BF Goodrich All Terrain KO Tires - a Personal Critique

I am at the "gotta get tires" stage. I have had two sets of Cooper AT3 's and like them. I find they do well on snow and rain.
I don't do a lot of mud other than dirt roads where we live and northern gravel roads Noise ..... the first set (40K) were quiet. Different truck.....This latest set (40 K) developed a scallop on there inside...even though I rotated them and maintained good air pressure.... I think when I added the leaf pack the alignment was not done properly. I have decided to get them again and do another alignment same day!
 
I ran the KO2s on my 1/2-ton Dodge and found that the MPGs were reduced (not by much) but also the treadlife suffered. Didn’t reach 30k. My Chevy had the Kumhos mentioned in the article when I bought it. The driver's front suffered tread separation pretty quickly. That may have been due to the fact that the truck sat around with a large Lance camper for quite awhile. I ended up going with Toyo AT2s and am happy with them. But yes, a reduction in MPGs. I just don’t know whether the added tall camper shell or the tires or both are responsible for that reduction.

I think you bring up an excellent point. Most any tire, when you reduce tire pressure, will do better offroad. Depending on your travels, will a less aggressive AT suffice? YMMV.
 
Talking about reduced mpgs with more aggressive tires, I found this online when I was looking at cooper tires:
http://roadtraveler.net/tread-matters-tire-selection-and-fuel-economy/

It makes since, the further you get from a continuous smooth circle the more rolling resistance you wind up with.

They did another test comparing two similarly sized tire diameters, but differing widths and I was surprised to see no noticeable difference. I would have thought width would play a role as well. Perhaps there sample set just wasn't different enough to matter.

Kevin
 
Just an update on some “E” rated KO2’s on a Tacoma access cab 4X4. I now have 40,000 miles on the set I changed to when I got the camper. They supposedly had 5,000 miles on them when I bought them. Maybe 15% of the mileage is off road, 5% in the snow and the rest pavement. 12% of the miles are without the camper. They have been aired down and up at least 50 times in that mileage, maybe more as I did not track. They have been as quiet as the stock wranglers that came on the truck, but ride much rougher without the camper. I got slightly taller than stock to compensate for their added weight and stiffness but can not tell if that made any difference except the speedometer is off by about 3 MPH at 60 MPH. They measure 1/3 rd worn at this point. I am happy with the tires. They are OK in the snow, but not great; although they are snow flake tires and I have never had to chain up going skiing even in heavy snow. I have been on many roads where the side protection is extremely important and they have faired really well there, no flats at all. I had a number with my previous tires. They have had good traction in sandy dirt. I have not driven in mud much or sand so can not evaluate. They do not plane, but have lousy traction on wet pavement here in Oregon where it is wet half the year, but honestly I did not get them for their wet pavement ability.
 
Ghettofab75 said:
Talking about reduced mpgs with more aggressive tires, I found this online when I was looking at cooper tires:
http://roadtraveler.net/tread-matters-tire-selection-and-fuel-economy/

It makes since, the further you get from a continuous smooth circle the more rolling resistance you wind up with.

They did another test comparing two similarly sized tire diameters, but differing widths and I was surprised to see no noticeable difference. I would have thought width would play a role as well. Perhaps there sample set just wasn't different enough to matter.

Kevin
Click to expand...
Kevin-
Great article.
Thanks.
 
I just replaced the Cooper tires and am preparing my long term review. I wanted to put my initial comments about this tire all in one place.

ski3pin said:
cwd, same as you 31 x 10.5 x 15.

First impressions - quieter on the road than I remember the BFG's when new. I like the thread design and depth. I have a couple preconceived notions on how I think they will preform. Only time and use will tell.

I really want to resist first impressions. We just spent a load of money after making a decision. It is human nature to convince yourself you made the right choice. :)

That is also why I wanted to hold off on my critique of the BFG's until I had a consistent base of personal experience with the tire. We went through two sets in our adventures with our truck and camper.
Click to expand...

ski3pin said:
A few thousand on them now. We have used them in all conditions - highway, rain, snow, dirt, 4x4 low dirt and rocks, and fairly extensive use on snow, packed snow, and ice (in mountain terrain, of course) and initial reaction is these are very good tires. I am very pleased with them - especially compared to the previous BFG AT - for winter mountain roads. They grip and are very predictable. For winter I rate them up with the best non studded I've used.

My real review will come after this set is worn out.
Click to expand...

ski3pin said:
Four years ago, with an almost new set of the BFG all Terrains (the subject of this thread critique), we drove an extreme road down into a remote canyon in Nevada. On the steep 4x4 low crawl back up I was at the edge of traction with the BFG's.

A couple of weeks ago we again drove this road with our almost new set of Coopers. The road is now in much worse condition. Driving back out, I was very impressed with the new tires.

This was a good real world comparison of the two tires for us. The BFG's were good. The Coopers are better and I am impressed with their performance.
Click to expand...

ski3pin said:
I just did a tire rotation on the truck and noticed I now have 20,000 miles on the Coopers Discoverer ATP that I moved to after the two sets of BFGs.

I have used these tires now in all sorts of conditions and remain pleased and impressed. My overall grade for these are a strong B+ and if the good thread wear continue, I may move it up in the A territory.
Click to expand...
 
I just ordered 285/75/17E BFG AT/KOs. I've used Pirelli, Cooper and BFG MT/KM tires on this truck. I'm excited to have new shoes and am looking forward to the BFG AT. I was disappointed by the Pirelli, albeit they were street tires. They spun on pavement way too easy. The Coopers only lasted for 25k miles before I tossed them for the BFG MT. The Coopers wore funny, were noisy and had piss-poor traction off road. The BFG MT/KM tires were really good wearing and had great off road traction. They weren't as noisy as the Coopers, but noisy enough to be annoising. The BFG AT/KO will be a nice change.
 
Wow...this topic and thread has legs! But sounds a lot like an "oil thread"; so many variables and ultimately a matter of subjective opinions, which is normal for tire or product selections.

What vehicle, what load, what tire pressures, tire sizes, specific speeds on what surfaces, balanced, rotated and alignments, 'noise' meaning what or good traction vs bad traction; just a few of them, plus what is tread depth at which you replace a tire? I have probably missed more than a few variables that makes an objective tire selection that best fits the needs of a person damn near impossible.

So we, myself included, make our best guess at which tire is best for our planned use. Kind of like touting a backcountry ski it always boils down to a personal bias...so yes, I like my Cooper AT3s and Yes I liked my Toyo AT2 and yes, I read a ton of reviews before buying. Trying to make a truly informed decision seems so elusive; at least to me and of course I could be wrong! :cool:

Phil
 
Absolutely right. My friends think I change tires like I do shoes, which isn't that far off. I seldom keep tires for more than 20 - 25k miles and I'm hard to impress. Vehicle and use have so much to do with it, and then, ultimately, it's still all subjective.
 
Have a 2011 Raptor, stock 315 70 17s D KOs were taken off at 70k, had 6/32 left, rain and snow performance was worsening. Replaced with KO2 E have 19k on these with no wear from new measurement. Son replaced stock tires on 4 runner trail premium with KO 2s E rated had no measureable treadwear at 35k, now at 55k the siping is starting to disappear. Manager at Discount Tire tried to discourage E rated on 4 runner, handling much better than stock C rated. Border Patrol went to E rated KOs a while back due to cut resistance. We are both very happy with the tires. Both vehicles are relatively light which I presume is why we get such longevity from the tires. Have C rated KO2s 285s on a JKUR same results, will replace with E when needed.
 
Just came across this older thread of tire selection. I'm in the middle of changing the tires that came with my new 2019 tundra. While I had KO2's on my last truck this discussion has made me realize the Toyo or Coopers need consideration as well. Since this set of post is older I was wondering if folks would share their current thinking and evaluation. Thanks in Advance.
 
I have used Toyo tires for years and they are good, but I believe my Cooper AT3s are better. Less noise, solid construction, good wear and most of all excellent traction and durability over nasty terrain. 10 ply and at 60psi; crawled White Rim and much of southern Utah this spring and they took it all and never lost a Psi....deep sand, sharp rock and ledges....'05 Tundra/'16 Hawk.

Phil

Ps..Coopers are made in USA I believe.
 
Thanks for the posts regarding tires. Im going to go with the Coopers this time around and see how they perform. Appreciate the feedback.
 
I have 40,00 miles on my latest KO2's and measured the wear, and it is minimal. At this rate I will get at least another 20,000.
I have been over some pretty bad rocks this year with no problems. Don't like their grip on wet pavement without camper but that is typical of any all-terrain tire I have had.
 
First Trip with Cooper AT3's and I have to say I'm impressed. Road quietly on pavement, did well in rain braking and had excellent traction along an old forest road. So far so good! obviously more miles needed to be confident of these tires. Thanks all, for the advice and feedback.
 
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