BFG AT KO2 in the snow

First test in snow today and I am not impressed with the traction at low acceleration and breaking, especially into a turn. Stock tires seemed much better, which I am very surprised about. Maybe it’s just me. Anyone else feel unimpressed by the KO2s in snow?

 

Back in my Colorado days I used to go skiing on them, seriously they packed up with snow and were dangerous. Then I just bought studded tires.

 

There are so many different types of snow conditions out there. I pull my snowmobile trailer up a very steep unmaintained canyon 2-3x’s a week during winter months in ever changing snow conditions. I pull past many other trucks stuck in the snow with my ko2’s on many occasions. IMO they are as good as they get until you go with a dedicated snow tire. To each their own. You obviously had a different experience than I, but you may have a very different type of snow than what I tend to see here in northern utah, which is generally a very dry and deep snow.

 

What tire pressure do you run?

 

In the winter I run at 30psi.

 

They have great characteristics the first 2 years due to the compound, as they age and wear they can appear "good" but everything under 7/32nds is junk on all terrains.

 

In my experience they do great when new, by 30k miles they still look good but slick weather performance is awful. So I just flip them for a new set at 30k.

 

At 20k miles I put on a set of KO2s, replacing the stock Wranlgers. I noticed the same thing, the stock tires were pretty impressive in the rough winter we had in Oregon 2017. The KO2s are decent, but not as good.

That being said the wranglers are over priced and ugly. I will probably go Duratracs for my next set.

This is plowed and unplowed highway driving, with moderate ice. Minimal off-road / deep snow.

 

I've used my KO2s though the winter and had no problems here in BC. I do run a true winter tire DMV2 once it gets bad here now.

 

This is very true

 

Exactly my experience. The stock wranglers, with decent tread, are better snow tires than K02. The “severe snow” triple-peak snowflake rating is utter bullshit on K02. They must have paid someone off. They are as good as any generic all-season in the snow, but no better.

 

Any recommendations for tires that still perform good in snow and mud after 2 years or 30k miles?

 

I think that’s a tall order. Decent snow tires are too soft to run all year, so if you put 20K on them when it isn’t cold out, they’ll be pooched.

Having said that, guys do seem to have success with Duratracs in the snow and year-round. I’m going for a true winter tire and K02 for the rest of the year.

 

It was mostly curiosity. Ft.Worth doesn’t get much snow. We have plenty of mud between droughts.

 

That's my experience in NM with our dry snow.

 

Duratrac might be a good choice for you then. It’s considered closer to a true mud-terrain tire than the k02.

 

Michelin Defender MS.

 

I live at 7800' elevation in Colorado, on the same snow plain as monument hill and palmer divide, we see a little snow here, I drive 4 miles of poorly maintained, winding, mountain, dirt roads and then highway almost daily. We get about 80+ inches of snowfall annually on normal years....Denver gets about 50". We also see temps that are far colder and deal with ice quite a bit more. My experience has been that KO2's work very well on heavier vehicles (I had a Dodge Cummins 2500 that loved that tire)....not so much on lighter rigs, this may be due to load ratings like E's being run on the lighter rigs instead of softer sidewalls that allow bow for a more pronounced tread footprint...I also don't believe the tread compound is as soft and grippy after it wears down a bit- harder as it nears the tire carcas (again requiring more weight down pressure for similar traction). I was once at a tire manufacturer's conference and spoke with an engineer that equated it to this: a 100 lb woman walks across a hardwood floor in high heels and leaves indents from the heels, a 300lb guy walks across the same hardwood floor in tennis shoes and never leaves a mark....its about the downward force applied to each size of surface of contact. In all weather tires they need a tread designed to A) Disperse water and packed in snow (self cleaning channels not blocked tread edges) B) Siping to allow the tread to flex and separate for traction. C) a softer tread compound to remain pliable when cold. D) a tread designed to apply adequate down force at all times for maintained traction while not separated enough (mud tires) to effect the contact footprint (most rubber meeting the road while still cleaning and not packing). Lighter vehicles (yes the Tacoma is a lighter vehicle by comparison to the other 50% of Larger vehicles) require a more careful matching of tires (IMO) to insure the weight available utilizes the tires full potential...and although we all like the durability of heavier weight rated, tougher sidewall, tires...a softer, passenger weight rated tire, will almost always provide better on road contact traction than "off road" tires on a vehicle of this weight. Just watch a Jeep wrangler on 35" mud tires try and go down an iced over mountain highway pass sometime. Point being: If we choose to run "combination" on/off road tires we need to understand the compromise- they are better off road, they are not as good on road, nor, are they usually equal to or better than dedicated snow tires in winter, and often, because of the tread spacing, are not equal to an all season tire ON road. Deeper snow off road or dirt roads- they are superior. The choice is facing the reality of looks vs primary need vs function (compromise of tires ability). In a perfect world we'd have sweet looking, E rated, mud tires, that were speed rated to 150mph, hugged curves like formula one cars, stopped in 30' on ice, had zero road noise, tracked like skis in snow and rain, and lasted 80,000 miles. In lieu of this fantasy, we pay our money and take our chances. But sometimes what works best, is hard to accept. With that, the KO2's are probably an average winter performer on this weight of vehicle, average meaning there are some better and some worse - other "C" rated or "P" rated options would likely be better "winter" performers. FWIW. YMMV. Outlaw out.

 

Cant believe people are saying anything positive about the stock tires....lol.

 

If you had seen what I saw last winter running alongside a truck still on stock wranglers in a blizzard you would not laugh. It’s a knee-jerk reaction to write off the wrangler Kevlars. They don’t look amazing, but they are a sleeper.