So the BFG KO2 should appeal to all truck owners out there thanks to its wide variety
of sizing, in addition to its legendary reputation in the off-roading community.
This thing is available in sizes ranging from 29 to 35-inches in diameter, fitting wheels
ranging from 16 to 20-inches in diameter.
Obviously, your pricing will vary on depending on the size of your tire, and once mounted
and balanced will get a simple one out of three wrenches on the difficulty meter from
me for the installation.
So for those who don't know, BFG practically invented the first radial off-road or all-terrain
tire over 40 years ago.
And ever since, have been dominating the market thanks to tires like the original KO and now
the KO2, which we have here, helping the company rack up dozens and dozens of wins at Baja
and other off-roading venues.
Now as you might imagine, the BFG T/A Trans Am, a nod to their heritage, KO Key Off-Road
2 is the next generation or brother of the original KO tire, which alone, was a rockstar
in the category.
BFG actually claims that the KO2 is their toughest tire yet.
And obviously, that's very important not only for off-roading, but also for stuff like worksite
use, where you're dodging obstacles like jagged concrete, rebar, and things like that.
So to make this tire tougher overall, BFG just basically fortified some of the big weak
spots, more specifically the sidewalls and shoulder area, which is where over 80% of
all-terrain tire failures occur.
To do so, they beefed up that shoulder area using what is called their CoreGuard technology,
making this thing 15 to 20% stronger than the original KO tire, helping to prevent punctures
and things like that.
Now to make this thing so tough, BFG took some of the key ingredients out of their all-out
race tire, their KR2, and put it towards the new KO2 here.
This does include thicker sidewall rubber, thicker shoulder area, which we've already
talked about a little bit, and just better deflection overall, making this thing a little
bit more durable both on and off-road.
BFG actually changed up the tread compound here with the KO2 as well, giving it a longer
lifespan in conjunction or relation to the original KO2 tire, in addition to helping
to keep this thing a little bit more quiet while on the road.
Now they actually claim this will last double the life of the original KO tire when used
primarily in gravel, and about 15% longer lifespan with the KO2 compared to the original
KO when used primarily on the road, which I'm sure most owners will be doing.
Now sticking with that tread compound and that quiet road noise that BFG was touting
a little bit earlier, typically, yes, this is an all-terrain tire.
They are gonna be a little less aggressive or a little less noisy on the road when compared
to those mud tires, per se.
However, I think there's always some kind of expected noise when dealing with a tire
with an aggressive tread design like this.
However, my experience driving a new Raptor with the KO2 was the complete opposite.
These things are very quiet while on the road.
And that was my experience, of course, and it's certainly worth sharing with you guys.
Now before I completely run away from the tread here, I do wanna point out that the
KO2 does incorporate that inner locking tread design, much like the original KO did, simply
because it provided better tread block stability, and it just worked so damn well on the original
tire.
So BFG didn't really tweak that too much.
They did freshen up the design a little bit, and the data there basically claims about
10% better traction in mud with the KO2, but about 19% better traction in snow compared
to the predecessor of the KO2.
And yes, these numbers are impressive, of course.
And I'm sure this tire is no slouch in the mud as I kinda witnessed with our Raptor review.
You have to keep in mind though, however here guys, that this is not a dedicated mud tire.
And therefore, don't expect it to perform as one in that real deep stuff.
That being said, it does incorporate some stuff that you do tend to see on those mud-specific
tires, mainly these raised areas here in the shoulder portion, helping to kind of eject
any compacted mud while the tire is spinning.
And again, going back to our tread, there are a few large areas within the tread blocks
themselves, which will help clear debris, rocks, things like that.
That being said, again, it doesn't have near the amount of space between the blocks that
you typically see with those mud tires, which are gonna be a little bit better at clearing
themselves when the tire is spinning.
But I do wanna go back quickly here and just kinda revisit the shoulder area because in
my opinion, it is one of the most changed areas from the KO to KO2.
And it is one of the areas that I think BFG is most proud of.
We already talk about this thing being beefed up in the shoulder area from a protection
standpoint, but it's also gonna be very important from a traction standpoint as well, both off-road
and in mud, sand, snow, things like that, especially when you air these things down.
BFG actually calls this their serrated shoulder design, which is kinda like a knife when you
think about it.
Right?
Because it's gonna cut through some of that bad stuff, help get you a little bit better
traction, but also provide some steering stability in rough conditions, including snow.
And speaking of snow, if you look closely, you will see that little mountain and snowflake
design.
That just simply means these tires met the requirements for snow testing and performance.
And it is a nice thing to point out.
A friendly reminder here gang, this is about the KO2 in general.
We're not talking about just one specific size in this video, which happens to be a
34, by 12 1/2, by 18, by the way.
Instead, we're just kinda giving you a better idea of what to expect when checking out the
KO2 for your truck.
Again, we have these things ranging from the stock trucks out there, all the way down to
the guys running bigger lifts with a 35-inch tire and essentially, everything in between.
Now the size of the tire will affect the price.
That shouldn't be anything new.
Those bigger tires will cost you a little bit more.
But again, check out the different sizes on the site and get a better idea of what you're
looking at.
One little footnote before we do get into the install here, gang, and that is TPMS sensors.
Now, if you're gonna put a KO2 on your factory wheel, you can totally reuse your factory
TPMS sensors without issue.
On the other hand, if you're gonna take off those factory wheels and tires, sell them,
or just leave them in the garage, then you probably will need a new set of TPMS sensors
for an aftermarket wheel, along with the KO2.
You can grab them here on the site on the product page from a drop-down menu.
And if you don't, just expect to see that annoying light on the dash until you do get
them installed.
Now speaking of that installation here, this one will be a little bit different because
most of you guys probably won't be doing the physical install.
Instead, that will be your local tire shop.
So, once these things are mounted and balanced onto your wheels, then at that point, you're
simply getting the truck in the air, grabbing your impact gun, swapping these things out,
and that's it.
So, one out of three wrenches on the difficulty meter from me.
And maybe a half hour to an hour depending on how fast you work.
Wrapping things up here, guys, if you're looking to go with a new and improved version of BFG's
legendary KO tire, you'll wanna check out the KO2 right here at americantrucks.com.