BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO2 winter
- Thread starter Dake21
- Start date
KevinsMap
Adventurer
Keep an eye on this website.
http://www.newmexicobackroads.com/2015/11/nmbrs-long-term-bfgoodrich-ko2-review.html
From November, 2015. This posting also appeared on EP (not on this this forum, but as an article on the website) a short while back. An update is promised very soon. As a longtime KM2 loyalist (for whom the KO fell short), this review has my full attention.
Best of both worlds?
http://www.newmexicobackroads.com/2015/11/nmbrs-long-term-bfgoodrich-ko2-review.html
From November, 2015. This posting also appeared on EP (not on this this forum, but as an article on the website) a short while back. An update is promised very soon. As a longtime KM2 loyalist (for whom the KO fell short), this review has my full attention.
Best of both worlds?
We've had several snows now, nothing super deep mind you, but enough to keep the plows busy for a while. My set of KO2s, compared to sets of the original KOs I have had, I believe are better in regards to snow traction. Not huge leaps and bounds above the originals but better. If you liked the KOs you have had in the past I think you would be happy with the KO2s. They are still a well-behaved tire on-road and my personal experience is that both off-road and snow traction have improved somewhat.
Hope this helps.
Root Moose
Expedition Leader
Just by eyeballing the tread pattern on these tires I can tell they aren't going to be that great as a dedicated winter tire. No where near enough siping. For winter useage lots of sipes are what you want... they pack with snow and under vehicle weight/pressure stick to the ice or polished snow on the road.
Look at a proper winter tire to see what I mean (e.g. Michelin Winter Alpin). If your truck is not overbuilt you can likely find a tire that fits in this type of tire.
HTH
Look at a proper winter tire to see what I mean (e.g. Michelin Winter Alpin). If your truck is not overbuilt you can likely find a tire that fits in this type of tire.
HTH
comptiger5000
Adventurer
Agreed. The KO2 tread pattern will do fine in deep or very loose snow, but it won't hold a candle to a true winter tire on anything packed or icy (especially with the difference in rubber compound).
p nut
butter
Thanks. I ended up picking up a set. No snow rides, but on-road manners seem good. Might be slightly more hum than KO, but really can't compare as they were on a different vehicle. Good to hear the off-road performance is better.
Old KO's were fine in packed snow. Ice is a whole other matter and in my experience, doesn't matter if you have snow tires or not. Studs are what you want.
comptiger5000
Adventurer
Having driven the ZJ with various types of A/Ts as well as good studless (not studdable without the studs, but specifically studless) snow tires, I'll happily say I've never found a type of snow, ice, slush, etc. where the A/Ts weren't like being on racing slicks in comparison to the snows. Studs help a lot on wet ice, although when it's 0* out and the ice is pretty dry, a studless snow has a surprising amount of grip on it (only slightly less than studs in a lot of tests).
My frustration when reading some of the questions about winter use of tires constantly shows on this thread:
" I put X tire on my truck and tried went threw 10" of fresh snow" - great in those conditions a lot of tires will work. On winter trail runs M/T are effective especially when aired down. The super keeps in Iceland run super big M/T tires no porobem off road.
The other condition is running a tire on I-70 at 75mph and you enter a canyon like "Officers Gultch" and their is a 5 mile section of black ice on he road. In these conditions Inwould prefer not to have a M/T tire on the truck. I would prefer a dedicated snow tire.
The real measure is how do the tires perform on hard packed snow and ice.
Living in the front range of Colorado, I think the BFG A/T is a hard tire to beat. We only get a dozen storms so I don't think it is worth investing $1,200 for a second set of tires that are only needed 12 days a year
" I put X tire on my truck and tried went threw 10" of fresh snow" - great in those conditions a lot of tires will work. On winter trail runs M/T are effective especially when aired down. The super keeps in Iceland run super big M/T tires no porobem off road.
The other condition is running a tire on I-70 at 75mph and you enter a canyon like "Officers Gultch" and their is a 5 mile section of black ice on he road. In these conditions Inwould prefer not to have a M/T tire on the truck. I would prefer a dedicated snow tire.
The real measure is how do the tires perform on hard packed snow and ice.
Living in the front range of Colorado, I think the BFG A/T is a hard tire to beat. We only get a dozen storms so I don't think it is worth investing $1,200 for a second set of tires that are only needed 12 days a year
My other rant is about studs - if you are purchasing a dedicates now tire, you most likely don't need the studs. Tire compounds and tread patterns will do most of the work. And many people don't consider the fact that dry breaking distances increase dramatically with studs. In my case, is it worth giving up wet/dry breaking performance 90% of the time for increased performance 10% of the time?
Studs do make sence in some of the M/T tires helping when they are used on hard pack and icy roads.
Studs do make sence in some of the M/T tires helping when they are used on hard pack and icy roads.
ExplorerTom
Explorer
The original KO tire? I am on my second set. I'm not all that impressed with their on road snow traction. I certainly don't think they are worthy of the "mountain snowflake symbol". On a snowy trail they have done fine.
I also live on the front range. I've run dedicated winter tires on other vehicles. Winter tire manufacturers claim that the rubber holds the road, even dry, better in colder weather than an all-season tire. I could hear them howl when it got warmer while coming to a quick stop- they didn't do that when it was colder. They are nice to have but I am enjoying not having to switch wheels/tires twice a year.
Studded tires on the front range are worthless. If you lived in Summit County or some place where the roads had snow/ice on them longer than the 8.5 hours the roads down here have snow on them, then they would make sense.
comptiger5000
Adventurer
Agreed. And IMO, if you aren't running studs, get a dedicated studless tire, rather than running a studdable tire without studs in it. The studless tire will be a little less capable in fresh, deep snow, but better on hardpack and ice. I'm personally running a set of Nokian Hakka R2s on the Jeep during the winters and they've done the job very well.
RawkPunx4x4
New member
I have Been running 33x10.5r15 KO2's for 12 months on my 04 Tacoma. I had a set of 31x10.5r15 Duratracs before these. The KO2's are better in ALL conditions than the Duratracs. The KO2's are the best tire I have ever used in the snow and ice (Tahoe area snow and Nevada high desert snow). I have never used a dedicated winter tire such as a blizzak or whatever so I cannot compare it to that. I run 29psi on street. The Duratracs sidewall also cut easily and would keep me on edge waiting for a sidewall to burst, I run all the same trails and have zero cuts on my KO2 sidewalls. On winter trail runs I have friends who will spin tires a bit or have to make multiple attempts up obstacles. I feel like I am on tracks with the KO2's. We all have similar late 90's early 2000's Toyotas and all go to the same 7psi.
Summitbeerowl
Adventurer
My last 3 sets of tires have been BFG's on my truck and it's hard to move away from them. I've had coopers once before and could not get up my drive. I changed to BFG on the same truck and had no problem getting up in North Dakota snow and ice. I am just putting on the 2's and am surprised though at a few things that seem to be a step backwards such as the lip to protect the rim. What happened there? Did it cost too much?
Well, haven't tried them out yet (still building) but can't wait to see how they do now with the new design.
Well, haven't tried them out yet (still building) but can't wait to see how they do now with the new design.
p nut
butter
Since this has been bumped back up: My experience for the past year and 12k miles on KO2's have been positive. Did great during spring/summer rain storms. Zero issues with standing water. Did great off-road (gravel roads), although just like their predecessors, they chuck rocks. Snow performance has been great. We had a couple big storms and they've worked very well. Would not hesitate to go with them again.