An Honest BFGoodrich KO2 Tire Review I The GOOD and the BAD... 

Great review. I was I’m the fence about these tires but after seeing your video it seems like they will be perfect for my needs. Thank you

Very well done video man! Straight to the point and no BS. 100% earned a subscriber!

Totally agree on the wet performance…..Ran them on a Yukon for 10 years in a very wet place, standing water at speed is scary, exactly as he said…….Switched to Yokohama GO15’s which plow through deep water no problem!

Great review. Rare to get an honest opinion nowadays (especially on a product like this). New subscriber here for sure.

Good honest review 👍🏼I felt about the same way about the ones that I had on my Tacoma . Not a bad tire at all but not for me , a little overkill since I’m going to do 99% of my driving on road. For my A/T tire of choice is the Toyo Open Country Ill . Seems to be a happy medium, does very well in the rain & Off-roading. Thanks again for your review.

The content of the video is very rich👏👏

Thanks for the great video @looseaxels! The discussion in the comments are really helpful too. I'm looking for a set of A/T tires for my truck and been following common knowledge that K02s were the way to go, but I didn't like the fact that there were quite a few very positive reviewers on TireRack that also called out the K02's poor wet performance. That made me nervous. I'd like a nice A/T tire on my truck, but not at the expense of wet weather performance. That's just plain illogical. I'd been starting to lean towards the Falken Wildpeak AT3s in spite of the advice of friends. I also saw that you've had very positive feelings about the Wildpeaks, which gave me more conviction in what I've been thinking, so I went back and read more reviews and watched the TireRack testing videos. Folks on TireRack love the Wildpeaks, especially for the wet weather performance. This was the right video at the right time. Thanks and keep up the good work!

I run custom siped KM3’s on my Jeep and they are great for deeper snow, and with the soft compound (wears faster than K02’s) they do pretty decent on ice and hard pack. I never noticed any issues driving in rain either, and this is running 37x12.5r17s on 17x9” bead locks. It will be interesting to see what the upcoming K03’s will be like (due out this winter and will be OEM on the new Ranger Raptor model).

I have had BFG KO2 on my 4 runner for some time. In oregon they have seen a lot of water and I have had zero issues. Gravel, rocky and dirt roads is where they excel. They will bring you home when lesser tires are shredded. Phenomenal in the snow and ice. As long as I keep the speed down (40mph) I can tow a 5K trailer over ice up and down mountain highways all day long with no chains. never was I worried about if I was going to make it over the pass and get home. Literally point and go tires in the snow. The only times the tires have been less than stellar is in deep mud. If that was my focus I would have to switch to full mud tires. Are there better tire? maybe. What I do know is that BFG will comfortably take me on trips where I see bare pavement, wet pavement, slush, snow and ice ,all on one trip and not let me down.

I would agree on all points for the most part. You briefly touched on it but looks I’d argue is why most people choose the KO2. I know it was the seller point for me. By far the best combination of aggressive look and quietness on road. Wet performance is definitely a problem. Honestly, I’d probably go with the Falken Wildpeak if I had to choose again. Slightly less aggressive but superior on wet pavement. KO2 makes me anxious in rain…safety is paramount!

Funny you said "safety-matters" when speeding through water! ;) I really slow down to not hydroplane so I should be OK. I really appreciate the quality of the review of these tires as I just decided to purchase some. Very few people rate/review tires for either the front, or the rear, use/purpose as being different - I was looking for front usage more as I have others on my dualies in the back... Thanks, Martin.

Thank you for your honesty!!! Your concerns are things i care about in my climate.

K02's here also and agree 100% with what you are saying. I love them but as soon as it rains, they scare the bejesus out of me. I have to admit that I bought them for the look and nothing else, I should have done my homework a bit more.... But you know how it is, I was going for an agressif look. Also on ice, 2/10, I live in Quebec and we get some pretty hardcore winters here. I had to get some DMV2's for winter, the KO2's are maybe 3 peaks rated but it's a hard no for ice and hard packed snow. - 2023 Jeep Wrangler

I had some KO2 on my 2018 F-150 and had the same problem in the rain. I have Michelin A/T on my 2022 F-250 and they worked great but I also live in Texas where driving on snow is as common as money growing on trees. In the rain, gravel roads, and dry conditions they have been very good.

KO2 here as well. Wet performance does suck, but I don't drive it often enough in the rain to care and just slow down when I do.. As you said it does everything else pretty well which is hard to find in a tire. Snow, on road, off road, and towing a boat, treadwear all very good. I am waiting for the KO3 to come out now to see how they do. --2016 F150

I've had my K02s about a month. The first thing I noticed switching from a more summer all terrain tire is that I peel out from stop signs in wet and dry conditions way easier. Overall though they just feel solid. It made my whole truck feel more grounded if that makes sense. There is definitely more noise than my less aggressive tires but not as much as I was expecting. Now if it would just snow here so I can try them out for real.

What’s awesome is they’ve fixed the flaws of the KO2 in the new KO3, it’s a much better tire now, and the new Duratrac now has a 3 ply sidewall and is a improved tire also!!

Totally agree about the wet rating. I have them on a Tacoma and I’ve felt like Tokyo drift more then once on a wet road.

Good review, I have had two sets of ko2s, and agree with a lot of your points especially in the rain, have you considered trying the Falken wildpeak at3w? I almost went with them the last time I changed my tires, but the size was unavailable at the time, I have heard nothing but great reviews on them, especially in the wet and snow,besides them being a little heavy in the E rated sizes.

Interesting review. I've seen several other reviews that said these tires are good with regards to hydroplaning. I suspect tire size and load rating may come into play with that. I used LT265/70 R17 C1 load KO2's for a year on my last 4Runner and they did fine in heavy rain here in Florida. I just put a set on my latest 4Runner so we'll see how they do.

I've been running this on an F150, Ram2500, and now a Tacoma. Are they perfect? No. But I trust them, I know what to expect with proper driver techniques in various situations. I camp, hunt, overland, light to medium trail adventuring. I can deflate down to 10 psi. They never let me down.

have a set on my JKU . found them useless on ice. felt like i was sliding off the road. Have gone to a dedicated winter tire now for our winter season.

I had those on my FJ for about 2 years 33/12.50 17 and I loved them until I switched to 34 nitto ridge grapplers they look more aggressive and perform alot better .

I had these on my Jeep JKU and on a TJ. One good thing about them is tread wear. In 5 years they barely showed any. Mind you I don't drive as much as some people (no long commute for me). Living on the Wet Coast I would agree that their wet weather performance is a little lacking. Since we get lots of rain throughout the winter, that's a big deal for me.

Good review! Very detailed. And Duratracs were the most overpriced biggest POS tires I've ever had. Damn near drag slicks after a year and could barely take off on a wet road.

Everyone is entitled to their opinion. I have ran ko2 for 8 years on three different vehicles in Northern Ontario with winter 6 mos of year. I have 250,000 kms of experience with them, while providing all weather service to remote mining operation. Better on Snow and Ice than my wife's SUV with yoko iceguards, great in light offroads. You will get there and back using one tire all year. Pulled a trailer out of 8 in of mud at a Country festival. LT means slightly rougher but tough. Great all year round tire that almost matches michelin LTX for gas mileage. If your location in mountainous and lots of snow you may want a winter tire. However these worked plowing my driveway with a F150 in 15 ins of snow. Lots of mud get a full mud tire. There are several other brands that likely work well too. I have only tried Bridgestone Dueller, Firestone Destination, Michelin LTX. Works great at -40. On glare ice at freezing no tire can work well unless you have studs. The coefficient of Friction under these conditions approach zero. For a person with 40 years of driving, wanting an all weather condition tire these work, based on over 150,000 miles over driving in 3 different Trucks.

Crazy never had any issues with my ko2 in water other then just taking off, feel like that’s common with a/t tires without 4x4 auto though

I think the rain performance is why BFG is bringing out the KO3's this year. Supposed to be better siping for rain use.

I've had 2 sets of K02's for 75K miles. I agree with everything you have pointed out. Especially their lac of performance I in slushy snow. I had the most butt puckering moment under those conditions on pavement (in a curve & no control). Never really noticed that they hydroplaned in heavy rain! My next tire will be a Wilkpeak AT4W - I think that is were the smart money is...

Thanks for the review...very informative. I just bought a set (ALL TERRAIN T/A KO2 LT265 /70 R17 121S E1 RWL) for my 4Runner and am having balancing issues. Has that been an issue for you? I have about a week to take them back to Discount Tire and am trying to figure out if this is a KO2 issue or if I have a bad tire or tires. Or, is this to be expected from AT tires.This is the first time I've gone with an E1 rating. A bit heavier duty than I probably need. I've had them balanced three times and they are pretty good now but a little vibration starts at about 60mph while on the highway. Thanks again for all the information.

Falken Wildpeak AT4W is the best one, hands down, although the AT3W was king for many years lol

Fair...I love mine and don't mind a little extra $ for the look and they fit my needs perfectly. I'm not a rock/mud crawler so these are a 10 for me and most who lucky to a rig with them.

I have these on my Chevy as well and I stringky agree with you about the wet performance and it is disappointing! It is a concern of mine as well . Love the tire but I am moving on ( because of the hydroplaning)

Have they addressed the fast wearing when used on heavy 3/4-1 ton diesel trucks? Thats why they developed the DT line, but the DT loses the 3 peak snowflake rating. I got the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss All Terrain and i amnreally pleased woth its performance and highway manners. 3 ply sidewall, thr polyester belte gonfrom bead to bead, so the trea has 3 plies polyester, 2 plies nylon, and 2 steel beltsz giving me 7 plies on the tread, 3 plies sidewall. Very quiet and terrific in the slop and snow.

Width of tire and weight of vehicle play a huge role in performance and wear. For example 1ton diesel truck will eat Ko2 tires fast. Heavy engine. So fronts wear fast. Tons of torque. Rear tires wear fast. Now my Jeep xj is very light and low power compared. Mine have done 70k. Rotated every 5 k. And still have 30% left. But don’t perform very good in 12.5” wide. As my Jeep is too light. The 10.5” wide do much better. So what works for one truck won’t for the next etc. Great video and review. 👊

Interesting comment you had about the KO2 being horrible for picking up/slinging rocks as that is certainly a fact. My brother had bought a new JL this summer and it came equipped with factory 35 inch KO2's and I will agree that the tire is amazingly quiet for that style of a tire, however on our local gravel roads it jambs in rocks into the tread randomly across the tread in general but the rocks that get wedged into those funky long slits on the shoulder tread blocks, a lot of them do not come back out when going on the highway. Oddly enough and this dates back to before that tire came out to the public, BFG did a certain amount of testing around this part of Alberta ( I am in the Grande Prairie area ) on oilfield etc pickups that travelled a lot of gravel roads to develop the tire. Yet somehow with all this testing they still don't perform well longevity wise in this condition and granted few tires excel for that rugged task, part of the problem is they end up stone drilling and going flat or having a blow out because of this rock retaining tread and a rock will drill right into the carcass of the tire. Years back when the original KO was around, those tires were a total disaster on our gravel, they would look like they had been through a meat grinder in a few thousands miles as the tread would literally chip right off of it in chunks as the rubber compound was not suited for gravel at all. This summer I was needing new tires on my pickup and talked to a few tire shops about their offerings and various tire shops sell the BFG and they all said the KO2 is not a tire they recommend for a very high percentage of gravel road driving in their experience. That is not to say its not a decent tire in other aspects or for a lot of people to run who do mostly highway and most people do just that so anyone reading this, don't get the idea its a bad tire, its just not a tire that will live well for extreme gravel road use. Even the Toyo open country At3, I was told it didn't wear all that well on gravel either however I am sure it would have been a fine choice for mostly highway. I ended up getting a set of Falken Wild Peaks AT3W in the LT version, I have very few kms on them but was happy with the fairly quiet manner and reasonable on the limited amount of gravel distance I did in so far as not picking up gravel too bad although not perfect. I run dedicated winter tires so the falkens came off, perhaps towards spring if I put the Falkens back on and go on some ice I can see how they do compared to my prior Cooper AT3 which were extremely BAD on ice.

FYI if yall just need to feed some pigs in the rain these things work great. Went from stock tundra to these and haven't had to hit 4wd once yet

I’m going be using 265/75 KO2’s on my Pathfinder. I’m hoping a narrower tire will help me a little bit more in some conditions. Pretty much so I don’t experience “float” as early and stay a little more planted off road. We’ll see how it goes.

I have run nothing but KO’s for decades , only concern I ever had is as they reach their end of life they like to hydroplane very easily but I think any tire would.

I have 84,000 miles on my 285/70/17 ko/2's and am ordering a new set today (5th set ive owned, and i am 100% never changing to a different tire) The ONLY thing better than these is the original BFG all-terrain's i use to buy for my tacoma, that they no longer make! Ive pulled bolts, nails, screws out of the tread without having to repair them, no leaks. Ive scuffed the sidewalls on extreme trail rides and never had a gash/roll off/cut that caused concern. I run these on 2 vehicles: 2000 jeep xj and a 2003 toyota sequoia, both are modified for off-road use.

Please share if you have reviewed Yokohama geolander AT go15

I’ve seen several other reviews talking about a lack of wet weather performance. I don’t agree. I’m a defense contractor and put 50k to 60k miles per year on my truck driving to bases from Florida to Washington State, San Diego to New York and nearly every state in between in all seasons. In the last 30+ years I’ve had well over a dozen sets of BFG All Terrain TA, KO and KO2 without experiencing problems in wet climates until the tire hits 60k or so. I routinely get 70k+ on the KO2’s, Toyo’s, Nitto’s and find that in general after 50k or 60k and the rubber gets harder, all of them start having issues in wet weather, especially cold wet weather. I’ve ran the KO2’s on half tons and gotten over 80k without a problem. I quit running the KO2’s on my F250’s because for some reason, at around 50k the rubber seems to get hard enough that when I hit a bump at highway speeds I start getting the death wobble. I typically run Michelin Defenders in the summer and noticed when I put the defenders on the death wobble goes away. I can also put a new set of KO2’s on and the death wobble goes away. My current Toyo AT3’s have nearly 70k on them and no wobble but now they’re horrible in wet weather even though they still have 1/4” of tread left. Probably going to try the Wildpeaks next. Or another set of Nitto’s or KO3’s when they come out in my size.

My new KOA’s say maximum tire pressure 80 psi, which is more than they used to be when I bought decades ago, so I’m wondering what pressure to run, for my 1500 Chevy Silverado LT loaded and unloaded.

We’ll yeah your gonna hydroplane lol you have a great sized tire on by the looks of it a little 4 Runner running, 35X12.50r15’s on my Ramcharger. Magical on snow like you said but also king on water. All the weight, try pizza cutters might help. Thank you for the great informative video your awesome!!!!

In Alaska we have two sets of tires; winter and summer and change out accordingly. I have two sets of tires and wheels and I just change mine myself.

Thanks god bless

Strongly disagree with your opinion. Ive owned 5 trucks and have ran them on all of them and still currently run them on my 2020 Ram 1500. First of all they are 3 peak snow rated which means they have high ratings for snow and blizzard conditions and from my Colorado experiences this rings true. They wear well. Great on highway use. About the only negative Ive seen over the years is that they require alot of weight to balance properly. For an overall tire that sees mostly on road , some off road and winter conditions these are about as good as it gets. There are only a handful of tires even in the category of 3 peak snow ratings.

General Grabber A/T X. Same tire, just less money

I had a set of these on my 2021 4Runner ( same size but C rated not E rated) and put on ~50K miles in two years before replacing them with another set, this time E rated. Never notice any road noise, they balanced well and wore normally. Since I live in Southern California wet, slush and snow performance were not that high on my must have list. I did most off roading in desert settings. That said I’ve used them in mud and snow a few times. I completely agree they are mediocre in mud. (I have KM3s on my Hummer H1 as a comparison.) Never really use them on ice but did use them in deep snow. They were solid in snow. As for standing water… if there is standing water I just don’t drive fast in any car with any tire… and hydroplaning isn’t an issue. Doesn’t rain a lot here normally but this passed year we got record rain… never hydroplaned… because I just slow down . 😉 All that said, these tires were developed for desert racing in Baja. That’s the setting where I do almost all my off roading and they are great at that. I would recommend them for that kind of work for sure. But for the cold and wet it sounds like there are other options that are stronger.

i plan city driving 95% time and 5% green lanes off roading. any suggestions on which tyre to get ?

A very good review. I would totally agree with your recommendation. We have a small fleet of 4 Hilux we use for forestry here in the U.K. These tyres have become very expensive and have been left behind. I would go so far as to say that the wet weather performance is dangerous…..braking distances are long and they break traction easily. Not great in mud and even snow, they are not bad BUT there are better. We run Maxxis 980s now. Very similar looking tyre BUT quieter….much better in the wet, as tough and even though they are not 3 peak rated, are better in snow….all for half the price. If we could get the Maxxis Razr we would have those but can’t get 5em in the U.K.

I'm driving a 95 ford bronco and I have corsa all terrain tires right now and in the rain I often spin do burnouts when accelerating from stand stills. I liked the look of the duratrac and now these but do they really do that bad in wet conditions? I live in Arkansas and we get slushy like snow more ofter then actual deep snow and I want some aggressive tires to go with my bronco but I really don't want to risk my safety and my cars safety in the rain. Do you have any recommendations?

Had mine for a couple years, and to me they are beyond sketchy on wet road. Day 2 of me having them on my truck i was pulling out from a stop light turning left at maybe 10mph, and my truck went full freaking sideways. One time had the my wife in my truck, and we came up to a stop sign where a puddle of water was, i told the wife dont freak out but were going to slide. Sure enough as im slowly turning left, i ended up fishtailing going like 5-8mph. I just dont get them. I want to like them, i like the look of them, but i hate thinking about them every time theres rain or water on the road

Hi, Is your vehicle permanent 4 wheel drive ? And does it have 4wheel traction control ? If not, do they still slip if you switch from 2x4 to 4x4. I am looking to fit these on a P38 Range Rover that is permanently in 4x4, but the reviews that I have read tend to differ and I am trying to work out why. Your opinion would be helpful, Thanks, Mark, UK 🇬🇧

I agree with everything you said, especially regarding the wet performance. Aside from the looks, the falken wildpeak at3 is better than the Ko2 in everyway. And i soeak of that only because these are the two tires i have tried myself.

I've run Goodyear and K02's on all my vehicles for over 30 years. I really like K02's. Goodyear usually had rebates. But the last time I bought Goodyear's for my truck, they didn't honor their rebate. So be aware of this. I will never buy Goodyear tires again.

£250.00 each in the UK. I've always used ko2 on my trucks but they're not £100.00 better than the competition now

Mickey Thompson Baja boss AT best tire out there hands down. But expensive

It's hard to find a better tire then the KO2 when it comes to the overall ability of the tire.

How r they on ice ?

Every tire hydro plains in standing water at speed …. Man every tire an I live in Vancouver Canada one of the rainiest places in the world an they’re completly fine just don’t hit puddles at 100km bc every tire will hydro plain unless you’re driving a stupidly heavy vehicle . I run k02 on my Tacoma an nittos grapplers on my dodge 3500 extended cab duly a just so you know that 11000 pound truck also hydro plains when you hit puddles at high way speeds …. 😂

I don’t mind the price, it’s that wet rating you gave it that concerns me. 😬

If I understood you correctly you really don’t like the Duratrac .

They are great in one area .. sand

They are deadly in heavy rain!! I'll never buy them again

Surprised about aquaplaning comments On our Motorhome they are excellent in standing water Maybe we are heavier and travelling at lower speeds 🤷‍♂️

One year and only 7-8k km? Wow.

What is a kilomiter?

Also in the rain I hated the bfs

Folks get too wide of tire then bitch when they do poor in the rain. Your rig is not heavy enough to lock down much past 10” in width. I Run 275/65-20’s or 34.1/10.8-20 on a full size Ram 1500 and never get loose in rain until the tread is gone. Now trying out a new set of KO3’s and expecting better OAL performance.

Nittos all the way

Hey i know this rig haha

nope their factories are in China now

If you’re gonna describe something in metric, keep the whole conversation in metric. You said you had the tires on for 70,000 km and then you describe the tread depth and 5/32. Are you trying to impress people. Because if you are, you’re not impressing me again pick one standard of measurement for the whole video and that one standard I’ve only watched a couple minutes. Of this video I will continue to watch it because I’m curious

WTF IS A KILOMETER 🦅

On the wet performance those tires are horrible. I have them on my 2014 Xterra and if i take a turn or take off i always spin the tires or whip the rear of the vehicle. Other than that im very pleased.

Lol cool story bro

Cant have it all bf Goodrich ko2s are the absolute best tire ive tried the rts the mts bye toyo the are horrible heavy and really tough to balance the wangler duratrack are loud unforgiving and ugly the at3 toyo are just a nother toyo they suck i think if i were going with a different tire than the ko2 id try general grabber oh and bye the way nitto and toyo are sister company the same and there tires are all hype there trash .

Slow down

You do NOT have 10 ply tires... You have a 10 ply RATING. I don't know why this escapes people so often as it literally says on the side of your tire how many plies are used. It will also confirm you have a 2 ply sidewall. It doesn't matter if you have an SL, XL, C, D, or E.. they are all the same actual ply count. Not trying to be a douche, but that info is just wrong, and keeps getting repeated to people!

Like you said, Durattac in wet conditions is a nightmare