KO2 Lifespan

[BVan604]

I have the stock 33" BFG KO2s and have put about 45,000km (+/- 30,000 miles) on them. I have noticed the off-road performance has declined significantly the past couple of months or so, first in wet/snow performance and most recently not gripping dry rocks well. This has all been on trails I know well, so the change has been really noticeable and really abrupt.

Three questions for you all:

1. I know I can air down more. I typically run 16-18psi on days out. How low do you go on the stock Badlands wheels with 33" KO2s? I'm sure this will help as they wear down.

2. In your (actual, real-world) experience, what is the lifespan of these, given 90% highway miles and 10% off-road? I know they will wear, and what I'm finding is normal, but should I be shopping for something new already?

3. I'm going to go up to 35s with my next set. What is everyone liking these days? I'm hearing a lot of good feedback on the Wildpeak ATs.

(pic of my Bronco for attention )

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[Sk3tchy]

I got about 35,000 miles out of mine (35") on a 2018 F150 Raptor.

 

[Boreal]

53,000kms and they are down to nubbins… I’ll be needing to swap them out before winter as I’m already breaking front end traction on cloverleafs during wet conditions (at reasonable speeds).

Falken Wildpeak AT3W’s are next up, for what it’s worth! Had them on the Base and loved them. Will go back to them on the BL.

I’m very surprised at how quickly the KO2s wore… and how much the performance dropped off at 50% tread life.

I ran some trails at about 14psi and don’t have any issues with popping beads - but the difficulty/technical ability of the trail may vary so don’t take my experience as advice

 

[Lak34ers]

I have 55k on my 315 K02s on my 2015 F150 and probably have about 10k left. Amazing tire!

 

[BVan604]

I’m very surprised at how quickly the KO2s wore… and how much the performance dropped off at 50% tread life.

This is exactly my experience/reaction too. At least I'm not alone.

 

[swami37]

I averaged 32K on a couple sets on my pick ups. I no longer run them.

 

[Outbound Exploration]

Before I moved up to 315s, the stock 33s lasted me to 28,500. Probably would have lasted me longer but I've gone through rocky and loose terrain on a couple of trails which chewed them up pretty good BUT left with no flats I'm quite happy with these. Plua the stance just looks

 

[PWillette]

I've never had a set of BFGs, KO2 or not, last more than 35k and that's with a religious 5 tire rotation every 5k. I pulled the 33" KO2s off within the first 500 miles and went to a Kenda Klever RT 35" which turned out to be a great tire w/ 50k warranty but only got 4,500 miles on them before I recently jumped up to 37" Nitto Recon Grapplers. The Kendas are a great looking tire, a bit more aggressive than the Nittos and were wearing/performing fine. Had the Kendas been available in 37" x 11.5" I would have bought them again. This is my first set of Nittos, only have about 500 miles on them and so far so good. Quiet comfortable ride on the road...haven't had them wheeling yet.

 

[swami37]

I've never had a set of BFGs, KO2 or not, last more than 35k and that's with a religious 5 tire rotation every 5k. I pulled the 33" KO2s off within the first 500 miles and went to a Kenda Klever RT 35" which turned out to be a great tire w/ 50k warranty but only got 4,500 miles on them before I recently jumped up to 37" Nitto Recon Grapplers. The Kendas are a great looking tire, a bit more aggressive than the Nittos and were wearing/performing fine. Had the Kendas been available in 37" x 11.5" I would have bought them again. This is my first set of Nittos, only have about 500 miles on them and so far so good. Quiet comfortable ride on the road...haven't had them wheeling yet.

I am running Nitto now as well. Much happy with them

 

[userdude]

Wonder how much the tire rating matters? I 've got E-rated KO2's on my pickup and they're still well-trod after 20k miles. The truck is so light, I spin out just thinking about moving forward, but I always attributed it to the "HD" tires DT sold me instead of C-rated tires. Maybe the E-rated tires wear out slower because they're heavier duty?

 

[swami37]

Wonder how much the tire rating matters? I 've got E-rated KO2's on my pickup and they're still well-trod after 20k miles. The truck is so light, I spin out just thinking about moving forward, but I always attributed it to the "HD" tires DT sold me instead of C-rated tires. Maybe the E-rated tires wear out slower because they're heavier duty?

Kindly Reply and update us again at around 25k That’s when I’ve found they wear out fast and steadily Like to how they hold up On the Bronco. My current Nittos Have about 6k on them and look new still

 

[RaceRedOBX]

I have run KO2's "E rated" in the past and got pretty good wear out of them "had around 50K miles when i sold the truck". My issue with the KO2 was that after the first year or so the rubber compound seemed to get hard and not want to grip anything that was wet "Roads, rocks, etc..". My dad ran a set of KO2's "E rated" some years back on his superduty with the 6.7 and they were trashed at <30k miles. He swore off the KO2's after that and swapped to dick cepek/mickey thompson which he now seems to get 60K miles or more out of a set of 35's on his f-250's with the powerstroke.

All that said I liked the KO2's, but definitely feel there are better options out there... I just swapped tires on my f150 to a patagonia XT with a 40K miles treadwear warranty and 3pms rated. I have only had them a few days, but so far I like them. Depending on how they do on my f150 I may run them on the bronco next.

 

[Atoledo95]

I’m currently about to reach 15,000miles on mine and with minimal offroading, I’ve patched 2 or 3 of them already can’t remember. To be honest once these are done completely easily switching it some Nitto Trail grapplers or maybe just maybe give the BFG KM3s a chance.
They are smooth though and very quiet which is great.

 

[Strizzo]

I have the stock 33" BFG KO2s and have put about 45,000km (+/- 30,000 miles) on them. I have noticed the off-road performance has declined significantly the past couple of months or so, first in wet/snow performance and most recently not gripping dry rocks well. This has all been on trails I know well, so the change has been really noticeable and really abrupt.

Three questions for you all:

1. I know I can air down more. I typically run 16-18psi on days out. How low do you go on the stock Badlands wheels with 33" KO2s? I'm sure this will help as they wear down.

2. In your (actual, real-world) experience, what is the lifespan of these, given 90% highway miles and 10% off-road? I know they will wear, and what I'm finding is normal, but should I be shopping for something new already?

3. I'm going to go up to 35s with my next set. What is everyone liking these days? I'm hearing a lot of good feedback on the Wildpeak ATs.

(pic of my Bronco for attention )

As tires age, through time and heat cycles, the rubber dries out and becomes harder and less pliable, as well as the tread blocks wearing down, which a shorter, wider tread block will flex less than a taller skinnier one. Another factor as the tires wear is the siping, which looks like little slits in the tread, usually isn't cut to the full depth of the tread blocks, so once those are worn down, the wet and snow traction won't be as good.

This is a common experience with the goodyear duratrac, most people report excellent wet and snow traction until the wear past the siping and then see a marked reduction in traction in the second half of the tread life.

As for the Falken Wildpeaks, they are a popular overlanding tire in the toyota crowd, however in my opinion they are a "mild a/t' tire similar to something like the firestone destination a/t. Probably great for mostly on-road driving and forest service roads or mild 2-track. I certainly wouldn't want to deal with much mud with them.

 

[contented]

OP, I concur with Strizzo regarding harder less pliable rubber as a tire accumulates miles. My BMW M2 Competition, with new tires, be they Michelin Pilot 4S or or the older Pilot Super Sports, sticks to the road like glue. At 10k miles, even with 50% tread left, there is noticeably less stick. Car can be very fun to drive at that point especially with traction control turned off. I’m more careful in the rain. I see no reason to believe the stock Goodyear 315x70x17 on my Badlands with 25k miles and 12/32 remaining would behave any different. We don’t do mud or snow (live in Florida) and didn’t notice any traction problems at Death Valley or Moab. But I expect traction is indeed reduced from new. I generally air down to 16 or 17 lbs.

Hoping to get 40k miles, but will replace before the next big trip irregardless of miles. As far as what will I replace them with? Although I‘m in the minority, probably the same thing (Goodyear Territory MT) or something very similar. Nice ride, reasonably quiet, and they’re not too heavy. Simply don’t need a load range E tire.

Lots of choice out there. Pick what works for you.

Take care.

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