KO3 vs Trail Terrain Tires (Mounted Picture Comparison)

[Nc211]

Ok, so initially I bought 285/65/18 KO3 for my Bronco right out of the gate. Kept OBX rims. But, had a horrible time with highway shakes and couldn’t get any of them to balance very well. Got close, but didn’t last long. Whole car shook left right. Road force score of 19-21 all around. Didn’t matter. Shaking never went away for long. So I tossed in the towel for BFG Trail Terrain (275/65/18) instead. Key difference being load rating. KO3 are E rated and very heavy at 60lbs each (slightly more than KO2’s I believe). The Trail Terrain tires are SL (Standard Load) rated and much lighter. Bottom line, no more shaking, rides smoother and quieter, and pretty close to keeping what really attracted me to the KO3’s in general - white letter sidewall.


Here is a picture comparison of the two and the differences in appearance. The solid white letters are the KO3’s (285/65/18), and the outline lettering are the Trail Terrains (275/65/18). There is about a 1/2 inch difference in diameter between the two and maybe a CM or two on width?

my own personal opinion, I like the Trail Terrains better. I like the outlined lettering more , and like the little more street-friendly size for my needs and intended uses. The E rating was just far too much for what I will ever ask of the car to handle. When considering the MPG’s of such a heavy tire (60lb+), super stiff sidewall and ride because of it, other than how they looked, they were the wrong pick for me. Glad I made the switch.

if you’re thinking of KO’s, please know the E rated comments on here from others, are legitimate. NOT a terrible ride, and road noise is OK, but they are certainly stiff and you absolutely feel that heavy unspring weight.

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[thesocalexplorer]

Looking good! Either of the options are a great upgrade (visually and on the trail) than the OEM duelers, but surprisingly the duelers always returned exceptional MPG.

I was also deciding between the Trails and the KO2s, but ended up pulling the trigger on the KO2s in C load. Been running great for my rig so far.

 

[emkayw]

I run the Trail-Terrain T/As as well. Great ride, decent mileage (got mid 20's going to Phoenix once). I would definitely buy them again even though I like the KOs. Weight was the deciding factor for me.

 

[Broncc]

I'm seeing the KO3 in 285/70/17 in load range C. I think there's more sizes coming, but I'm not sure how many of those are LR C. They're apparently doing a staggered release.

I'm still debating between P-rated or going load range C to keep weight down.

 

[Kevin Scarbel]

The factory SAS Goodyears look better.

 

[prospectfour]

Ok, so initially I bought 285/65/18 KO3 for my Bronco right out of the gate. Kept OBX rims. But, had a horrible time with highway shakes and couldn’t get any of them to balance very well. Got close, but didn’t last long. Whole car shook left right. Road force score of 19-21 all around. Didn’t matter. Shaking never went away for long. So I tossed in the towel for BFG Trail Terrain (275/65/18) instead. Key difference being load rating. KO3 are E rated and very heavy at 60lbs each (slightly more than KO2’s I believe). The Trail Terrain tires are SL (Standard Load) rated and much lighter. Bottom line, no more shaking, rides smoother and quieter, and pretty close to keeping what really attracted me to the KO3’s in general - white letter sidewall.


Here is a picture comparison of the two and the differences in appearance. The solid white letters are the KO3’s (285/65/18), and the outline lettering are the Trail Terrains (275/65/18). There is about a 1/2 inch difference in diameter between the two and maybe a CM or two on width?

my own personal opinion, I like the Trail Terrains better. I like the outlined lettering more , and like the little more street-friendly size for my needs and intended uses. The E rating was just far too much for what I will ever ask of the car to handle. When considering the MPG’s of such a heavy tire (60lb+), super stiff sidewall and ride because of it, other than how they looked, they were the wrong pick for me. Glad I made the switch.

if you’re thinking of KO’s, please know the E rated comments on here from others, are legitimate. NOT a terrible ride, and road noise is OK, but they are certainly stiff and you absolutely feel that heavy unspring weight.

Thanks OP, I’m curious if your first set was even approved for the OBX rim width. Glad you found something that works for you and looks good.

I stuck with SL rated tires too for the daily driving and milage. No one needs 10 ply tires for beach fishing trips anyway.

 

[SixEighty680]

Ok, so initially I bought 285/65/18 KO3 for my Bronco right out of the gate. Kept OBX rims. But, had a horrible time with highway shakes and couldn’t get any of them to balance very well. Got close, but didn’t last long. Whole car shook left right. Road force score of 19-21 all around. Didn’t matter. Shaking never went away for long. So I tossed in the towel for BFG Trail Terrain (275/65/18) instead. Key difference being load rating. KO3 are E rated and very heavy at 60lbs each (slightly more than KO2’s I believe). The Trail Terrain tires are SL (Standard Load) rated and much lighter. Bottom line, no more shaking, rides smoother and quieter, and pretty close to keeping what really attracted me to the KO3’s in general - white letter sidewall.


Here is a picture comparison of the two and the differences in appearance. The solid white letters are the KO3’s (285/65/18), and the outline lettering are the Trail Terrains (275/65/18). There is about a 1/2 inch difference in diameter between the two and maybe a CM or two on width?

my own personal opinion, I like the Trail Terrains better. I like the outlined lettering more , and like the little more street-friendly size for my needs and intended uses. The E rating was just far too much for what I will ever ask of the car to handle. When considering the MPG’s of such a heavy tire (60lb+), super stiff sidewall and ride because of it, other than how they looked, they were the wrong pick for me. Glad I made the switch.

if you’re thinking of KO’s, please know the E rated comments on here from others, are legitimate. NOT a terrible ride, and road noise is OK, but they are certainly stiff and you absolutely feel that heavy unspring weight.

Why did you get E rated? C or D only for a Bronco.

 

[TRACKTOY]

Why did you get E rated? C or D only for a Bronco.
SixEighty680


hi
The answer is quite simple...
ACCORDING TO OUR RESPECTIVE NEEDS.
For me SL, P, C PNEUX are city car tires for shopping centers. NOT for my BAD LAND SASQUASH especially with a second house located in the forest with 400 kilometers of forest road to do. None of my neighbors use SL P C TIRES in these circumstances. Even my F150 LARIAT is shod with KO2 LOAD RANGE E. So, you buy your tires according to your needs not to impress the galleries. YOUR CHOICE not debatable.
TRACKTOY

 

[nolimits]

The solid white letters are the KO3’s (285/65/18), and the outline lettering are the Trail Terrains (275/65/18). There is about a 1/2 inch difference in diameter between the two and maybe a CM or two on width?

Congrats on finding a tire that works for you. I personally like the appearance of the KO3’s a little better but not being able to balance would be a deal killer for sure.

By chance did the shop that sold you the KO3’s try a different set/batch? Or did you consider the KO2’s. My Badlands came with KO2’s and they are solid.

In regards to width, there is 10mm variance which is just a hair above 3/8” difference.

Width = 285 - 275 = 10mm / 25.4 = 0.393”

 

[Nc211]

Why did you get E rated? C or D only for a Bronco.

E only for the size I wanted. Couldn't find a C in K03 for that size, and the new production of K02's were over, factory shifted to the 3's now is my understanding. Couldn't get the 2's in that size.

 

[Nc211]

Congrats on finding a tire that works for you. I personally like the appearance of the KO3’s a little better but not being able to balance would be a deal killer for sure.

By chance did the shop that sold you the KO3’s try a different set/batch? Or did you consider the KO2’s. My Badlands came with KO2’s and they are solid.

In regards to width, there is 10mm variance which is just a hair above 3/8” difference.

Width = 285 - 275 = 10mm / 25.4 = 0.393”

Thanks for the education on the size difference! Wasn't sure what the difference was, and honestly can't really tell when looking at the new set against the old set on the car. We were able to get 4 of the 5 tires to roadforce into the 19-21 range, but replaced one that wouldn't go below 34 no matter how hard they tried. We got that new one down to the range of the others as well. We discussed swapping out to the K02's instead, but was told by the tire distributor to the dealership that they can't order K02's anymore and couldn't get their hands on what I wanted (285 or 275 / 65).

I think the K02's are likely perfect, and believe the K03's will be too. But think they have some more work that needs to be done to compare to the K02's ease of use. I really loved the way it looked with the K03's I had on there, and one area that was better than the T/Terrain due to the weight was the insulation of the bumps in the road. I feel more of them with the T/Terrain, where I didn't with the K03's. Not bad by any means, but went from truck-like to more passenger-car like.

 

[Nc211]

I'm seeing the KO3 in 285/70/17 in load range C. I think there's more sizes coming, but I'm not sure how many of those are LR C. They're apparently doing a staggered release.

I'm still debating between P-rated or going load range C to keep weight down.

I'll absolutely reconsider the K03's iIf they come out with a 275/65/18 in a C rating (and weight class), I would be very tempted to return to it.

I did end up overpaying for these Trail Terrains as the 60-day satisfaction guarantee from BFG does not grant refunds to a lower cost tire. So, spent roughly $500 more than I should have for these Trail Terrains. I chalk it up to the cost of the learning curve, which I openly admit to being on!

 

[Nc211]

Thanks OP, I’m curious if your first set was even approved for the OBX rim width. Glad you found something that works for you and looks good.

I stuck with SL rated tires too for the daily driving and milage. No one needs 10 ply tires for beach fishing trips anyway.

Same boat as you. I'm not planning on putting my Bronco through the paces that would ever really require the 10 ply protection. I spoke with a couple of folks on here that had the same 285/65/18 K0 tire size on their OBX and they loved them. But, theirs were the K02's.

The dealership didn't say anything against the 285 size, and had no issues with rubbing or steering, it felt fine. But I did begin to question as we went down the rabbit hole of the shaking if the 285 was just a bit too wide for the rim. Going straight at 75mph, it would shake marginally, but a slight turn in the road, thereby shifting the weight of the car towards the edges of the tires, it would shake very bad. Alignment was spot on too, no issues there.

 

[wjtinfwb]

Ok, so initially I bought 285/65/18 KO3 for my Bronco right out of the gate. Kept OBX rims. But, had a horrible time with highway shakes and couldn’t get any of them to balance very well. Got close, but didn’t last long. Whole car shook left right. Road force score of 19-21 all around. Didn’t matter. Shaking never went away for long. So I tossed in the towel for BFG Trail Terrain (275/65/18) instead. Key difference being load rating. KO3 are E rated and very heavy at 60lbs each (slightly more than KO2’s I believe). The Trail Terrain tires are SL (Standard Load) rated and much lighter. Bottom line, no more shaking, rides smoother and quieter, and pretty close to keeping what really attracted me to the KO3’s in general - white letter sidewall.


Here is a picture comparison of the two and the differences in appearance. The solid white letters are the KO3’s (285/65/18), and the outline lettering are the Trail Terrains (275/65/18). There is about a 1/2 inch difference in diameter between the two and maybe a CM or two on width?

my own personal opinion, I like the Trail Terrains better. I like the outlined lettering more , and like the little more street-friendly size for my needs and intended uses. The E rating was just far too much for what I will ever ask of the car to handle. When considering the MPG’s of such a heavy tire (60lb+), super stiff sidewall and ride because of it, other than how they looked, they were the wrong pick for me. Glad I made the switch.

if you’re thinking of KO’s, please know the E rated comments on here from others, are legitimate. NOT a terrible ride, and road noise is OK, but they are certainly stiff and you absolutely feel that heavy unspring weight.

No doubt the heavier E rated tire is worse for ride and fuel economy and it makes sense that wheel balancing could be problematic on a relatively light vehicle with a heavy tire. I have an ‘02 Excursion 4x4. 7300lbs empty. Ford specified a D load range tire and relatively low pressures for this heavy vehicle to try and improve the ride. They ended up recalling and replacing all 5 tires on these cars due to blowout and tread separation. The replacement tire was a Firestone Steeltex A/T load range E. Ford also specified higher pressure levels. Even with all that weight, the E tires rode substantially harder, never balanced properly and generally made a poor riding truck miserable. After several other sets of tires, I landed on a size larger (285/75) load range D Yokohama A/T that gave me the load capacity I needed (3300lbs tire) with the lighter D construction. Eureka! The truck rides great, stays in balance forever and I’ve got 70k on them and they’re just about shot. Load range and construction makes a huge difference in tires and on a lighter Bronco apparently makes for an unhappy combination.

 

[Aonarch]

Rolling resistance is another thing to keep in mind.

My Firestones have the lowest rolling resistance in their class.

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