Mickey Thompson VS BFGoodrich... The Great Tire Debate...

[the.jl.adventure]

Here I am, debating again between what the next tire purchase is going to be. The Jeep is a 3.6l V6 with 4.88 gears, fully upgraded factory axles (Trusses, Gussets, Shafts, ect...), 3.5" lift with 2" bump stops, Method 703 wheel (has 00 offset / 4.5" backspacing) (23 pound wheel weight). This rig will be daily driven year round in Michigan, so snow and rain does happen often. These tires will see lots of sandy, rocky, and snowy trails as well as highway travel. I currently run 315/70/17 BFG KO2's and love them, but would like to step up off-road performance a bit more, and if I can also maintain a well behaved tire for on-road.

Narrowed it down to the following.

37/12.5/17 BFG KO2 -
C-load rating
63 pound weight
36.5" actual height

37/12.5/17 BFG KM3 -
D-load rating
78 pound weight
36.5" actual height

39/13.5/17 BFG KO2 -
D-load rating
79 pound weight
38.5" actual height

39/13.5/17 BFG KM3 -
C-load rating
87 pound weight
38.5" actual height

37/12.5/17 Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT -
D-load rating
80 pound weight
36.7" actual height

37/12.5/17 Mickey Thompson Baja Boss MT -
D-load rating
79 pound weight
36.8" actual height


Pictures for Reference:
BFG K02

BFG KM3

MT BB AT

MT BB MT

Bonus Question: Does anyone have any experience/advice on adding siping to mud terrain tires? Would this be a good or bad idea?

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[nsfw_andy]

There's no way those 37" KO2 have an actual height of 36.5, maybe at max PSI lol. They are more like 35.5ish. BFG is notorious for running smaller than they actually advertise.

 

[zw470]

The Baja Boss AT sounds about right. Better on-road than an MT and better off-road than a traditional AT, plus it's 3PMSF rated.

 

[mikem20]

There's no way those 37" KO2 have an actual height of 36.5, maybe at max PSI lol. They are more like 35.5ish. BFG is notorious for running smaller than they actually advertise.

he’s right. My D rated KO2’s are probably closer to 35.25 on the Jeep. I’m likely to go 38’s or 39’s next time around.

 

[jimmym1981]

I've heard nothing but raving reviews for the Baja Boss AT. The only downside is they are a bit heavier.

 

[the.jl.adventure]

There's no way those 37" KO2 have an actual height of 36.5, maybe at max PSI lol. They are more like 35.5ish. BFG is notorious for running smaller than they actually advertise.

I don't disagree with that for sure! BFG KO2s are definitely a tire that runs smaller than others. I pulled those sizes strait from each manufacturers websites. I think this measurement is for the unmounted tire prior to vehicle weight.

My 315/70/17 BFG KO2s stand about 33.8" tall at 30psi while mounted on the vehicle, but the spare measures at 34.2 while on the back of the Jeep (no vehicle weight).

 

[GATORB8]

We run the 37 KO2 Ds on the Jeep. I have run 33" BFG KOs and BFG MTs in the distant past (KMs if they were even called that then).

One thing to consider, while I've had good luck with wear on the ATs (50k range), I remember the MTs wearing significantly faster, like in the 25-30k range.

 

[the.jl.adventure]

The Baja Boss AT sounds about right. Better on-road than an MT and better off-road than a traditional AT, plus it's 3PMSF rated.

Very true, good points. The 3PMSF rating is great, the only thing I would worry about going with the Baja Boss AT rather than the BFG KO2 AT if the fact that the Baja Boss AT siping (the main reason it has that rating) is only about an 1/8" deep, which will eventually wear away in a couple years. The BFG KO2 AT has full depth sipes, that are actually 3D sipes (they lock together while under pressure to help form stable tread blocks).

I do however thing you are spot on that the Baja Boss AT will preform better off-road than the BFG KO2. However I do not have any personal experience with the Baja Boss AT.

 

[the.jl.adventure]

We run the 37 KO2 Ds on the Jeep. I have run 33" BFG KOs and BFG MTs in the distant past (KMs if they were even called that then).

One thing to consider, while I've had good luck with wear on the ATs (50k range), I remember the MTs wearing significantly faster, like in the 25-30k range.

Solid point. As we all know, tires aren't cheap!!! Always nice when a bit more life can be gotten out of them before needing to re-purchase.

 

[BDinTX]

Interested myself. I like the look of the tread pattern on the BFG KM2 better but I suspect the MT BB MT is quieter on road. May I ask why the Yokohoma Geolander MT didn't make the cut?

 

[CarbonSteel]

There's no way those 37" KO2 have an actual height of 36.5, maybe at max PSI lol. They are more like 35.5ish. BFG is notorious for running smaller than they actually advertise.

I can attest to this. They are 35.25" on my JLUR.

I am curious as to what the 39's measure on the Jeep.

Anyone running them?

 

[GATORB8]

Completely subjective, and obviously not the primary concern here. But, I would say the 39s would probably fill out the wheel wells a little better than the 37s. Our KO2s look a little on the small side with our 3.5".

 

[gato]

Very true, good points. The 3PMSF rating is great, the only thing I would worry about going with the Baja Boss AT rather than the BFG KO2 AT if the fact that the Baja Boss AT siping (the main reason it has that rating) is only about an 1/8" deep, which will eventually wear away in a couple years. The BFG KO2 AT has full depth sipes, that are actually 3D sipes (they lock together while under pressure to help form stable tread blocks).

^^^^^This. There are a lot of tires floating around (e.g. Patagonias) that have surface siping, and perform well when new, but then fall off a cliff on winter performance.

I'll be honest, I bought my 37x12.5R17 KO2s, because they were the only tires I could get (pandemic supply chain) when I needed to buy/mount them. I do not like them off-road on mud/rocks (all we get here in New England). ***BUT *** they are simply amazing on the road - near zero noise, great snow/ice performance.

The weight of the KO2 is also amazing. Yes, some of it is because they are smaller (narrower and shorter with less deep thread) than all the competitors of the same size spec. But some of it is smart construction.

I have the D version (69 lbs). Now with the C version at less than 65bls, I think it is hard to beat that tire for those of us on stock axles and stock gears. The difference between a 63 lbs tire and a 82+ lbs tire (looking at you Nittos) is immense in stress and acceleration performance.

 

[the.jl.adventure]

^^^^^This. There are a lot of tires floating around (e.g. Patagonias) that have surface siping, and perform well when new, but then fall off a cliff on winter performance.

I'll be honest, I bought my 37x12.5R17 KO2s, because they were the only tires I could get (pandemic supply chain) when I needed to buy/mount them. I do not like them off-road on mud/rocks (all we get here in New England). ***BUT *** they are simply amazing on the road - near zero noise, great snow/ice performance.

The weight of the KO2 is also amazing. Yes, some of it is because they are smaller (narrower and shorter with less deep thread) than all the competitors of the same size spec. But some of it is smart construction.

I have the D version (69 lbs). Now with the C version at less than 65bls, I think it is hard to beat that tire for those of us on stock axles and stock gears. The difference between a 63 lbs tire and a 82+ lbs tire (looking at you Nittos) is immense in stress and acceleration performance.

really solid feedback! I agree, the KO2 is pretty dang hard to beat on-road for any other off-road type of tire. I wish more companies would get on the full depth 3D sipe game.

 

[Bandana]

@the.jl.adventure I just recently mounted a set of 35/12.5/17 D Mickey Thompson Baja AT and they are some of the best tires I've owned. My Jeep is my DD and the on road performance and noise has been awesome. Finally got these out on the trail last weekend and they performed flawlessly when aired down to 13 psi on rocks, compact and loose dirt. For comparison, I did the trail run with a buddy who was running 35 KO2s. He managed the trail just fine, but he did have some minor slipping and spinning where I did not, and yes, we were running the same lines and aired down to about the same psi. I've run three sets of KO2s in the past on my JK and JL and hands down prefer the Baja Boss ATs. Just my $0.02

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