BFG Ko2's suck that bad in rain?

[Neanderthalman]

I have noticed that the KO2s weakness seems to be rain. Great in snow. Decent even on ice. Rain they seem to slip a little more than I feel like they ought to. They're just..."ok" in rain. Wouldn't call them horrible.

That said, i suspect what you noticed has more to do with the road than it does with the tires. We have a few stretches of road and intersections that are always super-slick in the rain and full of accidents. One was actually repaved to solve the problem, and it did. Similarly, if its the first rain after a long time, you can get a film of oil on the road that makes it far slicker than your simple monkey brain "thinks" it "ought" to be.

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[2mnycars]

New to Jeeps. I fitted 315/70/17 BFG KO2's on my JLU sitting on 17x9" et 12 Method wheels. Running 30psi. The tires were used w/ only about 8K mls on them. Long story short, they are HORRID for wet traction. I'm fish tailing barely pressing the gas, and came to a light stop sliding... this doesn't seem normal. Or is it? Thanks

Do you know how old your tires are?
Had some Pirelli's go bad overnight. They were ok then unbelievably bad.

There's a code number on the side of tires. It shows the year of manufacture and the week in the year.

 

[conFUcius]

The stock ones are not as bad as when I ran 37s on my JKU. That being said, I would not say they’re horrible in the rain, just that the bigger footprint seems to be more sensitive to wet roads in the rain. Not sure if that makes any sense but that’s the best way I can explain it.

 

[ads75]

My KO2s have been fine in the rain in Southeastern PA. It is worth remembering it isn't a AWD or FWD platform when driving. Only about 2years/18k miles total on them so far.

 

[Whaler27]

In my experience the KO2s are prone to hydroplane. That’s especially true on a lighter vehicle with larger tires... They want to float. The Duratracs channel water away much better, and they are MUCH Better in the mud. Having said that, I still love the BFGs. We have them on our Raptor and our Wrangler. They ride great, they wear well, they’re quiet, they’re great on the beach and desert, they're okay on the rocks, and they’re pretty decent on packed snow and ice. We run 37s on our JLUR, so we try to stay clear of standing water at speed.

We had Toyo MTs on the TJ. They also lasted well, but they were great in mud... and absolutely terrible on ice... like running with football cleats on polished concrete. The Duratracs were great, but they don’t make a 17x37” tire...

 

[neil]

Not the worst...but not michelin ltx either

 

[McKenzie]

New to Jeeps. I fitted 315/70/17 BFG KO2's on my JLU sitting on 17x9" et 12 Method wheels. Running 30psi. The tires were used w/ only about 8K mls on them. Long story short, they are HORRID for wet traction. I'm fish tailing barely pressing the gas, and came to a light stop sliding... this doesn't seem normal. Or is it? Thanks

I really have no problem with them. I've had the stock KO2's (20 JLR) for over a year now, and plenty of trips through the snow (North Idaho and Montana, mostly) with little issue. Sure, not as great as the WRX with snow tires, but quite good.

It is funny though, today I was in the rain and I did spin the tires (first in line at a light, so i could get around traffic backed up ahead). First time i recall doing that outside of 2HI in snow.

After a year with the stock KO2s, I figure i'll just 'level-up' to the raptor tires (315s) next go around

 

[RedundanT]

To the ones complaining of the KO2's grip, I suggest you buy a car, put on Michelins and drive like grandma. Ok maybe not, but I've never been in a situation that I blamed the BFG's performance on road. If you are complaining of the KO2 in wet weather, try some nice hard MT's then get back to me.

 

[Drytellsr]

New to Jeeps. I fitted 315/70/17 BFG KO2's on my JLU sitting on 17x9" et 12 Method wheels. Running 30psi. The tires were used w/ only about 8K mls on them. Long story short, they are HORRID for wet traction. I'm fish tailing barely pressing the gas, and came to a light stop sliding... this doesn't seem normal. Or is it? Thanks

Well you said yourself, "your new to Jeeps" A jeep is an off road truck that people drive on the streets. A set of AT tires won't give you the Road comfort and traction that you expect from street tires. As far as AT tires go, KO2's are very good tires. I think your issue is in Operator Error and you are expecting awesome street performance that you have been accustomed to when you should learn throttle and brake control with an off road vehicle that is driven on pavement.

 

[Jeeporama]

Mine have been good in rain and very good in snow, however, maybe excessive gas pedal is the culprit. Just imagine yourself driving to a nice calm lake to go fishing and take in some sunshine. Wave at a couple Jeeps along with way. No need to rush, your tires are just fine. Let all the tension just melt away.

 

[conFUcius]

To the ones complaining of the KO2's grip, I suggest you buy a car, put on Michelins and drive like grandma. Ok maybe not, but I've never been in a situation that I blamed the BFG's performance on road. If you are complaining of the KO2 in wet weather, try some nice hard MT's then get back to me.

Well you said yourself, "your new to Jeeps" A jeep is an off road truck that people drive on the streets. A set of AT tires won't give you the Road comfort and traction that you expect from street tires. As far as AT tires go, KO2's are very good tires. I think your issue is in Operator Error and you are expecting awesome street performance that you have been accustomed to when you should learn throttle and brake control with an off road vehicle that is driven on pavement.

Both accurate/correct! These two responses are great examples of what my boss says, “One is the internal memo and the other is the public statement.”

 

[Windshieldfarmer]

I have 315/70/17s. When accelerating somewhat aggressively out of a right hand turn they will break loose a squeal like I’m a high schooler driving a mustang. A bit embarrassing. I don’t blame the tire but rather a light back end, low gearing, 2.0 torque, and driver error.

 

[Coops4284]

My MOAB came from the factory with KM2 and I never had an issue. The only time I had any traction issues was on ice, and that is to be expected with a MT that has no sipping. I ended up replacing them with a larger 34" Maxiss Razr MT as they have some sipping and decent reviews for packed snow and ice.

 

[Whaler27]

.... If you are complaining of the KO2 in wet weather, try some nice hard MT's then get back to me.

Funny. I should clarify. I haven’t had problems with the KO2s having poor traction on pavement that’s just wet. The traction on wet pavement is fine. Where they perform very poorly is in situations where there is standing water, and a tire has to channel water away to maintain traction. That‘s a common condition where I live in the northwest (For about eight months of the year.) We frequently have as much as an inch or more of standing water in big puddles along our interstates. Spots like that are no problem for mud-terrains like the Toyo MT, the Duratracs, BFG MTs, etc — because the large spaces between the lugs accommodate the water and allow the tire to stay in contact with the road. The BFGs hit that and float.

I used to run 35 x 12.15 x 16.5 BFGs on an F350 diesel truck That weighed half-again what my Rubicon weighs. That’s not a big tire for a truck that size. I hit one of our common puddles on a straight stretch at 70 mph... The truck immediately hydroplaned and shifted about 20 degrees for a heartbeat before recovering. It was a poop-your-pants moment for everybody in the truck. Puddles like that and deeper are no problem for tires that cannel the water away.

 

[RedundanT]

Funny. I should clarify. I haven’t had problems with the KO2s having poor traction on pavement that’s just wet. The traction on wet pavement is fine. Where they perform very poorly is in situations where there is standing water, and a tire has to channel water away to maintain traction. That‘s a common condition where I live in the northwest (For about eight months of the year.) We frequently have as much as an inch or more of standing water in big puddles along our interstates. Spots like that are no problem for mud-terrains like the Toyo MT, the Duratracs, BFG MTs, etc — because the large spaces between the lugs accommodate the water and allow the tire to stay in contact with the road. The BFGs hit that and float.

I used to run 35 x 12.15 x 16.5 BFGs on an F350 diesel truck That weighed half-again what my Rubicon weighs. That’s not a big tire for a truck that size. I hit one of our common puddles on a straight stretch at 70 mph... The truck immediately hydroplaned and shifted about 20 degrees for a heartbeat before recovering. It was a poop-your-pants moment for everybody in the truck. Puddles like that and deeper are no problem for tires that cannel the water away.

Wide tires and standing water don't play well together. Even a "proper rain tire" when its wide can hydroplane. Do F1 cars run the same lap time in wet on rain tires as dry? Uh.......no.

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