, but along the same lines where someone brings a heep on 35" KMs on a trail run and I'm usually running TSLs on my junk and the other comparisons are to Maxis/Interco/MickeyThompson/etc. So it's always been apples to oranges. Of course a KM isn't going to do very well in that comparison. I'd bet they're a lot nicer on the highway though.

KM2 = mud terrain
MTR= mud terrain

I think you meant K02.....

And yes MTR to K02 is not a fair fight off-road. It only came up because [MENTION=80024]STX4Runner[/MENTION] mentioned going from KO to MTR and never looking back. Then there was mention of MTR being weak.... You know how it quickly goes off topic....

FWIW, I think K02s are probably a good choice for most people, but so are 10 other tires.....