BFG KO2 (C) load vs (E) side wall durability do you have first hand experience?

What is every bodies experience if you have it. Not looking for just general opinions.

 

I would also really love to hear about anyone’s first had experience. I hear a lot of conjecture on this site. Not a ton of actual first hand experience.

 

@crashngiggles just went through a horror show with these tires.

 

Yes....yes I did. I was a BFG KO2 fan boy for 16 years. I defended them, I made excuses for them, I justified any fault that they ever had.......NEVER AGAIN. Here are pictures of my 9 MONTH OLD KO2'S after a trail ride. Mind you that there were 8 other trucks on the ride and they all had either Falkens, Dick Cepiks, or Duratracs. Not even a scratch on any of those other tires. Mine were 285-70-17 in C-Rated. The E-rated ones are like driving around on 100lb metal wagon wheels.

Front passenger tire


Rear Driverside tire


Front driverside tire


I order 4 brand new Toyo Open Country AT3's in a 285-70-17 in an E-rated and am more than impressed with their durability and performance in everyday. STAY AWAY FROM BFG. Don't be like me.

 

What did you impact to cause those gouges? I see whatever it was, put a nice gash in the aluminum as well....not attacking or defending, but I am extremely curious; I'm on my second set of C-rated BFG AT KO2's and am particularly hard on them, but have never had an issue, aired down or otherwise. My only regret thusfar has been that I didn't go with a 33, to be honest. lol

 

@crashngiggles roger that on the BFGs lol.

More generally though I’m interested in any difference between a SL, C or E rated tire.

I know OP said they aren’t rock crawling but I drive some rocky FSRs from time to time.

 

I was on a trail that I know, a trail that I was on many times before, and something like this has never happened to me before. To be completely honest, I really don't know what I hit because it wasn't anything that I have never done in the past on the trail. If it happened to one of them, them I would say to myself...."Ok, I fucked up this one spot", but to happen to 3 out of the 4 of them.....that is not fuck up on my part, that is a problem with the tires. I hate to put it that way since I was driving but I am not hard on my stuff at all and I am very experienced on the trails.

 

SL Rated = mainly for Roads (Soft)
C-Rated = 3 py (a Little harder and durable but still a soft ride.)
E-Rated = 10 Ply (Harsh rock on and off the trails.)

 

Unfortunately no first hand experience with the C rated versions so I cant directly answer your question. But I do like the E range versions. Sure they are heavy, but after several thousand miles a year aired down on dirt roads (lots of shale) I feel they have held up well over 3-4 years. I did have one issue with sidewall cracking which I posted about a year or two ago.

I feel like @crashngiggles got pretty unlucky on that trip he was on. I think that any other tire would have suffered similar damage if it was put in the same exact situation. I mean if you think about it, these trucks regularly weight 5500+ lbs. Almost 1500 lbs per tire - and then you put that rubber up against a sharp rock...

 

Right on, yeah that's some wild stuff. I'm sorry to hear that man!

'SL' is short for 'Standard Load', which is 90% of your passenger car/truck tires found on the road today. A C load tire is actually a 6 ply tire; D load is an 8 ply, and E load is a 10 ply tire. The increase in plys exists to increase the load carrying capacity of a tire, assuming an increase in pressure to match. So yeah, the more plys, the rougher the ride; you're right - the tire is inherently stiffer and thicker.

 

im running e load wild peaks right now.

basically I want the magical light and durable tire. Haha

I’ve been considering going from 265/70/17 to 255/80 because there is apparently no weight penalty (according to Falken’s website) and I get a bit more tire.
On the other hand of the spectrum I have considered doing a 255/75 SL duratrac as well since those are 10# less per tire and somewhat cheaper as well.

 

I agree completely. Ive had many tires, BFG's and otherwise, end of with similar damage if I wasn't extremely cautious on rocky terrain - I don't think its as much a result of the manufacturer as it is the environment; shit just happens sometimes.

 

Depends on what weight you have added. I was planning on doing bumpers, suspension etc….so I went with some e-rated Yokohamas. They’re crazy stiff and heavy. So stiff I believe the attached photos happened when I was aired down to twenty pounds for going in the sand, got the nail and drove almost twenty miles to work and back home before realizing that I had this stuck nail till I went to air back up. While that was amazing, I don’t think I would go with e rated tires again

 

When uve upgraded tires for my offroad vehicles, i always went to E rated. Im starting to wonder if all yhe conplainers have only driven bmws bef9re getting a truck? Or the whole "princess and the pea" story comes to mind.

I just got e rated bfg ko2s for my tacoma, i am not sure what the complaints are about. Nevwr had issues. And honestly, HOW you drive offroad and the lines you take will have a big affect. Ive had dick cepec, micky Thompson, bfg, and cooper. I love the cooper and bfg. But for an all terrain, bfg wins. If i want a mud tire, i get the cooper. And yes, E rated.

 

That is interesting that you said this because my 9 month old BFG's that just crapped out on me said 3 ply on the side of them and they had a Manufacturer date of 2019

 

Yeah, 3 ply sidewall. The load range indicates the number of plys utilized in the overall tread surface, not the sidewall(if I recall correctly).

From Tire Rack: (I'll include the link since the copy pasta made it harder to understand)

LT-Metric, LT-Flotation and LT-Numeric Light Truck Tires
Load Range Ply Rating Abbreviated Maximum Load Pressure
≤ 295mm / 11.5" wide Maximum Load Pressure
> 295mm / 11.5" wide
B 4 B 35 psi (240 kPa)***
C 6 C 50 psi (350 kPa)*** 35 psi (240 kPa)***
D 8 D 65 psi (450 kPa)*** 50 psi (350 kPa)***
E 10 E 80 psi (550 kPa)*** 65 psi (450 kPa)***
F 12 F 95 psi (650 kPa)*** 80 psi (550 kPa)***
***Select LT sizes are designed with modified maximum load pressures. Never exceed the tire's maximum pressure or load as indicated on the sidewall.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...0374!b!!g!!tire load range chart&gclsrc=aw.ds

 

I’ve had good luck with C load, I started with E but for my 2nd and 3rd sets I went C.
Rocky conditions around Lillooet BC all good.
51lbs for C 285 70 17 is a great weight, the tire is tough.

 

Never had E rated.
Have driven fire roads and forestry areas in both standard SL rated and in C rated. Also had C in offroad park. Never had a real issue with either tire.
Had C rated 34s on Tacoma and they survived trails at an off road park with no damage at all. My C 33s on 4runner now have some cuts and chunks out of the treadblocks but that's it.
Tire brand may have a lot to do with it. Nitto in SL and Nitto in C got no damage on same trails that ripped chunks from KO2 in C. I even had stock Bridgestone street tires on both Tacoma and a 4Runner on some trails and didnt have any problems other than poor traction.

SL are lighter so gas mileage is better. C didn't have any noticeable change in ride quality on road over SL.

Edit: remember these are load ratings. If you plan to add weight with skids, racks, gear, etc then maybe SL wouldn't be for you.

 

I have ko2 E tires, originally used them as winter tires (as they are rated for it, snowflake and all). I found them to be terrible winter tires and switched them out to be my summers. I have a set of Michelins for winter now, but I am very happy with the ko2 as a summer tire, used for highway, city, gravel roads and off roading.

 

Not between both C and E in K02s but I went from a 265/70/17 Toyo AT3 E load to 285/70/17 K02 C load a few months back. They both weigh about the same so no difference there. Both hold up well off-road. Switched to K02 because I did experience some traction loss a few times on wet highway with AT3s. Time will tell but so far liking the C load K02s.