BFG KO2 Ride Quality (Stock Size) ??

Hi All,

I have a 2018 SR5 Premium 4x4 and have finally switched from the stock Dunlops to the KO2’s in 265/70/r17 C rated (stock size).

After having the KO2’s installed, I went on a 200 mile highway trip. At low speeds, I did not notice much difference, but had subtle, intermittent vibrations, steering wheel feedback and shutters at high speeds on fairly smooth road. Though most was subtle, some of the shutters would shake the entire truck...

They are on 35 PSI cold/ 40 PSI warm. They were balanced by the shop (but suspect I will have them revisit this).

I knew I would experience a slightly noisier, stiffer tire going to an AT from the stock, but is this the ride quality y’all experience on your runners with the KO2’s?

 

I ran the same size and load range KO2's for 29K miles without any complaints about ride quality. This is a 2019 ORP. I actually spent a lot of time above 80 MPH and never had issues.

I'm not 100% sure what you mean by "shutters" but it doesn't sound right to me.

I'm sure someone will pop in here talking about what horrible tires they are, but the fact is that the vast majority of people who run them are beyond satisfied. They have some flaws, but high speed shutters is not an issue I've heard of before.

 

-“Shutter” might be a bad descriptor. I guess I mean it vibrates, but not at a high frequency/ pitch. I would get steering wheel feedback from a bump, and I would experience the vibration/ shutter/ wobble for a little afterward

 

Agree with above. Never had issues with them but ran them more around 30 psi. Could be mounting/balancing issues. I’ve had the balancing weights stuck on wheels and flew off the second day after I had new tires. These are top notch tires in my opinion. Never had any issues.

 

Never had such an issue.
Currently run KO2’s on 5 vehicles.
I run them at 31psi cold, primarily to soften out rough roads. When I lived where highways predominated, I ran about 4psi more.
Running lower air pressure on rough, rocky roads is one of the reasons I prefer E rated tires. I find that the premium lines from BFG and Michelin avoids tire failure as long as there is decent tread remaining. If I can get 40,000 miles without any flats or blowouts etc from a set of tires, repeatedly, I consider that success.
Sounds like the OP had lousy balancing or a bad wheel or some other drivetrain issue.

 

Mine are dead smooth and quiet at all speeds. They’re great tires. You must have an alignment/balance/defect issue happening somewhere in the chassis to experience the symptoms you describe.

 

Mine are quite comfortable as well. I did experience a little bit of the shudder at 55-60 (steering wheel wobble), both with these and stock Dunlops. I've since aired up a bit, running right around 42psi and find them to be responsive, quiet, and provide improved fuel economy (went from 16 to 18.5mpg at the new pressure) with no signs of shudder or balance problems.

 

Update- Have since taken the truck to get a road-force balance from a Discount tire and have taken it back to the original shop where the foreman test drove it at highway speeds.

The conclusion from them: "That balance is perfect, no alignment issues, nothing out of round- The slight vibration at 70+ mph is because the vehicle is too light to smooth out any imperfections that come from the heavier/ aggressive tire"

It still seems like the vibration in the chassis that is just enough to chatter my teeth on a perfectly smooth road should not come from these high end tires....
What do yall think?

 

It’s not because the vehicle is too light. That’s crazy they even told you that.

 

LMAO! These things are almost 5K Lbs!

 

So obviously the shop response is malarkey, but the fact remains that its been road force balanced 2x and the truck itself has less than 40k miles on it since i purchased it new in '18 and has never been off pavement (i.e. i can confidently say its not an issue elsewhere in the drive train).

The only 2 things i can think of would be a bent rim or a bad tire- both of which i would get caught during the RF balance right? May try giving BFG a call

 

Hey Roberte65, too bad you can’t drive mine to compare because I have e range K02s on my 2018 ORP on stock wheels, and it’s dead smooth, comfortable and quiet. They have about 25,000 km on them and have been on the vehicle from day 1. It has been aligned once, and gets balanced 2x/year, when I switch for the winter tires. It’s definitely not the vehicle, lol! A 4 Runner probably has the best high speed driveability of any 4x4 made.

 

These trucks are really sensitive to tire balancing. It could be any tire, not just a BFG A/T thing. My truck had the same vibes with stock tires. Once I put my Firestones on, it smoothed everything out.

This sounds like a bad tire to me.

When they Road Force Balanced your tires, did they give you a print out of the results?

I don't know the exact number, but they need to fall under a certain number to be acceptable. The tire shop should have those specs........but ask to see the print-out of the results to give us a little more info.

 

This may sound strange and stupid but if you haven’t narrrowed it down to which corner of the vehicle, then have someone drive beside you on the interstate and if one of them is warped or one corner is out of line or having issues then the person driving beside you watching would see it shaking or not rotating. I know it sounds odd but I’ve seen this before