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New BFGoodrich KO2 tire

seiko said:
We had some slippery days awhile back, lots of vehicle off the road. Never slip or spin tires. Can't get any better so far, unless you use spikes LOL. Happy with the KO2...
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Good to hear. Looking like the tire to buy.. Some Toyo AT2 owners are reporting it's not the tire for rainy or winter weather.
 
I wish when they made the new design they would have put holes in this tire so it could be studded. My old 94 ford all I ran was BFG ATs and just had a set put on my 69 cj5.
 
I remember using stud tires, very noisy at times. They are banned in some of the provinces of Canada. For particular use, it is no doubt they are helpful, but for every day driving, where weather can be mild, cold and mild again, (Calgary get lots of Chinook warm winds, normal, not a climate change indicator) the KO2 sure work. I am still surprise how quiet they are, don't sound like I have winter tires.

Went into the mountains (Banff National Park), did some snowshoeing and ice grips hike , lots of iced side roads. Did some testing, gunning on ice test too, they sure work well on slippery/ice conditions. I'm getting convince they are as good as dedicated winter tires (Toyo GSI5), if not better.

Probably unlikely to get my tires cut up, as they are All Terrain. Time will tell, how well they will wear (tread life). The nice thing, I don't have to change tires every season, as they are All Weather (4 season & Snow Flake rating), not all season tires (3 season, poor after 7c).

I notice they sure handle cornering better than the original tires that came with the truck, some of the corners that I normally slow down (90KM but did 120 KM speed, I don't with the KO2. In fact, I didn't even notice.

So far, very good...
 
I did a winter trip into the mountains, total about 1200 km. From Calgary, AB to Ainsworth Hot springs, BC. First half of trip -27c with areas of pack snow and on return a bit of snow storm. Must have been slippery, as some vehicles got smash up. Average 100 to 110 km per hour, never felt slippage. Looking for excellent snow tires, the KO2 will do. They are quiet, way better handling then the originals. You can expect less fatigue driving.

I notice using 4x4 on pack snow, gave it a strong feeling of stability. Once on pavement, back to 2x2.
 
Had them years ago and would never buy another set. they had good tread life and were quiet and generally had ok traction but found them terrible in mud and while good on snow or snow pack were skates on slush. I also had a lot of issues with debris being that in 4 tires I had accumulated almost 60 patches in two years from nails and whatever happened to be on the road. My tire shop nic named them nail magnets cause its seemed to grab everyone I drove near and they were 8 ply so go figure. I switched to Nitto MT's now in the summer in 10 ply ( not a flat yet ) and am very happy with them, ya they hum but I call that swamp music and are available in AT's and I run hakapolita studded in winter cause you simply can't compare the traction of an all weather to a full blown winter tire and they are amazing, a little pricey but how can you put a price on your life when you have 7 months of winter to drive in. If your a pavement/occasional dirt road kinda driver then KO's aren't a bad choice, if you hunt and fish, go in the bush often they wouldn't be my first choice.
 
You have to watch the fine print on the all weather tires as well, while having the mountain and snow flake makes them snow rated and legal it does not make them ice rated. take for example the blizzak tires, they are a winter tire that is ice rated..but...fine print states that after 20% wear they are no longer ice rated and are only snow rated from that point and there are areas that require ice rated tires.
 
If you had them for years, then you have used the KO, and you are right about them, they did get bad/mix reviews and even BFG now compares the KO with the KO2. I was aware of it before buying the KO2. I have found threads that it was obvious misunderstanding by some, who didn't know they were reporting on KO2, but were in fact, reporting on KO, giving the KO2 some bad reports. I stand corrected, but the KO2, were only available in last year or so.

Regarding claim of Snow flake, yes, several very well known manufactures put that on tires, that didn't meet those specs. In fact, it became an issue that DOT is considering mandatory testing and not leave it up to the manufactures association (Trust them to monitor themselves, I don't), as they have proven to be as honest the the VW Diesel gate. Which is why I read every third party review when they did test the KO2, not KO. As I don't give tire manufactures the benefit of the doubt. I believe I brought this up, in one of the threads here.

Okay on the fine print, those words weren't found in small print on KO2, so I have no reason to suspect your fine print applies to KO2.

I do recall reading that fine print on many other tires, though most refer to a wear indicator, not a percentage, it seems to be a common warning, which is the reason why you replace your tire, when it reaches the recommended wear level. Applies to all tires, regardless of type.

Prior to this, for 12 years or more, I always used Toyo GSI5, which I use all year. (They did upgrade/update each year or so, noticeably better each year) They were very great tires and lasted 60 to 80k, but a bit noisy summer time/dry roads. Which is why I decided to try these KO2, and it the first year, so with only about 10k, it too early to declare it a winner, but so far so good.

Weather is too changing here, (Get lots of warm Chinook Winds) so to have studs, I prefer to not use. I had them many years ago, but stop when it was banned in the province that I lived in. I think, Alberta will not bother you with them. Red neck country, we tend to use rocks instead of sand for sanding here. You can tell by the windshield, only province where you don't get warned or ticketed. lol

If I do find anything negative, I will inform this thread. So far, I haven't found anything negative and I'm expecting the performance that I got from my Toyo GSI5, where I have gone through 5 sets in 12 years (Went through CRV, Camry Hybrid, Odyssey. I do lot of mileage each year) to be met by KO2, if not better. I never used the GSI5 on a truck, so I have to keep that in mind.
 
I stand mistaken. checked with my tire guy and it was the KO's that I had not the KO2. He says the KO2's are much better. The post of watch the fine print didn't pertain to the KO2's in general, just a warning to watch when purchasing winter or all weather tires. I myself prefer to purchase from smaller tire companies now, I find they are generally a better tire than the mass produced goodyear, Michelin, BF Goodrich, Toyo tires. I like the Nitto, Interco, Nokian type companies that tend to put more thought and time into creating a tire than the big companies. This is just my personal opinion and doesn't mean the others don't make a quality tire but I've just found better quality in the others. If you were to buy the best tire for every driving style and condition you'd fill your garage so buy the best you can afford that best suits your specific needs.
 
I did consider the Nokian all weather tire, and pick out the best (highest reviews) of their brands, but they weren't available for my truck. They did try to sell me a smilier line, but they didn't have good reviews. So, I quickly scratch them off the list. One of the disadvantage of smaller tire companies.

In fact, I got to dislike the sales people for Nokian, I found they were leaving out info, playing down my concern, the result I lost total confidence in Nokian, so much so, I recommend to other not to consider them. Too bad, as I was considering them seriously.

As of this time, I'm glad I went the road I did so far.... Time will tell and I will report anything negative, if it should occur.
 
The BFG KO2 is working well. I can't find fault so far, I never notice slippery driving so far this year and I have been in the mountains. When I'm in heavy snow, i use 4x4, otherwise 2 wheel rear drive. Still quiet and smooth driving.

Also they are ALL Terrain, so, I think, I feel comfortable driving on lumber roads.
 
KO2 is definitely one of the most reliable model among other tires of this segment, as an alternative you can look at Toyo Open Country.
 
Prior to the KO2, all my vehicles (6 or more), I used Toyo Observe GSI5 and ran them all year round. They are great great tires, but noisy during summer and even winter time on dry pavement. Despite summer driving, they didn't wear out. Never tried Toyo Open Country or look into it. So happy with these KO2, don't think I will do any further shopping.
 
Hitting 29,000 KM, tires are great, still look like new and no visible wear. Very quiet tires. It passed the winter with flying colours. As mention before it corners great, no roll feeling, like the originals. Very nice and quiet on the highways. So far, no issue at all with the truck, great fuel mileage, hitting 8.9 l/100km often. Only oil and filter changes, no service calls on it.
 
Great report. You have the 20" wheels, correct?


-Brady
 
I love mine to best tire out there
 
seiko said:
Hitting 29,000 KM, tires are great, still look like new and no visible wear. Very quiet tires. It passed the winter with flying colours. As mention before it corners great, no roll feeling, like the originals. Very nice and quiet on the highways. So far, no issue at all with the truck, great fuel mileage, hitting 8.9 l/100km often. Only oil and filter changes, no service calls on it.
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@seiko you trade your ecodiesel in for a Cummins? That's a very different truck in your profile pic
 
I have the ko2 on mine. I had these same tires on my hemi I traded for this truck and had the dealer switch the tires over. A total of around 20k on these things and showing little wear. I drove to upper Michigan from central ky and did some light off road they handled great. Also, I drove this past winter in ice and some heavy snow it handled well. Whenever I have to get new tires I am defently getting another set of these!
 
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EOC said:
I have the ko2 on mine. I had these same tires on my hemi I traded for this truck and had the dealer switch the tires over. A total of around 20k on these things and showing little wear. I drove to upper Michigan from central ky and did some light off road they handled great. Also, I drove this past winter in ice and some heavy snow it handled well. Whenever I have to get new tires I am defently getting another set of these!
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Just took these pictures of mine front and rear. Again they were purchased February of 2015, and have about 21k on them now, between both trucks I had.
 
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