jeepmedic46
Expedition Leader
I need to put new tires on my truck and I can't decide between a all terrain tire or a mud tire, which one is better in snow?
BFG A/T vs km2
- Thread starter jeepmedic46
- Start date
plainjaneFJC
Deplorable
Snow on the road or offroading in the snow?
G_fresh
Adventurer
If asking about on road...
At the last Overland Rally in CA, one of the BFG sponsored race drivers asked how many people have BFG M/T's and drove in snow. When several of us raised our hands, she said "I'm sorry." Enough said? (The context was A/T vs. M/T.)
She definitely recommended the A/T's.
I have been waiting to get my M/T KM2's on the snow for over a year. So, I have no 1st hand opinion...
At the last Overland Rally in CA, one of the BFG sponsored race drivers asked how many people have BFG M/T's and drove in snow. When several of us raised our hands, she said "I'm sorry." Enough said? (The context was A/T vs. M/T.)
She definitely recommended the A/T's.
I have been waiting to get my M/T KM2's on the snow for over a year. So, I have no 1st hand opinion...
plainjaneFJC
Deplorable
Yeah I would recommend A/T's.
jeepmedic46
Expedition Leader
I think I'm going to go with the A/T. It would be snow on the road and off.
Jr_Explorer
Explorer
The KM2's are NOT recommended for snow Read here (this has a fair amount of useful info): http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=Mud-Terrain+T/A+KM2
The Mud terrain tires have no sipes and it's those little edges that give grip on icy roads. Look at these snow tires: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Latitude+X-Ice+Xi2 They have about a zillion sipes molded into them. But they would probably suck off-road in muddy terrain.
The Mud terrain tires have no sipes and it's those little edges that give grip on icy roads. Look at these snow tires: http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Michelin&tireModel=Latitude+X-Ice+Xi2 They have about a zillion sipes molded into them. But they would probably suck off-road in muddy terrain.
Buliwyf
Viking with a Hammer
The BFG KM2's get terrible reviews on snowy roads in my area. They do ok on the flat, but can't go up or down hills. A nice Powerwagon owned by someone that works at a nearby tire shop has KM2's on during the summer, and ATKO's on during the winter. Go figure.
Other interesting tires:
GY Duratrac
Kelly Safari TSR (harder cheaper coumpound than the GY)
Cooper St Max
Those are hybrid tires, more aggressive than an AT, less than an MT for OK snow perfomance. Nothing beats a real snow tire, but those are overkill as well, especially in my area where the salt trucks even hit the backroads perfectly in record time.
Other interesting tires:
GY Duratrac
Kelly Safari TSR (harder cheaper coumpound than the GY)
Cooper St Max
Those are hybrid tires, more aggressive than an AT, less than an MT for OK snow perfomance. Nothing beats a real snow tire, but those are overkill as well, especially in my area where the salt trucks even hit the backroads perfectly in record time.
jeepmedic46
Expedition Leader
I had cooper tires on the truck when I bought it. Hated them always got stuck. I had the A/T on my liberty and had no issues. I'll stick with them
1 Bored Clerk
Explorer
I never had a problem in any condition with the old KM's. Really liked that tire. BFG screwed up terribly with the KM2's. My Ranger came with them from the previous owner. They are loud, slippery, and not even that great in the mud. Heck, I don't think they even look that cool. What were they thinking?! Anyway, the BFG At's are fine if you stay out of the mud. There are probably better AT tires out there but I'll be using the BFG AT's when my KM2's finally wear out because I've never had a tire failure/issue with BFG's of any type and that's enough for me to keep using them (as long as they make a tire that works!).
WagoneerSX4
Adventurer
Just in the design aspect M/T tires are never going to be good on packed snow/ice. They're designed to rid themselves of mud as they're spinning which is why they have no siping. The rubber compound of a M/T is also WAY too hard to be of any use in temperatures cold enough to have ice or snow.
I researched this a lot when shopping for tires and chose A/T's. I quickly realized it was stupid that I was even considering M/T's for what I use my vehicle for.
Technically the only real tire that is going to excel in snow or ice is a dedicated winter tire and that's purely because of the rubber compound being softer. But in saying that, I live in Canada and have been very impressed with both my yokohama geoalnder AT-S tires and my current General Grabber AT2 tires on ice. They're both very good in snow for being A/T tires, but obviously don't compare to my old hakkapeliitta's on hard-packed snow or ice. In deep snow I think both my A/T's performed better than the hak's did.
I researched this a lot when shopping for tires and chose A/T's. I quickly realized it was stupid that I was even considering M/T's for what I use my vehicle for.
Technically the only real tire that is going to excel in snow or ice is a dedicated winter tire and that's purely because of the rubber compound being softer. But in saying that, I live in Canada and have been very impressed with both my yokohama geoalnder AT-S tires and my current General Grabber AT2 tires on ice. They're both very good in snow for being A/T tires, but obviously don't compare to my old hakkapeliitta's on hard-packed snow or ice. In deep snow I think both my A/T's performed better than the hak's did.
brianjwilson
Some sort of lost...
Sure, the A/T will be better on packed snow or snow covered roads. It is a winter rated tire after all.
But I've had KM2s on my crew cab f150 and now on my four door Jeep. No complaints with either in snow or ice, and they work better in snow and ice than other mud terrains I've had. I lived in Kentucky for several years and one winter there was an ice storm with 2" of solid ice covering everything, had absolutely no problem getting around in the hills with the f150 and km2s, dragging around downed trees, etc.
I did have the KM2s on the Jeep siped before a wheeling this early this winter and they performed amazingly well off road in deep snow and ice. Out climbed everyone else with all kinds of different tires. No issues on snow packed roads up to the mountain for snow boarding trips either.
I guess it depends how much snow you encounter and your comfort level driving in snow, but I've got no issues or reservations about running the km2s in any winter conditions myself. Some people hate mud tires in snow, period, because they don't compare to a winter rated tire.
But I've had KM2s on my crew cab f150 and now on my four door Jeep. No complaints with either in snow or ice, and they work better in snow and ice than other mud terrains I've had. I lived in Kentucky for several years and one winter there was an ice storm with 2" of solid ice covering everything, had absolutely no problem getting around in the hills with the f150 and km2s, dragging around downed trees, etc.
I did have the KM2s on the Jeep siped before a wheeling this early this winter and they performed amazingly well off road in deep snow and ice. Out climbed everyone else with all kinds of different tires. No issues on snow packed roads up to the mountain for snow boarding trips either.
I guess it depends how much snow you encounter and your comfort level driving in snow, but I've got no issues or reservations about running the km2s in any winter conditions myself. Some people hate mud tires in snow, period, because they don't compare to a winter rated tire.
redthies
Renaissance Redneck
I live in a ski resort and part of my job is plowing roads. I think my comfort level in snowdriving is about as good as it gets. My Rubicon has the stock KMs on it and they are fine. The KM2s I ran on my 80 series last winter were not even close to as good. If I ever buy them again, I will buy a siping gun at the same time.