Has anyone here gone from 305 BFG KM2's to 315 BFG AT's?

[98 SNAKE EATER]

I previously had a set of 305/70/16 BFG KM's and absolutely loved them

Put over 120k miles on them and still had enough tread left to sell them for $100 bucks each

Replaced them with a set of 305/70/16 BFG MT KM2's and they're also holding up very well

Thing is, I tend to do a lot of long distance highway driving and would like to go with an AT for a smoother, quieter ride, but would also like to step up a size

If I were to go with 315/75/16 BFG AT's, would they be quieter than my current 305 KM2's?

 

[inkpot]

Regardless of tire size, the AT should be quieter by design: smaller voids and gaps in the tread pattern. John

 

[gtfour43]

How about 315 duratracs? My 285 dts ride way better than my 315 km2s. I wish I had 315 DTs now.

 

[mr jits]

315 duratracs. Awesome tires.

 

[Uncle Grumpy]

Isn't your offroad stuff swampy and muddy requiring more aggressive tire? You have room in your shop for a second set of tires.

 

[Land Shark]

I just went from BFG KMs to BFG ATs and YES they are a 1000 times quieter. Before it was hard for the to have a convvo, now it is wayaaay better.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

How about 315 duratracs? My 285 dts ride way better than my 315 km2s. I wish I had 315 DTs now.

How are the Duratracs on wear?

Here are my old KM's with over 120k miles

Ended up selling them for $100 bucks a piece and went with KM2's that seem to be wearing well also

Isn't your offroad stuff swampy and muddy requiring more aggressive tire?

Yes, but now that I have two winches, I'm willing to sacrifice some muddy traction for better road manners

You have room in your shop for a second set of tires.

I've been thinking about this as I have 3 spare wheels that I plan on using for an off-road trailer build

 

[2 E L O]

I'll submit another vote for Duratracs. They look awesome, wear great and they're EXTREMELY quiet. I would even venture to say that they may be quieter than BFG A/T KO's... They don't get that real high pitched whine that the KO's get after they wear a little.

YMMV.

 

[maybe_a_80...]

what's the rationale behind going to 35s for highway tires?

It seems like the better bet would be to step into some 285/75 AT tires for the highway driving and keep the 305s for the fun off road stuff.

I'd still be interested about the rationale.

 

[mr jits]

How are the Duratracs on wear?

Here are my old KM's with over 120k miles

Ended up selling them for $100 bucks a piece and went with KM2's that seem to be wearing well also

Yes, but now that I have two winches, I'm willing to sacrifice some muddy traction for better road manners

I've been thinking about this as I have 3 spare wheels that I plan on using for an off-road trailer build

I'm calling bs on the 120,000 mile BFG KM's.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

what's the rationale behind going to 35s for highway tires?

It seems like the better bet would be to step into some 285/75 AT tires for the highway driving and keep the 305s for the fun off road stuff.

I'd still be interested about the rationale.

I may be stepping up to a minor lift and would like to fill the wells better

I'm calling bs on the 120,000 mile BFG KM's.

No BS

Here's a thread from when I got my KM's in '08

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/217022-pix-305-70-16-m-ts-stock-ride-height-rigs.html


And another thread when I got my KM2's in '10

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/423940-bfg-mt-km2-vs-km-treadwear.html


I always do a 5 wheel rotation and the only reason I upgraded from the KM's was because I had one blow out on me


When I got her in '07

Last weekend....

Yes, I'm a drivin mofo

 

[maybe_a_80...]

I may be stepping up to a minor lift and would like to fill the wells better

Gotcha.

If you're going to keep the newish KM2s for your off road ventures, you might be consider putting a 315 on the 80 that will be a more comfortable ride than the BFG A/T. I'd recommend the Goodyear Silent Armor over the BFG A/T for street use, however I do recognize how individual tire choice can be. I've run the Silent Armor for highway use in the past and was super pleased with them.

I'm running BFG A/Ts that came on the truck when I purhcased it. They're not bad, until it gets cold up here at 9,000 ft. I'm just, for whatever reason, of the opinion, that there are other tires out there with better ride quality. Where you live you won't get the temps we get up here, so the cold weather hardness of the rubber won't affect you as much. Seat of the pants, I'd also be researching the per-tire weight of any 315/75 I'll mount on my 80, especially if there were other tires for real off road use. Just trying to weigh realistic needs against performance.

Good luck, sounds like you're into cool upgrade/replacement project!

 

[mr jits]

I may be stepping up to a minor lift and would like to fill the wells better

No BS

Here's a thread from when I got my KM's in '08

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/217022-pix-305-70-16-m-ts-stock-ride-height-rigs.html

And another thread when I got my KM2's in '10

https://forum.ih8mud.com/80-series-tech/423940-bfg-mt-km2-vs-km-treadwear.html

I always do a 5 wheel rotation and the only reason I upgraded from the KM's was because I had one blow out on me

When I got her in '07

Last weekend....

Yes, I'm a drivin mofo

So you did 120k miles in two years? 160+ miles per day, seven days a week and still had what looks like 50% tread left when you sold them? Not buying it.

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

So you did 120k miles in two years?

It's no secret that I do a lot of driving

Back then, I was making trips from NYC to Orlando and vice versa every 2-3 weeks with plenty of driving in between since it's my DD

160+ miles per day, seven days a week

It was actually about 30 months, which comes out to about 4000 miles a month.

I don't see how this is so hard to believe since I currently drive ~120 miles a day and even more on weekends

and still had what looks like 50% tread left when you sold them? Not buying it.

Well that's handy cause I'm not selling it.....it's just a fact

 

[RSHARPfzj80]

Before it was hard for the to have a convvo, now it is wayaaay better.

So does that mean your gonna go back to KM's

 

[mr jits]

Back to the OP: so far(100 miles) my duratracs are great. No noise at all on the freeway. I'll have an opinion of them offroad after this weekend.
I've run bfg at's and thought they were terrible. They last forever, but are horrible the entire time (suck in snow, and mud. Don't know about rocks).
I ran original bfg km's on a powerwagon and they were unstoppable, but in my experience, treadlife was very short.
I guess it all depends what you want to gamble your $ on.

 

[Land Shark]

So does that mean your gonna go back to KM's

Remember, if momma aint happy nobody is happy

 

[98 SNAKE EATER]

I've run bfg at's and thought they were terrible. They last forever, but are horrible the entire time (suck in snow, and mud. Don't know about rocks).

How were they sound wise after some wear?

I can understand them being bad in the mud, but from what I've gathered from others here, they're better than the KM2's in snow and should also be better on rocks due to the contact patch

 

[RSHARPfzj80]

Remember, if momma aint happy nobody is happy

I know that's right!! I went from 305 km1's to 315 pro comps and I miss my BFG's but the extreme MT's do pretty damn good. I traded my brother a trailer that I had$ 350 in and the tires had 70% tread so I think I came out pretty good. When they wear out I'll probably go back to KM2 though .

 

[FloridaCruiser813]

snake eaterwhat load range were the km1's?