Bfg's new at tire!

[NinetwoNine]

I have run SEVEN sets of BFG's in my driving career for a total of around 250,000 out of my 825,000 miles my driving career has encompassed. In the '80's and '90's it was a decent tire, but only because the competition was not that keen. Now they are not even in my top 5 list. Too many better tires in the "AT" world now for performance and price, unless you buy tires based on looks alone.

Cooper
Bridgestone
Firestone
Toyo
Goodyear
Michelin

in no particular order as each of the above has good points and not so good points.
Right now Cooper, Toyo, Michelin, Goodyear and Bridgestone are the top 5, IMO. BFG's look good and that is about all compared to the rest.

I'm surprized to hear this, I've got about 600,000 miles on over the last 10 years between the Tundra's and T4R's. 75% KO's getting 60,000 per set, Bridgestone look and ride great, maxed out at 30,000, Cooper not even in the running. Goodyear did a great job with the Duratac and Michelin run for ever if you are chasing the kids or running to the store.

With 5 months per year of sleet, 4" of slush and 8" of snow on the roads we need a real AT tire. I'm running the Toyo Extreme tire now and so far love it. But I can tell it will not handle snow like the KO's.

What I find funny are the reports on performance in rain, like they are out running a slalom course with an AT tire, unless you have 6" of water in the road any AT should be fine.

It's great we all have choices but to say the KO's are crap is an uneducated comment, sales figures would probably tell you that the KO's have 40% of the market and the rest are fighting for the other 60%, this is slipping and BF had to make a change. ( the true AT market, not the pretty tire AT)

 

[marshal]

these are some useful posts besides

-garbage

*what tires you running on your truck, pictures would help.
*what bfg sucks so hard, and what vehicles were they on?

Currently running nitto terra grapplers in 285/75R17E. Very pleased with them. The construction quality is superb and despite being on the heavier side, balanced out nearly perfect. Wear is great and even across the whole surface.

Here are the tires I've ran, with opinions and explanations behind them.

Goodyear MTR 31x9.50R16E. 06 Jeep wrangler. Loud, poor wet performance, excellent wear and offroad traction. Limited life. Easy to balance, with a lot of weight

Goodyear GS-A - literally the worst tire I have ever ran. Ever. Terrible in everything

BFG mud terrain km1 - 315/75R16 - 2006 jeep wrangler. Decent offroad traction, poor wet performance, soft sidewalls (several cuts), soft tread. Poor wear. Bad cupping despite constant rotations. Sold with 30,000 miles on them with 3/32 of an inch remaining on the tread. used aggressively offroad and on the street daily driving. Actually measured 33.5" tall difficult to balance

BFG all terrain ko - 31x9.50x15 (wrangler) 31x10.50R17 (dodge ram and f150) 285/75/17 (dodge ram). Really soft tread. Poor traction overall in all conditions, poor wear with cupping, measured small (seems consistent across their whole production) poor sidewall stregth. Removed set with 2/32" tread remaining from the dodge ram after 17,000 miles. Difficult to balance

BFG mud terrain KM2 (my most favorite looking tire of all time) 37x12.50R17D (wrangler unlimited) excellent offroad performance, very soft sidewall (many cuts plugged) good wear with no cupping. Awful wet peroformance. Light weight. Measired 35" tall. Easy to balance though with a lot of weight. would chunk when used on rocks. used aggressive offroad and on the street daily driving.

Goodyear MTR Kevlar 37x12.50R17D (wrangler unlimited) excellent offroad performance, excellent wear, strong sidewall, decent wet performance, loud, good wear. Light weight. Measured true. Hard to balance. used aggressively offroad with beadlocks down to 3PSI.

General red label 35x12.50R18 and 35x12.50x15 (f150 and jeep wrangler) excellent offroad and onroad performance, long life and good wear. Quiet. Decent to balance. Measured true (all time favorite tire)

Bridgestone dueler AT (4runner) sucks. Just flat out sucks.

Nitto trail grappler AT 285/75R17E (4runner) quiet, well mannered, very easy to balance with little weight. Excellent wear. Strong sidewalls. Malleable tread surface, while still hard wearing. Good offroad traction for all terrain. Oversized

cooper discovery stt 37/12.50R17D (friends wrangler unlimited) quiet, well mannered, decent to balance. Well wearing. Soft sidewall. Excellent offroad traction. True to size.







There is no way that the BFG ko has 40% of the market share. That's impossible. The KO is not a good tire. It was, 20 years ago but it's not anymore. It hasn't been for 10 years. Yes it will get the job done, but not was well as the other tires that are available. All while doing it at a fraction of the cost of any tire that BFG sells. BFG thinks their stuff is gold and you're a fool to believe it is on any tire but the Krawler KX. Not uneducated, you've just brainwashed yourself into believing inaccuracies.

 

[STX4Runner]

Of course everyone has an opinion on tires. So here is my $0.02. BFG All Terrains have been great for me for over 10 years. I would not have continued to buy them if they had let me down. I'm not a hard core extreme wheeler, but they work great here in Texas where it is dry and I've wheeled them in Moab and Colorado aired down over some sharp rocky trails with no problem. They have shown good wear and I usually get 40,000 miles out of a set, at least.
Are they the most hardcore, bad a$$ offroad tire ever? No. Are they on a LOT of mall crawlers and frat boy Z71s? Yes. But that dosen't mean they don't do what I want them to, and do it well. I will absolutely look at the new KO2s when they come out, but I also may consider Duratracs just for an exciting change.

 

[Saker]

They must be garbage, that's why they've been running them for years on the baha races.... go figure.

I've had BFG AT's on several trucks, got 60K out of them with even wear.
I've also had some that were out of spec and hard to balance that were replaced under warranty.
Run proper air for the vehicle weight, balance when and if needed and you should get decent tire performance if you use them for their design.

just sayin'


Not the same old BFG AT
enjoy the vid: BFGoodrich KO2: Tech

 

[1engineer]

I'm surprized to hear this, I've got about 600,000 miles on over the last 10 years between the Tundra's and T4R's. 75% KO's getting 60,000 per set, Bridgestone look and ride great, maxed out at 30,000, Cooper not even in the running. Goodyear did a great job with the Duratac and Michelin run for ever if you are chasing the kids or running to the store.

With 5 months per year of sleet, 4" of slush and 8" of snow on the roads we need a real AT tire. I'm running the Toyo Extreme tire now and so far love it. But I can tell it will not handle snow like the KO's.

What I find funny are the reports on performance in rain, like they are out running a slalom course with an AT tire, unless you have 6" of water in the road any AT should be fine.

It's great we all have choices but to say the KO's are crap is an uneducated comment, sales figures would probably tell you that the KO's have 40% of the market and the rest are fighting for the other 60%, this is slipping and BF had to make a change. ( the true AT market, not the pretty tire AT)

I did not call them a crap tire. I just said they were not in my top five.
Sorry. 40 percent? Please show me data. Better yet, go to tire rack and read the 1000's of reviews. Sure, one or ten people might be wrong but when you have sample sizes in the several hundreds patterns start to emerge.

They must be garbage, that's why they've been running them for years on the baha races.... go figure.

I've had BFG AT's on several trucks, got 60K out of them with even wear.
I've also had some that were out of spec and hard to balance that were replaced under warranty.
Run proper air for the vehicle weight, balance when and if needed and you should get decent tire performance if you use them for their design.

just sayin'


Not the same old BFG AT
enjoy the vid: BFGoodrich KO2: Tech

If I were running dry sand and rock I would still run them lol. Quick story: Our old president of our company used to be VP of global sales for BFG. It was his idea to run them in off road races and sponsor trucks. He said their sales went through the roof because, get this, they had the "look" of a cool tire and everyone wanted the "image" that came with running BFG AT tires. That + the girls in bikinis on the BFG posters. I fully admit to buying several sets but at the time they were better than the competion and I bought in to the hype back in the '80's. Looks like you are still there lol.

 

[Saker]

If I were running dry sand and rock I would still run them lol. Quick story: Our old president of our company used to be VP of global sales for BFG. It was his idea to run them in off road races and sponsor trucks. He said their sales went through the roof because, get this, they had the "look" of a cool tire and everyone wanted the "image" that came with running BFG AT tires. That + the girls in bikinis on the BFG posters. I fully admit to buying several sets but at the time they were better than the competion and I bought in to the hype back in the '80's. Looks like you are still there lol.

I appreciate the backstory on the baha/feedback, interesting to say the least.
I feel they still make a good tire. So, for my intended use they work for me.
I don't buy because of the "look" of a tire. There are alot better looking tires than the BFG AT.
I guess, just like most everything, it is quality and personal preference.

 

[Narkhelek]

BFG mud terrain KM2 (my most favorite looking tire of all time) 37x12.50R17D (wrangler unlimited) excellent offroad performance, very soft sidewall (many cuts plugged) good wear with no cupping. Awful wet peroformance. Light weight. Measired 35" tall. Easy to balance though with a lot of weight. would chunk when used on rocks. used aggressive offroad and on the street daily driving.

The KM2 would have poor wet traction based on their design. However, if you get them siped their wet traction will improve to at least "good". Siping KM2 is pretty much a requirement if you drive in wet/snow.

 

[THEROK]

Looking forward to how these compare to the toyo rt tires coming out in sept.

It's about damn time bfg updated their dated ta Ko.

 

[NinetwoNine]

I did not call them a crap tire. I just said they were not in my top five.
Sorry. 40 percent? Please show me data. Better yet, go to tire rack and read the 1000's of reviews. Sure, one or ten people might be wrong but when you have sample sizes in the several hundreds patterns start to emerge.


If I were running dry sand and rock I would still run them lol. Quick story: Our old president of our company used to be VP of global sales for BFG. It was his idea to run them in off road races and sponsor trucks. He said their sales went through the roof because, get this, they had the "look" of a cool tire and everyone wanted the "image" that came with running BFG AT tires. That + the girls in bikinis on the BFG posters. I fully admit to buying several sets but at the time they were better than the competion and I bought in to the hype back in the '80's. Looks like you are still there lol.

Ok I give in, it's the Bikini posters, Ironman Stewart and holding onto the 90's that keeps me coming back to BFG.

Cheers.

 

[1engineer]

That's what got me for years lol.

 

[NinetwoNine]

We'd really be aging ourselves by saying we were around for the release of the first and second gen KO.....haha where did those 20 years go?

 

[1engineer]

We'd really be aging ourselves by saying we were around for the release of the first and second gen KO.....haha where did those 20 years go?

Dude, my 1st 4Runner was a 1984 SR5 lifted that I drove brand new off the showroom floor.... yeah, I'm dating myself.

 

[gm350reratliff]

I keep going back to the BFG ATs. When I was in the truck accessory/tire business, I tried just about every tire out there but I usually kept going back to the BFG. The one issue I seen a lot with the BFGs is balancing issues. That is the only issue I've ever encountered with them on a bunch of different trucks. Even the current KO handles the terrain I drive in, which is NM desert to ND plains and everything in between. I'm interested to see how the new KO will be.

 

[nevada]

for an all terrain tire, the BFG is still it for me. I haven't seen any tire that can do what it does, as well as it does. while still giving good on road manners, a quiet smooth ride, and excellent mileage.

my only complaint is the "rim protector" that was a bad idea from the start. good in theory, but terrible in application.

 

[veloindy]

VERY interested in these tires! My Duratracs have been a great tire for CO, and they're wearing well. However, at 30k miles, they're now too loud for my type of driving.

 

[Matteblack]

The KM2 would have poor wet traction based on their design. However, if you get them siped their wet traction will improve to at least "good". Siping KM2 is pretty much a requirement if you drive in wet/snow.

This has been my experience exactly. Living in the NW I found this out quickly. I got the tires with the vehicle right before summer. In the fall as the rain began to fall it was obvious I needed the siped. So I had the two center rows of lugs siped and it was amazing how much it helped and how much I noticed. I was very surprised.
MB