Problems with K02s?

[R8RWD]

The dealer tried to balance my stock 35" goodyears. They messed them up the first time, then couldn't get them right the 2nd time. I had a local tire shop I trust take care of it, now ride is perfect. I did a trip to discount tire after the dealer, they were better but still issues.

Its all about who you get. How good the tech is.

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[vrtical]

you should see the balance weights on my Mickeys lol, think I will have them rebalanced every 5k when I do a rotation.

 

[FlyingScot]

Currently have a 315/70r17 C-load set on my WT, they certainly took some weight to balance but not a shocking amount for a tire that size. Good on you for getting them road force balanced and finding a dud. Wouldn't have been my first choice if the market was flush with C load range options, but alas it is not. My AT tire experiences are limited, but I'm enjoying them far more on-road (night and day difference) than the stock Territory MTs, and they take a lot less of the trail with them offroad.

I think a lot of people with the bronco are finding out for the first time that getting 70 lbs of rubber spinning without vibration can take some work, even on tires that pass factory QC.

 

[Strizzo]

BFG had a run of KO2s that were terrible to balance during covid but for the most part aside from that they have been reliable for people. I've found that if you can't find a shop to road force balance, then the next best thing is hammer on weights on the inside of the wheel.

The issue comes from wider tires not being consistent across the tread, and causing the tire to wobble even if it is balanced in the traditional sense. a normal balance only factors the vertical plane as the tire goes down the road (think bouncing). big/wide tires can be hard to balance because they will want to wobble going down the road (think wobbling). This is why tires can be ok on the rear but then you pick up a shake in the steering wheel when you rotate tires. usually, balancing with weights on the inside of the wheel will take care of that because the weights are handling the vertical and cross-balancing.

I am honestly surprised more people don't have complaints about the stock goodyears not keeping balanced as big as they are.

 

[ManSquatch]

When I upgraded my badlands to 35's I decided to use the Goodyear sasquatch tires. Went to the tire shop 4 times and they couldn't get them balanced (even with roadforce) so I bought the KO2's on a heavy discount. They still seem to be shaking and I am not sure if its the tires or something else. I re-torqued the lug nuts to see if that fixed it but haven't been on the highway yet. One thing I do notice is the bronco has a lot of body jiggle over bumps. Not sure if its just mine or all of them shake over bumps.

 

[Farm8265]

I'm curious if people are having issues with this brand tire. My Badlands came with K02s in 285/70/R17. I had no problems with them. Smooth riding and fairly quiet. So, when I decided to go to 315's after about 10K miles I stayed with that brand.

While shopping around I had one off road shop here say they didn't carry them due to consistent balancing issues. A mechanic at another shop said the same thing. The tire store I eventually bought them from said there were some issues but not generally with the sizes used as OEM, like the 285 or the 315. That, and the fact that they had worked well for me, gave me some confidence so I went ahead with them.

The 315s road very well. I did a 600 mile road trip and they were very smooth. At around 1200 miles there was a 5 tire rotation done by Ford during an oil change. After that I noticed some vibration. So I went back to the shop I bought them from to have them checked and they said all 4 were out of balance. Weird.

I run my tires at 32 PSI cold. That's what I arrived at by chalking. And they were fine with that pressure till after the rotation. Any similar experiences from anyone here? TIA.

EDIT UPDATE: Still had a vibration issue after the tires were balanced this morning. Went back this afternoon and the shop did a "road force" test. 3 tires tested acceptable (in the teens) but the right front tested at 37 pounds. Pretty bad. Apparently you don't notice when it's on the rear but when it was rotated to the front it is more noticable. They have a new tire on order.

Have you tried bead balancing?

 

[Dino357]

I have KO2 35" and my only issue is they don't grip well when it rains on pavement. I like the look... but I may try something different next time.

My 22 Wild track came with the 315 good year good year I like them, I have no problems with them but my son says that they wear out to quickly especially if it's hot out in and that they don't grip in the rain and snow. I hear the Nitto tire is a great tire they have barely any road noise and the composite is suppose to be better than the good year I'm going to switch to the Nitto's when it's time I also like the aggressiveness of them

 

[Barneyridesagain]

I have had BFG KOs / KO2s on 6 vehicles over 28 years and have only had to replace 1 tire in all that time. Have always managed to get at least 70K miles out of a set. Never had any balance issues other than dumb kids doing it. For an all around on/off road tire I think they are about the best you can get. They will start getting noisy around 50K. Prior to our Bronc purchase I had put Toyo AT IIIs on my wife's Grand Cherokee Trailhawk. They were nowhere near the tire that the BFGs are. That's my opinion for what it's worth (not much).

 

[Wannabe Techie]

I haven't had this issue at all. Been in 3 down poor on the x-way. What grip issues aer you having?
[/QUOTE

Same ones listed in this thread. No balance issues but 7l miles in and they slip on wet pavement. Not enough for me to say it’s dangerous and I need to take them off but enough where it’s consistently on my mind When I accelerate from a stop.

 

[jjack50]

Ordered a set of KO2s today for my 2D Black Diamond. Wanted 285/75-17 for the increase in clearance over the 265/70 Generals it came with. Almost the same tread pattern and almost the same Performance/comfort/wear ratings. I’ve been completely satisfied with the Generals but they don’t come in the bigger size. Been running KO2s on my F350 for 50K miles through all kinds of New Hampshire weather with no problems.

 

[KnoxGnater]

I hate mine. I was a huge poster boy for KO2 and have had multiple sets on multiple trucks. I replaced my Sasquatch Goodyears last year and have gone through 8 tires to find 4 that are finally OK. They were all warranty for out of road force balance spec. I paid for college working in a tire shop, and expect 35s to have a certain amount of shake. But these were unbearable at highway speeds. I’ve Never had traction or noise or wear issues but I will not buy any more BFGs.

 

[OrangecrushBronco]

I don't ride them, but the shop saying they had consistent balancing issues makes me say "hmmm." Not sure a company as big as BFG and all their quality control along with the established mfg process would allow these out the door. May be user error on the shop's part.

*see quality control issues on Ford amd Bronco. Pretty big outfit.

 

[BossMann]

*see quality control issues on Ford amd Bronco. Pretty big outfit.

a new piece of machinery with 20,000 separate parts isn’t comparable to something as simple as a tire.

 

[On3Adam]

I've heard they aren't good in the rain which is why I never went with them.

 

[KCW]

Have you tried bead balancing?

I was just going to ask about balancing beads. I run them in my motorcycle with no problems.

https://counteractbalancing.com/products/off-road/

https://counteractbalancing.com/applications/

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