KO2 no traction -Scary!

[flyfishin]

I know this is an old thread but fwiw here is my experience with the KO2’s. I had them in E load on an F150 for 2-3 years. Great tire when new. Tough sidewall and excellent in snow. After about 10k miles I noticed significant traction loss on wet roads. It deteriorated from that point. By 30k I had little to no confidence on wet roads. I am looking at a c-load stock size AT tire for the 4Runner now and performance in the rain is a big priority for me. Probably going to go with the Falken WP or Cooper AT3 for this reason. Cost is not a factor. I think the KO2 is the best looking tire for the 4Runner and it’s tough as nails but I just can’t go back to poor performance in the rain. Mine is a DD and is off road maybe 2 times a month.

 

[ATC556]

I've had stock size C-load K02s on my 4runner for a year and a half, and have experienced none of these problems in rain. I live in Florida, and we get HEAVY rain frequently during the summer.

 

[Nick B]

I've had stock size C-load K02s on my 4runner for a year and a half, and have experienced none of these problems in rain. I live in Florida, and we get HEAVY rain frequently during the summer.

I live in SW Florida and have 265/70/17 KO2’s in load range C. I run 38lbs of pressure and they are smooth, quiet, and no wet weather slippage.

 

[ForRun]

No problems on wet roads in summer. Chicago winter's? Kiss your ass goodbye. KO2s wet and cold = unsafe, like driving on black ice even just rain. I even tried 2 different sets thinking 1st was defective. The compound turns to shit when they get cold. Great summer tires and hands down quiet/ great handling.

 

[KuhDunkADunk]

Yes, I live in Seattle and I noticed last year that I would have zero traction on painted lines on the road when wet (cross walks, intersections etc...).

These tires were about 2 years old when I noticed this. Planning and dumping these this winter when it starts raining again.

It's scary to see how these tires behave when wet now

 

[Florunner78]

I'm going on 2 years on my KO2s here in central Florida. The only time I've ever had traction issues was going around a 90 degree turn with some speed right after the rain started and the oil on the roads hadn't been washed off by the rain yet. For an AT tire I'm very pleased with the performance - wet, dry, on and off road.

 

[Bergz]

My e-load K02's were terrible in the rain and even worse in wet snow. The channels would get packed and they wouldn't clear themselves of the snow, ever. I switched to Ridge Grapplers after less than 3k miles on the K02's and couldn't be happier. The ride around town is so much better and I've had zero issues off road so far. My 2 cents...

 

[bigbadpoppa]

You dont know rain until you live in Vancouver. It's like 80% raining outside of the summer months.

Ko2 are awful when you combine rain with a grade. 38psi c-ated and I get sketchy with them on any curves or grades. Tons of hills here and changes in elevations.

Oh and they are just ok in the snow.

Definately not a north west tire if you are looking for a tire 365 days of the year in the NW wet climate.

 

[Hadelson]

Just switched out to the Cooper AT3's. What a difference over the KO2's. It's raining here today and during normal work drive not one issue where the KO2's would routinely break traction from stops......

5000 miles later and no regrets. KO2's never again

 

[Ben84]

Are the KO2 worse than the stock dueler in the rain?

 

[2021nightshade4x4]

Adding anecdotal information for posterity:

2 weeks ago installed 275/70R17 KO2 Rating E on stock 2018 limited. This vehicle is driven by my kids when they are home from college, so I wanted to be sure it was safe. Took it out during an eastern PA rainstorm and tested limits in a parking lot. I found the tires to perform better in every respect than the stock tires. No wheel spin when accelerating from a stop with steering at full lock. Cornering sharply at about 30 mph did not induce a skid. Braking was fine. Never saw the traction control warning lights. (keep in mind the limited is full time AWD)

10 days later I installed the Daystar spacer leveling kit. Kept the stock XREAS shocks. 2.75" lift front, 1" lift rear. (I realize this is milder than other lifts used by T4R members)

Repeated testing in the same lot under similar wet conditions. Aside from being a tad stiffer ride in general, acceleration, cornering, and braking traction remained the same.

I have no worries about driving this thing in the rain, nor lending it to my kids.

Love examples with so many specifics. My kind of read!


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Sgranelli11]

What psi were you running? Seems like k02s are good new but after a couple of years they lose their stickiness

 

[krob5697]

BFG KO2’s

I have had 2 sets (both C load 265/70R17). The first set had 50k on them before getting a coat hanger in one of the sidewalls. (10/32 left on tread). My second set now has about 40k on them. Never lost traction in conditions that didn’t warrant it. Constantly spinning on the crosswalk lines when accelerating aggressively through an intersection but no sudden loss of traction when cornering or driving on wet roads. Frankly, they have provided me with the best traction I have ever had through multiple brands of tires. (The main reason why I replaced my second set with BFG’s again)

 

[utctscanr75]

I ran K02s for a few years without any issues here in Chicago. They were perfectly fine in rain and doable in snow. I've always heard Falken Wildpeaks ATs are the ideal tires when driving in packed snow, but have never owned them.

 

[Jivewalker]

What psi were you running? Seems like k02s are good new but after a couple of years they lose their stickiness

Seems like people either love them or hate them.

I ran 44psi for 91,000 miles. Obviously they never lost the grip or I would have ditched them. I'm about 2500 miles into my second set at 44psi. No issues.

 

[ahtoxa11]

Seems like people either love them or hate them.

I ran 44psi for 91,000 miles. Obviously they never lost the grip or I would have ditched them. I'm about 2500 miles into my second set at 44psi. No issues.

Both front and rear? I was doing a sort of chalk test checking how much of my tread touches the ground, and on the rear tires there was surprising little of it when I had them inflated to about 37PSI. The continuous strip of contact was at least an inch inward from the tread blocks on both sides. In other words, the shoulder lugs don't really touch pavement at all in the rear. I ended up setting mine at around 34-35 for the rear.

 

[Jivewalker]

Both front and rear? I was doing a sort of chalk test checking how much of my tread touches the ground, and on the rear tires there was surprising little of it when I had them inflated to about 37PSI. The continuous strip of contact was at least an inch inward from the tread blocks on both sides. In other words, the shoulder lugs don't really touch pavement at all in the rear. I ended up setting mine at around 34-35 for the rear.

44psi all 4 corners.

Chalk test is one way to customize depending on your load. I did the load calcs for mine using the KO2 load charts. This sets them at max load but also takes into consideration efficiency, rollover performance, etc...

My original P dunlops were rated at 2425lbs at 32psi, then because they are on an LT they are derated to 2204lbs. Cross 2204 over to the KO2's LT load chart, and 44psi makes sense, 45psi would be 2255lbs which was the closest but not less than the 2204 rating for the dunlops at 32 psi. Make sense?