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Opinions on BFG KO2 tires

Grimmjpr

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I know I don't have a JL but, I'm looking to replace the stock Kevlars on my WK2 soon and I was wondering everyone's opinion on the BFG KO2s. I'm leaning toward them but the reviews are all over the place.

In the past I've run BFG MTs prior to the KMs/KM2/KO, Interco Trxus/Thornbirds, Goodyear MT/R/Duratrac/MT/R Kevlar/Wrangler AT Kevlar, Kumho M/T and a few others in sizes from 28ish to 35s.

When I ran the BFG KOs on my TJ Sport I really didn't think they were that great and I know most will disagree with me but I didn't find them to work well in the snow or rain, they didn't wear all that well and a plastic bottle cap gave me a flat when they were new.

Are the KO2s worth giving a shot? Thoughts and opinions from you guys and gals.
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ThirtyOne

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Still not great in rain in my opinion. I don’t have experience with snow or mud to comment on that.

Otherwise a good all-terrain with a nice aggressive look in a light C rated tire.
 

LincolnSixAlpha

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I know I don't have a JL but, I'm looking to replace the stock Kevlars on my WK2 soon and I was wondering everyone's opinion on the BFG KO2s. I'm leaning toward them but the reviews are all over the place.

In the past I've run BFG MTs prior to the KMs/KM2/KO, Interco Trxus/Thornbirds, Goodyear MT/R/Duratrac/MT/R Kevlar/Wrangler AT Kevlar, Kumho M/T and a few others in sizes from 28ish to 35s.

When I ran the BFG KOs on my TJ Sport I really didn't think they were that great and I know most will disagree with me but I didn't find them to work well in the snow or rain, they didn't wear all that well and a plastic bottle cap gave me a flat when they were new.

Are the KO2s worth giving a shot? Thoughts and opinions from you guys and gals.

What are your goals for the tires? I believe they are a good LT duty type tire and will last a long time. As mentioned, rain, or washed out highways (hydroplaning) may be a problem, but otherwise, a good tire if you're not planning on any major offroading.

Otherwise, I've seen them (on fellow members) jeeps literally rip apart at the lugs when offroading. Now granted his jeep had a few extra lbs on it, but the tires will not stand up to offroading much like my KM3's will. If you're mainly on the street and hardly venture offroad then you'll be very happy with them. If you offroad 3-4 times a month for a full day then look elsewhere.
 

shane h.

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I went from Nitto Ridge Grappler C rated tires on my TJ to the stock KO2s on my JLUR. The Nittos are the best tires I've ever driven on. So far, I'm pleased with the KO2s. Have spent some time on wet roads in HEAVY rains on the KO2s with no slipping, but I was not driving like an @hole either. They are quiet, but then the JL rides much quieter than the TJ. I do not have any trail miles on the KO2s yet. My original plan was to immediately move from the KO2s to another set of Ridge Grapplers, but these seem to be good enough to ride til it's time for a new set.
 
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Grimmjpr

Grimmjpr

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What are your goals for the tires? I believe they are a good LT duty type tire and will last a long time. As mentioned, rain, or washed out highways (hydroplaning) may be a problem, but otherwise, a good tire if you're not planning on any major offroading.

Otherwise, I've seen them (on fellow members) jeeps literally rip apart at the lugs when offroading. Now granted his jeep had a few extra lbs on it, but the tires will not stand up to offroading much like my KM3's will. If you're mainly on the street and hardly venture offroad then you'll be very happy with them. If you offroad 3-4 times a month for a full day then look elsewhere.
I do spend most of my time on the road, and long drives to see and do things. I take my Jeep to Moab a few times a year, like to spend time in Ouray CO when I can, Have run Broken Arrow in Sedona, White Rim in Canyonlands, most of the trails in the Maze of Canyonlands, trails in AZ outside Phoenix. Going to explore Death Valley toward the end of the year. Also quite a bit of desert 2 track exploring/overlanding.

As much as MTs are awesome, I don't want them on my WK2. Something that will work for DD duty in all weather conditions and work well off road. A nice balance.
 

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LincolnSixAlpha

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I do spend most of my time on the road, and long drives to see and do things. I take my Jeep to Moab a few times a year, like to spend time in Ouray CO when I can, Have run Broken Arrow in Sedona, White Rim in Canyonlands, most of the trails in the Maze of Canyonlands, trails in AZ outside Phoenix. Going to explore Death Valley toward the end of the year. Also quite a bit of desert 2 track exploring/overlanding.

As much as MTs are awesome, I don't want them on my WK2. Something that will work for DD duty in all weather conditions and work well off road. A nice balance.
Ok, I was gonna say as I'm typically offroading about 3-4 times a month here in AZ, trails you mention and others. And these rocks are quite sharp as you know. Not super heavy into wheeling, but will take on most of what the trails have to offer here. There is a really big difference in as far as quality, offroad speaking, between the KM's, and the K0's as you can imagine. What that translates into on the highway with the KM3's is a slightly louder ride, although not annoying. I actually just returned from a two trip vacation, one to the Canadian Rockies, and send to Colorado to discover that most of the trails are closed and logged about 5K on these tires, so I have a total of 11K on the KM3's, and really love them vs the KO2's. They are certainly a tougher tire, but the tradeoff is the weight and slightly more noise.
 

DanW

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I ran KM2's for 60k miles on my JKUR with lots of off roading, including Colorado and Moab. I took a trip back there in the JLUR with 315 KO2's and they performed every bit as well as the KM2 on slick rock, sand, snow, dirt, jagged rock, and they weren't too far off in the mud. Mud can vary greatly, though, so if I were doing lots of mud, I'd probably go with a KM2, KM3, or something else with a more aggressive tread. That said, I've run the KO2's in mud near Moab that was very thin and soupy and then ran it in Kentucky a couple months ago where it was thick and gummy. Both times the KO2s suprised me and performed much better than expected. Everywhere else, I'll take the KO2 over the KM2. Something else I found interesting was that after a week in Moab, the KM2's had some minor chunking in the tread blocks. I didn't find any of that with the KO2s and I ran some harder trails and more miles there on the KO2s than I did with the KM2s. The ride is MUCH quieter and smoother. I won't go back to a mud tire. My buddies who were with me in Moab in October had aggressive mud tires. They performed well, too, but they showed no advantage.

I've also compared some apples to apples, at least on trails close to home. The JK now has the KO2s that came on my JLUR. They have been outstanding and again, have performed every bit as well around here. The biggest advantage, though, is on snow/ice. The KM2's were terrible on packed snow and ice because they have almost no siping at all. The KO2 runs rings around the KM2 in the winter.

Don't get me wrong. I loved the KM2 and they took everything thown at them. They were amazing in the rocks and surprisingly good in the sand. I would highly recommend them. I just feel the KO2 is a better tire in maybe all but 1 area.

If someone wanted a tire more aggressive than the KO2 but not so much as a mud tire, I'd highly recommend the Goodyear Duratrac. My friends with those on their Jeeps love them.
 

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One more thing....The KO2 is FAR better than the KO. I had the KO on my F150 and they were ok, at best. The KO2 is a whole different beast. I've got a set on that F150 now and it transformed it. For one thing, I thought the KO was down right dangerous on wet pavement. It was also noisy. They wore forever and were ok on dirt trails, but overall, I didn't like them. Even though they look alike, the KO2 is a completely different tire. No comparison.
 

Cypher

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I loved my Ko2 for highway and in snow, but on trails here in AZ ( including the ones you mentioned) no bueno. On trails like broken arrow, the slickrock type things were fine, as would be Moab. but actual dirt or rock trails eat them alive.

here is what 15 to 20 psi on AZ trails will domto the Ko2. on my new order I will get the falcons, and for my 35's it will be KM3 or Ridge Grapplers. they just hold up on the trails here better. I have compared tread after a run with others, and there is no comparison.

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DanW

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I loved my Ko2 for highway and in snow, but on trails here in AZ ( including the ones you mentioned) no bueno. On trails like broken arrow, the slickrock type things were fine, as would be Moab. but actual dirt or rock trails eat them alive.

here is what 15 to 20 psi on AZ trails will domto the Ko2. on my new order I will get the falcons, and for my 35's it will be KM3 or Ridge Grapplers. they just hold up on the trails here better. I have compared tread after a run with others, and there is no comparison.

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Mine haven't done anything like that. Of course, I may not put the off road miles on them that you do, either. I ran mine at about 15 to 20 psi in Moab and CO.
 

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Cypher

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Mine haven't done anything like that. Of course, I may not put the off road miles on them that you do, either. I ran mine at about 15 to 20 psi in Moab and CO.
understood, I am most definitely not saying that I'm am the average Jeep owner. I bought a Rubicon and use it as such. the trails are often rugged with lots of sharp rocks etc. I had a grand Cherokee Trailhawk before my Rubicon with the Kevlars on it, I had a great time in MOAB and CO with that and those tires, but they were soft and would be trashed here in AZ. I am sure the Ko2 is a great tire for most, and would probably be fine on a WK2, but if he is already seeing the limits of those tires I doubt the Ko2 will do better. ridge grapplers have a size that fits the WK2 and so do duratracs. I think light use, or slickrock the Ko2 rocks, but for heavy trail use they did not hold up for me. others may have different experience with them. but for me, running the same trail at the same time as others my tires took way more damage, and had less traction on the harder technical sections. (off camber climbs on dirt was very slippery)
 

Equitasforall

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I could tell you, but then....
I know I don't have a JL but, I'm looking to replace the stock Kevlars on my WK2 soon and I was wondering everyone's opinion on the BFG KO2s. I'm leaning toward them but the reviews are all over the place.

In the past I've run BFG MTs prior to the KMs/KM2/KO, Interco Trxus/Thornbirds, Goodyear MT/R/Duratrac/MT/R Kevlar/Wrangler AT Kevlar, Kumho M/T and a few others in sizes from 28ish to 35s.

When I ran the BFG KOs on my TJ Sport I really didn't think they were that great and I know most will disagree with me but I didn't find them to work well in the snow or rain, they didn't wear all that well and a plastic bottle cap gave me a flat when they were new.

Are the KO2s worth giving a shot? Thoughts and opinions from you guys and gals.
You'll find that opinions on topics such as this are really all over the place. Because you asked I'll give you mine.

I've had the KOs on my 2014 Raptor and replaced the tires at the 42,000 mile mark. They still had about half the tread left but had developed cracking in the grooves as the truck had sat for a year during an Iraq deployment in 15-16. I put KO2s on a 2018 Toyota 4Runner, have them on my 2018 Raptor as well as my 2018 Rubicon. When I return from this assignment I'll replace the stock 285s on the Rubi with the 315s that come on the Raptor.

In all cases, my mileage has been fantastic and I've never had an issue with traction on any surface or in any weather. While I don't rock crawl like many others, I've been all over the place in all the vehicles: power line trails, forest service roads, "seasonal limited use highways" in the Adirondacks and Smoky Mountains, on the beach in the NC Outer Banks. Snow, rain, ice... pavement or not they've never let me down. I run about 40 psi unless I'm in deep sand and then I air down to about 18# and I've never had a problem. They're comfortable and quiet on road and have been more than capable off road for what I do. Best tire for the money I've found to date. IMHO
 

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I know I don't have a JL but, I'm looking to replace the stock Kevlars on my WK2 soon and I was wondering everyone's opinion on the BFG KO2s. I'm leaning toward them but the reviews are all over the place.

In the past I've run BFG MTs prior to the KMs/KM2/KO, Interco Trxus/Thornbirds, Goodyear MT/R/Duratrac/MT/R Kevlar/Wrangler AT Kevlar, Kumho M/T and a few others in sizes from 28ish to 35s.

When I ran the BFG KOs on my TJ Sport I really didn't think they were that great and I know most will disagree with me but I didn't find them to work well in the snow or rain, they didn't wear all that well and a plastic bottle cap gave me a flat when they were new.

Are the KO2s worth giving a shot? Thoughts and opinions from you guys and gals.
Great review of ko2's
 
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Mugzzzee

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This issue is so subjective. I have 315/70R17 KO2s, load range C on my 2018 JLUR. I live at 7300 ft elevation here in SW Colorado. The ride is good on the highway. I usually switch to 4x4 in the snow as I climb up to my house in the winter with packed snow on our dirt roads. Going to hunting camp in the fall is absolutely no problem. So consider the characteristics that your off road or winter driving is likely to be. In my case I may go to a mud terrain type tire in the future. Good luck with your decision. Cheers
 

Andy2434

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I have driven on my OEM BFG KO2s for 13,300 miles since new some 6 - 1/2 months ago. They have been great in the sand, snow, rain, and the desert trail environment.

Now, I know what my stock JLUR is capable of and where it’s lacking. As such, a lift, new wheels, and tires have been ordered. While I really enjoyed running on the KO2s, I will be moving up in size to the Copper STT Pro.
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