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BF Goodrich All Terrain KO Tires - a Personal Critique


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#1 ski3pin

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Posted 19 October 2016 - 03:37 PM

We have put over 100,000 miles on our truck with camper. Check our blog stories, I believe you'll find a well rounded set of travels - mountains in winter, the high passes in Colorado, the legendary roads in Death Valley, and a bunch of others we keep to ourselves.

 

I have wanted to love these BFG tires. So much so that I ran through two sets on our truck, close to 80,000 miles. Based on this extensive experience, please allow me to offer a very personal review.

 

Things I liked about the tires - they did well on dirt roads.

 

Things I did not like about the tires - they were poor in mud, mediocre in ice and snow (we live in the snow), poor thread life (barely reached 38,000 miles each set), noisy and got noisier as they wore.  

 

If this tire went to school, here are the grades I'd give.

 

Dirt - B

Mud - D

Snow & Ice - C

Thread life - C

Quiet/Comfortable Ride - C

 

Overall, I give this tire a very strong C .

 

An idea on other tires I have used over the years - BigO Bigfoot, Bridgestone Desert Dueler, Cooper Discoverer, Toyo Open Country. My favorites from this bunch were the Cooper and Toyo.

 

Yesterday we put new tires on the truck and went with Cooper Discoverer ATP

 

 

Why we went with Cooper? I liked them in the past and personally spoke with people who drive on Coopers. They certainly looked like they were worth a try.

 

My critique of the Coopers will come after I've got 15,000 to 20,000 miles on them, if anyone has interest.

 

 


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#2 Wandering Sagebrush

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Posted 19 October 2016 - 03:55 PM

Thanks for the insight. I've gone back to Toyos from Coopers. The Cooper tires were very good, but I did manage to put a chunk of shale clear through the tread. Probably not the tire's fault. I've gone back to Toyos as much for the Les Schwab network as for the tire.
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#3 Alley-Kat

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Posted 19 October 2016 - 04:03 PM

Did your old K0's have the snow flake on them? Just curious.

 

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I'd give my snow flake K0's a little higher marks in school.

 

Dirt - A (I'm mostly a dirt kind of guy)

 

Mud - C (they throw a lot of mud, however, they got me up the Burr Trail Switchbacks when it was very wet

that Bosque Bill just mentioned in his trip report)

 

Snow & Ice - NA (even though I have the snow flake version, I don't drive much of this stuff, when I purchased I thought I would, but I don't)

 

Thread life - A+ (I've got about 55,000 on the current set, maybe a little more than half way down, I guess. I drive slow on pavement and slow on dirt, I'm in no hurry. And, I do rotate in my spare tire into use every now and then)

 

Quiet/Comfortable Ride - C

 

Overall, I give this tire a B .

 

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I respect your opinion and am looking forward to the report on the Coopers.

I could try something different next time.


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#4 cwdtmmrs

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Posted 19 October 2016 - 04:08 PM

Interesting review. I will be replacing my tires soon. What size tire's are on your truck?  I agree on the noise and tread life. My rear tires wear much faster than the fronts. I currently have 31/10.5/15 tires, but my last set were 32/11.5/15's' The 32's had much, much better tread life, Can you give us your thoughts on how quiet your new Cooper's are at freeway speeds compared to the Bfg's?

 

Thanks for the reviews!

 

cwd


Edited by cwdtmmrs, 19 October 2016 - 04:16 PM.

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#5 ski3pin

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Posted 19 October 2016 - 04:19 PM

Did your old K0's have the snow flake on them? Just curious.

 

- - - - - - - - - - - - -

 

I'd give my snow flake K0's a little higher marks in school.

 

Dirt - A (I'm mostly a dirt kind of guy)

 

Mud - C (they throw a lot of mud, however, they got me up the Burr Trail Switchbacks when it was very wet

that Bosque Bill just mentioned in his trip report)

 

Snow & Ice - NA (even though I have the snow flake version, I don't drive much of this stuff, when I purchased I thought I would, but I don't)

 

Thread life - A+ (I've got about 55,000 on the current set, maybe a little more than half way down, I guess. I drive slow on pavement and slow on dirt, I'm in no hurry. And, I do rotate in my spare tire into use every now and then)

 

Quiet/Comfortable Ride - C

 

Overall, I give this tire a B .

 

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I respect your opinion and am looking forward to the report on the Coopers.

I could try something different next time.

 

Alley-Kat, thank you for adding your critique. I also respect your opinion very much and know our rigs to be similar. Yes, we got the snow flake. The BFG did okay for us, just okay in snow and ice. I have had tires that did better, that probably prompted my issue with winter driving.. We also drive slow on pavement and dirt. When we replaced our first set at 38,000 miles, I wanted to rationalize the short thread life to the amount of dirt use our tires get. We got the same results with the second set, so we were consistent.

 

I'll only trust my impressions of the Coopers after extensive use.


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#6 ski3pin

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Posted 19 October 2016 - 04:27 PM

Interesting review. I will be replacing my tires soon. What size tire's are on your truck?  I agree on the noise and tread life. My rear tires wear much faster than the fronts. I currently have 31/10.5/15 tires, but my last set were 32/11.5/15's' The 32's had much, much better tread life, Can you give us your thoughts on how quiet your new Cooper's are at freeway speeds compared to the Bfg's?

 

Thanks for the reviews!

 

cwd

 

cwd, same as you 31 x 10.5 x 15.

 

First impressions - quieter on the road than I remember the BFG's when new. I like the thread design and depth. I have a couple preconceived notions on how I think they will preform. Only time and use will tell.

 

I really want to resist first impressions. We just spent a load of money after making a decision. It is human nature to convince yourself you made the right choice. :)

 

That is also why I wanted to hold off on my critique of the BFG's until I had a consistent base of personal experience with the tire. We went through two sets in our adventures with our truck and camper.


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#7 Casa Escarlata Robles Too

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Posted 19 October 2016 - 06:05 PM

Thanks Ski for the info.

When we bought the 02 Tundra 5 years ago it came with brand new Goodyear LT,265/75/R16s, Wrangler TD MS C rated.

I have since put 33.000 miles on them.I keep about #38 front #45 rear. I rotate them each oil change and check tread depth

usually after the long trips. I have an average depth of 7/32 to 8/32,which is about half new tread depth left.

I try hard to keep the tires from crowning especially in the rear.

 

I like these Goodyears and may go back to them,but go to an "E" rating,although the "C" rating seem to work for us.

Most of our travels are on paved roads and don't get much snow driving. What little driving that hasn't been of paved road the tires did well,snow or gravel.

 

 

I have checked out other tires for when I replace these and BFG KO2s were one that I had considered.So your input will help.I am not needing new tires this year so you will have time to give your critique.Another thing I look for when buying tires is will I be able to get service/replacement on a trip away from home,so I try to stick with a brand/dealer I can locate out of my area.

That's one reason I have purchased tires from Les Schwab. I like their service and they have a good selection,but I don't have a store

in my area.

 

Thanks for starting this thread.I think it will be useful to anyone who will need tires in the future.

Maybe others will continue to post their info about tires they have had.

Frank


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#8 nikonron

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Posted 19 October 2016 - 06:14 PM

Were these the KO'2 tires?   Ron


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#9 Vic Harder

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Posted 19 October 2016 - 06:50 PM

Great info.  I had been seriously considering the KO'2 tires.  Not so sure now.  Have any of you tried dedicated E rated snow tires?  And used them for mud/dirt too?


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#10 takesiteasy

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Posted 19 October 2016 - 07:00 PM

Timely thread- thanks for starting it Ski. I was going to start a thread asking when people generally replace their tires. I have the BFG ATs on my truck, since new- about 5 1/2 years now and about 50,000 miles (so not new KO2s). They are the "D" rated version. I still have respectable tread depth but am beginning to think about new tires. I have been very happy with the ATs. We drive in snow often and in dirt less often. Not much at all on rocks like we recently ran into at Tuweep. Lots of our miles are on pavement. I have thought the ATs were very quiet for a big tread tire and performed well in dirt and snow (we have the snowflake version). This winter will be a good test as the tread is wearing down. So many variables with different people's habits, terrain and trucks. I will be watching this thread with interest.


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