KO3's; My Sad Tale of Woe

I just got a set of KO3's. I really WANT to like these tires; I've used BFG's since trees got bark, but... The tire guys just can't get at least one of them to balance right.

At install (alignment adjusted first) the steering wheel shook badly. Took it back and the tech spent a good amount of time re-balancing one of the front tires, even rotating/reorienting it on the rim. Driving away, vibration was worse. Back to the shop, the salesman ordered two new tires. Tech put them on, but was dissatisfied with them, too. Vibration is greatly reduced, but still evident especially at hwy speeds. I'm also wondering if it will be a bigger issue when the rears get rotated to a forward position.

Anyway, the sales guy tossed the keys to me, said: "Drive it for a couple of days and get back to me and we'll figure something out..."
Came here to see if this is common or a one-off thing.

 

BFGs are notorious for balancing issues.

 

What's the tire size? I've heard about the KO balance issues but have not experienced it yet. I'm running KO2 275 70/18 which came with the truck.

 

I've KO and KO2s, went with a different tire manufacturer after the KO2.
I had high hopes for the KO3, but I wouldn't buy them.

Try a road force balance if you haven't already.
They balance the tire to match the wheel ...

Good luck..

https://youtu.be/DQxVAssnbp8?si=Nu8bHwSLqj1MJtrO

 

I had two sets of the previous gen KO2s on two different trucks and they were horrible to keep balanced. Vibrations always came back after ~500 miles. Both were the 275/70/R18 load Es...so a heavy tire.

Was really hoping they fixed it with the new KO3s...

 

275/65/18r stock size.

I went to Hunter dot Com and located shops with the road force machine. I'll post back up after I check into that. I guess I should have a talk with the shop I bought them from, first.

 

Just my opinion but I think ko2’s were the most over rated tire on the planet. Mine were like driving with Hoosier slicks in the rain and equally horrible in the snow. After 2k miles I took them off and sold them. Baja boss at’s have been excellent.

 

Bummer to hear you are having issues with the KO3's. I was hoping that BFG would have worked out those bugs with the new tire. As @Tundra234 noted, I've seen a pile of reports with problems getting BFG's to balance correctly. Also as noted, try having them Road Force balanced. Hopefully the tire shop and BFG will make it right.

 

Really wanted to hear more positive on the KO3s. May look to Toyo A/T lll.

 

I guess i’m less discerning than most. I’ve had 3 different sets of the KO2’s. I’ve never bothered to balance the tires whatsoever. I just mount them up with my tire matching and go drive. I’ve always been impressed with my AT here in the wet, snowy, and slight muddy PacNW. But other guys are saying they suck i the weather for their particular area, i can’t refute that. I have zero experience with the KO3. The tread does look a bit more mundane. Aesthetically i do like the classic looking Ko2 better than the 3.

 

If the tire guy throws up his hands and decides to sell me on a different brand, as he hinted might be a possibility, I'll probably give a hard look at the Hankook AT2 Extremes.

 

I had the Hankook AT2 Extreme's and are definitely a worthy choice.

 

I have KO2's on my 13, I am on my second set and they're perfectly balanced and very smooth. But I put them on my 2011 Honda Pilot and I have one tire that I can't balance for shit. I am stuck with it on the rear and I can't rotate them every 5000 miles. Discount Tire refused to replace it and kept giving me the run around. I think is a defective tire, not sure. Now I have mixed feelings about KO's and sure if I want to put them on my 2021 truck.

Besides I absolutely LOVE my current Michelins, as they run like butter. Why replace them with something else when they are perfect

 

Often they get better after being driven for some time. My the only KO2 set (small 27" ones) was giving vibrations that went away in their first 1k miles. KO2-like General Grabber A/TX had vibrations as well. First at extreme, going 400 miles to the woods was a torture, had to play with tire pressure, but after beating them up they were mostly OK till end of life. My new set of Grabbers is butter smooth, even at 90 MPH.

 

I’ve had 2 sets of AT2s. Good tire mostly. Wet traction tapers off as the tire ages. Off road traction is OK, not great. They are quiet. The AT2 extreme appears to be the same tread with a more aggressive sidewall. It’s basically an all season tire.

 

Normal for BFG now. Their earlier gen tires were much better, at least in my experience.

BFG are decent in snow and sand, look nice but that is the best I can say for them. They pick up and throw rocks, hard to balance, low wet traction which really becomes dangerous as the miles pile on, rubber seems to get hard with some years of age, pack with mud/dirt and dont really self clean. Once you hit about half tread ride, handling traction degrades.

I would not consider them anymore and have run them a bunch in past years. There are much better alternatives at same cost or less.

 

Well said. Same experience here.

 

I have heard this complaint for years on these tires, but I never experienced it on the 4 or 5 vehicles I have had them on. I think it depends on the individual techs. I usually use offroad shops, maybe that's the difference.

 

I just got my KO3’s mounted up yesterday in a 285/70/18. They ride great so far I have no complaints, I figured I’d give them a chance after my Duratracs ended up with some pretty bad feathering and the siping on them is only about 1/3 of the tread depth. They were great until that point. I’ve had KO2’s on my old 4runner and Tacoma with no issues so the improvements they have done with the KO3’s should serve my needs nicely. Here’s couple videos I found with good info and everything they’ve changed compared to the KO2’s.

https://youtu.be/-BtKIFXlyIA

https://youtu.be/gTKgiqgDNwQ