Super disappointed in tires

[mgroeger]

I love it when people turn to Badge of Honor trials to validate their driving and off-road experience. I saw a Renegade last week without a lift with like 20 Badges on it...

I was thinking the same thing but chose not to bust balls for it... lol. Hell's Revenge is not a difficult trail. Cliff Hanger and Pritchett Canyon... totally different story.

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[stumblinhorse]

Yea I never know if you people are pulling my leg here. I'm 60, grew up & learned to drive living in Chicago & Michigan winters. In the 70's we had nothing but GM rear drive sedans & station wagons. Below is our home in ILL circa 1974 w/buick station wagon. Even since then I've never had anything but front drive vehicles. Avid snow skier for many years & logged prolly 30 drive trips to CO. I only bought this JL as I'm soon to retire & I need it as a toad behind my motorhome. But I have tackled a few snow storms with the largest smile on my face with this JL. For all practical purposes this is my first 4x4. Reading these posts about you people with these new JL's with 12"+ underclearance & NEW tires & you can't keep it on the road? Have to wonder if basic winter driving rules are being ignored?

I don’t think people are saying that they are unable to “keep it on the road”. I think people are expressing the opinion that they don’t like the feel or they don’t instill confidence in certain conditions. I don’t care what tires are on my Jeep, if I had to get somewhere I would get there. I just don’t like KO2s because I have had not a single KO2 that performed as well as the cheapest tire I have ever bought. Of the set I had 2 of them completely fell apart with chunks of tread coming off. The discount tire person said they see it all the time With KO2s. But they do sell a lot of them because they are close the lowest priced AT of the major manufacturers. They are low priced not because BFG is doing you a favor, the are cheap because they are cheap…

 

[CreepyCrepe]

Reading these posts about you people with these new JL's with 12"+ underclearance & NEW tires & you can't keep it on the road? Have to wonder if basic winter driving rules are being ignored?

We barely experience winter here in SC. It's about 50*F right now. We may see temps in the 20s overnight a few times in Jan or Feb. Winter rules aren't just ignored, they're not taught.

 

[ColoradoMike]

I don’t think people are saying that they are unable to “keep it on the road”. I think people are expressing the opinion that they don’t like the feel or they don’t instill confidence in certain conditions. I don’t care what tires are on my Jeep, if I had to get somewhere I would get there. I just don’t like KO2s because I have had not a single KO2 that performed as well as the cheapest tire I have ever bought. Of the set I had 2 of them completely fell apart with chunks of tread coming off. The discount tire person said they see it all the time With KO2s. But they do sell a lot of them because they are close the lowest priced AT of the major manufacturers. They are low priced not because BFG is doing you a favor, the are cheap because they are cheap…

Did you not read the original post? The OP was completely unable to keep it on the road, and blamed the tires. And a lot of people on here seemed to validate that stance.
I THINK the consensus opinion is that KO2s are not great in the snow but you absolutely SHOULD be able to keep it on the road with them if you know what you’re doing. That is what I would say to the OP, but it’s not what everyone has said. But since I don’t think we’ve heard from the OP since the OP, I guess we’re just… spinning our wheels here! Hahaha, did you see what I did there?! Spinning our wheels? ?

 

[KnightWrangler22]

I'm surprised to hear the negative comments of KO2s performance in snow. Granted, they aren't the best snow tire, but they aren't the worst either. My 392 XR came with 35x12.50R-17 KO2s, and I haven't bothered to change them in the six months I've owned the Jeep because they are, in fact, a "decent" tire.

The day before yesterday we got a snow storm in the southern Rocky Mountains where we live. Not a huge storm, but still, 6" of fresh snow on the ground yesterday morning. My wife totally freaks out driving in snow, she absolutely hates it. She didn't want to drive her Jeep Compass to work in the snow, because it has street tires. But she had to be there because they were starting some big goverment experiment yesterday, and she is the lab director and chemist they will need for the experiment to be done. So I told her to just take the 392 to work, and I would take the TRX. She had to drive 18 miles to work on snow packed and icy roads, and she had never driven the 392 before. She asked what gear she should put the transfer case in, and I said it was All-Wheel Drive, it was already in "4-wheel drive", and she didn't have to touch anything, just drive it.

Last night I asked her how she did getting to work and back in the 392 (with KO2 tires). Her response was that the 392 was wonderful, she didn't have any problems at all. So, it is surprising to see such a different response from the OP.

Can help but be envious of your vehicles… or you vehicle budget! Lol

 

[Whaler27]

Yep, my typical experience with BFG's. Every vehicle I've ever had that came with them , they got changed immediately. Toyo, Nitto, Yokohama have been my go to for years. Some folks love the Falken's, no experience with them for me. I know the BFG lovers will be hear soon to explaining how great they really are...

Yup. BFG lover here. They are terrible in deep mud, not great in deep snow, and horrible for hydroplaning if you hit an inch or more of standing water at highway speeds. Otherwise they are, in my nearly 40 years of driving on the BFG all-terrains generation #1 and #2, fantastic. My brother lives at 8,000 feet near Aspen Colorado. He’s on his third set of KO2s for winter driving. He now runs Mud-terrains in the summer, as they’re better in mud and rocks, but I can’t persuade him to try anything else for winter.

There are plenty of on-line videos of people ripping around on snow and ice on the KO2s. Great reviews — but you can get almost anything stuck.

For ice, my favorite Jeep and truck tire is the Duratrac with studs. They are amazing — even better than the KOs. Unfortunately, they arent made in a 17” x 37”, so I studded some Grabber ATX for the Jeep in winter. Still running the studded 35” Duratracs on the Raptor, though. Perfect for towing snowmobiles and kiddy toys on snow and ice. (But, after more than 30 years of running BFG ATs on snow, I couldnt persuade my brother to bother with studs, as he hasn't managed to get his jeep or his truck stuck — even plowing deep snow.)

Don’t take my word for it. Read through the gazillion threads on this topic, as they invariably link review summaries that represent thousands of customers and millions of miles. Or you can go to Tire Rack and the others and search for yourself. Or you can Google KO2 performance and watch lots of videos.

Based on the major tire retailer reviews, the vast majority rate the KO2 near the top for winter traction.

 

[Whaler27]

Here’s one of many glowing reviews — this one from a fellow Canadian.

KO2 as a winter tire? .

 

[Shibadog]

Years ago when we lived in the Land of the Long Winter, most tire dealers had “siping machines” that would cut multiple sipes in the tread blocks of a tire. Huge improvement in Ice/snow performance. Last set I had done was Very reasonable. I’d check your local tire dealers. Lost cheaper than a new set of tires…

 

[64Chevy]

Another random comment. I currently have KO2's on a JK, and had Duratracs before. Lots of experience (on other vehicles) with Blizzaks, Ice-X's, etc. Neither the KO2's nor the Duratracs are the equal of true snow tires on snow, and I think the Duratracs are better for the first 5K miles or so. But KO2's hang on for tens of thousands of miles--my one experience with Duratracs is that they do not. IMHO KO2's are not as good as dedicated snow tires, but they are still good.

 

[RockymtnJL]

I’m in Colorado, so see plenty of snow and I’m active in several local Jeep groups. I’d say outside of a dedicated winter tire, the KO2’s and Duratracs are the most well regarded winter performing A/T. I’ve run both and are very happy with them. If you want something better you’ll need to get something like a Nokian Hakka LT3.

 

[CarbonSteel]

I think it boils down to one person’s opinion vs another. I hate KO2s. I drive in more snow than most people. Just like limited slip vs open diffs. Many people‘s opinion is that limited slip is better. I disagree. But I do believe you like your KO2s and your experiences have been good in the conditions you drive in. I have not had a good experience with them and had them replaced under warranty for toyos and now have toyos on all my vehicles. Look at all the weight to balance a stock KO2 from the factory!

This is what I'm starting to experience with my KO2's and as soon as I can, I'll be discussing this with @Discount Tire here in COS.

There is no way it should take this much weight to balance a tire (two of mine have more weight than that) and it would be one thing IF they would STAY balanced-- they won't.

 

[BRuby]

I’m in Colorado, so see plenty of snow and I’m active in several local Jeep groups. I’d say outside of a dedicated winter tire, the KO2’s and Duratracs are the most well regarded winter performing A/T. I’ve run both and are very happy with them. If you want something better you’ll need to get something like a Nokian Hakka LT3.

Yep.

Here are a couple of AT tire reviews. Not a hater - not a true fan. But if you cannot go in a bit of snow and ice with fresh KO2s - Hmm? For those hating on KO2s - I can respect that. They are not perfect. I personally am surprised how fast they wear down - but the tread still feels sticky when frozen. So that is good. Ride is smooth - balances easy. They can however lose traction in the wet and slush when pushed in 2Hi. Which is expected. So just slow down.

I did buy a fresh take-off set on OEM rims for a steal - so have full tread depth again. Tread depth on the KO2 is important. Airing down to 28 - does eliminate some slippage in wet. Just drive within your limits and if too slick for you - better to stay off the roads as much as possible. A lot of drivers do just that. Which is very smart.

Do keep chains and ramps and shovels etc on board. But be careful out there. All our other vehicles ride on full winters and carry chains. I did have another 4x4 with winters and studs. But slick black ice on a slight incline was a problem.

 

[unsavory]

I had KO2's on my JK. They are not good in snow because they have no sipping and were not designed for snow. But other than snow, the KO's were very good. You can read the reviews on tirerack.com. So for my JL I installed Falken Wildpeak A/T3W LT315/70R17 which have the 3PMS (3 Peak Mountain Snowflake) symbol and are rated for snow. They are a good all around tire and do well in the winter snow as compared to the KO2 tire.

3PMS Information

The BFG KO2s are also 3PMSF rated.

 

[tshaw2009]

The absolute best all-around tire that I have ran on any of my off-roaders in the winter are the Falken Wildpeak A/T3Ws. On my previous Toyota Tacoma, I was crawling through obstacles on our group's favorite trail (not aired down) in 4HI alone that Jeeps and other Toyotas with M/Ts were struggling to get over without lockers. Then on the pavement in the winter with ice and snow covered roads, I simply shifted into 4HI and would rarely, if ever, spin a tire on my 30 minutes commute to work. I have ran them on my old F150, Tacoma, etc. and will probably move to those when the KM3s on my Willys wear out. I have ran Coopers, BFGs, and Nittos among other tires in both A/T and M/T formats and the Falken A/T3Ws have been the best hands down.

 

[FiveBoro]

Sometimes you just gonna slide. Lot of good learning here on what not to do

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