BFG KO2 dilemma, what's better?

[daesonn]

Hey guys,

Going to buy some BFG KO2s while they are on sale at Costco . I was originally planning to buy 275/70/17 to avoid rubbing issues (and therefore trimming my newish truck) but it seems as though these tires only come in load rating E, whereas 285/70/17 come in load rating C and may be a lighter/less stiff tire. I think either one is going to do just fine for my light off-roading so just wondering what is going to give me the best mpg.

Cheers

 

[MAST4R]

Hey guys,

Going to buy some BFG KO2s while they are on sale at Costco ��. I was originally planning to buy 275/70/17 to avoid rubbing issues (and therefore trimming my newish truck) but it seems as though these tires only come in load rating E, whereas 285/70/17 come in load rating C and may be a lighter/less stiff tire. I think either one is going to do just fine for my light off-roading so just wondering what is going to give me the best mpg.

Cheers

I guess you mean not driving on the sidewalls and not climbing waterfalls by using grip from a couple sq in of tire. But for the rest, here in AZ, there is no light offroading for the tires.

The KO2 is a great desert tire, whichever version you choose.

One thing to consider is speed rating, if you care. The other is weight. You can have a lightweight LTC KO2 with an S speed rating in 265.

Beyond that, you can have a decent weight LTC 285 KO2 if you choose the Q rated LTC option. But if you want the S rated LTC then the weight penalty is such that the 275 KO2 becomes more attractive (3 ply sidewall plus R speed rating).

That's me anyway.

Maybe bring the Costco coupon to Discount Tire? Better service all around. And Costco might refuse to install the tires you want since they will be off the factory info.

 

[ChrisJHarney]

There are two C rated 285s available from BFGoodrich, an S rated and Q rated model, with the only discernible difference being the S is rated for 112mph vs 99mph for the Q rated model. The Q rated model is advertised at 51lbs., and the S rated model is rated at 58lbs. The 275 E rated tire, sits neatly in the middle of both at 55lbs., and is speed rated at 106mph.

Soooooo, if all you care about is MPGs and not cutting up your rig, than by all means get the 275, because honestly 4lbs. per tire is not going to matter all that much, especially when you are going to have lower rolling resistance, lower coefficient of drag, etc.........

Now, for all the engineers that populate this forum, they may beg to look at your driving habits and if you do a lot of highway driving on flat land, where having a larger tire could drop your RPMs enough to save you $5 or $6 bucks over the course of 10,000 miles......

Waste not want not.

 

[4Liberty]

C load rating at 40 psi vs E load rating at 60 psi or 70 whatever you guys use for highway pressure. Get C for ride comfort! Kinda important. E is heavy and rides hard. E is really for 3/4 ton and 1 ton pickups.

 

[4runnin4mylife]

I will give my 2 cents on previous experience... I went 275 E load KO2's and they road stiff as hell in my opinion. I did run them for the life of the tire and then i switched to 285 C load (Q rated) and I can definitely tell a difference in the ride without any other changes other than moving from E load tire to C load tire. They give a smoother ride for sure. In my opinion for "everyday" offroading... gravel roads, rutted up back roads, anything besides rocky terrain, I think that C load is the sweet spot for our trucks.

Hope this helps!

 

[Bumbo]

I’ve gone through a lot of tire options in the past 5 years so ill give my 2-cents.

I personally avoid E load range tires because I just don’t like the way they feel on and off-road. It’s just too much tire for my taste. Its stiff as hell, feels like I have less suspension because the tire offers very little compliance and throws all that load into the suspension instead.

Even for off-road driving I much prefer an C or D load at most. C load tires in comparison makes it feel like you have more suspension that you really do. Its more transparent as in you can’t really tell where tire and suspension overlap especially when aired down.

I didn’t really like the added weight either, but that was really more of a minor concern, but it is noticeable if you have two sets and you are swapped between the two.

As much as I wanted to like the E load KO2, I didn’t.

 

[Bumbo]

Maybe bring the Costco coupon to Discount Tire? Better service all around. And Costco might refuse to install the tires you want since they will be off the factory info.

Discount will match Costco pricing.

Ill take Discount Tire over Costco any day of the week. Costco is so damn busy in my area I try and avoid them. Discount Tire service and speed has always been amazing for me. I like those guys a lot and it pays off in the long run with things like rotations.

 

[alico268]

I just replaced my stock Dunlops as we were nearing the 50k mark. I know a lot of people say the E loads are fine and sometimes it comes down to the sidewall construction of the tire but I couldn't personally do it.

I know I wanted to step up to a 275 in a C load which is very rare. The Falken Wildpeaks fit that criteria but tip the scales a 57 lbs which was just too much weight to add over the 40lb Dunlops. The tire I decided on was the Nokian Rotiiva AT Plus 275/70, C load, 47lbs. It isn't a widely known tire and the sidewall won't give you that aggressive look the KO2 has, but it is another option if you don't want to fully embrace all the compromises that come with a heavy, over built tire.

I second using Discount Tire. They listed the Nokians at $203 a tire and price matched the $156 I found from a online retailer. They also have a 30 day satisfaction guarantee where you can switch tires if you are not satisfied in any way. That is huge and will afford you the opportunity to correct a bad decision if need be.

 

[Bergz]

E load KO2's were brutal...

I had them on for around 4K miles and literally couldn't stand it anymore. They were seriously brutal around town, but did do very well on the highway. My 2 cents...

 

[mteolus]

I like my C-load KO2s but I don't think I am going to get 50k out of them. Maybe not even 40. I'll measure tread depth and get back with you.

Regarding gas mileage, is 1 mpg going to make a difference? It is going to be bad no matter what.

And the Q vs S rating, that is interesting. Maybe that is why the C-load and E load Wildpeaks are almost identical in weight, different speed ratings?

 

[daesonn]

There are two C rated 285s available from BFGoodrich, an S rated and Q rated model, with the only discernible difference being the S is rated for 112mph vs 99mph for the Q rated model. The Q rated model is advertised at 51lbs., and the S rated model is rated at 58lbs. The 275 E rated tire, sits neatly in the middle of both at 55lbs., and is speed rated at 106mph.

Soooooo, if all you care about is MPGs and not cutting up your rig, than by all means get the 275, because honestly 4lbs. per tire is not going to matter all that much, especially when you are going to have lower rolling resistance, lower coefficient of drag, etc.........

Now, for all the engineers that populate this forum, they may beg to look at your driving habits and if you do a lot of highway driving on flat land, where having a larger tire could drop your RPMs enough to save you $5 or $6 bucks over the course of 10,000 miles......

Waste not want not.

So the Q is rated at 99mph and the lightest tire of the 3 options.... interesting. I don't really ever find myself going over 99mph and I doubt if I end up a few mph over that for a few seconds/minutes at a time that the tires are going to shred off, am I right? Maybe I'm being silly trying to save 32lbs of (total) wheel weight but that seems fairly significant...

 

[ChrisJHarney]

So the Q is rated at 99mph and the lightest tire of the 3 options.... interesting. I don't really ever find myself going over 99mph and I doubt if I end up a few mph over that for a few seconds/minutes at a time that the tires are going to shred off, am I right? Maybe I'm being silly trying to save 32lbs of (total) wheel weight but that seems fairly significant...

I don't think you're being silly saving 32lbs. of unsprung weight. It's a pretty significant amount and I know some enthusiasts that sweat ounces when it comes to wheel and tire choices. If you drove your vehicle back to back with both sets of tires on you would definitely notice the difference.

I can't speak on behalf of BFGoodrich, but I can surmise that like most large manufacturers, they err on the side of caution when rating a tire, and more than likely that rating is good for the life of the tire, so as long as you're not driving over 100 on 10 year old bald tires they will probably not shred on you. But I've seen stranger things happen to seemingly good tires.

If you are indeed limiting yourself to light off-roading, and to me that means gravel roads, fire roads, and maybe a small rock or two on your trip, then any KO2 tire will suit you just fine. I run a lot of trails where if you take a bad line, you have a really good chance of getting your spare out, and so I run E rated (KO2's for 30K miles and Cooper SST Pro for 6K miles) for the extra sidewall and tread. That being said, I also run these same trails with a buddy that runs C rated Nitto Ridge Grapplers and hasn't had a flat yet either, so..............

 

[Kotletachka]

E range tires if you do alot of offroading. Learned my lesson when I lost traction on some loose shale and lost three tires. It was quite the expedition. Running ST MAXX and loving it. Yes it its a little harsh but for me makes all the sense in the world. And nobody runs them at the max limits plss

 

[jhguth]

I dont like how low you have to deflate E range tires to get any amount of flex offroad, I get nervous about rolling a tire of a rim (which I've seen someone do running e tires because they had to drop the pressure so low)