BFGoodrich AT KO2, Initial impressions and hopefully long term report

AxleIke

Adventurer
Just had these put on as my old AT's were nearing wear bars in the rear.

Obviously, I have no long term or even trail reports to give, but I wanted to start a thread to hopefully put my impressions of them over time up, since they are a new release.

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A few points on the vehicle and general usage:

-the tires are 285/75's on a 16" rim, under a 3rd Gen 4runner, with front/rear/side armor. I think tire performance is largely vehicle dependent (what works on one type well may be horrible on another).

- They get used primarily onroad (like most), but do see a fair amount of 2wd dirt, and trail conditions in the summer (colorado rockies, some rocks, some roots, mostly dry dirt, also moab slickrock and utah sand).

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To start off, I am a fan of the KO's. I know there are better AT tires out there, and less expensive, but I have never felt comfortable with any others offroad besides an MTR. The MTR was a bit too loud and wasn't wearing well on road. I've had Yokohamas, and Bridgestones, and while they were much quieter on the street, and both were great in snow, I found myself worried and stressed every time I went off road.

I know that many here will say that they've not torn a side wall on any number of other tires, but that hasn't stopped me from worrying about it. The sidewalls on the KO's never let me down.

Over the years I've had the AT KO's from a 28x9, 31x10.5, 33x9.5, 33x12.5, 265/75, and 285/75. I beat on all of them, especially in my old 4runner, and they took it all very well, only getting one sidewall flat from a shock breaking.

(This is on a difficult trail here in CO, and those are 33x9.5 KO's, and it did drive all the way through under its own power)

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So, I wanted to try the newest offering.

My initial impressions are: They are quieter than the KO's, but they are also at a higher pressure and less worn, so time will tell if they get noisier as they wear.

I like the new look. To some extent, we all buy a few things for the rig that make it "look" off-road ish. Tires are a big part of that for many people, and I think they have a more aggressive stance than the old.

We had a light snow last night, just enough to make the neighborhood slick and icy. They hold the road pretty well. I couldn't hoon it about too much (neighborhood) but vastly better than the near wear bar ones I had before. Not nearly as well as the Yokohamas, however, those did the best in snow of any tire I've had yet. These are siped a bit more than the old ones I had (though I didn't have the "snow" rated tires before)

The bad so far is that they haven't improved the ride. They are bricks, just like the old ones. Not too surprising as the 285 sort is an E rated tire, but one was hoping a bit.

They are also heavy still. Not as bad as the MTR's were, but its a lot of tire to have to heft to a tire carrier, or even to a set of lugs when changing the tire. This won't help on the trail.

Lastly, the price. You are buying a badge with these (well, and sidewalls in my world), but they are significantly more costly than other tires of a, shall we say, less puffed up brand that doesn't constantly drivel on about their Baja-1000 victories.

Here they are the day after getting them on:

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More to come in January/Feb as I am headed to the Antarctic for 6 weeks. Hopefully I can get some good winter impressions while they are new.

Cheers! :beer:
 

enzo

Explorer
Thanks for the review. I'm getting a set of these tomorrow for my LC.
 

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SLC97SR5

Observer
Nice. I picked up a set for my '97 4Runner a couple weeks ago. I hope I'll have something to contribute to this thread.
 

nater

Adventurer
Waiting for the 34x10.5x17 for the fj. Can't wait to grab a set in March when that size is released
 

86tuning

Adventurer
AxleIke, thanks for the review.

I'm considering switching from my KM/2 to the KO2 because these should work well in winter, where my KM/2 feel downright scary when it is icy out unless I chain up. Love the KM/2 in all other conditions.

The KO2 looks to have similar carcass construction to the KM/2 but adds the snow rating while losing some lug size and spacing for rocks. So tempted to switch up. Just have to find a buyer for my old tires haha.
 

AxleIke

Adventurer
Well, in a year, at least you'll have some real world reports. May be good to have before the purchase. But yeah, I hate the staggered releases. I was on the slow end of the KM2 when it came out, and I ultimately decided not to get it since there were a number of reviews suggesting it wasn't going to be what I was looking for.
 

ChuckB

Expedition Leader
Definitely looks the part. I'm shopping for new ATs for my LC and looking at these, Falken Wild Peak, Cooper Discoverer ATP/AT3, Nitto Terra Grapplers and Toyo Open Country ATs. It really is a tough choice...
 

AxleIke

Adventurer
How close of a design do you feel it's to the original? Any major changes or mostly cosmetic?

The center is identical. The outter lugs are bigger and go down the sidewall farther, which I think will help with sharp rocks on the sidewall.

There is more siping and some "swoops" cut out in verious spaces (start narrow and get a bit larger). I'm not sure what that is for, but it seems like it would help with water flow and mud clearing (allowing water to not remain trapped in the center lugs), as they start more towards the center and move out to the outer lugs, where there is more gap.
 

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