Tire advice (1 Viewer)

[Chocolate]

I do not have KO2s, but I may get them for my next set and recently watched the sales promo video for them.

BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO2

Scroll down, 46 seconds into the video.

I have to say the demonstration where the tire is driven over the upright metal plate is impressive.

 

[Atx Cruiser]

Ah heck I will probably stick with the ko2's. I am curious about the cooper st's though. Maybe my local discount tire, who I have done business with before, will allow me to test the coopers for 500 miles or so and return for the ko2's if I don't like them.

 

[40Man]

In my opinion, having had the KO2's on my 5th Gen 4Runner, they are great in all conditions EXCEPT ice. Compared even with other AT tires, they are horrible in icy conditions (they are good in snow).

My wife got stuck on a slight grade hill during an ice storm. I was able to take my 4Runner with cheap General Grabber AT2s and had enough traction to pull her up a hill where the KO2s were getting no traction at all. Caused us to buy a second set of wheels and run Blizzaks (awesome times).

From my standpoint, the Grabbers are cheaper, and have better traction once ice than the KO2s.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

Interesting, I felt the KO2s I had on my FJ were pretty good on ice.

I was on Hell's revenge when a hail storm dropped a layer of ice on the trail, and was still getting good grip to finish it.

I haven't been on ice with General tires for comparison though.

 

[Markuson]

Interesting, I felt the KO2s I had on my FJ were pretty good on ice.

I was on Hell's revenge when a hail storm dropped a layer of ice on the trail, and was still getting good grip to finish it.

I haven't been on ice with General tires for comparison though.

I'm thinking hail tends to act more like pebbles though, compared to slick, black-ice on roads that are cold enough to freeze water in to glassy sheets of death...
Seems like hail usually hits where the ground is not freezing. Just wet. Whatchu think?

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

I'm thinking hail tends to act more like pebbles though, compared to slick, black-ice on roads that are cold enough to freeze water in to glassy sheets of death...
Seems like hail usually hits where the ground is not freezing. Just wet. Whatchu think?

Humm, that does make sense, that's probably what I was experiencing. So probably not a good comparison.

I'm not sure how a M&S rated tire like the General AT2 provides better mechanical and adhesion characteristics than a certified severe snow rated tire on not just snow but ice. Also taking into account the expedition portal evaluation that showed the General AT2 failed the wet rock climb and requires a good amount of heat to provide grip. So how is that good in ice?

I'm being sincere when I say I don't know, because I would like to know.

 

[Markuson]

Humm, that does make sense, that's probably what I was experiencing. So probably not a good comparison.

I'm not sure how a M&S rated tire like the General AT2 provides better mechanical and adhesion characteristics than a certified severe snow rated tire on not just snow but ice. Also taking into account the expedition portal evaluation that showed the General AT2 failed the wet rock climb and requires a good amount of heat to provide grip. So how is that good in ice?

I'm being sincere when I say I don't know, because I would like to know.

Wet rock...

In Ouray last summer, it was raining a LOT of the time in rocky stuff like Black Bear pass and others. I was impressed with how unphased tire grip was. I was on KO2 running at about 24psi. There were 20 other mud driver there on various tires. No one complained of slippage, but I don't know if others had different results. Would be interested to hear.

One of the interesting aspects of the mountains above Ouray is the variety of rock types. Anything from volcanic-looking red/brown, to granite and everything in between.

 

[Taco2Cruiser]

Oh I believe it. I took a rental GMC envoy with full tire pressure down black bear and the only thing that touched the ground was tire. Black is quite an easy trail as there isn't anything in the way. No big rock in the middle of the trail. Like my buddy says, "it's a bad boat ramp on a mountain."

But I am curious about grip on ice without studs.

 

[40Man]

Humm, that does make sense, that's probably what I was experiencing. So probably not a good comparison.

I'm not sure how a M&S rated tire like the General AT2 provides better mechanical and adhesion characteristics than a certified severe snow rated tire on not just snow but ice. Also taking into account the expedition portal evaluation that showed the General AT2 failed the wet rock climb and requires a good amount of heat to provide grip. So how is that good in ice?

I'm being sincere when I say I don't know, because I would like to know.

The Grabber AT2 is also severe snow (snowflake) certified.

Honestly, the snowflake symbol only says the tire performs better in snow than the average tire. There can be a huge discepancy between two snow rated tires.

The KO2 does great in snow, but I am guessing it's hard rubber is part of the reason we saw such poor ice storm performance.

Not sure about other tests, just relaying my real world experience from an ice storm. Both sets were 265 70r 17s.

Our blizzak v2s (severe snow rated) winter tires are above and beyond the AT2s.

 

[Markuson]

The AT2 is also severe snow (snowflake) certified.

Honestly, the snowflake symbol only says the tire performs better in snow than the average tire. There can be a huge discepancy between two snow rated tires.

The KO2 does great in snow, but I am guessing it's hard rubber is part of the reason we saw such poor ice storm performance.

Not sure about other tests, just relaying my real world experience from an ice storm. Both sets were 265 70r 17s.

Our blizzak v2s (severe snow rated) winter tires are above and beyond the AT2s.

When I drove my 100 series on KOs (before KO2s came out) in -16 degree weather than persisted nightly for at least a week in Wyoming a few years back...I was driving on Snow constantly. The ONLY time I felt like I was super iffy...was a moment in Jackson Hole...where I came about one foot from sliding right into the back end of a police car (!) due to ice! I stopped in time, but it showed me the limitations of KO's on super-slick ice over pavement. In all other snow? Man, they were awesome! Never once thought I wanted chains, though I did have them in my vehicle. Ice was a different story though.

 

[40Man]

When I drove my 100 series on KOs (before KO2s came out) in -16 degree weather than persisted nightly for at least a week in Wyoming a few years back...I was driving on Snow constantly. The ONLY time I felt like I was super iffy...was a moment in Jackson Hole...where I came about one foot from sliding right into the back end of a police car (!) due to ice! I stopped in time, but it showed me the limitations of KO's on super-slick ice over pavement. In all other snow? Many, they were awesome! Never once thought I wanted chains, though I did have them in my vehicle. Ice was a different story though.

My experience exactly. I kad original kos on my tacoma, and they were great all around. Never drove on ice. Just Norcal snow and off road trails.

Until I experienced an ice storm, I thought the KO2s were unstoppable. Now I wouldn't buy another set. My next tires will probably be Duratracs. Less tread life, but better on ice.

 

[Brett19648]

I didnt see 275/75r18 listed on the toyo site for the AT2's but I've seen them for sale recently. I was thinking i may try them out. There doesn't seem to be a ton of tires available in that size.

 

[mcgaskins]

Only a dedicated snow tire like a Blizzak is going to do ok in ice, and we have a set of the DMV02s on our Denali which is killer in the snow/ice. FWIW I've had 4 different sets of Duratracs from 32-35" varieties, and they seem to be the best in the truly slick winter conditions. However, they have been the noisiest and sloppiest after about 7k to 10k miles which is why I stopped running them. They are great when they're new, but I can't stand the noise after they start wearing.

 

[40Man]

Only a dedicated snow tire like a Blizzak is going to do ok in ice, and we have a set of the DMV02s on our Denali which is killer in the snow/ice. FWIW I've had 4 different sets of Duratracs from 32-35" varieties, and they seem to be the best in the truly slick winter conditions. However, they have been the noisiest and sloppiest after about 7k to 10k miles which is why I stopped running them. They are great when they're new, but I can't stand the noise after they start wearing.

I agree a dedicated snow tire will do much better than any AT, in my experience the grabber at2 did much better on ice (actually had traction) compared to the KO2.

I know the hybrid compound on the duratracs get noisy, especially without frequent rotation, but they are known to do well on ice. If not duratracs, I will probably go back to grabbers. The falken wildpeaks are also supposed to be good on ice. Don't have personal experience with them.


One thing I will say is I ran both the ko2 and grabbers on 4runners, both much lighter than a 200 LC, the extra weight could cause tires to behave differently.

 

[TonyP]

I've run DuraTracs, Cooper ST Maxx and my current KO2s, I'd say the Coopers were slightly better in snow and ice. The studded snow tires that came with my Tundra (Can't remember the brand) were absurd in the snow but not worth the time of swapping them out. I agree the KO2s aren't great on the ice but they've been damn good everywhere else and they're a world renowned A/T tire. I'd like to go back to the Coopers but my KO2s have tons of tread. Infact I just bought a used KO2 to put on my spare RW so I'm stuck with them for a while.

 

[studawg]

I just replaced the KOs on my RWs with the Michelin LTX AT2.......

I have a set of KO2s for my street tires for the 62, and they are great tires, but Im just not digging the looks of them. The 200 won't be hitting the trails for several years, and the AT2 is the perfect compromise between the Michelin LTX MS, which is the best road tire ever, in my opinion, and the BFG AT, the best all terrain tire. I also think they are the best looking tire out there. 285/70/17 Rides like a Fleetwood Brougham compared to the old KOs!

 

[jetstream23]

Maybe I'm in the minority but I liked the Nitto Terra Grapplers that I ran on the stock 18" wheels before I moved to the KO2's on Rock Warriors.

 

[Markuson]

Maybe I'm in the minority but I liked the Nitto Terra Grapplers that I ran on the stock 18" wheels before I moved to the KO2's on Rock Warriors.

I've never heard anything bad about Terra Grapplers. All positive, really.
My only quandary with most Nitto tires is...why are they so dang heavy?