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BFG KO2's....opinions?

27K views 51 replies 33 participants last post by  MRC 
#1 ·
I live in snow country in the Sierra and am looking at new skins this fall as the OE Michelins have about had it. POS in the snow might I add. I'm leaning towards the KO2's but have heard rumors of separations. I tow a 14K toyhauler and am wondering if any other members are doing the same. Thx.
 
#32 ·
^---- forgot to mention. I have had the Cooper AT3s which wore quickly and without any pattern. Disappointed me but most I know have had fantastic luck with them.
Too AT2 was my second favorite tire only to the Nittos mentioned above. They wore well but I did not get 50k out of them. AT tires rarely do but I had hopes.
The Wranglers have worn great but were a PAIN to balance. Sorry for the additional reply but unfortunately I have had the displeasure of purchasing many sets of tires over the past 4 years on 3 different trucks and 300,000 combined miles.
 
#34 ·
I had some new KO2's put on our half ton this past week as we were heading up north to visit some family in snow country.

They performed very well on lots of snow, slush, and ice, as expected, but time will tell on the mileage. I'm hoping we can squeak a few thousand extra miles out of them on the lighter half ton truck. :)

They are a little pricey, but I think they look and perform great.
 
#36 ·
I have an 06 CCSB 4X4 running 35's and I just took my Nitto Exo Grapplers back after close to a month of running them. We got our first little winter weather up here in WA and they did not perform well. Did fine when the snow was first falling but as soon as it got compacted and became slick/ice they were worthless. Also had pretty terrible wet traction. Oh and LOUD.....hummed pretty good on the freeway. The dry traction/handling was good, balanced well, and they look cool but that's about it. Did not perform anywhere near my previous tires the Goodyear Duratracs. That being said, Duratracs had their own unimpressive issues. Traction was fine off-road, snow, ice, wet, dry but couldn't keep them balanced at all. They always had a bounce/vibration. Sidewalls/lugs are soft... Two ply sidewall sucked with a load or towing. Early on I had to have two tires replaced at different times due to factory defects, one had metal pop out the sidewall (debris during manufacturing) the other developed a crack at the sidewall and tread. Luckily it was free both times. I got 60,000 miles out of them. Anyway, got the KO2 swapped in for the Exo's. So far happier with the wet traction. I'll see how they last. My buddy has them on his 2011 Duramax and is more than happy with the traction, he said they might be wearing a little fast but nothing compared to his Cooper's. I'll update as I run them longer and get some winter weather.
 
#37 ·
I just put some brand new/used KO2's on my truck, 275/70R17's and love them, the PO used them for literally 4 months. They are unreal in the snow and ice, but time will tell how they wear when towing.
 
#38 ·
I have had BFG AT KO's for about 48K still running good. Like others mine got really loud after a while and then I replaced the front wheel bearings and somehow they calmed down a good bit...Ok maybe it was the wheel bearing making all the noise. :confuzeld
 
#39 ·
I have ran BFG AT KO for 20+ years and loved them but the last set were the new KO2s and I dont think I will be getting another set... I am looking into other options and recommendations welcomed on a 4x4 dually looking for new AT tires.
 
#41 · (Edited)
#42 ·
I'm on my 2nd set of KO2's...I got 64,000 miles out of the first set. Almost all highway miles towing a big Ranger Walleye boat. I lost a couple miles per gallon as I went with teh 10 ply LT's but they towed great.

Road force balance the KO2's...makes all the difference in the world. I've had mine well above 90 mph and very smooth. I'm 2000 miles into my second set. So far so good.
 
#43 ·
I just traded a '16 Ram 1500 CC 4X4 5.7L on my '19 Chev. Had BFG K02's on it in an 8 ply. I had a set of the original KO's back in the day on a '01 GMC 2500 CC 4X4 with an 8.1L. The KO2s are a way better tire than the originals. The reason I say that is the originals were horrible in snow and ice due to the harder compound. The tire last longer but at the expense of cold weather traction. I was very impressed with the K02's in the winter on the half ton. The negatives I found were they throw rocks really bad and chew the lips of the fenders up, and they got louder as they wore down. Rotated every oil change and were Road Force balanced originally. Never had a problem that way and they wore even. I did lose some mileage but I expect that with a more aggressive tire. I don't think the 10 ply would be a whole bunch different.
The last diesel I had, I had a set of Hankook RW11's on it. Sold it to my father and he's still running those tires (doesn't put a whole bunch of miles on). The only thing I don't like with those is them being directional, so you can't rotate traditionally without remounting the tires and balancing.
As far as tires on this new '19, I don't know what I should do. I'm going to try to run these GY SRA's and if they're horrible this winter, I may buy a set of dedicated winter skins and pop the GY back on in the summer.
 
#45 ·
I just traded a '16 Ram 1500 CC 4X4 5.7L on my '19 Chev. Had BFG K02's on it in an 8 ply. I had a set of the original KO's back in the day on a '01 GMC 2500 CC 4X4 with an 8.1L. The KO2s are a way better tire than the originals. The reason I say that is the originals were horrible in snow and ice due to the harder compound. The tire last longer but at the expense of cold weather traction. I was very impressed with the K02's in the winter on the half ton. The negatives I found were they throw rocks really bad and chew the lips of the fenders up, and they got louder as they wore down. Rotated every oil change and were Road Force balanced originally. Never had a problem that way and they wore even. I did lose some mileage but I expect that with a more aggressive tire. I don't think the 10 ply would be a whole bunch different.
The last diesel I had, I had a set of Hankook RW11's on it. Sold it to my father and he's still running those tires (doesn't put a whole bunch of miles on). The only thing I don't like with those is them being directional, so you can't rotate traditionally without remounting the tires and balancing.
As far as tires on this new '19, I don't know what I should do. I'm going to try to run these GY SRA's and if they're horrible this winter, I may buy a set of dedicated winter skins and pop the GY back on in the summer.
Update; Ran the Goodyear SRA all last winter and was pretty impressed with them. Deep snow traction was lacking (to be expected) but they're not bad at all on ice. There's enough siping on them that they ended up being better than I thought. Been rotating them religiously and they seem to be standing up. Going to stick with them for now.
 
#47 ·
Nitto Ridge Grapplers are even nicer than the G2's and just as quiet.
My 285/70/17 G2's went from my GMC to my 79 Chevy K20 when I bought my 295/55/20 Ridge Grapplers for my 3500.
 
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#52 · (Edited)
When you say the Ridge Grapplers are just as quiet are you saying there is zero difference in noise level? If that's the case I may switch up my tires this time and give them a try. I do not want them any louder than the G2's though and looking at the tread on the Ridge Grappler it certainly looks like it would be a bit louder. If no louder I think I'll try them, they look better and the tread looks deeper too.
 
#48 ·
how are the nitto's in snow and maybe plowing w/ them.
 
#49 · (Edited)
:confuzeldThat I can’t answer, I only know about how they work when a haboob/sand storm hits Phx.:cool:

Get on Nitto’s website go on the G2 and Ridge Grapplers section.
They have ratings and reviews for just about every situation you might be in.
 
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