I totally agree about the change, not happy with it. They seemed to get about 50% louder after ~25K miles. I love the look and performance but man they changes are making me want to get out of them and sell half used BFG KO2 on CL
BBS TRD Pro 18" Tire Recommendation
- Thread starter TacomaLC
- Start date
This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.
I’m considering KO2’s for my stock 200. I live in Texas so snow/ice isn’t much of a concern but highway driving in the rain is something I’ll have to deal with on occasion. The comments in this thread about how bad KO2’s are in the rain are concerning. I have the stock Dunlop’s on my 18’ LC (28k mikes) and on a recent drive in the pouring rain they didn’t perform well at all. Was really hoping the KO2’s would be better - guess I need to do some more research on tire options...
It’s fine. I have driven in rainstorms with KO2...no issue whatsoever.
If you don’t off road to the need of a KO2 there are much better options.
If you're not going to go offroad I'd definitely look into Michelin Defender LTX. Have driven in pouring down storms with zero issues.
I have almost new KO2 tire and they are freaking terrible in the rain. You’ll notice it most when getting off a freeway that has a sharp turnoff. They slip every single time and I’m already slowing down before making the turn. In a straight line, sure they are ok but we get heavy rain here and they float on water. Never had this issue until using KO2. Can’t wait to ditch them and use Cooper AT3 XLT which as two big channels for water disbursement which is rare in a AT tire.
Lots of different opinions on the KO2 performance in the rain. I literally just ran into someone with a 16 LC w/ KO2’s at the local butcher shop and asked his opinion. He’s said he had 50k miles on his KO2’s and never had an issue in the rain. I appreciate all the feedback!
I’ve driven on KO2s in plenty of rain. From toad stranglers back east to monsoon rains out here in the west. No issues from my perspective.
Can't agree enough. For my use, it has the better balance of qualities I want. Namely noise, vibration, ride quality, longer tread life, rain, snow, and cold weather performance. The KO2s do have the edge with a harder more durable rubber compound that is more chip resistant to extreme use in rock and gravel.
Where did you get the center cap from?
- Thread starter
- #33
They are the HE centercaps custom painted to match.
I had KO2’s (285/65R18E) and had terrible vibration issues with them that five separate tire places could not solve. Wound up returning them and going with Michelin LTX AT2’s (275/65R18E) which were easily balanced by Costco. They’re e-rated, so I can tow a trailer, are better than the stock tires off road, are pretty quiet, and don’t vibrate. No, the AT2’s aren’t as off-road capable as the KO2’s but, given our typical travel profile, they meet our needs. Per Gaijin’s recommendation, I run them at 45 PSI (keep the spare at 50) and, after about 25k miles, they seem to be wearing very well. I’m happy with these.
How would you compare the ride of those two tires? I would assume the Michelin rides much better, if non LT.
also- any pics of both tires on your truck? I'm really torn between these two sizes, but leaning toward the AT2 due to non LT spec for ride quality. Just not sure they're big enough. The AT2 is the factory tire on the Tundra TRD Pro, in non LT.
Last edited:
Hey did the 305/65/18s rub on turns or needed cutting? I have the arb bull bar too and wanted your thoughts on wider tires clearing or not. Please let me know.
KO2 and rain. I had initially scary moments. I have noticed that is PSI related. When drove at 50 recommended PSI they were bouncy, harsh and scary on rain. Got it down to 42 and totally different tire. Definitely play with the pressure. Noise more than would like to but learning to Iive with it. So far 1500 miles only on them.
The AT2’s ride better and were much easier for the tire shop to balance correctly when compared to the KO2’s. Whether or not it was due to a problematic set of KO2’s, I can’t say. However, when picking each up, the AT2’s were noticeably lighter - despite both being e-rated. I won’t kid you - the KO2’s look much better on the truck:
...but, given the problems I had with my KO2’s, I was willing to sacrifice some looks for functionality. The KO2’s were pretty quiet, but the AT2’s are almost as quiet as stock, and ride almost as good as the stock tires as well (better than the KO2’s). However, by making the change, I’ve picked up the e-rating on the tires (sometimes I tow), have better offroad abilities than stock (have not experienced any punctures yet), have longer tire lifespan than stock, yet retain much of the nice road manners of a street tire. Our typical use consists of a long drive (300+ miles) to a destination followed by light to moderate offroading (enough to kill our previous Highlander hybrid), then lots of “around home” trips of 20 miles or less. True, I’m not using the LC to its’ full potential, but I like the vehicle (it’s my second). We don’t live in a snow area anymore, so I was able to jettison the spare wheels and Blizzaks. If I were pure street, I’d likely have gotten the Defender LTX’s, but these seemed better for our usage.
One additional note: these tires are the Michelin AT2 LT275/65R18E - they are LT tires with an e-rating. Sorry to confuse you in my earlier post.
Last edited:
Thanks for the info and pics. Size looks decent- and yes, I had a feeling yours are LT as you mentioned E rated.
The Tundra P spec AT2 actually look a bit more aggressive, some tread pattern onto the sidewall area. And they'll be even lighter since they're P and not LT.
Now, from my research before i got my tires, Michelin AT2 is an old design......because of lack of siping and hard compound, it is not the best in rain. Despite the slightly aggressive tread (more noise than highway tires), they are not very good off-road (easily becomes glazed donuts).
I talked with Michelin...AT2 sidewall is NOT stronger than Michelin LTX Defender. I would argue that Defender is THE tire (from Michelin) to get if you stay mostly on-road because it is arguably stronger than AT2 (due to newer tire compound), much better in rain, and just as good off-road.
I talked with Michelin...AT2 sidewall is NOT stronger than Michelin LTX Defender. I would argue that Defender is THE tire (from Michelin) to get if you stay mostly on-road because it is arguably stronger than AT2 (due to newer tire compound), much better in rain, and just as good off-road.