Andrew, you said you didn't know the reputation of the Toyo's, so I wanted to share with you what a tire tech told me. I took my truck in to patch up a tire (stock Goodyear that came with the truck), and I saw a set of Toyo's being put on a truck next to mine in the shop. I turned to the tech and asked, "what's the deal with Toyo's?" He said that when they put on a set of Toyo's or Nitto's on a truck, they just don't come back; meaning they stand up very well to the use and abuse. When I got the chance I put a set of Nitto Trail Grapplers and they've been amazing. I've gone off-road in mud, sand, dessert, rocky trails - you name it. After putting 26,000 miles on these tires I've not had a single issue. I'll continue using these tires, and I do recommend that you look into them even if for nothing more than just a bit of knowledge about the brands. Anyway, there's my two cents. Hope it was helpful.
hi am a Kenyan an drive a Ford ranger. always looking to go on the forbidden path. after watching your video of tyer manufacturers I agree that BFF Goodrich are the best. but you questioned the road tyres. two years ago I travelled to lodwar in turukana in Kenya's north east with a set of old set of BF Goodrich road tyres I had had for longer than I should have and they did better than I expected. it was impressive that after reaching lordwar I wanted to get new tyres and all the shops told me that I was better staying with my old tyers for the trip back. there you go.
Toyo and Nitto have a very good reputation here in the southern United States. Their mud terrains go on a lot of daily drivers believe it or not. They are known for being tough, balancing well, and having good tread life.
I got my K02's partly because of your review of them. I've got 40,000km on them. 6,000 on gravel, 3,000 off-road. The rest on highway. They have worn down ~0.9mm in that time. I love the traction, durability and lack of noise. Most of my off road is sharp rocks and tree stumps. Minor amounts of mud, and lots of rocky river crossings. They were also very good on Icey river crossings.
My dad has sworn by the bfg ats for DECADES without knowing the rest of the world loves them too- on his wranglers, that said I love how passionate you are about tires I could watch this all day! -coming from Ohio ,US
Thanks for a very informative video. Changed my factory-installed Duellers on my LC J120 to BFG AT KO1s (one size up 16"->17") very soon after purchase and never looked back! The first set had a hard life and served me very well! Never had a major incident even when missing junks out of them and when they run off the rim due to low pressure driving in the desert. Choice for second set was quickly made: BFGs AT KO1s again!
Always love your videos Andrew. I've used all sorts of tyres over the years for general green laning in the UK. I'm slowly moving from "big agressive" back to "factory size", just because everything works as it should with a standard-ish size. Currently running Goodtear MTR in 235/86/16 on the 110.... works really well and handles nicely on the road.
On Andrews recommendation from a previous video I purchased the BFG KO2s 6 months ago. Best tire I have ever bought!!!! Thanks for this. Am amazed on how quiet they are on the road considering the aggressive tread pattern.
BFG KM2's on our Wrangler JKU and they are also great for 1000mi from SF to Moab UT on the road. Never got stuck with this tire and has never let us down either. Will buy again.
Toyo m/t's are excellent tires. Tough as nails and more grip than you know what to do with. I have ran them on every truck ive had for the past ten years.
I have used Hankook offroad tires for decades.Great value, extremely durable and amazing tread life.Not sure if they are available outside of the North American Market.
I really enjoy your honest opinions and sharing your Overlanding experiences. You are not afraid to say you don't know about something and able to give strong recommendations on things you do know about. I personally have experience with many brands of tires and in the past nothing beat BF Goodrich All Terrain T/As for my off-road adventures and 95% miles on paved roads. I am not a mudder and prefer the Sand Dunes of Northern Michigan or the Colorado Rockies and Moab Utah type of terrain. For my 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland I changed to the Cooper Discoverer AT3 due to raving recommendations and that they are made in my home state of Ohio. I must say these are the best off-road tires I have ever had in the rain and grip even better than the lame Goodyear Wranger tires that were more street-designed. Off road I have no complaints and they held up to 2-weeks of sharp rocks in Colorado and Utah so I also highly recommend them. That being said I may get Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx or the STT Pro next soley based on the more aggressive appearance and similar excellent reviews of these tires. Nothing against the BFG's but I have been nothing less than impressed with my Coopers. (I even have the CS5 Grand Touring on my VW Golf and again the best rain tire I have owned on that vehicle) Cheers Andrew and love your uploads.
I used to buy Toyo Open Country MT tires, they are quite good, but kinda expensive. I have been using BFG KO2s on our jeeps which work well in snow country.
Good work and good point Andrew taking a look on the tyres and what the people or factory uses. I remember 16 years ago when BFGs were new in my country many friends were installing them, but at that time they had a problem... they were really weak on the sidewalls, I saw many many cuts. It seems now are better and strong... in fact many of my friends can drive with them for more than 50/60k kms which is awesome and they are not too expensive.
A little of my experience with Toyo, I ran them on a few vehicle's. They are quite expensive for one, the compound is a harder compound that tends to wear evenly and last for a long time. They tend to wear very flat and smooth were other softer tires round over time. The sidewalls are fairly stiff and react well with low pressures and resist punctures good enough. Once you get them in a 35" or larger size the tread is open enough that you have a good bite into snow and mud with the harder compound and they are a good tire. When I ran the smaller version of this tire, a 31"/10.5 , I found the tire to have good hiway grip, a smooth ride but lacked in traction so badly off-road that within 18months I sold the tires to a mate who liked them and desperately needed new rubber. In snow there was no lateral traction and the same with mud. No forward traction either and the tire would immediately load up with debris and had no flex from the stiff compound to bite into the soft ground. On muddy sidehills the tire just loads up and sends you sliding sideways off the trail. It is a good choice for people wanting a long lasting hiway tire that spend 85% of there time driving blacktop but for those of us that live to off-road and overland and cannot have a tire let us down in the bush when grip counts, I feel there are better choices.
I have my KO2s on my Discovery 2 around 3 weeks now... Absolutely stunning tyres, one of the biggest help with deciding which tyres to buy was your review with Isuzu. Thanks for this channel Andrew, pleasure to watch it.
I bought a new set of KO2’s and got ride of them because 2 of them were out of round at purchase. I switched to the Cooper STT PRO’s Love them and they balance great 👍🏻 plus they look great on my FJ Cruiser. And their 285/70/17 is actually 33.03 inches, so a true 33 inches.
I've got the BFG K/O II's on my Chevy Silverado Duramax for about 9 months now and love them. I'm planning on putting another set on our 2015 Toyota 4 Runner possibly this year.
I have geolander 015s on a little lightweight mk2 rav4 and use it for off road work mainly over farmland and forestry where there are lots of rutted tracks so no rocks or anything hard on tyres. They are great on that vehicle as it spends most of its time on road. They're a good general purpose tyre for lighter 4x4s and quiet and grippy on road...good in the wet. They get me most places I need to go off road where road tyres wouldn't work at all well. A great compromise. For a balance ghat would be more off road I'd use grabbers or BFGs
Andrew, I used to be a BFG A/t user. Highly recommended. Lasts really long but, after 6 years, I noticed the sidewalls started to crack like a disease. Anyway, long story short, since I live in the Philippines, I have found a compromise for the BFG A/t's. Right now, I am trying Maxxis Bravo 980 A/t's. Same tread pattern as the old BfG A/t. I just intalled them a few months ago on my TLC Bj41 but will follow your advice of observing it for 1 to 2 years. Best regards.
i used BFG all terrain for 2 years here in the UAE and they were amazing in the desert and in the mountains the only problem with them is that they are heavy so i switched to Yokohama all terrain and they are amazing in the desert , my friends are using BFG 2 and they said its even better in the desert than the older version .
After 2.5 years of off-roading in Costa Rica,I found the best tire is any one that stays inflated. Also ,I tried the Pirelli scorpion ,which was very good
I am running the General Grabber Red Letters and they are great. They are more aggressive than the AT so they are louder but they are very resilient. I picked up a nail in one right in the middle and it bent the nail over. The entire nail was in the tire and still didn't puncture it. Lucky? Maybe. I have been in many different terrains with them and have yet to be disappointed.
I've been using BFG AT ko's for the past 5 years, no flats long wear, low noise, great in the snow. I've climbed a 16% completely iced hill with a bend in low range with a set of chains in the back no problem. I'd buy the ko2 when these wear out in a few years.
I run cooper AT W on my personal truck. I work in oil and gas northern BC and Alberta and in the oil patch 75% of work 1ton and under trucks I see run Goodyear Duratrac because their so tough, great in mud and ice. The tires don't look amazing but real world off Rd are amazing.
Before the KO2 came out, my favorite all around tire was the Dueler Revo 2. Handle both paved and unpaved roads very well and were aggressive enough for normal off-road trails. Only punctured a sidewall once with the Revo 2 (thick tree branch). The only downside was the tread life. I was only getting around 20K miles per set, but that was with aggressive driving on chip and tar south Texas farm roads (they act like cheese graters against tires) mixed with occasional weekend off-road trips. So far the KO2 has been performing better in every category over the Revo 2. The Revo 2 is starting to show its age (I think about 13 years old now) and it is time for Bridgestone to release the Revo 3.
I also want to add my favorite highway tire for trucks. On my tow vehicle I have the Uniroyal Laredo Cross Country. They have the Mountain and Snowflake symbol and do a descent Job in light snow. Their wet traction is superb, with the dry traction being good to great. The most amazing thing, and is why I love these tires the most, is their tread life. I am about to replace my second set, which have 85K miles on them. They still have a lot of tread left but are dry rotting and have lost their ability to grip in the rain. The first set was replaced at 100k miles with 4/32" of tread left. I had read other reviews online where people have gone 120K miles on a single set. They are expensive ($1000 a set for my truck), but the price is well worth it for their long life.
+Chris Biz 7.50R16 Michelins are £130 each for me, for a set of 5 that's heading fairly close to your 1000usd. Thankfully lots of people don't like the look of them on Defenders and they're one of the stock tyres so you can get takeoffs cheap.
Duratracks from Goodyear. That's what us USA over landers run. Sidewall is thin on the d rated so buy the E rated. But good all around. Bfg, can't go wrong... Like buying IBM...
As more of a track car guy, the biggest issue I see with people reviewing offroad tires and truck tires is that think they all should last 50,000 + miles and be great and then wear another 20k before they chuck them. In the race car world you use the tires till they suck and they'll suck within a year of track driving or autoX. Even if they are not all the way worn, they get hard and heat cycled out. Nearly the same thing can be said of offroad tires. If you value grip, change them out more often and stop complaining... . If you want to be cheap, stop complaining that you can't go off roading a couple times a month AND get 60k out of the tires. Gotta be carefull reading and listening to reviews.
Just happened across your channel and watched a few vids including this one. New subscriber now! Was looking at Nitto, BFG and Goodyear. I at least have the list narrowed down. God video. 👍🏼
Goodyear Duratraks are very popular in N.A. because they are more a blend between mud terrain and all terrain plus they are winter rated. Softer compound provides grip at colder temperatures but they do wear faster. Its probably the tire that forced BFG to rethink their KO2's. The Duratraks have also started this trend of new 4 season tires that have better winter traction than the older AT's and several manufacturers have followed suit with their own versions.
Toyo M55 and their predecessors are a premium tire here in Western Canada. I love them but hate paying for them and generally get a more inferior tire that is still more than adequate (75% highway, 20% gravel forestry roads, 5% "I shouldn't have tried this" roads... while winching). The M55 is a common tire on service trucks at open pit mines. Routine driving on fresh blast rock is probably the best testimonial to how good are these tires.
I run a Hankook Dynapro AT and most the driving I do is sharp rocks,River crossings,Gravel road that are unmaintained and bulldozer tracks down to rough bedrock. Found them very good and tough. Only one flat and that was piece of steel so just bad luck. Good on road and quiet too but im not too fond of them on sand.
I run a 36 inch Simex Centipeed on my 4.2 diesel turbo Patrol and a 35x13.5 Maxxis Mudzilla on my Navara with Patrol diffs. Found them all the be great tyres. My D21 Terrano converted into a ute runs the Hankook dynopro and is my daily driver/hunting truck.
Toyo Open Country R/T if you like a hybrid mud / all terrains and money allows. Quiet like all terrains. But aggressive mud lugs on the outer edge for the bite and great siping.
The LR4 you pointed out had 20 inch rims. I've seen one with a low profile Pirelli all terrain. I think that's what came on the vehicle out of the factory. Looked good and had a lot of traction. The side wall was well protected as well. For what people will do with it the tire will work well. If they don't mind smashing the time they can do more.
Incredible tire in the snow. Go with the load range E Duratracs for added strength. If you're doing lots of sharp rock terrain and are an aggressive driver, may want to go KO2 or Cooper (both known to be very durable for these conditions)
Well, It's been about 2 years since I put ko2s on my WJ. I like them in all conditions. Now I'm buying a set for my silverado. Thought about trying another brand but got scared off because my bfgs have been so good.
8:55 Bridgetone Dueller was the default tyre on my new Hilux, that, for as far I can tell, was mentioned to be for the spanish market I replaced them with BFG AT/KO straight away :) On a older Series III Landrover 109 I'm running Fedimax F/Mud2 no fun above 65kp/h but quite good looking (for a series) and nice offfoad (7.50*16R)
Now this was an interesting video. Not a single Duratrac in the bunch... here in NA they are EVERYWHERE. I swear at least 50% of vehicles running ATs seem to be running Duratracs.
Jeep Wranglers JK Sport come with Bridgestone Dueler. I got a puncture on gravel and they were less than a year old. I'm getting KO2s mounted tomorrow, let's see how they hold on gravel, dirt/mud and mostly snowy roads.
Love my BFG KM2. But the Coopers are really catching up with their competitive pricing, availability and performance here in South East Asia. But in the rainforest jungle, Simex Centipede wins!
Ran the old - school Cooper Discoverers on my '78 CJ7 (my first off - roader) 235 75 R15. No complaints. Ran the Mud terrain BFG 31 10.50 15's on my 1990 Jeep YJ. I'd run the same tires on the same rigs again.
The General Grabber AT2s that some of those trucks have a great tires. I run them on my 100 Series Land Cruiser. I ran BFGs on all my previous trucks; I just made the switch to these a few years ago. The Grabber AT2 isn't available in SA (they only get the Grabber). I dont know how available they are all over the world. In the future, when my wife and I head out on a trip outside the US, I may have to go back to BFG or Cooper.
Thank You very much for this Film! has been very helpfull! i have to buy new ones for my Defender in ZA...and have made my decision! best Regards Christian
Thoughts on the Nankangs Mudstar I ran then as 33/15s on my 61 and loved I now have then as 31/16s on an 05 rodeo/dmax and finding not as good on a lighter vehicle. Admittedly there Isuzus doesn't have the diffs of the cruiser either, and the tyre is smaller, both radius and width. The nankangs are staple, on forestry service vehicles in my country and have a great reputation with those that have tried them.
I have done a HUGE amount of research recently re tires, I can not find 1 single bad review on the entire internet for the 'TOYO open country m/t' so they are what I'm going with! Could be be worth having a look into them. downside is that they are hard to find in Australia!
The KO2s have a questionable compound. There's been lots of reports of the lugs cracking. BFG has been good about replacing them under warranty, but more than one owner has reported sequential failures.
First, I really enjoy your videos. Ade needs to lighten up. Anyway... Just wanted to add that I have the BF Goodrich Mud Terrain KM2 on my AEV Jeep JKUR. I think they're great on everything but the road. They're a bit loud (like you mentioned). They tend to have a "rumble" sound at slower speeds. I think I'll be going for the All Terrain next time.
Toyo mts tires are the best hands down you can buy, but they come at a huge premium.. They are 10 ply tires. I've ran them on 3 different rigs without a single issue. They are extremely robust in our NW terrain with combination of mud, rocks, shale, and ruts. I've ran bfg mud and all trains both km2 and tko. good tires but a weak sidewall for our climate. if you have the funds buy toyo. the only flaw toyo has I'd they are heavy. about 16lb heavier per tire than the bfg mud which are my second favorite tire.
Ok I think I need to explain something for you: KO2s are good for everything except, EXCEPT - sand, clay or agricultural mud, wet road breaking, uneven frozen snow. These exceptions is were they are an mediocre AT. They also are not indicated as the best choice for SUVs.
So what would you recommend in terms of performance? Your personal opinion, of course. A true overlanding tire should be very well rounded I would assume, alot of overlanding in the states includes driving a decent distance to get there. I have all terrain k02 w/ Kevlar side walls on my Tacoma, I am wondering if it's worth spending for another set for my 4runner. Great video, love your channel. 👍
This is just the video and information that I need! Thank you for posting. I can't thank you enough. I know the Bridgestone 694's are not durable off-road tires. However, they have new 697's. How are they? They claim that they have improved everything from the 694 especially the construction of the tire for a more puncture-resistant tire. I'm still deciding whether to go with the BFG KO2's, Cooper S/T Maxx or the Dueler 697.
My thoughts on ko2, tough. Very tough. Good in the road. Really everything but mud. It’s okay though. Comming from a a JK rubicon. I have cooper discoverer st max on my Tacoma and love them except they’re noisy and doesn’t handle well in the road. Great in the mud and hard to puncture
Grabbers are some of your best budget tires. If you need to get on the trail, don't want the mystery of used tires and only have about $500 to spend, you can throw a set of Grabbers on your truck and head out. They won't keep you at the head of the pack but they won't leave you stranded either. Personally, I'm a Cooper guy but I'd be confident rolling out on a set of Grabbers. Most likely what my son will be running once he's driving. Even a part-time McJob can keep his horse shod with those.
Tyres...A subject of varied opinion for sure. BFG have a great reputation & have maybe become the default tyre for the off roader. I do think that they are living off this reputation to some degree. There are better tyres out there now. Cooper's as you mentioned are a very good tyre. Toyo are also very good but not that popular in the UK at least. I deliberate for ages over tyre choices on both my adventure bike and off roader. I need tyres that can do high mileage on tarmac but still have a bias to off road traction. After much research I have just bought a set of Hankook Dynapro RT03. They are in my opinion, more of an aggressive all terrain or mild my terrain. They perform better off road and on road that the BFG MT in my opinion. They have also improved my MPG ! They are very very quiet as well. Worth considering for overlanding👍
For all of us Americans who can only dream of the vehicles you get to drive what are your opinions on vehicles we ha e access to. Such as the Toyota 4runner, Tacoma, Nissan Xterra, Frontier. would be great to hear if you had any experience with these
What is with the white letters out? I thought everyone stopped doing that in the 80s. The Toyo Open Country M/T is probably the best road/off road tire you can buy today. Very good traction everywhere is extremely tough.
Toyo is a great traction tire and a tuff sidewall that also "bags" well when aired down. Down side is if your vehicle is on the obese side you better rotate the hell out of them because they will be bald before thmey are paid off. Kinda noisy also but I enjoy that humming sound. On a side note: the last set of Toyo open country I had got a hole in the tread from a burn out on some 3/4 chip rock🤷. Shouldn't have happened! There was a rock broken up in the tire so I have no doubt it's what made the hole and didn't get stuck in after the fact. Maybe a fluke maybe not but I'm sure paying more attention to there performance now.
bfg is really good for off road but it's kinda noisy on road, heavy and expensive especially where i live and hard to find what about good year for off road especially for sand and dunes?! jeep use it in the new grand cherokee trailhawk thanks for your great content : )
I use the grabber AT2 on my Isuzu D-max. At2 are great in winter and in forest. But in heavy Mud in they lose there Traktion...okays it's no MT xD But on road they are not to noisy. 40tkm and no problem with thes tires.
Andrew, two years on - I'm wondering what your thoughts are on the AT/SA Kevlar Silent Armour Goodyear tyres. I can get them for my winter wheels in a 255/55/18
Andrew, you said you didn't know the reputation of the Toyo's, so I wanted to share with you what a tire tech told me. I took my truck in to patch up a tire (stock Goodyear that came with the truck), and I saw a set of Toyo's being put on a truck next to mine in the shop. I turned to the tech and asked, "what's the deal with Toyo's?" He said that when they put on a set of Toyo's or Nitto's on a truck, they just don't come back; meaning they stand up very well to the use and abuse. When I got the chance I put a set of Nitto Trail Grapplers and they've been amazing. I've gone off-road in mud, sand, dessert, rocky trails - you name it. After putting 26,000 miles on these tires I've not had a single issue. I'll continue using these tires, and I do recommend that you look into them even if for nothing more than just a bit of knowledge about the brands. Anyway, there's my two cents. Hope it was helpful.
hi am a Kenyan an drive a Ford ranger. always looking to go on the forbidden path. after watching your video of tyer manufacturers I agree that BFF Goodrich are the best. but you questioned the road tyres. two years ago I travelled to lodwar in turukana in Kenya's north east with a set of old set of BF Goodrich road tyres I had had for longer than I should have and they did better than I expected. it was impressive that after reaching lordwar I wanted to get new tyres and all the shops told me that I was better staying with my old tyers for the trip back. there you go.
BFG Mud Terrains for me... so many amazing rigs at that show!
Toyo and Nitto have a very good reputation here in the southern United States. Their mud terrains go on a lot of daily drivers believe it or not. They are known for being tough, balancing well, and having good tread life.
I got my K02's partly because of your review of them. I've got 40,000km on them. 6,000 on gravel, 3,000 off-road. The rest on highway. They have worn down ~0.9mm in that time. I love the traction, durability and lack of noise. Most of my off road is sharp rocks and tree stumps. Minor amounts of mud, and lots of rocky river crossings. They were also very good on Icey river crossings.
My dad has sworn by the bfg ats for DECADES without knowing the rest of the world loves them too- on his wranglers, that said I love how passionate you are about tires I could watch this all day! -coming from Ohio ,US
Thanks for a very informative video. Changed my factory-installed Duellers on my LC J120 to BFG AT KO1s (one size up 16"->17") very soon after purchase and never looked back! The first set had a hard life and served me very well! Never had a major incident even when missing junks out of them and when they run off the rim due to low pressure driving in the desert. Choice for second set was quickly made: BFGs AT KO1s again!
Always love your videos Andrew. I've used all sorts of tyres over the years for general green laning in the UK. I'm slowly moving from "big agressive" back to "factory size", just because everything works as it should with a standard-ish size. Currently running Goodtear MTR in 235/86/16 on the 110.... works really well and handles nicely on the road.
On Andrews recommendation from a previous video I purchased the BFG KO2s 6 months ago. Best tire I have ever bought!!!! Thanks for this. Am amazed on how quiet they are on the road considering the aggressive tread pattern.
TOYO Open Country MT are awesome tires. I did around trip in South America with them 40000 KM not one puncture. They are heavy but very tough. :)
BFG KM2's on our Wrangler JKU and they are also great for 1000mi from SF to Moab UT on the road. Never got stuck with this tire and has never let us down either. Will buy again.
Toyo m/t's are excellent tires. Tough as nails and more grip than you know what to do with. I have ran them on every truck ive had for the past ten years.
American by any chance?
@@Notinserviceij yeah
@@chrisfisher3900 LOL
@@Notinserviceij what does that matter?
Toyos used a lot in Van Isle, BC by industry and back roads users due to extreme toughness against angular rock punctures ... tough 10 ply rated tire.
Ran them with over 80K a year mostly off road logging roads in BC, great tire
I have used Hankook offroad tires for decades.Great value, extremely durable and amazing tread life.Not sure if they are available outside of the North American Market.
I really enjoy your honest opinions and sharing your Overlanding experiences. You are not afraid to say you don't know about something and able to give strong recommendations on things you do know about.
I personally have experience with many brands of tires and in the past nothing beat BF Goodrich All Terrain T/As for my off-road adventures and 95% miles on paved roads. I am not a mudder and prefer the Sand Dunes of Northern Michigan or the Colorado Rockies and Moab Utah type of terrain. For my 2003 Jeep Grand Cherokee Overland I changed to the Cooper Discoverer AT3 due to raving recommendations and that they are made in my home state of Ohio. I must say these are the best off-road tires I have ever had in the rain and grip even better than the lame Goodyear Wranger tires that were more street-designed. Off road I have no complaints and they held up to 2-weeks of sharp rocks in Colorado and Utah so I also highly recommend them.
That being said I may get Cooper Discoverer S/T Maxx or the STT Pro next soley based on the more aggressive appearance and similar excellent reviews of these tires. Nothing against the BFG's but I have been nothing less than impressed with my Coopers. (I even have the CS5 Grand Touring on my VW Golf and again the best rain tire I have owned on that vehicle)
Cheers Andrew and love your uploads.
I used to buy Toyo Open Country MT tires, they are quite good, but kinda expensive. I have been using BFG KO2s on our jeeps which work well in snow country.
the KO2 i feel.is the best tyre i have ever used! quiet on the tar and soft on the gravel. thanks Andrew great advice
Good work and good point Andrew taking a look on the tyres and what the people or factory uses. I remember 16 years ago when BFGs were new in my country many friends were installing them, but at that time they had a problem... they were really weak on the sidewalls, I saw many many cuts. It seems now are better and strong... in fact many of my friends can drive with them for more than 50/60k kms which is awesome and they are not too expensive.
A little of my experience with Toyo, I ran them on a few vehicle's. They are quite expensive for one, the compound is a harder compound that tends to wear evenly and last for a long time. They tend to wear very flat and smooth were other softer tires round over time. The sidewalls are fairly stiff and react well with low pressures and resist punctures good enough. Once you get them in a 35" or larger size the tread is open enough that you have a good bite into snow and mud with the harder compound and they are a good tire. When I ran the smaller version of this tire, a 31"/10.5 , I found the tire to have good hiway grip, a smooth ride but lacked in traction so badly off-road that within 18months I sold the tires to a mate who liked them and desperately needed new rubber. In snow there was no lateral traction and the same with mud. No forward traction either and the tire would immediately load up with debris and had no flex from the stiff compound to bite into the soft ground. On muddy sidehills the tire just loads up and sends you sliding sideways off the trail. It is a good choice for people wanting a long lasting hiway tire that spend 85% of there time driving blacktop but for those of us that live to off-road and overland and cannot have a tire let us down in the bush when grip counts, I feel there are better choices.
I have my KO2s on my Discovery 2 around 3 weeks now... Absolutely stunning tyres, one of the biggest help with deciding which tyres to buy was your review with Isuzu. Thanks for this channel Andrew, pleasure to watch it.
I bought a new set of KO2’s and got ride of them because 2 of them were out of round at purchase. I switched to the Cooper STT PRO’s Love them and they balance great 👍🏻 plus they look great on my FJ Cruiser.
And their 285/70/17 is actually 33.03 inches, so a true 33 inches.
I've got the BFG K/O II's on my Chevy Silverado Duramax for about 9 months now and love them. I'm planning on putting another set on our 2015 Toyota 4 Runner possibly this year.
I decided not to re-order my K02’s, they where terrible in mud and terrible in Snow. I went with Cooper STT pros, and I LOVE THEM
I have geolander 015s on a little lightweight mk2 rav4 and use it for off road work mainly over farmland and forestry where there are lots of rutted tracks so no rocks or anything hard on tyres. They are great on that vehicle as it spends most of its time on road. They're a good general purpose tyre for lighter 4x4s and quiet and grippy on road...good in the wet. They get me most places I need to go off road where road tyres wouldn't work at all well. A great compromise. For a balance ghat would be more off road I'd use grabbers or BFGs
Andrew, I used to be a BFG A/t user. Highly recommended. Lasts really long but, after 6 years, I noticed the sidewalls started to crack like a disease. Anyway, long story short, since I live in the Philippines, I have found a compromise for the BFG A/t's. Right now, I am trying Maxxis Bravo 980 A/t's. Same tread pattern as the old BfG A/t. I just intalled them a few months ago on my TLC Bj41 but will follow your advice of observing it for 1 to 2 years. Best regards.
Anybody else agree with Andrews opinion on the Geolanders? Mine have been holding up great and traction seems to be pretty good
The only tires I run are Toyo Open Country MT in 10 ply (80psi)
Heavy but wear like iron and never get punctures/blowouts EVER.
Robby Gordon ran Toyo's in Dakar rally. Never had a puncture.
As always, Informative and down to earth without any bullshit.
i used BFG all terrain for 2 years here in the UAE and they were amazing in the desert and in the mountains the only problem with them is that they are heavy so i switched to Yokohama all terrain and they are amazing in the desert , my friends are using BFG 2 and they said its even better in the desert than the older version .
After 2.5 years of off-roading in Costa Rica,I found the best tire is any one that stays inflated. Also ,I tried the Pirelli scorpion ,which was very good
I am running the General Grabber Red Letters and they are great. They are more aggressive than the AT so they are louder but they are very resilient. I picked up a nail in one right in the middle and it bent the nail over. The entire nail was in the tire and still didn't puncture it. Lucky? Maybe. I have been in many different terrains with them and have yet to be disappointed.
I've been using BFG AT ko's for the past 5 years, no flats long wear, low noise, great in the snow. I've climbed a 16% completely iced hill with a bend in low range with a set of chains in the back no problem. I'd buy the ko2 when these wear out in a few years.
I run cooper AT W on my personal truck. I work in oil and gas northern BC and Alberta and in the oil patch 75% of work 1ton and under trucks I see run Goodyear Duratrac because their so tough, great in mud and ice. The tires don't look amazing but real world off Rd are amazing.
Before the KO2 came out, my favorite all around tire was the Dueler Revo 2. Handle both paved and unpaved roads very well and were aggressive enough for normal off-road trails. Only punctured a sidewall once with the Revo 2 (thick tree branch). The only downside was the tread life. I was only getting around 20K miles per set, but that was with aggressive driving on chip and tar south Texas farm roads (they act like cheese graters against tires) mixed with occasional weekend off-road trips.
So far the KO2 has been performing better in every category over the Revo 2. The Revo 2 is starting to show its age (I think about 13 years old now) and it is time for Bridgestone to release the Revo 3.
I also want to add my favorite highway tire for trucks.
On my tow vehicle I have the Uniroyal Laredo Cross Country. They have the Mountain and Snowflake symbol and do a descent Job in light snow. Their wet traction is superb, with the dry traction being good to great.
The most amazing thing, and is why I love these tires the most, is their tread life. I am about to replace my second set, which have 85K miles on them. They still have a lot of tread left but are dry rotting and have lost their ability to grip in the rain. The first set was replaced at 100k miles with 4/32" of tread left. I had read other reviews online where people have gone 120K miles on a single set.
They are expensive ($1000 a set for my truck), but the price is well worth it for their long life.
Revo 2 carcasses are pitiful. For on road use only
+Chris Biz 7.50R16 Michelins are £130 each for me, for a set of 5 that's heading fairly close to your 1000usd.
Thankfully lots of people don't like the look of them on Defenders and they're one of the stock tyres so you can get takeoffs cheap.
Duratracks from Goodyear. That's what us USA over landers run. Sidewall is thin on the d rated so buy the E rated. But good all around. Bfg, can't go wrong... Like buying IBM...
As more of a track car guy, the biggest issue I see with people reviewing offroad tires and truck tires is that think they all should last 50,000 + miles and be great and then wear another 20k before they chuck them. In the race car world you use the tires till they suck and they'll suck within a year of track driving or autoX. Even if they are not all the way worn, they get hard and heat cycled out. Nearly the same thing can be said of offroad tires. If you value grip, change them out more often and stop complaining... . If you want to be cheap, stop complaining that you can't go off roading a couple times a month AND get 60k out of the tires. Gotta be carefull reading and listening to reviews.
Just happened across your channel and watched a few vids including this one. New subscriber now! Was looking at Nitto, BFG and Goodyear. I at least have the list narrowed down. God video. 👍🏼
Goodyear Duratraks are very popular in N.A. because they are more a blend between mud terrain and all terrain plus they are winter rated. Softer compound provides grip at colder temperatures but they do wear faster. Its probably the tire that forced BFG to rethink their KO2's. The Duratraks have also started this trend of new 4 season tires that have better winter traction than the older AT's and several manufacturers have followed suit with their own versions.
Toyo M55 and their predecessors are a premium tire here in Western Canada. I love them but hate paying for them and generally get a more inferior tire that is still more than adequate (75% highway, 20% gravel forestry roads, 5% "I shouldn't have tried this" roads... while winching).
The M55 is a common tire on service trucks at open pit mines. Routine driving on fresh blast rock is probably the best testimonial to how good are these tires.
I run a Hankook Dynapro AT and most the driving I do is sharp rocks,River crossings,Gravel road that are unmaintained and bulldozer tracks down to rough bedrock. Found them very good and tough. Only one flat and that was piece of steel so just bad luck. Good on road and quiet too but im not too fond of them on sand.
I run a 36 inch Simex Centipeed on my 4.2 diesel turbo Patrol and a 35x13.5 Maxxis Mudzilla on my Navara with Patrol diffs. Found them all the be great tyres. My D21 Terrano converted into a ute runs the Hankook dynopro and is my daily driver/hunting truck.
Toyo Open Country R/T if you like a hybrid mud / all terrains and money allows. Quiet like all terrains. But aggressive mud lugs on the outer edge for the bite and great siping.
The LR4 you pointed out had 20 inch rims. I've seen one with a low profile Pirelli all terrain. I think that's what came on the vehicle out of the factory. Looked good and had a lot of traction. The side wall was well protected as well. For what people will do with it the tire will work well. If they don't mind smashing the time they can do more.
Smashing the rim*
Goodyear Duratrac all the way. great in all conditions and very durable. I'm a repeat customer.
Incredible tire in the snow. Go with the load range E Duratracs for added strength. If you're doing lots of sharp rock terrain and are an aggressive driver, may want to go KO2 or Cooper (both known to be very durable for these conditions)
Well, It's been about 2 years since I put ko2s on my WJ. I like them in all conditions. Now I'm buying a set for my silverado. Thought about trying another brand but got scared off because my bfgs have been so good.
I ride KO2s on my 100 series. on and off road they are awesome. I'll buy again for sure.
Love my Goodyear Wrangler Adventure 2s w/Kevlar.
I'm actually considering Nokian tires on my next land rover 110; still debating wether I should stick to Wolf Rims or go for the Maxxtrack Blindo
8:55 Bridgetone Dueller was the default tyre on my new Hilux, that, for as far I can tell, was mentioned to be for the spanish market
I replaced them with BFG AT/KO straight away :)
On a older Series III Landrover 109 I'm running Fedimax F/Mud2 no fun above 65kp/h but quite good looking (for a series) and nice offfoad (7.50*16R)
12:16 That's a Navara, not a Hilux. This is the exact reason modern cars don't interest me: everything looks the same.
Cheers
The BFG K2s are awesome and I will keep getting them!
My Jeep used to have Grabber AT2 and I've gone to a Goodyear Wrangler AT with Silent Armour.
great videos by the way. I've been enjoying them for last year. thank you
Now this was an interesting video. Not a single Duratrac in the bunch... here in NA they are EVERYWHERE. I swear at least 50% of vehicles running ATs seem to be running Duratracs.
Disco 4 at the beginning had them, Andrew just mostly skipped it :)
Ahhh I totally missed that one! Surprisingly rare though.
man you are genius thanks for sharing your experience
Jeep Wranglers JK Sport come with Bridgestone Dueler. I got a puncture on gravel and they were less than a year old. I'm getting KO2s mounted tomorrow, let's see how they hold on gravel, dirt/mud and mostly snowy roads.
Love my BFG KM2. But the Coopers are really catching up with their competitive pricing, availability and performance here in South East Asia. But in the rainforest jungle, Simex Centipede wins!
Ran the old - school Cooper Discoverers on my '78 CJ7 (my first off - roader) 235 75 R15. No complaints. Ran the Mud terrain BFG 31 10.50 15's on my 1990 Jeep YJ. I'd run the same tires on the same rigs again.
The General Grabber AT2s that some of those trucks have a great tires. I run them on my 100 Series Land Cruiser. I ran BFGs on all my previous trucks; I just made the switch to these a few years ago. The Grabber AT2 isn't available in SA (they only get the Grabber). I dont know how available they are all over the world. In the future, when my wife and I head out on a trip outside the US, I may have to go back to BFG or Cooper.
Thank You very much for this Film!
has been very helpfull!
i have to buy new ones for my Defender in ZA...and have made my decision!
best Regards Christian
Thoughts on the Nankangs Mudstar I ran then as 33/15s on my 61 and loved I now have then as 31/16s on an 05 rodeo/dmax and finding not as good on a lighter vehicle. Admittedly there Isuzus doesn't have the diffs of the cruiser either, and the tyre is smaller, both radius and width. The nankangs are staple, on forestry service vehicles in my country and have a great reputation with those that have tried them.
I have done a HUGE amount of research recently re tires, I can not find 1 single bad review on the entire internet for the 'TOYO open country m/t' so they are what I'm going with!
Could be be worth having a look into them.
downside is that they are hard to find in Australia!
Ni Andrew you can now get a 17" wheel for Disco 3 and Disco 4 . that are designed to fit over the callipers. Now available from Xtreme Sales.
Really? You have a link? I cannot find any info on your site...
The KO2s have a questionable compound. There's been lots of reports of the lugs cracking. BFG has been good about replacing them under warranty, but more than one owner has reported sequential failures.
Don't seem to be as long lasting either.
First, I really enjoy your videos. Ade needs to lighten up. Anyway...
Just wanted to add that I have the BF Goodrich Mud Terrain KM2 on my AEV Jeep JKUR. I think they're great on everything but the road. They're a bit loud (like you mentioned). They tend to have a "rumble" sound at slower speeds. I think I'll be going for the All Terrain next time.
Toyo mts tires are the best hands down you can buy, but they come at a huge premium.. They are 10 ply tires. I've ran them on 3 different rigs without a single issue. They are extremely robust in our NW terrain with combination of mud, rocks, shale, and ruts. I've ran bfg mud and all trains both km2 and tko. good tires but a weak sidewall for our climate. if you have the funds buy toyo. the only flaw toyo has I'd they are heavy. about 16lb heavier per tire than the bfg mud which are my second favorite tire.
Andrew you can put 17's on a LR4 if you swap on a set of V6 or Diesel LR3 brakes.
I have Cooper AT 3s on my 05 Ford Ranger I like them a lot.
I run a Toyo AT 2 it is a good all around tire, but hard to Balance and a little bumpy over 80mph
Ok I think I need to explain something for you: KO2s are good for everything except, EXCEPT - sand, clay or agricultural mud, wet road breaking, uneven frozen snow. These exceptions is were they are an mediocre AT. They also are not indicated as the best choice for SUVs.
good to know what is an acceptable offroad tire
U are a legend
Very cool video, thanks for sharing.
So what would you recommend in terms of performance? Your personal opinion, of course. A true overlanding tire should be very well rounded I would assume, alot of overlanding in the states includes driving a decent distance to get there. I have all terrain k02 w/ Kevlar side walls on my Tacoma, I am wondering if it's worth spending for another set for my 4runner. Great video, love your channel. 👍
That nice canopy on the Hilux was a RSI made in SA.
Nitto Trail Grapplers best tyres I've had.
Maxxis Razor are awesome in Mud.
This is just the video and information that I need! Thank you for posting. I can't thank you enough.
I know the Bridgestone 694's are not durable off-road tires. However, they have new 697's. How are they? They claim that they have improved everything from the 694 especially the construction of the tire for a more puncture-resistant tire.
I'm still deciding whether to go with the BFG KO2's, Cooper S/T Maxx or the Dueler 697.
My thoughts on ko2, tough. Very tough. Good in the road. Really everything but mud. It’s okay though. Comming from a a JK rubicon. I have cooper discoverer st max on my Tacoma and love them except they’re noisy and doesn’t handle well in the road. Great in the mud and hard to puncture
3 more years on, what do you think of ko2’s now Andrew? Would you recommend?
I want something to put a set of K02s on. I've always wanted a set for some reason.
It’s Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ P3 all the way for me.. best tyre ever
You should have also walked through the camping area to see what current overlanders are using on their own vehicles.
I ran Toyo MT's on my wrangler untill they were at zero tread with not one single puncture, the sidewall is bulletproof.
Fantastic and informative! Thank you!
Ko 2s are very good off road for a all terrain but poor on wet blacktop?
Grabbers are some of your best budget tires. If you need to get on the trail, don't want the mystery of used tires and only have about $500 to spend, you can throw a set of Grabbers on your truck and head out. They won't keep you at the head of the pack but they won't leave you stranded either. Personally, I'm a Cooper guy but I'd be confident rolling out on a set of Grabbers. Most likely what my son will be running once he's driving. Even a part-time McJob can keep his horse shod with those.
Charles Eye Is Grabbers the brand? I know almost nothing about tires so please excuse me if that’s a dumb question lol
Tyres...A subject of varied opinion for sure. BFG have a great reputation & have maybe become the default tyre for the off roader. I do think that they are living off this reputation to some degree. There are better tyres out there now. Cooper's as you mentioned are a very good tyre. Toyo are also very good but not that popular in the UK at least. I deliberate for ages over tyre choices on both my adventure bike and off roader. I need tyres that can do high mileage on tarmac but still have a bias to off road traction. After much research I have just bought a set of Hankook Dynapro RT03. They are in my opinion, more of an aggressive all terrain or mild my terrain. They perform better off road and on road that the BFG MT in my opinion. They have also improved my MPG ! They are very very quiet as well. Worth considering for overlanding👍
My last tires were the Toyo MT's.
My current tires (for the past 3 yrs) are the KO2's.
I will buy the KO2's again; Best tire I've ever owned.
For all of us Americans who can only dream of the vehicles you get to drive what are your opinions on vehicles we ha e access to. Such as the Toyota 4runner, Tacoma, Nissan Xterra, Frontier. would be great to hear if you had any experience with these
What is with the white letters out? I thought everyone stopped doing that in the 80s. The Toyo Open Country M/T is probably the best road/off road tire you can buy today. Very good traction everywhere is extremely tough.
BFGs on my Defender and Jimny. They do the job!
I called it! K02s and Coopers!
Toyo is a great traction tire and a tuff sidewall that also "bags" well when aired down. Down side is if your vehicle is on the obese side you better rotate the hell out of them because they will be bald before thmey are paid off. Kinda noisy also but I enjoy that humming sound.
On a side note: the last set of Toyo open country I had got a hole in the tread from a burn out on some 3/4 chip rock🤷. Shouldn't have happened! There was a rock broken up in the tire so I have no doubt it's what made the hole and didn't get stuck in after the fact. Maybe a fluke maybe not but I'm sure paying more attention to there performance now.
my toyos on my jku wrere awsome tuff tuff and sweet looking they wore good and evenly
Thanks a lot for your videos. I wonder what you think about Goodyear Duratrac?
bfg is really good for off road but it's kinda noisy on road, heavy and expensive especially where i live and hard to find
what about good year for off road especially for sand and dunes?!
jeep use it in the new grand cherokee trailhawk
thanks for your great content : )
Hankook Dynapro ATM RF10 - Anyone? Bueller?
The Hankook tires have been great for a all around AT!
I use the grabber AT2 on my Isuzu D-max.
At2 are great in winter and in forest.
But in heavy Mud in they lose there Traktion...okays it's no MT xD
But on road they are not to noisy.
40tkm and no problem with thes tires.
Would love to see you driving a little Lada Niva through a desert, the himalayas or something :)
Nice video, very helpful.
Andrew, two years on - I'm wondering what your thoughts are on the AT/SA Kevlar Silent Armour Goodyear tyres.
I can get them for my winter wheels in a 255/55/18
when TOYO MT came out You could get 4 37-12.50/15 for around 800 buck.
Andrew, what’s the latest trend for 2021? RT?