KO2 Tire, 20k mi review

FL335i · October 15, 2017

Did a LOF and tire rotation this weekend on my truck. While going through my files and I decided to see how my KO2 tires are doing. I did a +1 size of LT275/65R18 in a E-load on OEM 18" Rims. I run 43psi in the front and 40psi in the rear being 98% of the time I'm empty. When towing trailers and loaded down I do 45 on both F&R. I removed the factory SRA's at 51k miles and they still had 5/32" left. I only replaced them because in the rain they got dangerous, probably because the siping was not full depth. I'm at 71k miles on the truck. So I have put 20k on them. I do the owner manual's X to the drive wheels rotation pattern at every oil change of approx 6,750mi. The tread is even on all four tires and the wear is flat on all the tires (inside/center/outside). I have I have 8.5/32" of tread on all 4 tires. Doing my math projections, these tires will last approximately 40k miles. Starting off with 15/32", that's not great. The OEM SRA's had 10/32" and lasted 51k and still had 5/32" left. I take excellent care of my tires on all my vehicles. I have gotten 82k out of a set of tire paws, 90k out of set of Michelin on a Lincoln car, my wife's '15 Enclave factory Michelin are at 35k and tracking to get about 60k. Point is I'm not thrilled these KO2's are only going to be good for 40k. They were NOT cheap. Great noise level, excellent off-road, but being I drive 20k/yr for work purposes these KO2's are not justifiable. I can get Nitto's, Firestones, etc for much cheaper and will last the same if not longer. From what I found online a lot of people are seeing low mileage out of the new KO2's as well. I know my old Ko's would go 60K+. Buddy had 90k on his and still had tread. I wanted to get at least 60-75k out of them and it's not shaping up that way.

yamaha0343 · October 15, 2017

That sucks to hear. I've heard that from several people, but my brother has them on a Ram, and after about 25k they still look new. So I really don't know what to think about them.

O_J_Simpson · October 15, 2017

Sounds like you expectations are not in line with the tire you bought. KO's are good for about 50k if taken care of and that is it. They are made to spend time on & off the road, not a highway tire. You give up about 1 MPG for them too.

FL335i · October 15, 2017

There are other 'all-terrain' tires that compete head to head with the Ko2 +/- and come with 65k mileage warranties. I agree though, for the small amount of time I spend on the job sites off-road my next tire will be more highway orientated. I'll keep the KO/KO2's on the K5 Jimmy. Get me a business orientated tire for the DD.

Maybe like this. C load instead of the E load I currently have and they are 5 Lbs lighter each. I would say maybe this is the balance I'm looking. And the pricing can't be beat.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Goodyear&tireModel=Wrangler+All-Terrain+Adventure+with+Kevlar&partnum=765SR8WATAOWLV2&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes for.

Edited October 16, 2017 by FL335i

RideZX6R · October 16, 2017

4 hours ago, O_J_Simpson said:

Sounds like you expectations are not in line with the tire you bought. KO's are good for about 50k if taken care of and that is it. They are made to spend time on & off the road, not a highway tire. You give up about 1 MPG for them too.

I'd agree... 40-50k sounds reasonable to me

swathdiver · October 16, 2017

I have about 6,000 miles on my stock sized C Load KO2s and measured the tread depth yesterday. They are at 13/32 all around. At that wear rate, they will be lucky to see 40, 000 miles. I was hoping for at least 60 or more according to the reviews. I would not pick another tire save for the Michelin LTX, they just don't compare. This truck does not budge going through puddles on the highway or in town.

I've been playing with air pressures and until recently have been running them in the thirties. They are just now set for 41 psi all around which supports the maximum rear axle load of 4,200 lbs. At 44 psi the ride is harsh. Will be watching them close as they were a major investment for me too.

2009 GMC Yukon XL SLT 4WD - 265-70-17

FL335i · October 17, 2017

Swathdiver- Sounds like you're seeing what I see.... I agree, the LTX's are great tires.

swathdiver · October 17, 2017

When I bought the truck, it came shod with BFG Rugged Trail stock size, LR E. The air pressure was set at 48 or 50 all around, my memory is fading but I remember the LF was 50 because the TPMS battery was going south in that one. Those tires are about 1/2 way worn down and one of them is 9 years old and the other three are 5 years old. Those tires weigh 50 lbs each and on the truck, it felt like it had a converter, put it in gear and it barely moved and forget coasting, take your foot off the gas and it slowed down right quick. Not so with these C-Ply KO2s.

So I set them for 41psi but just remembered their cousins were at 50 and had many more miles behind them. The 3/4 ton version of my truck, when equipped with the same size tire calls for 50psi in front and 60psi in the rear. so maybe there's something to that after all. BFG told me to run them at 50psi all around too the other day. So do I want ride quality or longevity? Both! I want both! But maybe not.

No time today for the chalk test, will try again tomorrow.

youn1033 · October 17, 2017

Is there anything similar to the KO2 that does a little better on the highway? I know that anything that aggressive is going to give up some MPGs, but I am wanting to do as large and aggressive of a tire as I can fit with a leveling kit. It'll be just for looks 90+% of the time.. but hey, looks are important too..

AgDoctor · October 17, 2017

I'm on my second set of KO2s. The first set I got about 45K out of and they still had some life in them, but I I got a cut in the sidewall. My current ones have about 40K on them. They are a 50K tire IMO. Having been a long time BFG user I can say these are softer no doubt and they don't wear as well. They do seem to get to a certain wear point and the rubber transitions to a harder compound but also slips more. My next set will likely be Ridge Grapplers. I have ran Terra Grappler G2 and Duratracs and they are both nice tires. KO2s look aggressive from the side and somewhat mold on the inside, a likely comparable tire would be Toyo OC AT

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swathdiver · October 19, 2017

On 10/17/2017 at 11:20 AM, youn1033 said:

Is there anything similar to the KO2 that does a little better on the highway?

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=BFGoodrich&tireModel=Rugged+Trail+T%2FA&sidewall=Outlined White Letters&partnum=67R7RUGTTAOWLV4&tab=Sizes

They don't look as nice but seem to wear at least 50% longer to 65k. I might go LTX next time.

FL335i · October 25, 2017

I've been doing some casual searching for my next set. I would like a LT load range C. I have found two tires thus far. 1- Goodyear wrangler kevlar something and 2- Toyo Open country AT2. Nitto's were E load.

This weekend I took a tire/wheel off my K5 blazer which has 33x12.50R15 OG Ko's. They're new. So much lighter than my E load KO2 setup on my '14. Night and day difference in weight.

Edited October 25, 2017 by FL335i

Big Whiskey · November 10, 2017

That stinks. The old BFG AT's wore like iron. If you're wanting to keep the C range 275/65, then look into the Cooper AT3 and Toyo AT2. Both offer a good mileage warranty on the LT's. I ran both of those on my 2012 1500. I ran the Coopers first, and sold them at 50k miles. The guy that bought them was still running them almost 2 years later. I traded my truck with about 18k on the Toyo's, and the dealer thought they were brand new. It would also be worth looking into the Falken Wildpeak AT3. Even though they'll be E range, they have a good mileage warranty too....and the price is hard to beat.