Trail update on BFG ko 33/12.5 tires

[thunderhorse]

Frist time out with these tires. The trail was at Calico Goast Town in the Southern California desert, lots and again lots of rocks. With 15lbs. of air the tires worked very well over the rock with good sidewall flex and excellant traction.

 

[thunderhorse]

Sorry that should be ghost town

 

[Lobo]

Do you have modified gearing? What is you gear ratio?

------------------
-Lobo
An Explorer Blessing:
May you not see your A4LD in your rear-view mirror and
your radius arm bushings stay silent on the trail.

 

[thunderhorse]

Lobo
Yes, my gearing is now 4.56, with the 33" tires it feels a bit lower than stock in preformance.

 

[Kyle K.]

Hey do you get to any mud at all? I am looking around for a good set of at 's for the street i will have a set of swampers strictly for offroad. so how do those tires handle mud if i were to hit the dirt without changing tires or before i get the swampers. I need a good street tire but needs to have decent at-mt qualities and last well on pavement. not asking much am i?! any ways any help would be appreciated.

 

[thunderhorse]

Kyle
The tires handle well in the rain, but as for mud, I haven't had a chance to try them in that medium yet.

 

[Kyle K.]

okay let me know when you do. did they have a tread warranty?

 

[kvo]

I just had a chance to go offroad with a guy on a Hummer today shod with 35" x (?) x 16.5" (forgot how wide it was). Anyway, it was raining today and the trails were muddy, these tires were awesome. I could not believe how easy it was that these tires just got in the mud and really bite into it. Great traction, no slips, total control, extremely compliant. I was extremely impressed.

Now, I was also wondering if the tires being on the Hummer with all that weight had anything to do with it?

Anyway, aside from that little question, the new BFG A/T-KOs definitely get the thumbs up from me.

 

[thunderhorse]

Kyle K
No miliage warranty, but i'll have to check the paperwork.

 

[Kyle K.]

hey kvo probably the weight helped but it's not like explorers are lightweights , i may just have to look at a set of these, the ko is what the moniker that denotes the offorad towtruck policy? and shoulder treads?

 

[kvo]

These have a 40k mileage warranty and they also have a towing coverage (but it has to be their towing service). You could probably check out their website for a better illustration on the new shoulder blocks. The new A/T KOs have shoulder threads/blocks that sort of curved outward to give additional footprints and tractions.

 

[j]

Just bought the BFG ko's today in 33x12.50 size. Hope to run Moab next week with Rick and will give a report.

I replaced BFG MTs with only 8K miles on them...they are a great tire too, but it's the highway ride and mpg I wanted to improve. I lost 2-3 mpg with the MTs. The noise wasn't bad with them, but it was noticeable.

One of my friends just switched to them for his very built YJ (35s, 302, ARBs) after trying everything else..swampers, boggers, Goodyear, and BFG ATs/MTs (he is a dealer) and sez "The KOs are the ones...terrific on rock and better on sand than any others, with a stability I have never know in any other tire. I can't keep them in stock."

We shall see.

[This message has been edited by j (edited 06-17-1999).]

 

[Kyle K.]

hey J. what did you do with your old MT's ? hu huhuhhhuhh i could use a set.

 

[kvo]

Jack -

How did you puncture your KO? How did they handled on the trails in Moab?

[This message has been edited by kvo (edited 06-29-1999).]

 

[j]

Rick and Char were ahead of me. They warned me about a moby traingular shaped rock coming out of a ledge. I had already seen it and corrected to miss it, which I did...and ran into some other place about 10-15 feet further down the trail, which I never saw driving or again.

Most everyone who has seen it thinks no tire would have survived. I took it to a tire repair guy and he felt that it was marginal to try to repair it for use only as a spare. Even rubber welding would not make it usable.

My judgement of the KOs is that they are a cut above the old BFG ATs and I recommend them. The compound is real sticky, the edge is like a mud tire and the siping wider on the outside. They were excellent on sand, silt, and rock at Moab. I have not tried them on slippery or real wet rock, but feel they would do quite well.

Sometimes I felt that airing them to 11-12 lbs. was too much bulging and ballooning. I will have to experiment with them some more, maybe 14-15 would be better. Kinda depends on the trail.

There are certain situations where the MTs are a much better off-road tire. The larger lugs grab hard rock and pull you over while the KOs need surface area for traction. The KOs shed mud well, but the MT is obviously superior.

The KOs are supposed to last 60K miles, we'll see about that. They are an excellent highway tire, but I wouldn't air 33's over 24lbs on an Explorer...not enough tread on the ground. Still they are about the most stable tire I have used on the highway. Mileage with them appears to be far superior to anything I have used. I got 21.1 going up to Moab, which involves ascending the Colorado Plateau. Returning I got 24.4. All this was mostly at 70 mph on cruise control. As I recall the best I got with MTs was 19, but that goes with the large lugs having to push all that air backwards.

Some people are concerned about quiet tires (while their dual exhaust roars through the night). The KOs are much quieter as expected, but who cares? ANY tire, whiny or otherwise, is a great sound to me, so long as it is headed for a quiet trail somewhere in this great land of ours with friends and co-conspirators like Rick and Char, Trace, Gonzo, Paul, Paul, Paul, Kev, and many others.