BFG All-Terrain T/A KO2 went on sale today

[2014 Warthog]

Yeah for whatever reason it makes me sick to my stomach when I look at that.

Yeah it was literally making me sick to look at.

I tried looking up "sidewall bubbles" on the net to see if that was real/common. I found the original picture, it's not quite as bad:

http://i.imgur.com/mNodtJB.jpg

But that led me to the reddit site /r/tryphobia and several of the images there had the same effect!

Something about the combination of something that is so obviously weird/not natural (Though a lot of "natural" images can cause it) combined with repeating patterns seems to illicit a revulsion response in some people.

Usually the images tend to have "holes" in them rather than bumps but I got the same sick feeling from this tire as from some of the other example images...

 

[proudrunner]

Just order a set of 285/75/16 BF Goodrich t/a ko2 from American tire depot. Will get them install tomorrow morning. I bought them at Atd, because they are having a promotion of buying 3 tires and getting the fourth free. That's for all tires that they sell not only bfgoodrich. Just want to give heads up on people who are shopping for tires. Can't wait to see them on my rig!

 

[gsu_dave]

Thanks! No lift yet but the tires are 275/70-17, which seem to me like the ideal size for non-lifted 4Runners. I plan to do an upgrade of the stock suspension at some point but will only raise the front about an inch to level things out.

I haven't put these tires to the test yet but I've been pretty happy with the ride thus far. Although, I'm coming from stock tires... not hard to top those things.

Cool, thanks for the response.

 

[proudrunner]

Not the best pics, but so far I love the ride. Can't wait to do some off-roading to try them out.

 

[FrontRange4Runner]

Slightly unrelated but today we received a model for a BFG A/T KO2 promotional stand here at the dealership I work at. The manager chose not to display it so it's now my drink stand haha

New ones look much better IMHO. Dumb question, but to those that have them, are the cup-holder pics representative of how deep the sipes go? I'm guessing not but it's hard to tell form other pics.

 

[danballard42]

BFG KO 2 Review

First post, just thought I would share some info about the new KO2s as I was not able to find much anywhere about off road performance in tough conditions besides the BFG sponsored Baja "test".

I just put on around 450 miles off road (much of it extremely tough off road) and 1600 highway in CO, UT and AZ over the last 10 days. Everything from deep snow to heavy mud to rock crawling to hard pack snow/ice to fast 60mph desert running (I also just added Icon suspension so I was running a little faster then was smart at times).

I've had two sets of the old KOs on an FJ and a 3rd gen 4runner before that. I'm a long, long way from being an expert on tires, but I am a pro outdoor photographer so I live outdoors and spend insane amounts of time off road. I also grew up on a farm in CO winters so I have quite a bit of experience off road with many 4x4 pickup and tire combos (mostly M/Ts). Again, far from a tire expert, but I wanted to help anyone struggling with the decision to go with these or not. I was considering the Toyo A/T or the the Duratracs before these came out but hated the weight of the Toyo's and the 2 ply sidewall of the Duratracs even with the E rating. KO2 maybe the best of both??

Overall so far: Excellent!

Highway: Very Good (plenty of info about this online)

Packed Snow and Ice: Excellent! (I am really, really happy here. Tested on a steep mountain road with tons of curves. Hard to find worse {or better} conditions for a test. Really impressive and hands down better then the KOs)

Deep(ish) Snow (1ft): Very Good to Excellent (need more time in deeper snow to really tell, but in about 10 miles of 1ft deep and 20 miles of 8in deep {three day old hard packed, which is always the worst} and a decent incline I had zero issues in 4low finding traction)

Heavy Mud: Good (I am very happy for A/Ts and compared to the KOs. Still not Great clean out of course, but very accecptable for what they are)

Slick Mud: Very Good (in the lighter slick stuff they did really well and I was very impressed)

Rock Crawling: Very Good to Excellent (tough to tell here what amount of traction was due to the tires vs the better suspension keeping the tires on the ground more often, but I had a TON of traction. I saw two guys having hell getting up Bobby's Hole (one Jeep, one heavily modified Xterra). Sliding and jumping and multiple attempts. I just walked right up it. Partly (mostly maybe) due to rear def lock and A Track helping out, but I had both on the FJ and def lock on the 3rd gen and would have had more trouble with either getting up Bobby's (between the tires and suspension I am extremely happy with the crawling ability of the 5gen Trail)

Durability Off Road so far: Very Good (I know only 450 miles off road doesn't mean much, but considering the speed and that most of the miles were on terrible rocky roads it did give me some idea what to expect. There was definite chipping on the tread but not as much as I expected. I can't compare to the KOs because I have never had suspension that let me run stupid fast on such bad roads. I was honestly planning on needing the spare and possibly repair kit, but had no issues. Sidewalls held up great. Very happy so far.

Some pics attached....


275/70/R17 4Runner Trail with KDSS Icon Stage 2 Baja Rack

www.danballardphoto.com

 

[Plano26]

First post, just thought I would share some info about the new KO2s as I was not able to find much anywhere about off road performance in tough conditions besides the BFG sponsored Baja "test".

I just put on around 450 miles off road (much of it extremely tough off road) and 1600 highway in CO, UT and AZ over the last 10 days. Everything from deep snow to heavy mud to rock crawling to hard pack snow/ice to fast 60mph desert running (I also just added Icon suspension so I was running a little faster then was smart at times).

I've had two sets of the old KOs on an FJ and a 3rd gen 4runner before that. I'm a long, long way from being an expert on tires, but I am a pro outdoor photographer so I live outdoors and spend insane amounts of time off road. I also grew up on a farm in CO winters so I have quite a bit of experience off road with many 4x4 pickup and tire combos (mostly M/Ts). Again, far from a tire expert, but I wanted to help anyone struggling with the decision to go with these or not. I was considering the Toyo A/T or the the Duratracs before these came out but hated the weight of the Toyo's and the 2 ply sidewall of the Duratracs even with the E rating. KO2 maybe the best of both??

Overall so far: Excellent!

Highway: Very Good (plenty of info about this online)

Packed Snow and Ice: Excellent! (I am really, really happy here. Tested on a steep mountain road with tons of curves. Hard to find worse {or better} conditions for a test. Really impressive and hands down better then the KOs)

Deep(ish) Snow (1ft): Very Good to Excellent (need more time in deeper snow to really tell, but in about 10 miles of 1ft deep and 20 miles of 8in deep {three day old hard packed, which is always the worst} and a decent incline I had zero issues in 4low finding traction)

Heavy Mud: Good (I am very happy for A/Ts and compared to the KOs. Still not Great clean out of course, but very accecptable for what they are)

Slick Mud: Very Good (in the lighter slick stuff they did really well and I was very impressed)

Rock Crawling: Very Good to Excellent (tough to tell here what amount of traction was due to the tires vs the better suspension keeping the tires on the ground more often, but I had a TON of traction. I saw two guys having hell getting up Bobby's Hole (one Jeep, one heavily modified Xterra). Sliding and jumping and multiple attempts. I just walked right up it. Partly (mostly maybe) due to rear def lock and A Track helping out, but I had both on the FJ and def lock on the 3rd gen and would have had more trouble with either getting up Bobby's (between the tires and suspension I am extremely happy with the crawling ability of the 5gen Trail)

Durability Off Road so far: Very Good (I know only 450 miles off road doesn't mean much, but considering the speed and that most of the miles were on terrible rocky roads it did give me some idea what to expect. There was definite chipping on the tread but not as much as I expected. I can't compare to the KOs because I have never had suspension that let me run stupid fast on such bad roads. I was honestly planning on needing the spare and possibly repair kit, but had no issues. Sidewalls held up great. Very happy so far.

Some pics attached....


275/70/R17 4Runner Trail with KDSS Icon Stage 2 Baja Rack

www.danballardphoto.com

Awesome! Great real world review...thanks for posting..I'm on the fence between these and the Cooper S/T Maxx.

 

[STX4Runner]

First post, just thought I would share some info about the new KO2s as I was not able to find much anywhere about off road performance in tough conditions besides the BFG sponsored Baja "test".

I just put on around 450 miles off road (much of it extremely tough off road) and 1600 highway in CO, UT and AZ over the last 10 days. Everything from deep snow to heavy mud to rock crawling to hard pack snow/ice to fast 60mph desert running (I also just added Icon suspension so I was running a little faster then was smart at times).

I've had two sets of the old KOs on an FJ and a 3rd gen 4runner before that. I'm a long, long way from being an expert on tires, but I am a pro outdoor photographer so I live outdoors and spend insane amounts of time off road. I also grew up on a farm in CO winters so I have quite a bit of experience off road with many 4x4 pickup and tire combos (mostly M/Ts). Again, far from a tire expert, but I wanted to help anyone struggling with the decision to go with these or not. I was considering the Toyo A/T or the the Duratracs before these came out but hated the weight of the Toyo's and the 2 ply sidewall of the Duratracs even with the E rating. KO2 maybe the best of both??

Overall so far: Excellent!

Highway: Very Good (plenty of info about this online)

Packed Snow and Ice: Excellent! (I am really, really happy here. Tested on a steep mountain road with tons of curves. Hard to find worse {or better} conditions for a test. Really impressive and hands down better then the KOs)

Deep(ish) Snow (1ft): Very Good to Excellent (need more time in deeper snow to really tell, but in about 10 miles of 1ft deep and 20 miles of 8in deep {three day old hard packed, which is always the worst} and a decent incline I had zero issues in 4low finding traction)

Heavy Mud: Good (I am very happy for A/Ts and compared to the KOs. Still not Great clean out of course, but very accecptable for what they are)

Slick Mud: Very Good (in the lighter slick stuff they did really well and I was very impressed)

Rock Crawling: Very Good to Excellent (tough to tell here what amount of traction was due to the tires vs the better suspension keeping the tires on the ground more often, but I had a TON of traction. I saw two guys having hell getting up Bobby's Hole (one Jeep, one heavily modified Xterra). Sliding and jumping and multiple attempts. I just walked right up it. Partly (mostly maybe) due to rear def lock and A Track helping out, but I had both on the FJ and def lock on the 3rd gen and would have had more trouble with either getting up Bobby's (between the tires and suspension I am extremely happy with the crawling ability of the 5gen Trail)

Durability Off Road so far: Very Good (I know only 450 miles off road doesn't mean much, but considering the speed and that most of the miles were on terrible rocky roads it did give me some idea what to expect. There was definite chipping on the tread but not as much as I expected. I can't compare to the KOs because I have never had suspension that let me run stupid fast on such bad roads. I was honestly planning on needing the spare and possibly repair kit, but had no issues. Sidewalls held up great. Very happy so far.

Some pics attached....


275/70/R17 4Runner Trail with KDSS Icon Stage 2 Baja Rack

www.danballardphoto.com

Awesome. The more I think I want to do something different besides BFG ATs with my next set of tires, the more I don't. Especially after your review. They have always held up great for me, and I agree with you. Godd weight to strength ratio. I love having 3 ply sidewalls and a tire that doesn't weigh a ton (c load at least).

Man, you need some sliders though! It looks like you were just a few inches away from crunching your rocker panels a few times.

 

[danballard42]

Awesome! Great real world review...thanks for posting..I'm on the fence between these and the Cooper S/T Maxx.

No worries! I have heard the Maxx is a solid tire as well.

Awesome. The more I think I want to do something different besides BFG ATs with my next set of tires, the more I don't. Especially after your review. They have always held up great for me, and I agree with you. Godd weight to strength ratio. I love having 3 ply sidewalls and a tire that doesn't weigh a ton (c load at least).

Man, you need some sliders though! It looks like you were just a few inches away from crunching your rocker panels a few times.

Yeah, I know what you mean. I was absolutely not going with KOs again either, but the more I researched the more I realazied what I was looking for wasn't out there. I really needed great winter performance, 3 ply sidewalls and I wanted decent weight. The KO2 is the only thing I've found that has all of the above. Talk about luck with the timing.

Yes!! I really need sliders. I have had them on the last three vehicles, but I only had the 4runner for about a week before I left and I didn't have time. I decided to just take it easy and wait for the real rock crawling till I got sliders and decent skid plates......didn't quite happen

 

[Tronner]

Thanks for the great review danballard42! How is the gas mileage and acceleration of the truck with the KO2's? I'm on the fence between the 265/70r/17 Duratrac SL rating and the TA KO2 in 275/70r17. I'll probably be 90% on road with some off roading in CO and AZ. I might haul a small trailer once in a while as well. The issue I have is the Duratracs are 43 lbs per tire and apparently very good in the snow (get a lot of that here in CO lol). Tire Rack lists the KO2's at 55 lbs per tire. That extra 12lbs per corner seems like it would really hurt performance no? I'd love to have the 275 size, but I'm just not sure if the extra weight is going to hurt too much.

 

[danballard42]

Thanks for the great review danballard42! How is the gas mileage and acceleration of the truck with the KO2's? I'm on the fence between the 265/70r/17 Duratrac SL rating and the TA KO2 in 275/70r17. I'll probably be 90% on road with some off roading in CO and AZ. I might haul a small trailer once in a while as well. The issue I have is the Duratracs are 43 lbs per tire and apparently very good in the snow (get a lot of that here in CO lol). Tire Rack lists the KO2's at 55 lbs per tire. That extra 12lbs per corner seems like it would really hurt performance no? I'd love to have the 275 size, but I'm just not sure if the extra weight is going to hurt too much.

I honestly don't know. I added so many things to mine at the same time as the tires that I am not sure if it really had a noticeable effect or not. I will say that with the tires and rack and a bunch of weight from gear it still has plenty of power and decent mileage for what it is. I am not disappointed. I am getting around 18 combined when loaded.

They do seem to be great in the snow as well, which was also super important for me. Not sure how they compare to the duratracs. I think it really comes down to if you want stronger sidewalls or not at the cost of the extra weight. If you are mostly on road the weight savings might be worth it. For me I wanted the piece of mind as I am off road so often.

 

[2014 Warthog]

First post, just thought I would share some info about the new KO2s as I was not able to find much anywhere about off road performance in tough conditions besides the BFG sponsored Baja "test".

Awesome post, thanks.

So these were the E rated tires right? C still not avil till march I think?

What tire pressure did you use on road /off road?

 

[danballard42]

Awesome post, thanks.

So these were the E rated tires right? C still not avil till march I think?

What tire pressure did you use on road /off road?

Yes, these are the E rated. I know they ride rougher for our light 4runners, but honestly not to bad, especially with lower pressure.

I ran 35 on the highway and between 18 and 25 off road depending on the conditions. Still experimenting.

 

[danballard42]

Great looking rig you have there BTW......I am headed to your build thread to check out what you did with the front bumper.

 

[2014 Warthog]

Great looking rig you have there BTW......I am headed to your build thread to check out what you did with the front bumper.

Thanks

The BGF KO2s are the front runner for a replacement tire for me, glad to hear the good reviews

 

[bofa]

I put a set of these on the JGC... they look and ride great so far. I can't wait to try them out in the snow.

 

[Randyman...]

Awesome post, thanks.

So these were the E rated tires right? C still not avil till march I think?

What tire pressure did you use on road /off road?

The 275's won't be offered in "C" load range (same as current KO lineup). The KO2 265/70/R17's are due out in March 2015 in both C and E load.

I personally wold have LOVED to get a set of the new KO2's as I just bought new tires last month. I passed on the KO2 275/E due to weight concerns (and I could tell a difference between 265 KO's from E load to C load without knowing the "E"'s had been installed by accident - and that's only 8.5lbs difference per tire ).

I simply could not wait until March 2015 for KO2 265 tires, and the original "KO's" were all that was available in my preferred size and load range (weight). I'm all about aesthetics, but this is one time I passed on a better looking tire (the KO2 in 275/E) to get the results/performance I preferred (from original KO in 265/C)...

 

[pepowdylan]

Just got my car back from the shop and got my tires put on! I'm in love.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

Has anyone received their $70 rebate yet? Mine has not showed up after several months.

 

[paddlenbike]

The 275's won't be offered in "C" load range (same as current KO lineup).

That's a bummer. I liked my BFGs but after they moved to load range E only I started shopping their competition. I ended up with a 275/70R17 Cooper Discoverer ST as they are available in a load range C. I like the tire but my mileage dropped from 21 mpg to 19.5 mpg, which is a bigger hit than I expected. The tread pattern is similar to the BFG, but a little more aggressive, and likely the reason for the mileage hit.

Moral of the story: BFG, make load range C tires!!!