Help me decide: Change it up from KO2s? (POLL)

Hey Folks,

I live in the PNW and do lots of regular off roading... Nothing crazy technical, but spend quite a bit of time in the mountains on rocky/gravel fire roads, and also wind up on the beach and deep snow at least a few times a year. I rarely haul or pull and significant loads, and otherwise just a daily driver.

I've run BFG KOs and KO2s for 20 years, (and MTs prior to that). Generally very happy with them and would report good performance in most every situation except 'slick' conditions - light snow/slush/ice. I've sorta attributed that to the KO2 diagonal lug pattern that doesn't have a straight vertical channel to quickly expel liquid. Only other negative I've experienced are losing some chunks on the sidewalls, and sometimes needing quite a bit of weight for balancing.

In any case, I'm about due for a new set. It's not really about brand loyalty, and maybe I'm just familiar and confident with the BFGs, but after combing through these forums I'm curious about trying out something new. Should I change it up or stick with the tried-and-true? I'd also consider:

Falken Wildpeak AT3s - Heard great things about these. Deep treads and a significantly lower price point.

Toyo Open Country AT3s (2020) - Was getting a hard sell on these from my local tire dealer as the 'latest and greatest.'

Cooper AT3 XLT - Seems like there are a lot of fans of these. Sidewalls look sturdy enough, but the main contact surface doesn't looks particularly aggressive for loose gravel/snow/etc. (More of a highway tire with some sidewalls added for appearance sake?)

 

None of the above. Check out the Goodyear Ultra Terrain's:
https://www.discounttiredirect.com/buy-tires/goodyear-wrangler-ultraterrain-at

 

What size of tire are you using? Load range?

 

265/60R18, E load. Keeping it at stock size at least for the time being.

 

Why a heavy E load if you don't really tow? I'm in the same boat and have basically narrowed it down to the same tires; Falken or Toyo.

I want the best winter handling...

Hard to beat the great reviews of the Wildpeaks AT3Ws. However, they may be my only choice as I don't think the Toyo's are available yet in Canada.

 

OP, maybe it is just me but I love a good tire discussion !

I recently went through the same process you are going through. Have you considered adding the Nitto Ridge Grapplers? The other one that I was really curious about was the Pirelli off road tires -- they looked interesting and the reviews were great but could not be found when I was ready. I ended up going with the Nitto RGs -- my second set. Very pleased with them.

 

I convinced a buddy to ditch the KO2s and try the cooper ST Maxx. He said he won’t go back to the KO2s.

 

I have KO2s aswell, and while I do like them a lot, I want something different. Have ran KO2s on all three of my Tacoma’s and they have been great but am thinking of making the switch To the Toyos. I Have also had the falkens for a short while aswell as Cooper St maxx. Didn’t particularly care for the falkens I felt like they were noticeably louder than the bfgoodrich. Regardless of which route you go, all tires are great options.

 

Falkens are great , I live in central Oregon.

 

I know this is an older study that was done but they did a very good job at testing All-Terrains side by side. The original Cooper AT3 (which is a very similar tread pattern) is not just a highway tire it was the best on loose surface high speed oval.

https://expeditionportal.com/where-the-rubber-meets-the-road/

 

@McRib vote

 

Ive got these same tires. A M A Z I N G.

i feel the ko2s are just so overrated and everyone and their mom has them

 

Probably more rubber than I need, but just about everything at that size is only available at E rated.

 

Hmmmmmm... I might have overlooked these ones. Looks like a step up from the Cooper XLTs towards an MT, which was one of my initial misgivings. Looks like a great option but man, those things are pricey... (Over $50 more per tire over 'premium' options like KO2s and Duratracs...)

 

Duratracs > KO2’s in every terrain, especially snow. So if that is a consideration I would highly recommend the duratracs. Had them for 10+ years and subjected them to hard offroad abuse without fail.

This said, my most recent set of tires are the Milestar Patagonia MT’s and I absolutely love them. Switched due to a size change I wanted. They rival the duratracs in every terrain, even snow. The only negative thing I have read about them is their tread life, but I have also heard of full size trucks getting 40k miles out of them.

Cooper stt pro’s were on my list for consideration but a few friends were less than impressed with their snow performance compared to other tires we’ve tried.

 

I went away from and went back to KO2s....IMO they are great....

 

I was in the market for something similar and settled for the General Grabber ATX. I truly struggled to find a bad review about them, and with their current $100 rebate they're a great deal. I can always report back once they're mounted, but I won't have any reviews of their performance in snow/ice for another few months.

 

Not a lot of feedback on these, but I put these Pirelli's on my F150 10 months ago. I considered Falken, BFG, and Cooper. These were nearly $300 less than BFG and within a few dollars of Cooper and Falken. Photos online don't do them justice, they look like a street tire. But as soon as I saw a set in person my mind was made up.

A pic of my tires on the left prior to mounting next to BFG's. I've really liked them. Best rain tire I've ever owned and they did great in mud. Ride great on the road even with the E rating. No snow last winter, but they are 3 peak rated.



On the truck

 

This is interesting because almost everyone comments on how quiet the Falken's are...

 

Maybe I got some lemons, who knows. I only had them for about 5 thousand Miles before switching to the St Maxx