Nice, I went through my first set (E rated) in ~40k miles. I tow and off road a lot though. Those look similar to my new ones that have 7k on them.
New Tires BFG vs Falken
- Thread starter Ronwed
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No towing for me. I do off-road some…mild-mod trails…but no muddIng. Somehow, my driving results in rubbing sidewall a lot on rocks. Now you all understand why i favor a strong sidewall! Probably need new glasses….
Yeah I don’t do Alaska mud on my KO2s on my 60 or 100. The roads / outwashes down here in the Kenai are mostly gravel or cobbles. That being said, the worst mud I have ever encountered was 30 years ago in late May road conditions on East End Road out of Homer before it was paved. It was so bad that I very slowly rolled my 60 over on its side as I drove into ‘quickmud’ masquerading as a dry mud road. Broke through the dry crust and over it went.
We have extremely soft sand up here where we dip net salmon from the Glacer silt. It is very fine, almost no grain. I have to run 15-20 psi and carry traction boards and shovels. Most people take ATVs in and out. Many that do take trucks drive in and out at low tide so they can drive on the rock and still get stuck. That requires going through salt water so I go over the dunes. I’ve never been stuck but close a few times.
Man that is a fun time. I dont do beaches anymore after watching trucks get stuck and flood one too many times. Rather risk my side by side.
I don't think that is a proven statement. I'm currently running Falkens AT3W on two of our three trucks, but all this talk about KO2s not being good in winter is false from what I've seen in the real world. I don't think there's enough evidence to say Falken's are the superior winter AT other than anecdotal. Not defending BFG, just don't think it's correct to cast one as better/worse without direct comparative testing. I wouldn't hesitate to drive the 200 with Duratracs in any winter weather.
Posts that say KO2s are bad when comparing to a dedicated snow tire (i.e. Bizzaks) are irrelevant; any dedicated snow tire will perform better than a 3PMS AT. As would a Michelin Pilot Sport on summer highway. The differentiator needs to be KO2 vs Brand XYZ. Most users don't have extra sets of wheels/tires to swap. As the saying goes, you dance with the girl you brought. And for most of us, this dance is with the AT's.
Again, in the winter driving I've done along side of those running KO2s there was zero difference. Both performed very well. Last spring I traveled I-84 from Twin Falls to Salt Lake in Blizzard conditions behind a KO2 driver and we both did fantastic with both trucks aired down properly for the weight. We were passing a number of slower (or stuck) vehicles with confidence.
Yeah. I started researching in April and finally pulled the trigger about a week ago. But I had plenty to keep me busy on my Land Cruiser fixing and updating other things.
The worst mud I’ve encountered is out the glen around Sutton/Alpine/Jim creek/sheep mountain, and off the denali around windy and Grayling creeks. Out on the Kenai I don’t think it is as bad since it tends to have rock mixed in.
It’s a great time every july on the Kasilof. Every summer I see a truck or side by side get swamped by the tide. I always park above the high tide line. This summer they sand was particular bad as the first half of the summer was an extreme drought. Which I miss as we are on day 44 straight of rain.
Well I was not referring to those, and not all dirt/mud is the same, and I did not mean to imply they always threw mud out perfetly, just they did better than my KO2s on same vehicle. ymmv.
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Outdated in that it is basically the same tire for last 30 years, and better things have arrived. And yes, I have KO and KO2 on vehicles right now and not much different, especially in tread area.
Never had Falken, they were 1 of 3 that were in size I needed. I will reserve judgement on whether they are good or bad till I have driven them more than 1 day.
LOL
My overall preferred tire is Goodyear MT/R Load Range E Kevlar. Tire has been on market for over 20 years, not exactly new and shiny. But still best off-road tire I can find that is also driveable on the highway.
YMMV.
But MT/R is a mud terrain. No crap it is better off-road than KO2. I am so confused. You do realize that materials, compounds, etc. can change, right?
BFG stuck to its famous tread design because it works as an AT. See General tire trying to copy the same pattern.
Remember, KO2 is meant as a true AT tire. Not a highway tire with slightly more aggressive tread, like so many these days.
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LOL
All I was suggesting was OP look beyond BFG and Falken as there are many better choices out there. My bad for throwing M/Ts into the discussion.
Like what?
I am also looking for AT tire in near future (of course I have been saying that for months now). MT/R is no good for me because it is MT and pretty crappy in rain and on-road handling...like all MTs.
Given OP stated, "Most of my driving is on pavement.", he might not even need an A/T tire. So that opens up a lot of choices. Most of my Sequoia driving was on pavement and it ran fine with the factory Bridgestone/Dueler tires.
Given OP stated, "Most of my driving is on pavement.", he might not even need an A/T tire. So that opens up a lot of choices. Most of my Sequoia driving was on pavement and it ran fine with the factory Bridgestone/Dueler tires.
Not sure why so many folks stay focused on the more aggressive A/T if they are doing most pavement but still want a decent looking “a/t” the Revo3, General APT and Nitto Recons are good options. I’ve had KO2 on a previous 200 and were very sketchy “slippery” in heavy rain and slick roads. Not only that, they like to wander on grooved pavement. The Ko2 is absolutely not designed for wet weather driving as it doesn’t have long channels. They are fantastic on dry loose dirt though as to why it’s probably such a great Baja tire. My first time experience with Ko’s goes back 15yrs when I was playing off-road and then got hit with a thunderstorm and the rocks might as well have been made out of ice. They just don’t grip. That’s my experience anyways.
Not sure why so many folks stay focused on the more aggressive A/T if they are doing most pavement but still want a decent looking “a/t” the Revo3, General APT and Nitto Recons are good options. I’ve had KO2 on a previous 200 and were very sketchy “slippery” in heavy rain and slick roads. Not only that, they like to wander on grooved pavement. The Ko2 is absolutely not designed for wet weather driving as it doesn’t have long channels. They are fantastic on dry loose dirt though as to why it’s probably such a great Baja tire. My first time experience with Ko’s goes back 15yrs when I was playing off-road and then got hit with a thunderstorm and the rocks might as well have been made out of ice. They just don’t grip. That’s my experience anyways.
Questioning why OP was looking into an AT tire is Exactly what I was getting at with my first post. I ran defender LTX m/s and they were as good or better most of the time off road: better in the mud, much better in the sand, slightly worse in loose rock, being exponentially better on pavement, light snow (I run Hakka in the winter but we get snow during the summer), and rain. If I could have got them in LT25/70-17 this spring I would not have another set of K02s. I’m was also interested in the new Michelin trail, Nokian outpost, AT3, and WP none of which were available at the time when I needed summer tires.
I’m at the point where although I off road most weeks I also tow a camper ~10k miles a summer (late May through late September) on highly variable weather and pretty crappy roads. Where I used to think get the most aggressive off road tire that can make it on road. Now I’m at the best pavement tire that will handle the off road.
KO2s are a great benchmark tire. Practically designed and optimized for the southwest, which is my home turf. More of my buddies run these tires than anything else.
My personal needs go beyond off-roading. If I'm being realistic 95% of my needs are still on-road. With winter trips deep into the mountain regions. My idea of AT is to not have any significant performance gaps anywhere, and IMO, that's where some of the new kids on the block further excel. They are on par or match the KO2s for Baja type running, while having better NVH on-road and notably better performance in the wet and cold. Top of my personal list for expanded performance on-road, wet, and cold are Falken AT3Ws and Toyo AT3s.
Not all snow and sand is the same. Beach sand generally contains more moisture which gives it more surface tension to hold weight. It's the super heated low moisture sand, of the talcum variety that is a challenge. Add some grade, and it'll really start to separate the capabilities of sand performance. KO2s, AT3Ws, and AT3s all do respectably in this environment. Any MTs, not so much because of the larger voids and more digging action. HTs would probably fare best for their relatively smooth tread blocks.
You know you're dealing with sand when you're getting stuck with 37s. Here in Toyo R/T variety. My Toyo AT3s faired better in this climb without getting stuck and was able to pull him out.
My personal needs go beyond off-roading. If I'm being realistic 95% of my needs are still on-road. With winter trips deep into the mountain regions. My idea of AT is to not have any significant performance gaps anywhere, and IMO, that's where some of the new kids on the block further excel. They are on par or match the KO2s for Baja type running, while having better NVH on-road and notably better performance in the wet and cold. Top of my personal list for expanded performance on-road, wet, and cold are Falken AT3Ws and Toyo AT3s.
Not all snow and sand is the same. Beach sand generally contains more moisture which gives it more surface tension to hold weight. It's the super heated low moisture sand, of the talcum variety that is a challenge. Add some grade, and it'll really start to separate the capabilities of sand performance. KO2s, AT3Ws, and AT3s all do respectably in this environment. Any MTs, not so much because of the larger voids and more digging action. HTs would probably fare best for their relatively smooth tread blocks.
You know you're dealing with sand when you're getting stuck with 37s. Here in Toyo R/T variety. My Toyo AT3s faired better in this climb without getting stuck and was able to pull him out.
You could be a YouTube tire tester with the amount of use you put them through. You’re definitely on the right track as the Michelin Trails look promising and Nokian outpost have great reviews, same with the AT3. I wonder how the Nitto Recon would do for you? They seem to be getting a lot of praise and not as aggressive as Ridge Grapplers. I believe the Revo3 has a softer compound which is great in wet weather and loose dirt which might make it a better summer tire for you.
I’ve been very happy with non LT rated Falken AT3 on mine. Much quieter as they wear down than Goodyear Duratracs I’ve had in the past.
I’m mostly on road and towing a 5000lb boat and no regrets going with P vs LT. Ride is much better.
Never owned BFGs, they look dated to me.
I’m mostly on road and towing a 5000lb boat and no regrets going with P vs LT. Ride is much better.
Never owned BFGs, they look dated to me.
