How is the road noise with BFG all terrains?

[Manhattan]

If you have worn-out street tires and put on - even the same size - new all terrains, your first thought is likely to be "Hmmm, these feel less precise, like they're squirming. That's because ATs have bigger, deeper blocks. Depending on the tread pattern you can actually feel these move around as the truck moves around on the road. For me, that lasted a few miles. And, that was 140,000 miles and three sets of BFGs ago. I think ride quality is great. The road noise is minimal. It wouldn't surprise me if there are other/newer designs that are good or even better. But, I've consistently gotten 55,000++ miles from these tires and love the on and off-road performance.

 

[Leandro]

Anybody got a real world comparison between KO2 and Wildpeaks? I’m happy with my KO2 on the LX but tire shopping for the 80 and want to see if there’s anything better these days.

I have the KO2 on my hundy and recently bought an F-150 that came with wildpeaks.
I'm so used to the KO2 over the years that wasn't hearing the noise, until I tried the wildpeaks, what a difference.
Don't get me wrong, the KO2 are great tires, I had them for about 40K miles, never had a single issue on any terrain and they have about 50% thread still on them.
However, I have to say that the wildpeaks are super quiet. Only had them for about a month so can't say anything about durability or off-road capability. Worked well on wet conditions though. They don't look as good as the KO2, IMO

 

[RootMeanSqr]

I have the KO2 on my hundy and recently bought an F-150 that came with Wildpeaks...

What load rating are the Wildpeaks that came with your F150?

 

[xswl]

I have KO2s currently and haven't tried other tires yet. However, when I purchased my KO2s, there are different types (based on load-factor). I made sure to buy the ones that are snow rated. It's my understanding the cheaper KO2s that are not snow rated are intended for just road use. So I'm curious for those that haven't had a good experience with KO2s if they were the snow rated ones or not?

 

[mkntrds]

I'm unfamiliar with any KO2 that is not snow rated.

Regardless, I wouldn't say that I'm not having a good experience with them. They perform really well off pavement and they're surprisingly comfortable on pavement. I just think they're extremely overrated, mostly because there are clearly better alternatives on criteria like durability, pavement handling, and rolling resistance. Steering seems sloppy and they are gas hogs. I maintain 16 MPGs in the Cruiser on my highway trips with the Nokians, whereas I lose between 2-4 MPG with the KO2s on the Wrangler.

In addition, they are recommended here and on my Wrangler forum with little consideration for the limitations addressed above. I like to know what the advantages are of a particular tire over others within a certain desired criteria set. For example, snow rating has become less meaningful because so many tire manufacturers have updated their ATs to obtain the emblem. That is, we don't have to limit ourselves to Nokians any longer when snow traction is paramount. In the case of the KO2, I'd like to know its advantage over the Falkens; because, ceteris paribus, I have no reason to prefer them over the more durable Falken.

 

[planomateo]

KO2s are 3PMSF (3 peak mountain snow flake) rated.

In my experience, they work ok in the snow, ok in the slush, and poorly on ice. My experience is driving 10 miles of forest logging roads daily. 4-5 weeks of the year I'm driving on solid ice with steep grades. I'm located in Western Montana, snow on the ground 5 months of the year, varying amounts of slush, ice, snow on the asphalt.

I run nokian studded in the winter, ko2s in the summer.

Road noise with ko2s has never been an issue with me.

having said that, ymmv

 

[mkntrds]

I'm located in Western Montana, snow on the ground 5 months of the year, varying amounts of slush, ice, snow on the asphalt.

I run nokian studded in the winter, ko2s in the summer.

I learned the value of studded tires while living in Missoula. Do you have a separate set of wheels for each or do you have a shop remount them for you?

 

[planomateo]

I learned the value of studded tires while living in Missoula. Do you have a separate set of wheels for each or do you have a shop remount them for you?

Separate wheels, I got lots of storage

Damn near got rear ended by an 18 wheeler in belgrade a few weekends ago. Overpass had a lot of ice in the turn lane heading west towards Manhattan. Luckily I was paying attention and realized how slippery it was and noticed the 18 wheeler coming in too fast behind me. I safely ran the light to get outta his way.

 

[Indiana80]

louder and less traction than a lot of newer design tires on the market. Not sure why anyone buys those tires anymore, there are far better options on the market - especially for winter driving.

What are the better options for the 100 series? My 05 LX had fairly new KO2s when I bought it back in December of 2023. Hummmm, hummmm, hummmmm… these tires are SOOO loud. My 80 series had old KO2s (10 years old) on it when I bought it. The tread was like new, but they were also loud. I switched to Yokohama Geo ATs and they are relatively quiet. What are the recommendations for quiet AT tires for a 100?

 

[Couvi]

I’m really liking these new Nokian Outpost nATs. I have the P rated 265/70/18s and they are quieter than my last set of Toyo OC AT3s. Have been great in all weather and I’m on the highway a lot as well.

 

[Bennymic]

In my experience they are very quiet for the first half of their life and then get noisy toward the end. An old design, but tried and true in that sense. They wear very well. I run Nitto Ridge Grapplers which look awesome, but they're already starting to show some noise at <10k miles and they're horrible in the snow. KO2 were better, but still not good in the snow.

If you're in a region with serious snow I would not recommend a KO2. Get something more snow friendly or better yet, dedicated snows. The difference between snow tires and KO2 (or most any other AT/All season) on snow is staggering.

If you live in a snowy area get dedicated snow tires. My M3 with an LSD and snow tires is unstoppable unless it gets high centered. I've pulled AWD police cars out of the ditch with it.

 

[Foehammer]

Lot of guys around here run Goodyear duratracs, they wear extremely well and are great in the snow. I haven't heard anything bad about them from everyone who has them. I'm planning on getting a set for mine.

 

[Trapper50cal]

Lot of guys around here run Goodyear duratracs, they wear extremely well and are great in the snow. I haven't heard anything bad about them from everyone who has them. I'm planning on getting a set for mine.

The one negative thing I heard about Duratracs is thin/weak sidewalls. That the sidewall is easy to puncture. That was a few years ago, though, so it may not be the case now.

 

[Foehammer]

Hmm I hadn't heard about that. Good to know, I googled it and seen quite a few nasty stories. Might buy something else then, possibly Cooper at3s.

 

[FSTENUF]

I found Goodyear Duratracs to be very noisy and had a significant amount of vibration. I went to Michelin LTX AT2s years ago and it transformed the truck. I didn’t realize just how bad the Duratracs were until I put the Michelins on. Those Michelins are about to be due for a replacement which is why I’m reading about the K02s. Not a lot of info about the K03s yet. I may go with them or Michelin Defender LTX MS2s. The K03s would look so much better, but the Defenders are likely to give a better ride that I’m used to now.

 

[Indiana80]

I found Goodyear Duratracs to be very noisy and had a significant amount of vibration. I went to Michelin LTX AT2s years ago and it transformed the truck. I didn’t realize just how bad the Duratracs were until I put the Michelins on. Those Michelins are about to be due for a replacement which is why I’m reading about the K02s. Not a lot of info about the K03s yet. I may go with them or Michelin Defender LTX MS2s. The K03s would look so much better, but the Defenders are likely to give a better ride that I’m used to now.

My KO2s have 20-25K miles on them- mostly from previous owner. I get a really loud “wah wah wah” noise from about 25MPH until it blends in with highway noise. I’m now thinking it’s a dry / worn wheel bearing after 2 good tire shops tell me tires are fine and I recently noticed the FDS hub gets almost too hot to touch after a long highway trip. If the noise ends up being bearing related (I have parts on order to service front hubs), I’ll give KO2s high marks. Good looking tire with good road manners.