Best A/T Tires?

[HeavyDuty]

"Ahhh nightmares of Firestone and Ford exploders.... ?"

If I remember correctly this issue had to do with under inflation. I actually owned an Explorer at the time of this issue and never had a problem with those Tires but I also kept up with maintenance which included checking tire pressure.

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[awd.nv]

the tread holes are at least as close together as on the KO2... they are certainly just as bad in the mud. And that is almost certainly the terrain the OP will be driving on. I heard it rains more often there... BF-Goodrich KO are definitely not worth the price they are asking for. I feel terrible if the poor performance of the tire made in the USA in wet terrain irritates your patriotic sensibilities... SIC!

Yup the k02 are not mud tires. The OP has used up his OEM Hankook AT tires, he is not mudding. If I were mudding I would not get the K02 or K03 either, probably would go Ridge Grappler for that personally.

I just have no idea how you could say the K02 is a bad tire. Just because it doesn't do good in mud doesn't make it a bad tire. You need the right tool for the job. Regionally, in dryer locations the k02 is pretty awesome but I recommended the K03 not the K02.

If you watched the video I linked, you would see the K03 improves on the K02 in every way by the design. Considering my experience with the k03 on-road, I think BFG definitely did some good work on the redesign. Considering all the Ranger Raptor reviews with factory K03, I have no doubt it will do awesome off-road too when I get the chance.

 

[dtech]

"Ahhh nightmares of Firestone and Ford exploders.... ?"

If I remember correctly this issue had to do with under inflation. I actually owned an Explorer at the time of this issue and never had a problem with those Tires but I also kept up with maintenance which included checking tire pressure.

wasn't it about Ford recommending under inflating the tires to reduce roll over risk and of course if you start with a low inflation tire it gets only worse as many people don't bother checking psi often and this was before the mandate of tpms systems. And didn't the underinflated tires start to come apart and Firestone took the rap ?
I started my working career after college working for a tire company but thru using various brands over the yrs creates some lasting impressions, correct or incorrect. Some makers IMO consistently state overly optimistic treadwear ratings - makers are allowed to provide their own tire ratings. In my experience Michelins seem to have more accurate ratings than many others.

 

[HeavyDuty]

Michelins in general have a great rep for smooth ride but what's interesting is their Michelin A/T2 doesn't have the Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake (3PMSF) Symbol. My brother has these on his F150 but has been disappointed with their performance in snow and they are wearing faster than expected.

I looked up the Customer reviews and they are respectable, but not as good as say the Wild Peak ATs or even the Firestone AT2's I mentioned earlier.

You would hope the reviews are reliable and give you a good gauge as to what to expect.
When looking at the Michelin AT2 I was a bit surprised the ratings weren't higher.

 

[HeavyDuty]

awd.nv those KO3's looks awesome on your Ranger

 

[TechEditor]

I ran 3 sets of the Firestone Destination's on my 2007 Ranger. No complaints in dry, rain or snow. BUT, they are loud on dry pavement. Enough so that with my '22 with the rear seat delete (which makes the cab noiser than with the rear seats absorbing noise), I declined to use them on the new Ranger and went with the Michelin LTX A/T's

 

[HeavyDuty]

I waited to get quite a few miles on the New Destination AT2s. I'm very impressed with this AT tire.
Heavy rain traction was fantastic, gravel and dirt trails in rain very confident. Road in dry very hot conditions is super comfortable and very quiet on my Ranger.
Road force balancing and running 275 65 18's - on a FOX 2.0 Suspension.
So for me at this point these are a real winner.
Ready for the snow and will report back.

 

[Dahveed]

I just had a set of Falken Wildpeak A/T4W installed on my Ranger. Ruined one of my original Hankooks with a tarp strap hook. Although they had about 7/32" left on them at 24,600 miles, I saw it as an opportunity to get rid of them.

So far, the Falkens ride great, they're quiet, and the truck feels much more planted than it did with the Hankooks. Not to mention they look way better.

 

[pismo1]

Best? not sure but - Wow - a well rated A/T, and these are making quite few people happy.
Granted these are not as aggressive as many of the other choices.

And look at the reviews:

I just bought a set.
So I will tell you how it goes.

Heard goods things about those tires.Only knock was thinner side walls and not aggressive looking enough.Most of us would be OK with that for a good ride.

 

[IronCrusader717]

I would give the BFG k03 tires a consideration, there are a few 18" sizes to consider. I went through the rabbit hole before buying and so glad I went k03.

I had k02 and loved them off-road (sand especially with powdery stuff) but man, on-road I never felt CONFIDENT with them in bad conditions or even getting on the fwy at speed on sweeping turns, left like it was going to understeer if I would push too much harder. They were not too hard to break loose in dry too once boost kicked in. I have been on the k03 a week now and on-road, they are a totally different tire in a great way AND they are super quiet. Don't get me wrong, the k02 are awesome and I almost got them again but glad I went k03. The k03 are a few lbs heavier but truck still feels good. MPG seems similar/same.

There is an analysis review on them showing all the improvements over the k02 which addressed the on-road wet performance issues with the k02 and other aspects where they improved the k03. Hopefully we get one more good monsoon this season to try them out. I am very optimistic though.

(this guy has good tire videos)


Our '16 Pilot AWD we had Toyo AT3 which I went with because they are pretty light, they did great in snow on our Utah trips too so we got those again for our '23 Pilot AWD. I may go with K03 on the Pilot next time as the k03 are more quiet but the weight on the crossover, I am not totally sure yet.

My final test really for them is the sand at Sand Hollow State Park, UT. That sand gets a lot of people stuck and thankfully with the k02 I was always ok. Considering the Ranger Raptors come with the k03 and many reviews showed them on sand, I am optimistic. Snow performance is not critical as we would likely have our Pilot in snow roads but that is another test I look forward too.

Other tire experience I have was the Tremor's General Grabbers and Ridge Grapplers on the '16 Pilot. The Nitto were nice tires but wanted a triple peak tire for the truck since we tow and never know what we might drive through.

285/70/17 is what I have on the truck.

Yo!

I'm a longtime lurker here, never made a post before today and had to dig up my old account credentials purely to ask you some questions about your truck!

You running spacers? or are the 285 K03s just that much beefier that they stick out that much more? stock wheels, right? And I assume you did a leveling kit? Any other mods required?

Sorry for all the questions, I was just waiting to see what the K03s looked like on the 5th gen Tremor and I am far from disappointed! This is the exact stance I want for my Tremor, with tires and size I already wanted. Looks fantastic

 

[awd.nv]

Yo!

I'm a longtime lurker here, never made a post before today and had to dig up my old account credentials purely to ask you some questions about your truck!

You running spacers? or are the 285 K03s just that much beefier that they stick out that much more? stock wheels, right? And I assume you did a leveling kit? Any other mods required?

Sorry for all the questions, I was just waiting to see what the K03s looked like on the 5th gen Tremor and I am far from disappointed! This is the exact stance I want for my Tremor, with tires and size I already wanted. Looks fantastic

Thanks, no worries at all. The truck has a 1" level and 1" wheel spacers along with the 1" taller tire. I was going for the Chip Foose approach where you gotta double take to see it is not stock. I did need to remove the crash bars or the setup did rub but now, it is lock to lock zero rubbing. If you want the tire/wheels to poke more, get a 1.5" wheel spacer but as it is, it is super flush and I like it that way. Side picture with the k02 I posted kinda shows it a little better, it is a little off camber which is why the wheel well gaps are so different.

I had the 285 k02 on the truck before and think these k03 look great in person. In photo I thought they might look more mild but some side lugs are actually larger on the k03 and they are way more quiet on road than the k02. I am sure they will do at least as good on the dirt trails around me, I can't wait to get them on that Utah sand though!

 

[Fenske]

I purchased BF Goodrich KO2's and really like them. Performed great here in Minnesota. I don't go off-roading, and I'll be the first to admit that part of my decision was based looks. I want my truck to look like a truck

I will add that I am a Discount Tire customer and have had awesome experiences with them every time I purchase new tires. They really know how to take care of their customers and have never let me down. On three different occasions, they patched/plugged tires on my wife's vehicle for free, and that was for the O.E.M. tires that came new on her car, not tires purchased at Discount Tire. That says something!!!

Nice look. What size KO2s did you add?

 

[Count Desmondo]

Bumping it up to 265 70 or 255 75. In the standard load.

Appreciate the reply. The Outposts seem to be great value, very durable, lightweight and great traction.

 

[Meggyy]

If you ever need to compare options before picking a set, I’ve found the pneus camion lourd prix page handy since it lines up tire types and sizes without making you dig around. Being able to see models like the 17.5 and 22.5 side by side with their costs helps a lot, especially if you’re budgeting for a whole fleet and want to avoid surprises.

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