As one of the oldest tire brands in the market, BFGoodrich has some of the best off-road tires as well with pretty reasonable prices such as the BFG KM2 Vs KO2. These rugged tires are made for performance and versatility but being separated by years of gap, they do have different technologies too. These tires are good options for your off-road application or to match the truck’s look but, let’s see below about what you can expect from the two and decide which of them will be the better option.
In this comparison, we are going to talk about:
- What to Know About Off-Road Tires
- What are BFG KM2 and KO2
- What are the Features of BFG KM2
- What are the Features of BFG KO2
- How are the BFG KM2 and KO2 on the Road
- How are the BFG KM2 and KO2 for Off-Road
- BFG KM2 Vs KO2
Off-Road Tires
A good set of tires will help your vehicle to perform at its fullest and its duty to be the support of all weight is crucial to the whole journey. But, since they are made of rubber, the set won’t last for a very long time and chances are you have to rotate or change the set after a few years, depending on the level of application, driving habit, as well as the compound itself. For example, off-road tires usually have a short life compared to typical all-season or our daily commuting tires.
If you are the type who often go on unpaved roads, installing a set of off-road tires will be the wise decision. Good tires will carry you for long and can handle rock, boulders, sand, snow, dirt, or even mud and regular uneven surfaces. Off-road tires are designed to work well on these types of terrains with their special tread patterns and grooves between tread blocks are usually wider than those we often see on all-season or summer tires on city cars.
Considering you will meet lots of hurdles on the terrain, these tires are also designed with reinforced walls to prevent punctures and overall making the tire more rigid. Compared to road tires, for example the summer or performance tires such as Michelin Pilot Sport Vs Bridgestone Potenza, a set of off-road tires won’t be able to compete because they inherently have less contact pact area hence the less contact with the road as well while the wheel is rotating.
Typically, if you are used to all-season or performance tires, trying a set of off-road tires whether it is an all-terrain or mud tire will give the vehicle a sense of being heavy to steer, can be less stable when cornering, or less smooth ride. Another reason as to why an off-road tire is not for everyone is because they tend to have a shorter life. This is not surprising because the application is more demanding but, this is also because the compound used by manufacturers to create their off-road tires is in general softer than their road tires.
This is designed to give the tires more flexible tread blocks and provide them with adequate grip on rocks or uneven terrains. This is also the reason why usually companies don’t offer tread wear warranty for their off-road tires even while their road tires come with some. Depending on the compound and company, usually a set of off-road tires can last at least around 40k miles but some brands can promise a higher mileage until around 70k.
About BFG KM2 and KO2
Just like everything, both road and off-road tires all come with their own advantages and shortcomings as well hence it is wise to decide based on the application, whether you will often go off-road or not. Trucks can use all-season too, depending on the severity of winter or whether drivers will only experience occasional hard packed gravel and dirt. But, if you are a hobbyist and spend a serious amount of time on the unpaved roads, it is great to have a set of off-road tires.
When it comes to off-road tires, we have to choose between AT or MT tires or if you will be driving on deep snow then snow tires can be a great option too. We personally prefer to stick with well-known manufacturers just for the ease of mind and BFGoodrich is a good brand to shop from. They may be owned by Michellin but price wise, usually the tires are more affordable in comparison. They also have some of the most reliable off-road tires out there.
For those who are planning to go off-road often, BFG KM2 and KO2 are two ideal options to consider. These tires have been around for quite some time, especially the KM2 but we do think you can still find some popular sizes from these tires collection even today. The prominent differences between the two besides the age is probably because the KM2 is a dedicated MT tire while the KO2 is an all-terrain which means we can hope to see some better road capabilities in this variant.
If you are going to drive across muddy roads or focusing more on tackling this area, the KM2 is probably the better choice while if you are also concerned about the road performance then KO2 seems to be more reasonable and our favorite part is you get tread wear warranty with this tire. In terms of design, the KO2 is also less aggressive and does have more contact patch compared to the KM2.
BFG KM2 Features
Before checking what the BFG KM2 and KO2 can offer, let’s see what’s interesting about these tires first, starting with the older brother KM2. This tire was inspired by the KX and so they incorporated the Krawler Tek into this mud-terrain’s sidewall. This technology itself consists of three components to improve the sidewall strength. The tire is designed to have improved biting ability and resistance to puncture when you have to go on harsh surfaces. It even has attractive raised white lettering, similar to the previous tire.
Another interesting feature from KM2 is the Linear Flex-Zone located across the face of the tread that gives it an aggressive look while giving a reliable traction for both off and on road application. The tire was first entering the market in 2007 and available in several different sizes but today more than a decade later some of them may already get discontinued or replaced by another popular size to match with market’s demand.
BFG KO2 Features
On the other hand KO2 was released 7 years after the KM2 in 2014 and this tire is the first from BFGoodrich to have the CoreGuard technology which is giving the unit its toughness against sidewall splitting. What’s pretty interesting is this tech is also newer and it means better that the company themselves claim it will be 20% stronger than the older KO. The compound itself is inspired by racing tires with cut, chip, and tear-resistant ability.
The tread pattern is computer-optimized, featured with high-void all-terrain pattern and coming with interlocking tread blocks as well. As you can see on the tire’s tread blocks, there is adequate siping here with some ejectors to prevent stone drilling while keeping the noise low while driving on road. The internal structure is said to have twin steel belts with nylon and 3-ply or 2-ply polyester cord sidewall play construction.
BFG KM2 and KO2 on the Road
Now let’s move to the most important part which is the performance of BFG KM2 and KO2 starting for the road application first. We are very surprised to see how good these tires are on the road because they behave really well, especially for control since the weakest part of off-road tires on regular roads is usually how uncomfirtable they are while navigating the vehicle. With these two steering is responsive, cornering is stable, and the traction is amazing; including for the MT KM2.
The wet traction is also impressive and there is no issue with hydroplaning as well but, in comparison the KO2 will be having the upper hand in all of these categories. This tire almost feels like an all-season with how well it handles regular road, even while on higher speed. The tires also do not vibrate that much but noise level is noticeably quieter in KO2. What you must do after a while is never forget to rotate them however, to prevent cupping.
BFG KM2 and KO2 for Off-Road
Next for the off-road application, the BFG KM2 and KO2 are also impressive here. On dirt the two are almost the same to each other, typical gravel is not a problem for either of the two, similar when crawling on rocks where these tires can stick to the surface really well. What’s different is when you are going driving on loose sand because here we do think, surprisingly as well, the KO2 is performing slightly better than KM2.
Probably because it has tread blocks that are closer to each other so it can stay on top of the surface and paddle the vehicle away. As for mud application, the answer is strongly on KM2 because this tire can handle the sticky surface more effectively. The difference is on the wider block gaps, making it more effective to eject mud and keeping the traction effective during the application. In the winter season, trust KO2 for better traction across typical applications, including icy surfaces.
BFG KM2 vs KO2
Both BFG KM2 and KO2 are good tires but not for the same drivers because they are performing differently across both off and on road terrains. The KO2 will be the better overall tires in our opinion since it gives a balanced experience for the two worlds but if you want more serious off-road tires, especially on mud, the KM2 is excelling in this particular area while in gravels or rocks the two are almost the same. If your off-road is often meeting sand however, KM2 is working better here.
| BFG KM2 | BFG KO2 |
|---|---|
| - Older tire | - Newer tire |
| - Slightly more expensive | - Slightly more affordable |
| - Great on mud | - Great on the road |
| - Noisier | - Pretty quiet |
Conclusion
Decide the tire based on your application since the two are quite different and personally we like the KO2 because it is just ideal for typical application both for daily driver and for some adventures. It is both comfortable on the road and confident off the road.
