Quick review: BF Goodrich KO2 vs Stock Tires (1 Viewer)

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Nov 25, 2017
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Location
Vietnam
Hi friends,

This is my quick review of the tires since I just put them on today, driven around 100km.

Background story:
I've been driving on stock Yokohamas 285/65/17 for 5 years since 95% of the time I only drive on paved roads. The stock tires were quiet, comfortable and good in the wet (Haven't tried rock crawling nor mudding). After putting on the TJM bullbar, brush bar and 2inch lift the stock tires looked kind of out of place IMO. Here are couple of pictures:
IMG_4540.JPG


I have old folks who ride with me on long trips so comfort and noise was number 1 priority for me. After researching on this forum (tons of useful information) I've decided to pull the plug.

Tire Spec:
I decided to go with 285/70/17 after reading numerous of posts on here stating thats the tire size Toyota recommends for people running the TRD RWs. In the pictures it seems a lot taller than stock but realisticly its appproximately 1cm taller. These are C rated tires since these are the only version of BFGs they have. Here's a picture compared to stocks:
IMG_4769.JPG


Comfort:
I have the tires set at 37psi all around and I'm happy to report from my intial drive, the ride was suprisingly not much different than stock. If I had to put a number on it, I'd say it's around 10-15% stiffer. Funny thing, I feel going through speed bumps at higher speed was smoother than stock tires :rofl:. My old folks probably won't be able to notice any difference. Big thumbs up :)!

Noise:
The roads are always busy in my country, so it was hard to find a place to test the tire noise. Mostly, I don't hear that much difference, only when slowing down do I hear a little bit of more noise. Mind you, I turned off the AC and radio to test this. In normal driving conditions I probably wouldn't hear any difference. So big thumbs up here also :)!

Handling:
This is one area that I'd say felt a little off at first (probably just need to get used to it). Our cars have a slight deadzone in the center of the steering wheel (little play before the car changes direction when you turn the steering). The BFGs kind of emphasized this a bit more. Not much but noticable. Most likely it's the weight of the tires, tire pressure kind of low, or because the width of stock rims are smaller than of TRD RWs (can someone confirm this?). Anyways, not an issue for me, its a truck not a sports car so I never expected it to behave like one.

Looks:
This, for me is the biggest reason I upgraded to the BFGs. The sidewalls and the threads just makes it look so aggressive. Also, we have a lot of nails and random debris laying on the road everywhere. These tires, from the looks of it seems to be able to cope with all of that much better than stocks (Had them deflate 6 times due to puncture and 1 blow out on the freeway). Here are pictures after installation, you guys be the judge :cool::
IMG_4775.JPG

IMG_4777.JPG


Conclusion:
I'll need to put more miles on these to evaluate them more extensively but from the initial impressions, I wish I had done this long time ago. The ability to off-road with these, the asthetics are much better than stock while the drawbacks aren't even that noticable. I highly recommend these tires to whoever is on the fence about these.

Have a good day everyone!

Duc 🐥
 
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Funny, my favorite thing about the BFG AT/KO is the traction. :)

It looks great.
 
Can you check to see how many SIDEWALL PLIES your KO2’s have? It says it on the sidewall of the tire.

Are those ARB Summit sliders?
 
New tires are almost always quiet. If a set is noisy km 1 then they’ll be really noisy 10k km.
Looking good! Gotta put on ats to go with your build:
 
I like the BF Mud tire but the KO’s have a weird pattern that does not channel water out like other tires . I think they are a over priced tire . I have been using Goodyears these days there all terrain Adventure and Duratrac tires .
 
Funny, my favorite thing about the BFG AT/KO is the traction. :)

It looks great.
Yes!!! I’m sure in time it’s gona be my favorite feature as well 👍
Can you check to see how many SIDEWALL PLIES your KO2’s have? It says it on the sidewall of the tire.

Are those ARB Summit sliders?
8BCBEFF3-7B9E-458D-A6C6-9F7E7AC7D680.jpeg

It says 6. Maybe that’s why I feel the dead zone being emphasized and why the ride quality hasn’t really changed.

The bullbar and side bar is from TJM.
New tires are almost always quiet. If a set is noisy km 1 then they’ll be really noisy 10k km.
Looking good! Gotta put on ats to go with your build:
Thanks man! Yeah I’ve heard if you don’t rotate these frequently the wea and tear and the noise will be substantially worse. Something to keep in mind.
I like the BF Mud tire but the KO’s have a weird pattern that does not channel water out like other tires . I think they are a over priced tire . I have been using Goodyears these days there all terrain Adventure and Duratrac tires .
I don’t have any experience with other ATs or MTs. Initially I wanted the Falken Wildpeaks AT 3 but no luck finding it here. I’ll need to test them out in the rain. I’ve heard some people had issues with KO2s in the wet. Luckily for me I live in a rainforest country😁
 
My only problem with KO2s was high speed driving. Truck likes 80 mph now more than 100+. Michelins take it 120 if not watching speedo.
 
My only problem with KO2s was high speed driving. Truck likes 80 mph now more than 100+. Michelins take it 120 if not watching speedo.

My only problem with KO2s was hydroplaning and ice traction. Other than that they were great. If I lived in a dry/no snow environment they'd be my go to. There are many new tires with advanced compounds and tread that are much better in icy snow. The Falken being my top choice. The new Toyo looks promising as well.
 
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My only problem with KO2s was high speed driving. Truck likes 80 mph now more than 100+. Michelins take it 120 if not watching speedo.
Where in the us can you drive 80+?
 
Where in the us can you drive 80+?

Most highways in midwest. Its not about the speed its about the sweet spot, the spot the vehicle feels good driving at. My LX470 usually drives faster than my LC because of the tires. I actually get to destinations faster without thinking about it. It does have the arb suspension which makes it drive more aggressive and firm. I didnt change the spring on my LC.
 
Wow, cool. We don't get anything fun like that out here.
TEXAS

85 is speed limit on SH 130 (toll road)

.

At that speed i’d get about 5mpg.
 
Yes!!! I’m sure in time it’s gona be my favorite feature as well 👍

View attachment 2460246
It says 6. Maybe that’s why I feel the dead zone being emphasized and why the ride quality hasn’t really changed.

You took picture of the wrong part of the tire. It is in small print. TREAD PLIES and SIDEWALL PLIES.

Here is my 285/60/18 load range D KO2:

B2F6155C-1905-45E8-81E8-D29C9CC0D55B.jpeg
 
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