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Bfg Ko2 or Falken Wildpeak AT3W -- experiences / reviews?

Pedaldude

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Have the KO2 tires for a 4Runner with the 17” TRD wheels for off-road. They are the E rated ones and it’s not for the load capacity but for the thicker rubber and hopefully better puncture resistance with the pointy rocks that can be found in the desert.

The KO2s don’t completely suck on the street but they aren’t good either; so I swap out whatever the OEM 20” Limited tires are for city use and they are far better cruising on pavement as well as about 4MPG better fuel economy with Toyota’s 5speed slush box that will make anyone stop complaining about the 10R80!
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richardrocks

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Have had A/T3Ws on for 1000 miles to replace the stock “all terrains” that came with FX4 that had zero traction on packed snow, and they are fantastic. I don’t even notice them, and I’m very sensitive to noise and vibration (the MTs on my Wrangler are a nightmare above 60 MPH). No regrets.

I only bought 4 — didn’t replace the spare. Is that okay?
 

wessermgm

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I have run both KO2s and Falkens. I actually have KO2s now on my Platinum and Falken Wildpeak AT3W on my Bronco Sport. (have also so had them on a prior truck). They are both outstanding tires. They are both pretty heavy. It depends on the size you are running. You can get Falkens in an SL load, on certain sizes (the stock 275/60/20 33" is one of them). You cannot get an SL on KO2s in truck sizes. However, most people getting these are going to want an E load tire anyway. Both have excellent road manners. I think the Falkens might be a touch smoother, but it is negligible at best. I know that the Falkens have a reputation for being difficult to balance. I think that the Ko2s in my experience are a little better in snow.

The simple truth is go with the one that you prefer from a look standpoint. They are both highly capable and extremely good tires. They are option 1 and 1A to me and it usually comes down to a pricing at the time of purchase. All things being equal, I lean towards the KO2s from a nostalgic perspective alone. I have run BFG since my old Jeep Cherokee. Otherwise, coin flip.
 

richardrocks

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Hate to say it, but I might have gotten bad A/T3Ws. They rode great in the beginning but after some washboarded roads, the whole truck vibrated — steering wheel, floor boards, etc. I took them in and they were pretty unbalanced but even road force balancing didn’t help much. They swapped them for KO2s which seem to ride better. I wonder what happened!?
 

mxwrk

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I went with Ko2's just because they were lighter than the falkens. Decided to risk not going with an E rated either. So far no issues off road, works well. I had Toyo AT3's on my excursion in an E rated and loved them, worked very well off road.
 

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richardrocks

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I went with Ko2's just because they were lighter than the falkens. Decided to risk not going with an E rated either. So far no issues off road, works well. I had Toyo AT3's on my excursion in an E rated and loved them, worked very well off road.
KO2s in my size were only available in E rated… so I guess it will make for a firmer ride but perhaps more robust off road? So far, I’m not getting the bad vibrations that developed on the A/TW3s.
Ford F-150 Bfg Ko2 or Falken Wildpeak AT3W -- experiences / reviews? IMG_2003
 

FDHog

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Just swapped out my stock 20" Hankook tires on my 23 for KO2's. I've been using KO2's for years on all my trucks, but can't lose the vibration above 70mph on these. Tire shop says they're balanced, but they don't have a Road Force machine. I'm running them at 48 psi. (goodrich rep recommended 50) Vibration isn't bad, just annoying. When I have them rotated, I'll have them checked again.
 

richardrocks

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Just swapped out my stock 20" Hankook tires on my 23 for KO2's. I've been using KO2's for years on all my trucks, but can't lose the vibration above 70mph on these. Tire shop says they're balanced, but they don't have a Road Force machine. I'm running them at 48 psi. (goodrich rep recommended 50) Vibration isn't bad, just annoying. When I have them rotated, I'll have them checked again.
Been trying to solve a vibration on my truck as well (see my recent post). I, too, have the KO2s — 18inch E rated. They are definitely more firm than the Falkens but they couldn’t seem to balance the Falkens and I wasn’t willing to give them a third chance. So, the KO2s are much better than the Falkens in my particular situation.

No vibrations on stock tires?
 
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FDHog

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No vibrations on stock. Smooth as a baby's bottom.
 

Jerry Can

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I’m running 285/65/20 KO2s and can echo some of the other comments; great all-round tire and great aggressive look while still having decent road manners. However, they are a firmer ride and can have vibration issues at highway speeds. I’ve considered balancing with powder or beads to help with vibration, but it’s not that much of a bother, and did improve with a tire rotation and keeping pressure above 45psi.

For winter driving KO2 are good in snow, however they are very mediocre on ice. I run KO2s year round on my personal truck, however they are nowhere near as good in winter conditions as the Nokian Hakkapeliittas I used on my work truck.
 

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amschind

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I haven't driven on anything but KO2s since 2015, save a brief interlude of 12k miles on the stock Hankook "AT" tires when I got this truck (I had intended to keep them to avoid throwing away a working part until one sidewall just split....I'm still not sure that someone didn't randomly jam a knife in my tire at a gas station in Nowhere, central Texas). Anyway, the limit of the Hankooks' ability was dry gravel roads. The KO2s do great in dirt, as well as an AT tire can do in mud, and well in sand and gravel. My extremely limited experiences on ice have been marginal, but I don't know what I'm doing driving on ice and it comes up once every 5 years. They are LOUD tires....not MT loud, but noisy even with the cab fully covered in Dynamat. They are heavy, though lighter than a lot of the MT and hybrid options and cost me 1.5-2.5 MPG even with lighter partially forged wheels in a PB.

For my mainly highway driving, a Michelin Defender would be far better than the KO2s; for the rare off-roading that I do, the KM3 would be far better than the KO2s. HOWEVER, the greatness of the AT tire is its ability to fill most roles pretty well. I can pull a trailer in the rain, get off road when its wet, and drive long distances without the speaker volume at max with one set of tires. I think that "pretty good at most things, not great at any of them" describes the F150 in general, so to me a good AT tire is a great match for it. The KO2 is a very, very good AT tire.
 

richardrocks

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I haven't driven on anything but KO2s since 2015, save a brief interlude of 12k miles on the stock Hankook "AT" tires when I got this truck (I had intended to keep them to avoid throwing away a working part until one sidewall just split....I'm still not sure that someone didn't randomly jam a knife in my tire at a gas station in Nowhere, central Texas). Anyway, the limit of the Hankooks' ability was dry gravel roads. The KO2s do great in dirt, as well as an AT tire can do in mud, and well in sand and gravel. My extremely limited experiences on ice have been marginal, but I don't know what I'm doing driving on ice and it comes up once every 5 years. They are LOUD tires....not MT loud, but noisy even with the cab fully covered in Dynamat. They are heavy, though lighter than a lot of the MT and hybrid options and cost me 1.5-2.5 MPG even with lighter partially forged wheels in a PB.

For my mainly highway driving, a Michelin Defender would be far better than the KO2s; for the rare off-roading that I do, the KM3 would be far better than the KO2s. HOWEVER, the greatness of the AT tire is its ability to fill most roles pretty well. I can pull a trailer in the rain, get off road when its wet, and drive long distances without the speaker volume at max with one set of tires. I think that "pretty good at most things, not great at any of them" describes the F150 in general, so to me a good AT tire is a great match for it. The KO2 is a very, very good AT tire.
What load rating are yours and what is your preferred PSI? I would have preferred SL but only available in E.
 

amschind

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What load rating are yours and what is your preferred PSI? I would have preferred SL but only available in E.
Mine are Load Range D. I tend to agree that E is overkill for a half ton.
 

gfl22

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i just got a set of the Falken D1s installed, wanted an 8 ply due to camper pulling. hour trip back home, seemed great, they look a tad bigger than stock even though the same size, maybe a whisper more road noise, but wife said not.. , so couldn't be much more than stock if any.
 
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Nlitend1

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295 70r18 Wild peaks here.
Mileage drop, yes. Slight noise, yes.
Reason I chose there was price, $320 CAD per. Next closest was around the 500 mark.
Wild peaks in my size have the deepest tread that I've seen.
No squirm which I thought they might given the depth.
Out standing wet pavement, dirt road traction. Dry pavement is good, snow good but I run winters because ice happens and nothing short of studded winters work for me.
If I had to pay fuel out of my pocket I wouldn't go with such a large heavy tire again. Probably drop back to a 275 70r18.
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