BFG KO2 or Nitto Ridge Grappler

Hey guys, looking at the two tires below and wanted to grab some opinions. Is one stand out over the other? Any pros/cons of each? I see the weight is within a few pounds of each other.

BF Goodrich KO2 in 305/65R18
or
Nitto Ridge Grappler 285/70R18

 

I run KO2's on my Jeeps and will be picking up a set of 295/70R18 for the Tundra soon. I have yet to run a better overall AT tire and have run many different brands and types over the last decades.

 

Plenty written about both of these tires here in the wheel/tire section, pros,cons, etc.

I would vote Nitto over BFG. The BFGS in E load can be hard to balance and do not have great wet traction. But plenty of people love them.

I have had A LOT of BFG tires on many 4x4s, but they were always C load and performed well.

 

Stay away from KO2

 

I ran BFG KO on my 01 Tacoma and KO2 on my 16 Tacoma and did like them, but it seems like more people lean toward Nitto for their Tundras.

 

KO2s are not the same as they once were....love my RGs and glad I went with them over the BFGs.

 

I am not discounting any experiences above, just relaying my own.

I am running E rated KO2's on my Wrangler aired down to about 22psi, they ride great, and stand up to abuse. In 22k miles, I have not had to re-balance them and thus far have had excellent wet traction (except for mud of course).

From 1996, I ran them (or the version of them) on my '83 Toyota mini, FZJ80, full size Bronco, ZJ Cherokee, '72 Chevy truck, and my first JK. They have been all over several states, over several mountain passes, down hundreds of miles of beaches, rocky roads, and hundreds of thousands of miles of slab. I have never had a balancing problem, only 2 flats ever (one was a animal bone, lol), always felt like the pavement wet traction was darn good, they are quiet, and they typically last 50k miles when running 5. They do a poor job in mud though.

In retrospect, I have run these AT's: Dunlop, Bridgestone, Michelin, Coopers, Pathfinder, and others but never the Nitto. None of which were anywhere close to as good overall as the KO2s. I had to spend an extra day drinking in a bar in a small Colorado town next to a crystal clear river two years ago waiting on Cooper replacements after tearing up two of them in two days in the mountains. Hard life, I know.

 

Lots of people here report difficulty balancing KO2s.

I have 20k miles on my Nitto RGs. Only complaint I have is they don’t seem to have great wet traction and/or hard braking capabilities. I’ll likely get another set in 15-20k more miles.

 

I have 295/70/18 Nitto Terra and I love them!
They are pretty quiet and the ride is super smooth.
I had BFG and I was not happy with them... super hard to balance and also were loud.

 

Doesn't help much on those slick boat ramps eh

 

Good news is the ramp at the Roosevelt Marina is so chunky it’s hardly ever slick! Bad if you’re trying to launch with a smaller vehicle but it usually has decent traction. We will see how it goes as the water level drops heading into summer. You going to make it out at all this year? It looks like you’ve got your hands full at home...

 

I experienced the same thing with KO2's on my 16 Tacoma. On wet roads, they would tend to slide on hard braking.

 

BFGs are junk.

 

Indeed we do have our hands full lol

Plan is to maybe do an AirBnb south side and do a long weekend. Obviously Ill touch base if/when roosevelt plans ever develop so we can meet up on the water

 

Thanks guys. Just pulled the trigger on 4 Nitto RG 285/70R18 tires.

 

Any pics to share of the new tires?

 

Nittos...i have the same tire and they are quiet and only weigh 59 lbs

 

I vote KO2. Nothing against grapplers but I've run bfg for 10 plus years and never had a single problem and they look badass with white letters

 

Yeah, but not what you’re expecting
Still waiting on the UCA’s and shackles to arrive.

 

Good choice! You’ll also find the RG’s pickup and throw far less rocks than the KO’s..