My review of BFG KO3's after 2500 miles

[DanW]

I’m at the dealership getting my 5 KO3’s road force balanced because of a very slight shimmy felt at 100km/hour and quite shaky at 120. The tire store rebalanced twice to no avail, hence getting the road force balance.

The tech came out to say one tire can not be balanced due to it being “out of round” and I’ll need to go back to my tire store for replacement.

What is the size? Not uncommon with 35's and larger. Maybe have another tech do it on a nother machine. I use Discount Tire and our local stores have Hunter road force machines that are less than 3 years old. I've had a tire here or there that needed a second balance and even one that needed a third. In each case they ultimately were balanced well. The Hunter machine with an experienced operator might be able to smooth it out.

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[Bjeepz]

I’m at the dealership getting my 5 KO3’s road force balanced because of a very slight shimmy felt at 100km/hour and quite shaky at 120. The tire store rebalanced twice to no avail, hence getting the road force balance.

The tech came out to say one tire can not be balanced due to it being “out of round” and I’ll need to go back to my tire store for replacement.

Well that's shitty. Hope they resolve it for you. Being in Canada myself I often feel jealous when I read about all the amazing service our southern neighbors seem to get from Discount Tire.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Well that's shitty. Hope they resolve it for you. Being in Canada myself I often feel jealous when I read about all the amazing service our southern neighbors seem to get from Discount Tire.

Just got back from KAL Tire, they saw the tech report on the tire and are warrantying it.

 

[Bjeepz]

Just got back from KAL Tire, they saw the tech report on the tire and are warrantying it.

Good news! I've never dealt with KAL tire, they're pretty big though, we have them all the way over here in Ontario.

 

[Ericshere03]

Well that's shitty. Hope they resolve it for you. Being in Canada myself I often feel jealous when I read about all the amazing service our southern neighbors seem to get from Discount Tire.

They’re growing a little big for their britches … just got done balancing for the 7th time, only to be told that more experienced tech would have known to balance them in the specific way for trucks like mine … okayyy, so the techs listen to the computer instead of using judgement and it took 7 attempts to get it right, ugh.

These are big company problems where automation replaces experience, judgment and skill.

 

[Bjeepz]

They’re growing a little big for their britches … just got done balancing for the 7th time, only to be told that more experienced tech would have known to balance them in the specific way for trucks like mine … okayyy, so the techs listen to the computer instead of using judgement and it took 7 attempts to get it right, ugh.

These are big company problems where automation replaces experience, judgment and skill.

That is way too many attempts, geez. I've never had to go back for a balance more than once. Quality service seems to continue to degrade :-(

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Out of convenience I’ll give the regular balance system a chance to hit it right the first time and the second time. After that, it’s go to the dealership and have the road force balance done. I’ve known one sales guy at the dealership I’ve gone to that’s “the tire guy” because he managed a KAL Tire for 11 years in their “commercial division”, as I was waiting getting the road force done, he and I were talking about why this special HUNTER balance system isn’t done at KAL. He told me it is but not in the retail consumer “light vehicle” stores. The HUNTER road force system is done at 2 locations in Calgary that are their “commercial store” more suited for trucks and heavy equipment. The dealership has the same system and is far superior to the “normal” balancing we all typically experience.

The HUNTER system spins faster while applying “road force” to the tire and in my case yesterday, found the one tire “out of round” that the normal balance wouldn’t have found.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Good news! I've never dealt with KAL tire, they're pretty big though, we have them all the way over here in Ontario.

That’s what I like about them too. I can get full warranty service anywhere they are, it’s why I get my treads from them. Why would I buy tires, lets say, from a dealership that’s blowing them out at cost when I can’t go to that same manufacturer dealership in another town or province/state and get warranty service, repair/replacement if I need it?

 

[Maximus Gladius]

Concerning my KO3’s and having put on 3-4K kms on them, these are my first 12 ply F rated tire… I didn’t have a choice to get the E rated ones when I upsized to the 315/70/17. I’m trying to set the PSI via chalk testing and this is the first time I’ve payed attention to the range of temperatures the tire goes through from cold in the garage to out N about on the road when ambient temp is +20c outside or -6c. The tire temps can gain 5 psi depending on ambient and if chalk test is done cold, 5 more psi when tire is warm creates a crown effect. If I chalk test when the tire is warmest, then I’m starting out cold at around 25 psi and to me that’s just too low when just doing short trips.

If the ideal thing you want to see is for the chalk to show full tread contact on the road, and I determined that it’s between 29-31 PSI, (speculating here) are we not creating sidewall heat that’s not designed into a 12 ply tire in order to have perfect tread contact across the whole width of the tire? (I believe the sidewall is 3 or 4 ply but I have to research that after I finish writing this. )

These 12 ply (maybe even 10 ply) tires aren’t made so we can look cool, (speculating again) they are designed to carry a heavy vehicle, heavy loads, trailering etc. The max PSI rating on this KO3 is 80lbs, (KO2 10ply is max60 psi) so is 29 or so causing a sidewall issue later?

Even at that psi, the tire looks normal on the sides. There isn’t a “belly” forming that would make you feel the need to air up.

Talking with “the tire guy” at my dealership he’s telling me he saw many KO2’s come in with blown sidewalls because they were air’d down too low which caused sidewall heat and those driving on E rated 10 ply and the now F rated tires should not drive lower psi than what’s called for, in fact, we should not even be running these tires on the “light weight” of the gladiator. I told him I’ve heard his opinion several times but in my case, my truck, having had the KO2’s for 6 years (that’s 6 winters) when I see it’s snowed or I know I’ll be out on the ice, I air down and throw weight in the back and I’ve never experienced a sidewall blowout.

So I’ve said a lot, speculated a lot and I’m wondering what I’m even trying to say… do we gauge what the psi should be with what the manufacturer wants to see or do we go much lower than that and by chalk testing and do we do this cold or hot?

 

[Ericshere03]

Concerning my KO3’s and having put on 3-4K kms on them, these are my first 12 ply F rated tire… I didn’t have a choice to get the E rated ones when I upsized to the 315/70/17. I’m trying to set the PSI via chalk testing and this is the first time I’ve payed attention to the range of temperatures the tire goes through from cold in the garage to out N about on the road when ambient temp is +20c outside or -6c. The tire temps can gain 5 psi depending on ambient and if chalk test is done cold, 5 more psi when tire is warm creates a crown effect. If I chalk test when the tire is warmest, then I’m starting out cold at around 25 psi and to me that’s just too low when just doing short trips.

If the ideal thing you want to see is for the chalk to show full tread contact on the road, and I determined that it’s between 29-31 PSI, (speculating here) are we not creating sidewall heat that’s not designed into a 12 ply tire in order to have perfect tread contact across the whole width of the tire? (I believe the sidewall is 3 or 4 ply but I have to research that after I finish writing this. )

These 12 ply (maybe even 10 ply) tires aren’t made so we can look cool, (speculating again) they are designed to carry a heavy vehicle, heavy loads, trailering etc. The max PSI rating on this KO3 is 80lbs, (KO2 10ply is max60 psi) so is 29 or so causing a sidewall issue later?

Even at that psi, the tire looks normal on the sides. There isn’t a “belly” forming that would make you feel the need to air up.

Talking with “the tire guy” at my dealership he’s telling me he saw many KO2’s come in with blown sidewalls because they were air’d down too low which caused sidewall heat and those driving on E rated 10 ply and the now F rated tires should not drive lower psi than what’s called for, in fact, we should not even be running these tires on the “light weight” of the gladiator. I told him I’ve heard his opinion several times but in my case, my truck, having had the KO2’s for 6 years (that’s 6 winters) when I see it’s snowed or I know I’ll be out on the ice, I air down and throw weight in the back and I’ve never experienced a sidewall blowout.

So I’ve said a lot, speculated a lot and I’m wondering what I’m even trying to say… do we gauge what the psi should be with what the manufacturer wants to see or do we go much lower than that and by chalk testing and do we do this cold or hot?

There’s a lot of speculation and probably pulling too many elements into one “question”. Bottom line, you do not need to run at max PSI. 30-32psi is fine. Theoretically 30psi on a C load should be about the same as 30psi on a D-E-F load tire, the air does the supporting, the tire just holds the air. Obviously a heavier duty tire may do some of its own supporting, but not much compared to the air in the tire. Being in a colder climate you may want to compensate for that, or adjust at the change of season.

I have C rated tires on my LJ at 28psi, JT at 35psi (I’ll drop them down to 30-32 after I program my TPMS)

 

[legend007]

I purchased a set of KO3 tires (size 285/70-17) about six weeks ago and wanted to give my initial opinion after about 2500 miles. The “TL/DR” is that these are awesome tires, and I wholeheartedly recommend them.

Background: I have a 2020 Overland that I use primarily as a commuter and suburban pickup (lots of trips to Lowes or Home Depot for landscaping stuff and hauling junk & brush to the dump). I have done a few offroad trails, but nothing major (Peter’s Mill Run BOH trial, some farm trails). I originally had the stock Overland wheels & tires (Bridgestone Dueler 255/70-18) , then swapped them for a set of Mojave wheel/tire take-offs (Falken Wildpeak A/T3W T285/70-17) after 25k miles. The Falkens were MUCH heavier than the Bridgestones, and significantly louder on the highway. Over time, the Falkens became even louder, to the point that it was uncomfortable on long trips. After about 40k miles on the Falkens, I purchased the KO3’s, so I had significant experience with both sets of tires.

My impression of the KO3’s:
They are quiet! I had forgotten how much wind noise there is with the Gladiator, because the Falkens were so loud that you could not hear it over the tire howl. It felt like the KO3’s were about as loud as the original Overland Bridgestone’s, and dramatically quieter than the Falkens.

They are also much, much smoother riding than the Falkens on-road, and feeling almost like they are aired-down when driving on dirt or gravel roads (I even double-checked the tire pressure because they felt so soft). The handling in dry weather is very good, tracking well on the highway and seeming to have good grip – I’m not slaloming with it, but it seems fine. I took a 1500-mile round trip from Virginia to Maine, and the ride was great – and quiet – the whole way. On the way home, we ran into about 200 miles of rain, sometimes torrential, and it was EXCELLENT in wet weather, cutting through large puddles on the interstate without a hint of hydroplaning. I have not taken these offroad, except for some dirt roads in Maine and gravel roads here in VA, but they handled that really well.

Overall, these are the best tires I have had on the Jeep, combining the quiet, smooth riding nature of the Bridgestones with the aggressive tread of the Falkens. Time will tell about the lifespan of these tires, but I would recommend them to anyone looking for new tires if your use case is similar to mine. I can't speak to someone looking for hard-core off-roading tires. I hope this helps people who were wondering about the KO3’s.

I just purchased a set from Costco. 265R70/18 for my JT Overland stock. great review.

 

[Maximus Gladius]

There’s a lot of speculation and probably pulling too many elements into one “question”. Bottom line, you do not need to run at max PSI. 30-32psi is fine. Theoretically 30psi on a C load should be about the same as 30psi on a D-E-F load tire, the air does the supporting, the tire just holds the air. Obviously a heavier duty tire may do some of its own supporting, but not much compared to the air in the tire. Being in a colder climate you may want to compensate for that, or adjust at the change of season.

I have C rated tires on my LJ at 28psi, JT at 35psi (I’ll drop them down to 30-32 after I program my TPMS)

So my understanding with chalk testing is that if you’re seeking long life and even wear with your tire, chaulk testing and of course frequent and religious rotating is essential. So I’ve done both and did very well with having long life experience with the KO2’s.

Now the KO3’s are a bit different. Here’s a photo of front and back, cold, where there’s obvious road contact right across the front tire @30psi and the tread at the back doesn’t have that contact @29 psi.

I think, with 12 ply, there isn’t enough weight in the back to sit that tread down unless you take more air out, which I don’t want to do, and because of the engine weight up front, its just enough weight to show the outer edge meets the road.

At 35psi you’ll lose 1.5” of tread, easy, to both sides and have uneven wear.

 

[Ericshere03]

At 35psi you’ll lose 1.5” of tread, easy, to both sides and have uneven wear.

Indeed, outer edges of my lugs haven’t hit the ground as far as I can tell by the dust patch on my tires … I gotta get my lazy butt to reprogram the TPMS for 30psi. I’ll check the tread depth for evenness every rotation …

 

[Bjeepz]

Concerning my KO3’s and having put on 3-4K kms on them, these are my first 12 ply F rated tire… I didn’t have a choice to get the E rated ones when I upsized to the 315/70/17. I’m trying to set the PSI via chalk testing and this is the first time I’ve payed attention to the range of temperatures the tire goes through from cold in the garage to out N about on the road when ambient temp is +20c outside or -6c. The tire temps can gain 5 psi depending on ambient and if chalk test is done cold, 5 more psi when tire is warm creates a crown effect. If I chalk test when the tire is warmest, then I’m starting out cold at around 25 psi and to me that’s just too low when just doing short trips.

If the ideal thing you want to see is for the chalk to show full tread contact on the road, and I determined that it’s between 29-31 PSI, (speculating here) are we not creating sidewall heat that’s not designed into a 12 ply tire in order to have perfect tread contact across the whole width of the tire? (I believe the sidewall is 3 or 4 ply but I have to research that after I finish writing this. )

These 12 ply (maybe even 10 ply) tires aren’t made so we can look cool, (speculating again) they are designed to carry a heavy vehicle, heavy loads, trailering etc. The max PSI rating on this KO3 is 80lbs, (KO2 10ply is max60 psi) so is 29 or so causing a sidewall issue later?

Even at that psi, the tire looks normal on the sides. There isn’t a “belly” forming that would make you feel the need to air up.

Talking with “the tire guy” at my dealership he’s telling me he saw many KO2’s come in with blown sidewalls because they were air’d down too low which caused sidewall heat and those driving on E rated 10 ply and the now F rated tires should not drive lower psi than what’s called for, in fact, we should not even be running these tires on the “light weight” of the gladiator. I told him I’ve heard his opinion several times but in my case, my truck, having had the KO2’s for 6 years (that’s 6 winters) when I see it’s snowed or I know I’ll be out on the ice, I air down and throw weight in the back and I’ve never experienced a sidewall blowout.

So I’ve said a lot, speculated a lot and I’m wondering what I’m even trying to say… do we gauge what the psi should be with what the manufacturer wants to see or do we go much lower than that and by chalk testing and do we do this cold or hot?

PSI is always interesting, I ran my Falken AT3W’s at 34 cold, the wore very evenly and drove very good. My Cooper AT3 XLT 37’s are at 26 PSI and have an even contact patch in cooler temps. I noticed the handling on corners suffers though. They’re softer than the Wildpeaks. I will
Go back to a heavier tire next round most likely.

 

[Linx]

Concerning my KO3’s and having put on 3-4K kms on them, these are my first 12 ply F rated tire… I didn’t have a choice to get the E rated ones when I upsized to the 315/70/17. I’m trying to set the PSI via chalk testing and this is the first time I’ve payed attention to the range of temperatures the tire goes through from cold in the garage to out N about on the road when ambient temp is +20c outside or -6c. The tire temps can gain 5 psi depending on ambient and if chalk test is done cold, 5 more psi when tire is warm creates a crown effect. If I chalk test when the tire is warmest, then I’m starting out cold at around 25 psi and to me that’s just too low when just doing short trips.

If the ideal thing you want to see is for the chalk to show full tread contact on the road, and I determined that it’s between 29-31 PSI, (speculating here) are we not creating sidewall heat that’s not designed into a 12 ply tire in order to have perfect tread contact across the whole width of the tire? (I believe the sidewall is 3 or 4 ply but I have to research that after I finish writing this. )

These 12 ply (maybe even 10 ply) tires aren’t made so we can look cool, (speculating again) they are designed to carry a heavy vehicle, heavy loads, trailering etc. The max PSI rating on this KO3 is 80lbs, (KO2 10ply is max60 psi) so is 29 or so causing a sidewall issue later?

Even at that psi, the tire looks normal on the sides. There isn’t a “belly” forming that would make you feel the need to air up.

Talking with “the tire guy” at my dealership he’s telling me he saw many KO2’s come in with blown sidewalls because they were air’d down too low which caused sidewall heat and those driving on E rated 10 ply and the now F rated tires should not drive lower psi than what’s called for, in fact, we should not even be running these tires on the “light weight” of the gladiator. I told him I’ve heard his opinion several times but in my case, my truck, having had the KO2’s for 6 years (that’s 6 winters) when I see it’s snowed or I know I’ll be out on the ice, I air down and throw weight in the back and I’ve never experienced a sidewall blowout.

So I’ve said a lot, speculated a lot and I’m wondering what I’m even trying to say… do we gauge what the psi should be with what the manufacturer wants to see or do we go much lower than that and by chalk testing and do we do this cold or hot?

Sorry for reviving an old thread, but how are you F load KO3s holding up? Wearing evenly? Any regrets?
I’m getting 37” KO3s installed today and have been second guessing my decision due to their F load rating. But I have a diesel and tow a fair amount. So I’m thinking they can’t be much worse than the Ridge Grapplers I’ve been running.

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