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Hybrid Tires? What are you running?

Andrew05LJR

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A KM2 is not a A/T it's a M/T the KO2 is the BFG A/T, I've never ran a set 9f the KM2s but as most would tell you, there aren't many M/TS that wear good for on road daily driving.

Honestly I've ran a ton of tires over the years and as far as road noise goes I've never had a set of tires quieter than the KO2s and that's running God knows how many different brands.
I realize the KM2s aren't ATs. I included them as I will never recommend ANY BFG, AT, MT nothing.

I think you're misunderstanding my statements. The BFG ATs are noisy, for an AT. Of course, they're quieter than the MTRw/Kevlar I've ran, Toyo MTs, Toyo RTs, Yoko G003s, etc, but they were far noisier than any other AT I've ran. And their performance, in my opinion, in the areas I ran them, which is an important piece to this, was shit.

And Ill disagree about the MT not wearing well on road. Lots of good MTs CAN last a long time, Toyo MT specifically. But this thread isn't about that so don't want to deter it.

Edit: Quick note, that reads a little aggressive, not my intention.
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Jeeperjamie

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I realize the KM2s aren't ATs. I included them as I will never recommend ANY BFG, AT, MT nothing.

I think you're misunderstanding my statements. The BFG ATs are noisy, for an AT. Of course, they're quieter than the MTRw/Kevlar I've ran, Toyo MTs, Toyo RTs, Yoko G003s, etc, but they were far noisier than any other AT I've ran. And their performance, in my opinion, in the areas I ran them, which is an important piece to this, was shit.

And Ill disagree about the MT not wearing well on road. Lots of good MTs CAN last a long time, Toyo MT specifically. But this thread isn't about that so don't want to deter it.

Edit: Quick note, that reads a little aggressive, not my intention.
I guess everyone has a opinion so we will agree to disagree and move on
 

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If I was you I'd look at the BFG KO2S as well, probably the best all around tire you can buy, they work in Mud, rain,sand, ice and snow. It's a proven tire and probably the most popular. They cost but there is a reason for that. I'd say it's the best daily driver/ moderate wheeler tire you can buy and you will get 50,000 miles out them pretty easily. Some want to bash them but I've never personally seen a bad set and lot of people I know around my area run them including the hard core wheelers.
I think the 2008 jku came with bfg mud tires. And I agree they were not good cupped and vibrated a lot dealer said they wiped out my ball joints. The older bfg at also cupped didn’t clear mud easily. I know it was an at. But the ko2. Is much much better
And is really good in snow. Trying to find any tire right now is A pain
 

Jeeperjamie

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I think the 2008 jku came with bfg mud tires. And I agree they were not good cupped and vibrated a lot dealer said they wiped out my ball joints. The older bfg at also cupped didn’t clear mud easily. I know it was an at. But the ko2. Is much much better
And is really good in snow. Trying to find any tire right now is A pain
They did, my 2010 JKU came with 32" BFG M/Ts and I didn't like those. I switch to 35" Toyo M/Ts and had those on mine for about 6,000 miles and man you could barely hear yourself talk inside the JK with windows up. If I had the windows down and top off its almost unbearable. I took those off and went to Yokahoma Geolander M/Ts in a 35". They were much better as far as noise goes, still loud but nowhere near as loud as the Toyo's. I got about 25,000 miles out of the Geolanders before it was time for new tires and if my JKU was a dedicated trail rig I would of bought another set. Decided then to go to a Nitto Ridge Grapplers and man they were lot quieter than the previous two, mainly because they were A/Ts. What I didn't like about them was how terrible they were in the rain and snow. If you hit water in the road they would jerk you to one side. In snow they didn't do well either. I probably had them on for 12,000 miles and sold them to a buddy. After that is when I decided to try out a set of the BFGs KO2s and once I ran a set of those compared to the other 3 I was amazed at how much better they road and how much quieter they were. As far as performance on and off road, in my opinion, it would be tough to find a better all around tire for a daily driver and trail rig combo, they have never let me down in and situation Ice been in. I started running them on my JKU and my XJ until I sold the XJ. Didn't even think about another tire for my JT, I had the stock tires off the second day and had 35" BFG KO2S installed.
 

Andrew05LJR

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They did, my 2010 JKU came with 32" BFG M/Ts and I didn't like those. I switch to 35" Toyo M/Ts and had those on mine for about 6,000 miles and man you could barely hear yourself talk inside the JK with windows up. If I had the windows down and top off its almost unbearable. I took those off and went to Yokahoma Geolander M/Ts in a 35". They were much better as far as noise goes, still loud but nowhere near as loud as the Toyo's. I got about 25,000 miles out of the Geolanders before it was time for new tires and if my JKU was a dedicated trail rig I would of bought another set. Decided then to go to a Nitto Ridge Grapplers and man they were lot quieter than the previous two, mainly because they were A/Ts. What I didn't like about them was how terrible they were in the rain and snow. If you hit water in the road they would jerk you to one side. In snow they didn't do well either. I probably had them on for 12,000 miles and sold them to a buddy. After that is when I decided to try out a set of the BFGs KO2s and once I ran a set of those compared to the other 3 I was amazed at how much better they road and how much quieter they were. As far as performance on and off road, in my opinion, it would be tough to find a better all around tire for a daily driver and trail rig combo, they have never let me down in and situation Ice been in. I started running them on my JKU and my XJ until I sold the XJ. Didn't even think about another tire for my JT, I had the stock tires off the second day and had 35" BFG KO2S installed.
I feel tires and tire noise is like exhaust, some people have different tolerances for it. Location, as mentioned, plays another important role in tires people should select. Your review on the Ridge Grappler is why I went with Toyo RT. Down here in the swamp, we get monsoons and I wanted the most aggressive tire I could get that did, above average, in the rain. Lots of people had terrible things to say about the Nitto RG in the rain and slop. Cupping was an issue I had with all the BFGs I had which made them much louder. When I got my JLUR, I took the KO2s off in couple of weeks. Maybe the KO2 has been vastly improved but I’m not willing to take the risk.
 

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I worked at a tire store for 8 years. Ive installed hundreds of BFG KOs and I've never seen a round one. They always required the most wheel weight of any tire.
 

Gatorac

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Have the Ridge Grapplers. They make 0 noise. They balanced out perfect with no vibration or shimmy. Very pleased with them.
 

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BFG KO2 is possibly the most over rated tire ever built.

As a point of interest the Nitto RG, Toyo RT are the same tire both built by Toyo, and the Firestone Destination MT is also made by Toyo under contract.

Kenda KR601 is an RT that I can personally attest is a very quiet, very uniform tire with crazy traction at a very attractive price point. Kenda is a Chinese company, the KR601 is Vietnamese production in a modern, state of the art production facility using good quality materials.

They however do not make any 37's if that is your need.
 

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I worked at a tire store for 8 years. Ive installed hundreds of BFG KOs and I've never seen a round one. They always required the most wheel weight of any tire.
I've never had a problem getting mine balanced and they don't have me anymore weights than any other tire I've ever ran

BFG KO2 is possibly the most over rated tire ever built.

As a point of interest the Nitto RG, Toyo RT are the same tire both built by Toyo, and the Firestone Destination MT is also made by Toyo under contract.

Kenda KR601 is an RT that I can personally attest is a very quiet, very uniform tire with crazy traction at a very attractive price point. Kenda is a Chinese company, the KR601 is Vietnamese production in a modern, state of the art production facility using good quality materials.

They however do not make any 37's if that is your need.
Don't see how a proven tire can be over rated and your comparison is a Kenda Tire which is a great budget tire but about unless in mud and don't get me started on sand when aired down. I've had to pull more than my share of guys with Kenda tires out of soft sand. Kenda is a good road tire for sure though and it is pretty quiet based on me riding with a buddy who had them on his Commander, but their about the same as a BFG as far as how they sound.
 

bgenlvtex

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I've never had a problem getting mine balanced and they don't have me anymore weights than any other tire I've ever ran



Don't see how a proven tire can be over rated and your comparison is a Kenda Tire which is a great budget tire but about unless in mud and don't get me started on sand when aired down. I've had to pull more than my share of guys with Kenda tires out of soft sand. Kenda is a good road tire for sure though and it is pretty quiet based on me riding with a buddy who had them on his Commander, but their about the same as a BFG as far as how they sound.

Having owned and used both, no they are not about the same in how they sound, and the Kenda is an RT which is what the OP asked about.

KO2 is not an RT, nor even a really good AT. The do ok, when new, on light vehicles. On heavier vehicles they chip and chunk badly in any kind of rock, and howl like crazy.

They are certainly not junk, but are certainly not anything special in my opinion.

At one time they were the spec tire for Halliburton field equipment, they transitioned to Bridgestone AT Revo which is like quitting your fat girlfriend for one with leprosy.
 

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Eazye

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Although the Milestar Patagonia is classified as an M/T tire, I think it is more of an aggressive leaning hybrid. I am running them in 37s and they seem to be great so far, not loud at all on the highway/street and seemed to do ok in the snow and ice earlier this week. The center is more of an AT type tread with the outer edges being more aggressive MT style lugs. I think their intention is to be a more "crowned" tire that uses the center 2/3 of the tire for quiet daily driving and then you can air down on the trails to take full advantage of the MT lugs to the outside. I am running full tire pressure (35-37) lbs of air and have zero harshness issues on the 37s like I had running anything above 28-30 on the normal MT tires I've run in the past. You cant go wrong with the Patagonia pricing either, my 37 were $244 per tire.
 

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Although the Milestar Patagonia is classified as an M/T tire, I think it is more of an aggressive leaning hybrid. I am running them in 37s and they seem to be great so far, not loud at all on the highway/street and seemed to do ok in the snow and ice earlier this week. The center is more of an AT type tread with the outer edges being more aggressive MT style lugs. I think their intention is to be a more "crowned" tire that uses the center 2/3 of the tire for quiet daily driving and then you can air down on the trails to take full advantage of the MT lugs to the outside. I am running full tire pressure (35-37) lbs of air and have zero harshness issues on the 37s like I had running anything above 28-30 on the normal MT tires I've run in the past. You cant go wrong with the Patagonia pricing either, my 37 were $244 per tire.
I second this. I have 32,000 miles on my 35's with very good wear and very little road noise (has picked up a little with wear). I hated the Falken M/T that came stock. Never planned on keeping them, but couldn't wait to take them off as soon as driving the truck off the lot. Just ordered a set of 37" Pat's from SimpleTire.com...with the Cyber Monday deal and $200 off for agreeing to text messages, I got them for $220 each. I can easily put another 10,000 miles on the set I have now and would probably be able to squeak out 15,000 if I didn't need deep lugs for mud or snow. I'm happy with 42,000-47,000 on truck tires. I have never run BFG AT's, but I loved my last set of BFG MT's. If anyone is interested in trying out some 35" Patagonia MT and is close to Northern, VA...I will be letting them go pretty cheap once the new ones are mounted.
 

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Having owned and used both, no they are not about the same in how they sound, and the Kenda is an RT which is what the OP asked about.

KO2 is not an RT, nor even a really good AT. The do ok, when new, on light vehicles. On heavier vehicles they chip and chunk badly in any kind of rock, and howl like crazy.

They are certainly not junk, but are certainly not anything special in my opinion.

At one time they were the spec tire for Halliburton field equipment, they transitioned to Bridgestone AT Revo which is like quitting your fat girlfriend for one with leprosy.
To compare a Kenda Tire to a BFG is laughable but I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion once again we will have to agree to disagree on that. A BFG is not a RT for sure but in my opinion it's one of the best if not the A/T you can buy. We have them on our fleet vehicles at work and they see a ton of abuse on job sites and we never have had a issue with chipping or chunking
 

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To compare a Kenda Tire to a BFG is laughable but I guess everyone is entitled to their opinion once again we will have to agree to disagree on that. A BFG is not a RT for sure but in my opinion it's one of the best if not the A/T you can buy. We have them on our fleet vehicles at work and they see a ton of abuse on job sites and we never have had a issue with chipping or chunking
Several years ago, either MotorTrend of 4x4 Magazine did an article on the best off-road tire and BFG AT's won hands down. The only tire that beat them in the mud was BFG MT's...If I was choosing an AT, they would be top on my list for sure, but they are pricey. I went with the Patagonia's based on price, looks and LOTS of good reviews and some "honest" videos of guys on the trails with them including TrailRecon
 

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Several years ago, either MotorTrend of 4x4 Magazine did an article on the best off-road tire and BFG AT's won hands down. The only tire that beat them in the mud was BFG MT's...If I was choosing an AT, they would be top on my list for sure, but they are pricey. I went with the Patagonia's based on price, looks and LOTS of good reviews and some "honest" videos of guys on the trails with them including TrailRecon
I just spoke to the tire guy about the BFGKO2 tires he told me that the general grabber ATX is the same tire he can’t even tell them apart and they’re a lot less expensive anybody wanna weigh in on that they look similar
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