BFG KO3 review

I hope they offer a 315/70r17 in more than just a load range F. That's all I can see on @Discount Tire website

 

I can see there is also going to be a 295/70r17 and a 305/70r17 being released in August. Same thing, Load range E and F.

 

But it does look like a 35x11.5x17 in "C" coming 2026

 

Little drive this morning. K03's working well.

https://youtu.be/x9qsGV0wrl0?si=2qJ31-lkUlA0JkIb

 

Sorry, it's been a while since the last update. Now that the snow season is ending and about 15k on the tires I have some more thoughts to add.

My area hasn't had that much snow this season but I did make it a point to go hit the forest service roads whenever we got fresh snow.
I've had mostly good things to say about these tires but snow is where these things shine. I felt confident going further up the mountain with the performance the KO3. We do have sticky snow here, so it probably helps snowball around the tires but even with that, I was surprised a tire could feel so secure in snow. Lower elevations going through slushy snow and higher up in the uncut deeper snow, they did great in both. Can't really imagine a much better snow tire because they had no problems whatsoever.

Also,
I had a family member get his Ford F250 stuck. Bald tires, broken 4x4, and an idiot. He dug himself in that saturated grass stuff that turns to mud as soon as you break traction. He was kinda wedged between a hill so I had to pull his rear axel sideways before pulling straight out. I ended up dragging his rear end about 6' making a muddy rut from his rear tires while he was dead in the water. The Ko3s gripped well and barely broke traction in 4wd. I've heard wet grass was an issue with the ko2 so figured I'd throw that story in there.

Overall,
The wear on the tires has been fine. Think I'm around 14/32. No cupping or uneven wear. I rotate every oil change so that probably solves any weird wear patterns if there woulda been any.
The KO3 285/70/17 load C seems to be a great pairing for the tacoma. A true A/T tire that has been able to get me where I need to go. Again, I'm not doing any crazy overlanding or off roading. I think the ko3 could be tested much harder then what I use them for. I drive around on snow days, go long road trips/work commutes, cruising forest service roads, and hunting camp once a year. These are an effective and practical A/T tire that looks and drives great with a tacoma. I'd say snow performance is the terrain these tires excel in, very very well.

I'll post more if something significant happens and try to answer the questions posted. But I think this will be the last big update since I've got through a season with them. Thanks for everyone active in the forum, hope this has been helpful!

 

Love to hear it! BFG clearly didn't mess around with these.

 

I have the chance to get a BFG KO3 285/70/17 in an "E" load but wondering if I should get a KO2 285/70/17 in a "C" load instead? I have a 2020 TRD Off Road 4x4 long bed. I'm afraid the "E" load will be too sluggish. So what do you think would be better? A KO3 E load or a KO2 C load? I live in Southern California and my truck is primarily used for camping and light off-roading (no rock crawling if I can help it).

 

C load all day, sounds like that would be perfect for your use case. E isn't worth the extra weight 9 times out of 10.

Edit: Looked up the weights on DT, looks like there is NO DIFFERENCE between C and E load weights in your size. First time I've ever seen that unless it's an error. I'd still stick with C though.

 

I was able to get the KO3 in load C off of tire rack. Load C seems to be a good match for a Tacoma, especially light off roading.

 

My KO2s that I had didn't wear for shit they are worn out at 18500 miles on my old work Ford ranger. I'll never have another bfg tire. The old KO's were Amazing but the ones after those I'll not have again..

 

I get about 70K miles from mine. Even the ones I ran on my Rangers.

 

Obligatory, waiting on 265/75/16 post

 

You're gonna be waiting till August when they release.

 

Yeah, like someone else said... my KO2s have been good. I have 35k on my KO2s and they still have 10/32 left per Discount Tire. I rotate and balance every 5k miles and my tires have seen snow, ice, and lots of rain. I've driven them up the Swiss Alps (high elevation) and through the Black Forest (a lot of winding roads). The cool thing about the KO2 is that they have a mileage warranty if you don't get at least 50k BFG stands behind their product with their warranty.

 

Well mine sure didn't get anywhere close to 50k miles on them. They aren't even at 19k miles yet and they are practically worn out. They have all worn good and flat but the tread has just been eaten away..Any with a 4x4 ranger with 230k miles on it it sure didn't see any burning the tires off or any other abuse.I never even had the truck off-road any it's just my work truck.

 

Nice review OP. Everyone seems to think that BFG KO’s are the greatest tire on the planet. I agree that they are good tires overall. But for me they are the only tire that I had problems with hydroplaning. I had 2 sets of them on a 4Runner .Actually the second set was on my Tundra. In wet rainy weather every time I got to about 60 mph or so I could feel the vehicle wanting to slide out. If I increased speed it would definitely start hydroplaning. Never had that problem with other AT’s before or after. I liked the KO’s other than that. They did perform well off road. Perhaps they’ve improved over the years. As I recall I thought the siping was inadequate. Anyway just my 2 cents worth.

 

BFG changed the tread pattern on the KO3 to evacuate water better. The pattern on the KO2 restricted water and lead to hydroplaning. KO3 is much improved for wet roads.

 

Had anyone had an experience with KO3's on snow packed into ice? After the first or second snowfall, we usually don't see pavement until break up in the Spring.

 

Snow tires are way better in winter snow than any AT’s. If I lived in Alaska with the winter condition's you experience I’d spend the $$$ and run snows in the winter and switch to AT’s at spring thaw.

 

Yeah, I run studs in the winter time usually. But sometimes the line between the seasons are ignored by old man weather.