New Tires BFG vs Falken

[Umbrarian]

I first ran the BFGs in the 80s back when BFG was actually a tire company. They were state of the art then. Much better choices now Toyo, Falken, Goodyear to name a few and even BFG KO3 M/T is better. EDIT I meant KM3.

They are really outdated now. loud, low mileage, poor in rain and worse on snow or ice. Treads fill up instantly on damp dirt and do not throw out. Great on slick rock, though.

With said I installed the Wildpeaks yesterday on my Sequoia (I run BFG KO3 /T on TLC EDIT I meant KM3.). My first choice would have been GoodYear Wrangler S/A/Kevlar,I love these on 2 other SUVs, but they do not make those in size I run and did not want to change sizes. Too soon for a review of course, but I instantly noticed a difference when I drove off, but prior tires were at 3/32 and were OEM highway tires.

 

[stonepa]

I first ran the BFGs in the 80s back when BFG was actually a tire company. They were state of the art then. Much better choices now Toyo, Falken, Goodyear to name a few and even BFG KO3 M/T is better.

They are really outdated now. loud, low mileage, poor in rain and worse on snow or ice. Treads fill up instantly on damp dirt and do not throw out. Great on slick rock, though.

With said I installed the Wildpeaks yesterday on my Sequoia (I run BFG KO3 /T on TLC). My first choice would have been GoodYear Wrangler S/A/Kevlar,I love these on 2 other SUVs, but they do not make those in size I run and did not want to change sizes. Too soon for a review of course, but I instantly noticed a difference when I drove off, but prior tires were at 3/32 and were OEM highway tires.

Interesting statements. BFG not a tire company? KO3s? Outdated?

 

[coleAK]

Interesting statements. BFG not a tire company? KO3s? Outdated?

I was wondering the same thing? Possibly referring to when BFG was independent? pre-Michelin buy out?

 

[Madtiger]

I was wondering the same thing? Possibly referring to when BFG was independent? pre-Michelin buy out?

So Michelin is a terrible tire company? Made BFG worst? Made BFG into low tech?

 

[Madtiger]

I first ran the BFGs in the 80s back when BFG was actually a tire company. They were state of the art then. Much better choices now Toyo, Falken, Goodyear to name a few and even BFG KO3 M/T is better.

They are really outdated now. loud, low mileage, poor in rain and worse on snow or ice. Treads fill up instantly on damp dirt and do not throw out. Great on slick rock, though.

With said I installed the Wildpeaks yesterday on my Sequoia (I run BFG KO3 /T on TLC). My first choice would have been GoodYear Wrangler S/A/Kevlar,I love these on 2 other SUVs, but they do not make those in size I run and did not want to change sizes. Too soon for a review of course, but I instantly noticed a difference when I drove off, but prior tires were at 3/32 and were OEM highway tires.

So Wildpeak and Goodyear Kevlar don’t fill up with mud/wet dirt?

 

[Umbrarian]

Interesting statements. BFG not a tire company? KO3s? Outdated?

BF Goodrich stopped making tires in 1990 when it sold it's factories to Michelin. BF Goodrich is just a brand name now.

KO2s are outdated, I said KO3, I meant KM3.

 

[Umbrarian]

So Wildpeak and Goodyear Kevlar don’t fill up with mud/wet dirt?

Only had Wildpeak 1 day so dont know. Goodyears on my CJ-7, 2500HD, and H1 will throw out dirt in tread, as will M/T KM3 on my LC.

 

[coleAK]

So Michelin is a terrible tire company? Made BFG worst? Made BFG into low tech?

Haha. I was just trying to guess what they were trying to say?

Considering Michelin has (arguably I guess) the highest quality of major tire lines can’t imagine they made things worse, well in 1989.

 

[DUTCHDJ1]

Here's another video I stumbled across that has a comprehensive review of the BFG K02.


My daughter and I also drove my FJ62 around with the windows down most of the day and didn't notice any additional noise from my new K02s compared to the passenger tires that were on it when I got it in April. I'll post a pic in the AM.

 

[Tex68w]

Tire preference is a very personal and situational decision. You will get as many different answers as there are options out there. Personally I am a huge fan of KO2's but I don't live in an area known for snow and ice. I've had more sets than I care to admit and it's because they perform well in my AO, I love how they look and they simply last. My father, myself, and a few friends all tried jumping on the Falken bandwagon and not a single one of us continues to run them. I don't think they are horrid tires, but I don't think that they are in the same class as the KO2's, obviously YMMV.

It's simple, if you see lots of snow and ice then the Falkens are a better choice, if you need a tire for rock, sand, dirt, then the KO2 wins. There are other great tires out there as well, Toyo AT3's and Nitto Ridge Grapplers come to mind.

 

[Madtiger]

Only had Wildpeak 1 day so dont know. Goodyears on my CJ-7, 2500HD, and H1 will throw out dirt in tread, as will M/T KM3 on my LC.

My brother has Goodyear Wrangler AT Adventure with Kevlar on his Taco. We have been off-roading a few times…i can assure you that it gets packed with mud/dirt quite easily. Doesn’t throw crap out! LOL (My KO2s don’t either.)

Of course, KM3 will self-clean because its lug spacing is huge, as is the case for all MTs. ATs never clean well because the void space is much smaller. There is no magic AT that self-cleans well.

 

[DUTCHDJ1]

Here's a few pics of the K02s on my FJ62 on 16" wheels. I went with a 265/75R16 123/120R E. Sorry about my "auto detailer" photo bombing. Again, I'm not advocating for one tire over the other. Just trying to supply more info to make the choice hopefully more informed at the least. I just went through the gauntlet of comparing and reading and posting about what tires to get and it can be exhausting once you go down that rabbit hole.

 

[Madtiger]

BF Goodrich stopped making tires in 1990 when it sold it's factories to Michelin. BF Goodrich is just a brand name now.

KO2s are outdated, I said KO3, I meant KM3.

How is it outdated? It’s like 7 years old. Same as Michelin Defender…is that outdated too?

Falken uses cheap heavy steel plies instead of high-tensile strength steel plies that most other (well-known) manufacturers use! This is why Falken Wildpeaks weigh a ton compare to other ATs of same size. And this is why Falken is able to keep its prices lower than everyone else. Is that the “new technology” that you want? Why is it that Falkens have deep tread depth yet wear same or faster than other ATs? Is it because they use cheap rubber compound that wears fast? Or that its sidewall is quite thin vs other ATs?

Or should we look at Toyo AT3 that took less than 2 years to develop and come to market?

Don’t get distracted by new shiny things……..read up on them before spending your hard earned money.

(And this is why it is taking me many months so far to research for my next tire.)

 

[onelittlestar]

And in some sizes I was looking at, Falkens weigh (much) more than other ATs, wear faster despite deeper tread depth, and possibly thinner sidewall.

Disagree with wear on my AT3W's, I'll snap a photo of what 40k miles looks like.

 

[Madtiger]

This is my 285/60/18 Load Range D KO2s at 42k miles. Rotated every 5k miles. Still as quiet as day 1. Pics taken just now.

 

[stonepa]

My brother has Goodyear Wrangler AT Adventure with Kevlar on his Taco. We have been off-roading a few times…i can assure you that it gets packed with mud/dirt quite easily. Doesn’t throw crap out! LOL (My KO2s don’t either.)

Of course, KM3 will self-clean because its lug spacing is huge, as is the case for all MTs. ATs never clean well because the void space is much smaller. There is no magic AT that self-cleans well.

The only thing that really cleans out ATs is a high speed run on dry ground. If I had more deep mud I would chose KM3s all day.

 

[stonepa]

This is my 285/60/18 Load Range D KO2s at 42k miles. Rotated every 5k miles. Still as quiet as day 1. Pics taken just now.

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My experience as well across 3 Land Cruisers. Those tires just keep on working.

 

[coleAK]

I don’t know if it is just the mud we have up here but my K02s are pretty bad in the mud. They cake easily then turn into ice skates. The OEM 31” latitudes on 20’s were better in the sand then my 33” KO2s on 17” rims. Guys that drive in the sand often up here run old Med sized trucks (and cherokees) with old aviation tires. The best sand tires are light weight, high volume, little to no tread.

 

[Madtiger]

I don’t know if it is just the mud we have up here but my K02s are pretty bad in the mud. They cake easily then turn into ice skates. The OEM 31” latitudes on 20’s were better in the sand then my 33” KO2s on 17” rims. Guys that drive in the sand often up here run old Med sized trucks (and cherokees) with old aviation tires. The best sand tires are light weight, high volume, little to no tread.

Same for me. KO2s no good in mud. And in sand, it digs too much and, after a while, i am down to my frame!

 

[Tex68w]

Man, I must be doing something right then because I've never had issues with KO2's in the sand and I live on the beach with 23 miles of it to drive on, lol.

My sister eeked out 78K miles on a set of KO2's on her Expedition and when Discount swapped them out for a new set they said they likely could have gone another 5K miles lol. You can safely bet on 60K miles out of a set of KO2's if properly maintained and rotated regularly. And yes, they are far from great in mud, but duh!