BFG KO3 review

So here’s a small update-
We got some rain the past week. I haven’t got to test hydroplane type conditions but there’s a few hills in my town that lose traction w/ lead foot on the stop light. They held up pretty well. Usually when tires slip you have to let off the throttle and re-gain traction. These did slip a little but quickly gripped back up. It also hasn’t rained in a while so there’s definitely oil on the roads. I’d say I’m impressed with rain performance so far. Not enough time to give a full/honest wet traction review. I’ll be headed to deer camp here soon and I’ll come back with a good off road review as well.

 

It looks like effort to maintain tread contact is in place to keep them quiet longer.

They seem less aggressive, but way better as a tire in general.

 

I’d agree, like I said in the original post tho, for some reason pictures make them look much less aggressive. They are comparable to the KO2. Does have a little more contact with the ground then the KO2 but it seems like they’ve designed it in a way to still maintain some off road capability. Yet to be tested by me but I’m thinking they’ll preform just fine off road for an A/T tire.

 

I just was looking on the web page.

Aggressive for me means large gaps between lugs, these have less space, which again I feel is a good thing, especially considering how many KO2's I installed and had to deal with complaints.

The sidewall looks good still and these will sell just as well as the last version.

 

@Cbeery good luck on your deer hunt, looking forward to your update afterwards.

 

Excellent start to the review.

I've posted multiple tire reviews on this forum over the years. What I do is update the original post, and then add a comment saying that there's been an update. This lets the folks following know to check back, but keeps all the relevant info in the original post so that folks don't have to dig through multiple pages to see what changed.

 

So it sounds like you don’t have any personal experience with the K02, right? Would be interesting to hear from someone who ran them both on the same truck. In time, I guess.

 

You happen to get a real world weight in those 285 C load?

 

Unfortunately, I did not.

 

No experience with the KO2s unfortunately. I have several friends with the KO2s and compared them in my November update. Mostly unfair and hard to compare without running them on my vehicle.

 

Thanks for the good luck! Unfortunately no deer for me but we got a couple in camp! Here is my Update;

November Update-
Alright just wrote up this whole update and it didn't save so I'm re-writing and may be lower quality...

So as I mentioned before, I had a hunting trip planned and would come back with a better off-road update. We've also got some rain since they were installed so I'll have some updates on that. Again, I'm not doing any crazy rock crawling/mudding/overlanding stuff. My point of view will be from a utility off-road use.

Wet performance

Hydroplane-
Living in Washington, we get quite a bit of rain. I also have a weird impulse to drive through puddles so I've got a good feel for the wet performance. Highway speeds, these tires have held up very well. Haven't got that oh sh*t water ski/hydroplane feeling and they feel more in control through the long highway puddles.

Lateral traction-
I'll rally the back roads pretty fast and was familiar with the speed/turn it took to break traction on my dynapros. Haven't been able to break these yet and don't wanna try going any faster so I'll leave it at that and call them good. I was worried about the lateral traction bc of the tread design but they held up well. I'll be curious how it holds in the snow...

Off-road

Context-
So the area I was hunting in NE Washington is pretty remote. Our property is about 1 hour and 45 min from the nearest town. An hour of that is dirt road. Our property is surrounded by national forest so there a lot of access roads surrounding the area we hunt. The "road" is 2 mile undeveloped trail behind a locked gate and another mile hike into the property. The main road to the area is a 20 mile stretch of more maintained access road with spur roads off of it. This was the worst washout year I've ever seen up there due to a heavy winter and wet spring so the spur roads were torn up bad. I put at least 100 miles of dirt road driving on these tires this trip. It rained for a few days there, dry for the most part, and had my tires aired down to 25psi.

Baja?
The main gravel road in is a 20 mile stretch, better maintained, I usually rally it pretty fast (30 to 50MPH). First thing I noticed, even before airing down, was the shock absorption. The KO3s did a great job soaking up the washboard, rocks, and potholes and felt well planted on the corners. Felt like I could drive that road with more confidence. Con, they pick up peddles like crazy. especially when getting back onto the pavement, felt like they were throwing rocks forever.

Washouts-
The spur/access roads to hunting land were the worst I've ever seen. Due to a heavy winter and sudden/heavy spring rainfall, it left gnarly washouts on all the access roads. Additionally, it's steep rugged country so it was a good test for the tires. You need a lifted vehicle to access most of these roads. These tires didn't skip a beat. I didn't notice them skip or slip on any of the toughest sections.

Unfair comparison-
My buddy has a GMC 1500 with 255/70/R17 KO2s. Driving the same roads, we both noticed his tires were skipping and struggling up some of the rougher roads that my KO3s went up. Probably unfair bc of the tire size difference but its the best I got. He's gonna get a set of MT Baja boss AT soon so that may be a fun future comparison.

Summary-
Overall, these tires have treated me well. I religiously calculate my MPG every fill up and that hasn't changed at all. They do what I need them to do off-road thus far and they feel like a good match with my taco. Again, im not doing any crazy off-roading but definitely some challenging access roads and many miles on gravel, so far so good. Next updates will be mud and snow so it may be a few months before the next update unless something happens.

Hope this is still helpful!

 

@Cbeery thank you so much for the thorough review. It sounds like the wet traction of the tire has been improved. Can't wait for the snow review to come. Thank you for keeping us informed.

 

I'll add 2 pennies.

I just bought the 285/70/17 ko3 and had them installed this week, right before snow was expected to fall.

I have been driving on ko2 since I bought the truck 19k miles ago. The ko2 were getting worn out. There were probably good on dry roads for another 5k miles, but horrible on even the dampest of roads.

Well, new tires and 4-5 inches of fresh snow, and I have to say these tires grip. I haven't even needed to engage 4x4. Last year with the ko2 (when there was good tread) 4x4 was not an option, it was a necessity.

I then went for a drive up the mountain last night and found deeper snow, 10-12 inches at the highest elevation. These tires gave nothing but confidence hooning the truck as much as traction control would allow. Drove about 60 miles out there and then another 40 miles of highway. Though all the mixed conditions these tires never complained.

We'll see how they do when the snow turns to ice this next couple days.

 

Thanks for adding your thoughts. It's good to hear from someone who can compare the Ko2 to Ko3 directly. I bought these in part hoping they'd do good in the snow but it's been a very mild winter for us. Sounds like we might get some snow next week so im happy to hear they perform well.
I've heard a lot of complaints about the ko2 wet traction. So far I've had a great experince with the Ko3. Hopefully that holds up through the tred life.

 

KO2's were always good for the firs year due to the compound on cold surfaces, really hope these do better with age. Especially after 10/32nd.

 

The tires have been great in all the weather we've had. From snow to ice to rain. I havent hit standing water on the ko3, so im not sure if they hydroplane as much as the ko2 did. They do seem to grip better than the ko2 in the rain and slik roads though. Ice as expected is slippery on the ko3, just like any other tire, but it isn't bad if driving responsible.

 

I told myself I’m going to move away from bfg after my ko2 wears since I don’t like how they are in the wet, but your review of the ko3 sounds like they improved.

 

This was interesting:

https://youtu.be/UQlcwKUwrg8?si=StSv_uU4bJn9tF1c

Posted on YouTube 2 hours ago as of my post here.

 

@Discount Tire do you guys have any update on increased size availability? I want to try a set of these with my new SEMA wheels