BFGoodrich Tires - Not what they once were?

[MikeSalt]

Hi,
when I had mine installed, the shop had to return one of the tires because it would not balance. They said this is a common problem. 5k miles. So far they are doing ok With several air downs for Ocala trails.

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[Wolf Island Diver]

I have 37x12.5 KM3s on AEV beadlocks and they took significantly less weight to balance than the stock Falcon M/Ts. I don’t remember the amount, but in most cases only a few stick on weights. In fact, the shop that balanced them said that they’ve never seen a tire/wheel combo that balancer as well with so little weight. Generally speaking, it’s been conventional wisdom for years that it’s difficult to dynamically balance big tires with internal stick-on weights only. All my old Jeeps required rim weights. I installed these tires in the driveway with soapy water and a rubber mallet and although I was super careful about beadlock ring alignment and torque I’m still blown away at how well they balanced and drive and these are my first beadlocks.

My previous 35” BFG mud terrains on my TJ actually became scalloped from front end bounce among other issues. My Goodyear MT/Rs wore very unevenly but were otherwise good tires. These current KM3s have worn the most evenly of any tires I’ve ever had and perform better in both wet and dry conditions than any tire I’ve ever had. The old BFG all terrains which were ubiquitous in the 90s to early 2000s were always a garbage tire with awful road performance IMO (I guess now called K02s). That’s old info, so maybe they’re massively improved but generally I’ve been much more impressed with BFGs modern (crawler-derivative) mud terrains than their old all terrains or mud tires.

I guess what I’m saying is that, no in my experience, BFG is actually making better tires than before, the all terrains were never really very good and maybe they still aren’t. My one negative observation with my KM3s is that they seem to wear more quickly than previous tires. I got 60K miles out of my old BFGs on my TJ. Of course the JT is significantly heavier. But they seem to have made the compound softer which contributes to both the better performance and faster wear.

 

[Zachattack50]

I run the KO3's on our JT, and all four work trucks I have for the business. We had one Load range E on a 2500 ram that took 12 oz. but it runs out fine. The load range C's we have on the JT and half ton trucks rarely take over 5 oz's. On the 2500 ram we got 60k miles out of the first set, with routine rotations. The JT is at 24k miles now, and tire look great. I do rotate those more frequently because they are pretty much max width for the stock willies wheels.

 

[bleda2002]

I hope the tire guy knew to try spinning the tire on the wheel before stacking weights. If so, those tires should have went back as defective.

They're on beadlocks so the breakdown and spin is on me. I've meant to break em down and spin them then take them back but honestly even with all the weight they're balanced so I've not bothered with the hassle.

 

[Pilot425]

Just had a set of 37x12.50R17 KO2’s installed (5) on my stock Rubicon wheels. The best of the 5 required 3.5 oz to balance… the worst, 13.5 oz. Those were the two extremes. I believe the other three were like 8, 12 & 12 oz. These weights seemed excessive to me, but full disclosure - this is my first set of 37’s. Production dates on all the tires were mid 2022.

These tires replaced a set of 315/70R17 Toyo R/Ts. I want to say the worst of that set took around 7-8 oz. These were installed at a reputable tire shop; the guys working on it seemed to think this was a move in the wrong direction (quality wise) as they claim that BFG quality has really fallen off in the past 5-6 years.

Just wondering what others experiences may have been with these or other 37’s.

KM3 39x13.5x17 just took a tad of weight to get right. They rotated tire on rim several times. Will be replacing this tire for sure.

 

[STLDAVE]

I've had tire shops fail to remove the weights for the old tires and then put a huge amount on to get the new tires (and old weights) to balance. Now I make sure the old weights get removed first.

 

[bleda2002]

KM3 39x13.5x17 just took a tad of weight to get right. They rotated tire on rim several times. Will be replacing this tire for sure.

That's what I have as well, km3 39s. They just seem like really shitty balancing tires sadly. I've honestly been looking at installing some centramatic wheel balancers in concert with the dynamic balance to quiet the shimmy that comes and goes as they wear.

 

[tobyw]

39" KO2s on 17x9 KMC's, not a wheel weight to be found and it runs out perfect up to 80mph ?‍

 

[Dog Dad]

The weight amounts OP listed I agree aren't a big concern if they end up riding properly at all speeds.

That said, I do think BFG quality has declined. I ran KOs and KO2s on so many rigs I'm losing track. Before the JT I was in a WK2 running KO2s on stock 265/60 R18. I went to replace the almost bald 5 year old KO2s that were otherwise riding fine and went through 2 sets that they could never get rid of the vibrations. I switched to Mickey Thompsons when I got the JT and may never go back to BFG now.

What size Mickey Thompson??

 

[ShadowsPapa]

Aside from construction and balance, I had 2nd generation BFG KO which got slippery when down to half tread. Maybe the newer ones have a better compound.

Just curious - because when my Generals wear out, I'll either go back with them, or look at the KO, so I'm wondering what you mean by "slippery" - you mean less traction? And by that - rainy weather, winter weather?
Looking for "real world" experiences. It will be a while, maybe a year the way these Generals are lasting beyond my belief, but some day......... and I want to be armed with information.

 

[loganjeeps]

What size Mickey Thompson??

285/70/R17

 

[smlobx]

If you want to get the best balancing for your tires find a shop that uses a Hunter Road Force Balancer. They are the best way to balance a tire…

https://www.hunter.com/

 

[Dog Dad]

285/70/R17

I have 18" wheels.

 

[River2016]

I have 295/70s and I have about 30k on them. They still look good and I drive the heck out of it. Was doing 90+ on the hwy on a road trip late and it was fine. I have been impressed all things considered. I do like the Cooper at4 or whatever they are called and want to try them next.

 

[bd100]

Just curious - because when my Generals wear out, I'll either go back with them, or look at the KO, so I'm wondering what you mean by "slippery" - you mean less traction? And by that - rainy weather, winter weather?
Looking for "real world" experiences. It will be a while, maybe a year the way these Generals are lasting beyond my belief, but some day......... and I want to be armed with information.

Older AT KO2s, half tread or so. Semi icy, cars were getting up the slight hill and I had to hit 4wd. Do a quick search on "worn BFG AT KO2" and maybe find some other opinions.

I have done Cooper Discoverer AT3 since then. Nice enough in most conditions, probably not as good in mud, but then again what is? In the end it's an AT design of medium aggressiveness with a fancy high silica compound, but others have that too.

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