BajaNomad - Baja BFGoodrich AT/KO tire review

Baja BFGoodrich AT/KO tire review

Ken Cooke - 6-12-2013 at 01:13 PM

I would consider myself to be a 'Conservative' driver - careful on-road driving, casual trips to the mall, and some 'light off-roading'. When I bought my Rubicon 10 yrs ago, I wanted to see what she could do off the lot, so I took her mudding with some experienced off-roaders.

Gold Crown Road - Twentynine Palms area (Sept. 2003)

In February (2013), I came across a killer deal on some 35" BFG AT/KOs and after running TrXus MTs for 8 yrs., I thought I would give the BFG AT/KO another shot.

Rebuilding for Baja - in Tijuana, Mexico

By March, I was ready for some 4 wheeling action, so I took the Jeep to the 2013 Tierra Del Sol to see how these mild All-Terrains could keep up with the guys running KM2s and IROCs. I noticed some limitations, but also realized that the increase from 33" to 35" helped quite a bit with the traction.

Later that month, I decided the Jeep should be tested along the 2 day BAJA POLE LINE ROAD - driving roughly 125 mi. to/from the trail - south of the massive Laguna Salada where the Baja 250 and 500 races take place every year. BAJA IS A BLAST!

The drive down was WAY QUIETER than it would have been with my INTERCO TrXus MTs. Preserving one's hearing can be a good thing.:nono:

At the Bank in Mexicali withdrawing Pesos

I had to lift the Jeep a bit higher to accommodate these new (to me) treads
4" suspension + 1" coil spacers + 1" body lift by Daystar

The day of the run, I noticed all of the vehicles are running BFG tires. No tire failures was a good thing.:2thumbsup:

Crossing the seismically active Sierra Mayor range south of Mexicali

Here is where the tires revealed how good they would perform in the mud

Surprising fact - These tires pulled through the muck. Sure, they packed in the mud, but they worked surprisingly well.

Russ' Jeep with 33" KM2s pulled through just fine.

Our group made it without winch pulls

BFG - my own experience

John M - 6-12-2013 at 02:19 PM

I've had BFG TA/KOs - two sets on my Tacoma, went through two sets on my CJ7, plus the Jeep had run through a set of BFG Mud Terrains. All performed up to expectations until the last set of All Terrains. Mileage had been consistently outstanding in my opinion - 50,000+ with some sets nearing the 60,000 mileage mark.

This all changed with the last set on my Tacoma - all new at the same time but they needed replacement at just under 34,000 miles. I hadn't changed anything, kept air pressure consistent, and was quite shocked.

Discount Tire where I've bought at least the last 3 sets simply shrugged their shoulder and said, politely, "oh well" - No offer of any adjustment. I then contacted BFG customer relations and they offered to send me a $50 off coupon. I'd classify the treatment by Discount & BFG as unacceptable.

So, I went through a racer acquaintance and now have General AT something or others. We'll see what happens now.

I'm not unwilling to go back the BFGs but sure would like to figure why the drastic reduction in mileage - did they change the rubber compound? BFG said they didn't.

John M

TMW - 6-12-2013 at 03:36 PM

I've run BFG AT/KOs on my GMC and on both my Toyotas and have had good results, especially with the Toyotas. May be a weight thing. However on the 2007 work Tacoma I replaced the original BFG non-AT/KOs at about 18,000 miles with AT/KOs and they only lasted about 25,000 miles I retired at the time and the company went with a Big Brand general tire. When I purchased them I was always asked if I wanted 8 ply or 10 ply rating and I think I got the 10 ply except maybe the work truck was 8 ply rating. I don't know for sure if that had anything to do with it.

Load range

John M - 6-12-2013 at 04:47 PM

All the sets I owned were (rightly or wrongly) load range D

John

David K - 6-12-2013 at 04:54 PM

The Tacoma Off Road TRD trucks come fitted with BFG Rugged Trail TA's. The folks on Tacoma World forums call them 'Rugged Fails'... I have to agree... On my current Tacoma, I replaced them at 20,000 miles as they already had two ridiculous flats (rocks, not nails).

As for other brands, I have tried (and liked) Toyo Open Country AT, Cooper Discoverer ATR, and my current tire is Hankook Dynapro ATM.

All three only give about 35,000 miles before the rubber gets too thin 'looking' for my taste... Maybe it's a Tacoma thing, maybe it is how I drive?

The Hankook Dynapro ATM is my favorite of the three tires I liked... It was outstanding in all categories, except long life: Sand, Mud, Snow, Highway Quiet, Crawling.

I have also used the Pep Boys Futura/ Destiny Dakota AT tires, made by Cooper (on my first tacoma). They only lasted 25,000 miles but were cheap!

The longest last tire I have had was the Cooper Discoverer STT mud/off road tire... got 45,000 miles out of them but was so glad to get rid of them as they were loud on the highway and were grave diggers in the sand!

Unless the price goes way down I won't consider BFG All Terrain TAs, just too many sidewall failures from personal and other's experiences. I know they are the #1 tire of Baja Nomads and they are the #1 all terrain tire.

HANKOOK DYNAPRO ATM 265/75-16 (32")

willardguy - 6-12-2013 at 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by John M
I've had BFG TA/KOs - two sets on my Tacoma, went through two sets on my CJ7, plus the Jeep had run through a set of BFG Mud Terrains. All performed up to expectations until the last set of All Terrains. Mileage had been consistently outstanding in my opinion - 50,000+ with some sets nearing the 60,000 mileage mark.

This all changed with the last set on my Tacoma - all new at the same time but they needed replacement at just under 34,000 miles. I hadn't changed anything, kept air pressure consistent, and was quite shocked.

Discount Tire where I've bought at least the last 3 sets simply shrugged their shoulder and said, politely, "oh well" - No offer of any adjustment. I then contacted BFG customer relations and they offered to send me a $50 off coupon. I'd classify the treatment by Discount & BFG as unacceptable.

So, I went through a racer acquaintance and now have General AT something or others. We'll see what happens now.

I'm not unwilling to go back the BFGs but sure would like to figure why the drastic reduction in mileage - did they change the rubber compound? BFG said they didn't.

John M

im curious, were the bfg's siped by discount tire and were you aware of the born-on date on these tires?

siped?

John M - 6-12-2013 at 06:47 PM

No, they were not siped.

Born on date - I didn't record it but did look - all were within close proximity to each other and were not especially old - something like six months.

The sidewalls showed no sign of deterioration or cracking - they simply wore out, and as David says, there was tread left but not sufficient for confidence off road.

JM

tires

PaulW - 6-12-2013 at 06:54 PM

Lots of off road use
For a Jeep I have good things to say about Goodyear MTRs
I have half worn MTRs on my Rubi and have BFG KM2s waiting cuz I got a good deal.
I do know the most common failure is sidewalls and my rating from worst to best is:
BFG AT
BFG KM2
BFG Baja
BFG Krawler all versions
Goodyear MTR (not the competion version)
Goodyear MTR-k
BFG Project all versions.
The best for wear:
Project or MTR all versions followed by AT
Cant wear out the others due to sidewall leaks from cactus and sticks.
Want a soft ride them choose the one with the softest sidewall and carry 2 spares. Ha.
Yup multiple rigs that all get heavy use.
PaulW

bonanza bucko - 6-12-2013 at 07:08 PM

BFG Rugged Trails are in no way the same tire as BFG TAs. The Rugged Trail turdballs are "original equipment" stuff that are supposed to make dummies who think original equipment tires with the same name, kinda, of the good stuff are good enough. To compare them is to malign the TAs. I am on my 6th set of TAs on two trucks....Toyota Tundra and Ford F150 Supercab. Both are 4X4s.

The day I bought both the Tundra and the F150 I took the trucks to Discount Tire to replace the Rugged Trail crap with TAs.

All my tires, except the current set which is still on the Ford, have gone 50K plus miles.

BB

liknbaja127 - 6-12-2013 at 07:45 PM

We use BFG on all of our trucks, for chasing, site seeing, and every day use,
for over 10 years. they have always worn well, but we did notice that on
2 of the trucks got less mileage than before. about 3-4 years ago. got new set last year before the 1000, and they still look new.
we raced the 1000, no flats and did the 500 no flats! I think they are a great great tire for the Baja.

MMc - 6-12-2013 at 08:54 PM

These tire threads are like who makes the best truck threads. BFG compared to X,Y,Z. The only BGF I have ever purchased have been KO's. I believe you get what you pay for with tire's. As long as I get home, I'm fine with most. I'm running Generals now.

I have run BFG's, General's, Hankook's, Goodyears, Coopers. The biggest venerable is the driver and the road. The faster I drive, the heavier the load, the shorter they ware. On one trip I had flats in all 5 tires had to replace 2 because of holes. I was driving to fast, with a full load, down washboard roads. The Generals and the BFG seem to have greater resistance to rock punctures. But I have had them fail. When I driving a lot on pavement fast, they ware-out faster. Over loaded and fast on the dirt I put holes in sidewalls and through the tread. When I slow down every thing last longer.

I have a good friend who drives to Alaska most years,He says that rocks that get stuck in the treads are the death of tires. He runs highways tires and has 1 flat in the last 9 years due to a screw. He mucks around with mud like few have seen too.

Go with what you believe in!!!!!

David K - 6-12-2013 at 09:52 PM

Good thread!

Bonanza Bucko, just so we are clear, I know that BFG Rugged Trail TAs the Tacomas come with are OEM 'junk' tires and not at all the same as an All Terrain TA. My experience with brand new All Terrain TA tires were on Amo Pescar's Ford camper truck when we got a sidewall gash on a sandy road. Neal Johns and Amo Pescar put several plugs in it to make it a workable spare at our camp near Rancho San Gregorio... in 2001. I also drove the Viva Baja 4WD van with All Terrain TA's (KO's). I see the sides of dirt roads in Baja littered with All Terrain TA's. Perhaps because it is the most popular tire and not so much from the over-hyped 3 ply sidewall feature?

Thank you for your time!

mtgoat666 - 6-12-2013 at 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
I see the sides of dirt roads in Baja littered with All Terrain TA's!

Dang litter bugs!

Dk, I hope you pack out more than you pack in, do your part, etc.!

Lux sit!

Peace!

P.s. my 4 runner sports revos, a great AT p metric. Suits me fine as I do mostly highway driving and truck tires with stiff sidewalks suck on the pavement. Offload, most any AT will get you there if you know how to drive,... Most of you are rare off road warriors and you don't need overkill tires for the pavement that is vast majority of your driving.

David K - 6-12-2013 at 10:42 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
I see the sides of dirt roads in Baja littered with All Terrain TA's!

Dang litter bugs!

Dk, I hope you pack out more than you pack in, do your part, etc.!

Exactly why I don't run them... I don't want a destroyed tire left there or returned home!

Bwana_John - 6-13-2013 at 08:26 AM

I have been running BFG AT's on all my rigs now for ~ 15 years, great rock tires, not so good in mud or snow.

My only complaint is how much lead it takes to balance them.

willardguy - 6-13-2013 at 09:44 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by mtgoat666

Quote:

Originally posted by David K
I see the sides of dirt roads in Baja littered with All Terrain TA's!

dont be packin out those old tires, what are they gonna use to mark washouts? those old tires are life savers!

Barry A. - 6-13-2013 at 11:35 AM

my 2 cents---------

BFG "rugged trails" are junk (ruined 2 on my X-terra shortly after it was new. and bought new AT's all around---no problems since in 4+ years)

BFG AT/KO's are great-----run them on all 3 of our 4-wheel drives and have had excellent results with them all. They are not indestructable, tho, but no tire is in my experience.

8 ply 285's on my BIG pickup with camper for beach/sand floatation
10 ply 265's on my Nissan X-terra for rock protection, etc.
6 ply 235's on my Isuzu Trooper used only for lightduty 4x4'ing now

Barry

wessongroup - 6-13-2013 at 12:09 PM

Just put a set of Hankook on the Bronco today, or the wife did .. nothing but stock, we are not planning on anything like you guys do ....... just saying .... $65/tire

[Edited on 6-13-2013 by wessongroup]

David K - 6-13-2013 at 05:09 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by wessongroup
Just put a set of Hankook on the Bronco today, or the wife did .. nothing but stock, we are not planning on anything like you guys do ....... just saying .... $65/tire

[Edited on 6-13-2013 by wessongroup]

What kind of Hankooks??? $140 each (2 years ago) for the model and size I mentioned, plus the install...

MMc - 6-13-2013 at 06:20 PM

So Ken, Would you get another set? They seem to holding up well so far.

David, There are things that no mater how you defend or attack, you will not change somebodies point of view. IE: politics, abortion, religion, gays. trucks. It just tires. If money was no object would you make the same choice? Personally, I go for value and a strong sidewall :tumble:

wessongroup - 6-13-2013 at 06:29 PM

David

P235/75R15 XL 108S W
Optimo H724

Same size it came with

$ 153 for your

LT235/75R15C1 104Q W

[Edited on 6-14-2013 by wessongroup]

Udo - 6-13-2013 at 06:51 PM

Here are two centavos regarding the tires:

I was a supporter of Dunlops and BFGs (I don't remember which one...I only bought them because their highway mileage approximated 50,000 miles.

This week, after visiting several off-road forums for weeks, I decided to go with the TOYO AT II, 295/65-18.
Very quiet on the highway, and it seems to stabilize the FJ Cruiser some with the suspension mods I've had done.
I have noticed, however, that the transmission now shifts waaay too soon from third through 6th. First and second are OK. So I am going to try the performance chips and one of the large air breather kits that increase torque/recurves the torque.

Here is the latest photo:

The package was about $2,200.
According to reports, mileage should be between 40-50K

Frank - 6-13-2013 at 07:31 PM

You have all the toys Udo! They didnt have a 3ply side wall in my size so I decided on Toyo MT's.

Ken Cooke - 6-13-2013 at 10:17 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MMc
So Ken, Would you get another set? They seem to holding up well so far.

I bought this set (including spare) for $500 - after selling my set of 5, they cost $175. For that price, I couldn't say, "No"

If another screaming deal came along, "Yes" I would definitely buy another set.

But, if I was paying out-of-pocket for another new set of tires, I have my sights on the new BAJA ATZ P3 tire. It looks like the perfect "Desert Terrain" tire - strong sidewall and all.

Link to Mickey Thompson ATZ P3 review

David K - 6-14-2013 at 08:10 AM

MMc, you have me confused with someone else. I don't care what you do to yourself. I do care about having all the information so the best decisions can be made. Sad that is no longer important to many.

David K - 6-14-2013 at 08:12 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Ken Cooke

I bought this set (including spare) for $500 - after selling my set of 5, they cost $175. For that price, I couldn't say, "No"

If another screaming deal came along, "Yes" I would definitely buy another set.

But, if I was paying out-of-pocket for another new set of tires, I have my sights on the new BAJA ATZ P3 tire. It looks like the perfect "Desert Terrain" tire - strong sidewall and all.

Link to Mickey Thompson ATZ P3 review

I just saw these tires in the new Four Wheeler Magazine that came in yesterday's mail... look nice!

chuckie - 6-14-2013 at 04:59 PM

The best tire in Baja is what the Mexican Rancheros run: 4 different brands on 4 different wheels, all bald.....just sayin.....

Udo - 6-14-2013 at 05:09 PM

When I was at the wheel warehouse in Anaheim, they had a few sets of Robbie Gordon's wheels.
I inquired about the price...
The sales rep said I "had good taste" and that RG is pretty proud of them.
This is the first time I heard that term used by someone other than a jeweler.

They were almost $400.00 each!

Although I did also see a set of carbon fiber wheels (4) for $18,000! They weighed about 5 lbs each!

Ken Cooke - 6-14-2013 at 05:44 PM

The last BFG I ran before switching back to Interco's

David K - 6-14-2013 at 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by chuckie
The best tire in Baja is what the Mexican Rancheros run: 4 different brands on 4 different wheels, all bald.....just sayin.....

Those are the best for the deep sand! :light:

liknbaja127 - 6-14-2013 at 07:50 PM

Udo, take a look at the Walker Evens wheel's they are a good look, and not to bad price! they also look good with BFG'S around them :biggrin: