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Springer123



Member Since: 18 Feb 2024
Location: Chichester
Posts: 8

United Kingdom 2012 Defender 90 Puma 2.2 ST Santorini Black
D90 upgrading from General Grabbers to BFG AT KO2
D90 upgrading from 18inch 265/65/18 General Grabbers to 285/65/18 BFG AT KO2
Can you see any issue with the width putting these on my 2012 Puma and are they nosier than the current tyres?
Post #1040746 22nd Jul 2024 6:55pm
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BadgerWaz



Member Since: 15 Jul 2024
Location: Linconshire
Posts: 56

United Kingdom 
My experience of those two tyres is that the Grabbers are that aggresive they can wear the inner wheel rim. Also very noisy when wearing down (sound like noisy wheel bearings), and the BFG are a very hard unforgiving tyre, nasty in the wet but grip very well in the slush.

Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs are my A/T choice seven days a week. Wonderful tyre.
Post #1040769 22nd Jul 2024 9:34pm
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Chicken Drumstick



Member Since: 17 Aug 2020
Location: Near MK
Posts: 707

United Kingdom 
How do you wear an inner wheel rim? Are you meaning something else?

BFG’s should not be hard or unforgiving. Older ones from 20 or 30 years ago maybe.
Post #1040789 23rd Jul 2024 8:36am
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Chicken Drumstick



Member Since: 17 Aug 2020
Location: Near MK
Posts: 707

United Kingdom 
Re: D90 upgrading from General Grabbers to BFG AT KO2
Springer123 wrote:
D90 upgrading from 18inch 265/65/18 General Grabbers to 285/65/18 BFG AT KO2
Can you see any issue with the width putting these on my 2012 Puma and are they nosier than the current tyres?

General Grabber is a make not a tread. So no idea what you actually have. The KO2 is an aggressive AT. So will come with the pros and cons of that type of tyre. However it is OEM fitment to many models World wide.

What sort of off roading are you planning on doing?

The KO2 is a tough tyre and available in different load ratings. A small sidewall 18” tyre with a high load rating might ride comparatively rough in theory. But I haven’t personally tried this. But that is a risk of 18’s on a live axle Defender. Many Disco 2 owners swap the 18” alloys for 16” ones to get improved ride & comfort. Often well discussed on other forums.

Also worth noting that BFG has released the KO3 in some sizes/markets. Making the KO2 defunct.

I like the KO’s, my brother runs them in 33.10.50R15 on his Ninety. However I do feel they are massively over priced in the U.K. market. That is BFG’s in general not just the KO2’s. Depending on your intended use I’d be tempted to look at what else is available.
Post #1040791 23rd Jul 2024 8:45am
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BadgerWaz



Member Since: 15 Jul 2024
Location: Linconshire
Posts: 56

United Kingdom 
Chicken Drumstick wrote:
How do you wear an inner wheel rim? Are you meaning something else?

BFG’s should not be hard or unforgiving. Older ones from 20 or 30 years ago maybe.


The tread on KO2's made the ride too harsh for us on our VW Transporter, firm tread blocks. Changed to a different set of tyres and it felt like we had suspension once more.

The Grabber AT3's create friction on the alloy wheel, so much so that they wear the wheel itself. A mate of mine is a tyre fitter and he told me this was why I had uneven wear on our Disco 4 tyres, I called BS until he removed two of the tyres to show me the wheel. I'm fairly certain this issue will be on the Disco forums. Shame, as the AT3's would allow me to cross a recently turned field with no drama.

I bought new wheels and a set of Goodyears'.
Post #1040802 23rd Jul 2024 10:39am
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blackwolf



Member Since: 03 Nov 2009
Location: South West England
Posts: 17310

United Kingdom 2007 Defender 110 Puma 2.4 DCPU Stornoway Grey
BadgerWaz wrote:
... The Grabber AT3's create friction on the alloy wheel, so much so that they wear the wheel itself. A mate of mine is a tyre fitter and he told me this was why I had uneven wear on our Disco 4 tyres ...


There are several aspects of this statement which are deeply puzzling to a scientific mind, but....

This thread on DISCO4.COM certainly does seem to bear out that there is, or can be, a problem.

The explanation is more likely to be grit ingress or rim design than some magical side effect of friction or indeed the tyres themselves, but it is certainly disturbing. In the thread there is specific mention of it happening only to vehicles with independent suspension, so that may be a factor. It is hard to see why it should be due to a particular make of tyre, but it is bad news whatever the cause.

I have never seen this kind of wear to a (classic) Defender rim and would not consider it a reason not to fit GG tyres.
Post #1040810 23rd Jul 2024 12:46pm
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Jabberwocky



Member Since: 27 Oct 2021
Location: Luxembourg
Posts: 221

Luxembourg 
I have General grabber at3, good road biased AT tyre, no issues with them damaging the wheels but I do have Wolfs so🤷‍♂️

Will be switching to something more off road biased for my big Africa trip.
Post #1042168 7th Aug 2024 10:58pm
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LandRoverAnorak



Member Since: 17 Jul 2011
Location: Surrey
Posts: 11324

United Kingdom 
It's worth noting that the thread on DISCO4.COM dates from 2014, which is long before the current GG AT3 existed. It's a very different tyre from the AT that's talked about in that thread.

For a Defender, the AT3 is an outstanding tyre - quiet, long-lived, sure-footed in the wet and equally so in ice and snow. I ran them for several years on my last 110 and couldn't fault them. Prior to that, I'd run AT2's on Defenders and other LR's for years, which I always thought were good, but the AT3 was even better.


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 Darren

110 USW BUILD THREAD - EXPEDITION TRAILER - 200tdi 90 BUILD THREAD - SANKEY TRAILER - IG@landroveranorak

"You came in that thing? You're braver than I thought!" - Princess Leia
Post #1042209 8th Aug 2024 9:58am
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