 | Home > Wheels & Tyres > Ko2s in the wet? |
 
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| geobloke Member Since: 06 Nov 2012 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 4410  
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Bloody fabulous tyre the KO2 on a 110
 Never had trouble with them in the wet, ice, snow, mud, dry, sand, stone, gravel or grass...
...sometimes slipped a bit in the air but that's utterly driver error  |
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20th Aug 2021 1:57pm |
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| camelman Member Since: 27 Feb 2013 Location: Peak District Posts: 3372
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Had KO2s on the 110 for years with no probs in the wet.
Running oversize KM3s at the moment however and have to give them a bit more respect.  |
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20th Aug 2021 2:07pm |
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| Bluest Member Since: 23 Apr 2016 Location: Lancashire Posts: 4209 
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In addition to the experiences above, in Defender sizes they have “B” wet grip score which is very good for an all terrain. It’s worth remembering that BFG are a subsidiary of Michelin who make the best and most thoroughly developed tyres in the world (in my humble opinion). 2007 110 TDCi Station Wagon XS
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20th Aug 2021 2:12pm |
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| blackwolf Member Since: 03 Nov 2009 Location: South West England Posts: 17372 
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SWMBO has KO2s on her L200, and neither she nor I have ever had any issues in the wet (nor the dry, nor off-road) with them. Then again we both drive the truck in a manner appropriate to a large vehicle on AT tyres, and I suspect that this is the major factor in the "KO2's are rubbish in the wet" myth - drive like a twerp and your KO2s will come unstuck, just as any other tyre will do.
I run BFG MTs on my Defender and Disco and have now covered well over 500,000 miles on the various versions of this tyre on the two vehicles. Again I have never had a hairy moment in the wet (the ABS has only kicked in once on the Disco and that was when Johnny Halfwit pulled out in front of me on a wet day and was undoubtedly the heaviest braking I have ever had to do in the Disco). The only conditions that you do have to be a bit careful with the KMs is braking on compacted snow over a layer of ice, but most tyres without studs are going to struggle in these conditions. There is really no excuse for either tyre giving problems in any conditions on tarmac, if they do, it is because the driver is driving inappropriately to the vehicle and/or conditions. |
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20th Aug 2021 2:22pm |
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| kenzle8a Member Since: 12 Feb 2020 Location: None Posts: 1074 
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Thanks all, I had read so many conflicting reviews and remarks on them. I certainly don't rally the Defender, its a farm truck and its used as one, although it still gets some nice things bought for it once in a while and the old Wolfs and modulars I had were starting to look a bit too tatty even for a farmer, also the load of the ZU's appealed for towing.
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20th Aug 2021 2:52pm |
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| geobloke Member Since: 06 Nov 2012 Location: Nottinghamshire Posts: 4410
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Well if it helps I live on a farming estate and there must be a dozen farm hand 4x4s knocking about, all of them are running KO2 or KM3 on them. Actually there is a LWB van that has KM3s on the rear too. Those 4x4s that aren't running with BFG tyres are ATVs
The only thing I wish BFG did was the KO2 in a 255/85/16... It'd be the perfect tyre IMHO. They do the KM3 in that size but not the KO2... Anyway that's a personal gripe... Almost enough to make me think about Toyo or Cooper  |
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20th Aug 2021 3:09pm |
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| Smyles_ Member Since: 25 Aug 2018 Location: Copenhagen Posts: 517 
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I had the BFG KO's (not KO2) on my old 110 without ABS and TC. Those tyres were probably well past their use-by date. But I did manage to get it sideways (both understeer and oversteer) many a time in the wet especially when going round a roundabout but, that's only cause I did it deliberately being the hooligan I was at Uni. Unless you're being incompetent and exceeding the handling dynamics of a defender you'll never have an issue
Stuart
Cummins 130 Build Thread 58 130 Double Cab HCPU - Cairns Blue 04 110 Double Cab - Black (gone) 07 Audi RS4 Avant - Silver |
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20th Aug 2021 3:17pm |
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| TimX Member Since: 13 Aug 2021 Location: Scotland Posts: 4  
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Yeehaa, that tha' be fightin' talk, Graywolf!
And normally I would agree with you, a 110 is not a car to drive on the edge and for the last 6 years I would have stood in a court of law under oath and agreed with you and most people on this forum that the KO is one of the most hard wearing, hard working and utterly reliable tyres out there. My issue is that my new KO2s are nervous in the wet. Same car, same driver, same roads, same corners - and the same speeds, driving and attitude that have kept me out of ditches, accidents and ticket free this century - but not the same handling. I stuck with them last winter thinking it was me, tyre pressure, settling in, an odd greasy day and every other rational excuse I could think of, but the bottom line is they make me nervous - and whilst travelling deliberately slower than normal in the wet isn't necessarily a big deal, what is a big deal is my lack of confidence that they will perform in the wet in a crisis - the back roads of Aberdeenshire in winter - or the main roads for that matter! - are not a place for underperforming tyres. And I fully accept that the vast majority of people out there are happy with their KO2s - I just wish I was one of you as I was with the KOs! - and I have no idea if it is a batch issue or QA/QC issue or that mine are cursed because the lorry delivering them ran over a toad or there really is a quality issue - My front KO2s are 'DOT BF' - Made by BF Goodrich in Woodburn, Indiana, my rears are 'DOT OC' - Made by Michelin in Thailand though, apparently, that should not be an issue. And how many of us have to go to the lengths of matching tyre batch and factory numbers? In the meantime, I guess I will just have to stop being a twerp and drive appropriately................? |
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20th Aug 2021 3:59pm |
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| kenzle8a Member Since: 12 Feb 2020 Location: None Posts: 1074
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Would be interesting to see if there’s been a bad batch, I’ve had a bad batch of two brands over the years. A set of good years on my cooper s that were concrete, and a set of michalins on my wife’s car that for a pilot sport 4 were frankly awful.
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20th Aug 2021 9:18pm |
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| JOW240725 Member Since: 04 May 2015 Location: Suffolk Posts: 7905 
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Had my KO2's 4 years and 40k miles and never had any issues with them in the wet, great tyre very pleased with them. But you do read reports of bad in wet, so whether the compound was changed or a bad batch I don't know. James
MY2012 110 2.2TDCi XS SW Orkney Grey - http://www.defender2.net/forum/topic43410.html MY1990 110 200TDi SW beautifully faded Portofino Red - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post743641.html#743641 MY1984 90 V8 Slate Grey - https://www.defender2.net/forum/post744557.html#744557 Instagram @suffolk_rovers |
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23rd Aug 2021 9:22pm |
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| Angus_Beef Member Since: 30 Apr 2015 Location: Oslo Posts: 434  
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There are two different compounds of KO2s available. The "normal" KO2 that is 3PMSF, and the KO2 "DT" that is a different tread compound designed to resist chips better, but is not 3PMSF rated.
But I havent been able to tell if there is a particular compound that people complain about in the wet. EDIT: and they dont put the "DT" on any tire. Just some KO2s dont have the 3PMSF symbol. Makes me wonder if they occasionally get mixed up in logistics? Roaming around 🇳🇴🇨🇭 |
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23rd Aug 2021 9:45pm |
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| Grenadier Member Since: 23 Jul 2014 Location: The foot of Mont Blanc... Posts: 5804  
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My KO2s have also been known to get a bit slidey. Less in full rain, more in drizzle where the surface becomes damp and the bitumen oils start to come to the surface. Throw-in that France does not do heavy duty tarmac like the UK, (much smoother road surface with less large gravel pieces) and that I live in a region with very twisty roads, and it can get slippy. But I can assure you that without pushing hard I’ve felt the back drift on many an occasion. That’s why, as most of my driving is on road, I’m considering the Pirelli AT Plus, the compound being far more road biased than any equivalent by BFG or Cooper. I’d prefer to have a full snowflake AT tyre and currently there are only two worth considering. The KO2 and the AT+. Having said all that, overall the KO2s are an excellent tyre and if I had to use them again I’d be more than happy.
Monsieur Le Grenadier
I've not been everywhere, but it's on my list..... 2011 Puma 110DC - Corris Grey |
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24th Aug 2021 6:35am |
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| Scotm Member Since: 28 Feb 2014 Location: Aberdeenshire Posts: 666 
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I have 235/85/16 KO2 with 3PMSF and find on cold wet roads they sometimes lock up when braking coming up to round about or junction, usually with a trailer on.
No cornering issues. They are coming up to 4 years old. As such I will be looking for something else this winter. |
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24th Aug 2021 7:58am |
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| TimX Member Since: 13 Aug 2021 Location: Scotland Posts: 4
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All my KO2s have the mud + snow/Traction/Three peaks and snowflake symbol so SHOULD be the same compound even though two were made in the USA (DOT BF) and two in the Far East (DOT OC) - as far as I can tell all the other relevant markings are identical.
The 'obvious' thing to do would be to blame the country of origin but international organisations the size of Michelin are paranoid about product quality and image and there is no way they would allow any degradation of standards associated with country of manufacture, so I doubt that is the root cause. To the vast majority of well satisfied BFG users us minority 'complainers' are an anomaly, an outrage even, and I understand that 'cos my previous KOs were absolutely superb, but now cornering in the wet is uncertain, the wagon doesn't actually slide but there is a sort of 'wobble'? that feels like the start of a slide that just destroys any confidence in the handling - having driven this 110 for 6 years with complete confidence I know how well she used to handle and the contrast is striking. Having said that, Why? What has changed? What is causing this anomaly? It isn't just me, others have also reported this aberration - an aberration that to the vast majority of satisfied users is plain incomprehensible. What is rather striking is that there is an incredible amount of knowledge, experience and expertise in this and other landrover forums and I have seen plenty of heated discussion on the subject but so far not a rational 'Oh THAT'S the issue' |
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24th Aug 2021 8:19am |
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