Giving Up on BFG KO3's

[ErnieB]

You're not driving down the highway in 4H are you...? Just making sure.... that would cause shaking. I've never experienced a tire not being able to be balanced.

No sir.

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[ErnieB]

I also own a '24 RR with KO3s, now with 25K miles. No balance issues after three rotations. Very smooth. I am beginning to get just a little tire noise however. Hope it doesn't get worse. A couple of things to think about:
- At one time I owned a 2000 Explorer V8. Had a vibration issue I couldn't get sorted. After numerous balance attempts without success, I found a truck tire shop that shaved truck tires and had all four tires shaved. None of the Explorer tires were too bad. The worst was about 1/4-3/8 inch out of round, the rest were less. I told them to "true" them all regardless. Fixed the problem.
- Rotation. Although conventional wisdom and as outlined in the owner's manual, is to "X" the tires when rotating. My recommendation is to not do that, only rotate front to rear on the same side. Why? Think about it. Every road has a "crown." After several heat cycles, tires take a "set." IOW the belts get comfortable with the crown whether on the left or right side of your vehicle. When tires are "X" rotated, not only are they rotating the opposite direction from their previous location, but - and this is the important thing - the "set" of their belts is on the opposite side of the tire. The new set becomes twice that of what it was previously. Remember, the crown has a greater effect on the right side tires than the left, being further away from the centerline which has the least crown being closer to the centerline.

Totally agree and I rotate in an X pattern.

 

[ErnieB]

My experience working at a dealership is that BFG KO2’s and KO3’s have lots of balance issues, some customers are less sensitive to the oscillations and some customers get lucky with a well balanced set. The reset of the customers are unhappy.

I have KO3’s on my ranger and after careful force matched balancing they are acceptable but not perfect, I just accept the reality and outside of the slight oscillation at freeway speed they are great tires in my opinion, I will be getting another set when these wear out.

I guess I am the guy that hears all the creaks, bangs, and whistles! . Maybe I should just turn up the Metallica and rock on! That being said, I like everything about the KO3's but the balancing issue.

 

[ErnieB]

Use to mount and balance tires for living 16 years ago, for a small tire shop. and we force matched a lot of tires the big shops that the "tires just wouldnt balance" no matter what they did.

I was wrong with how to go about it, its been a long time since I touched a balancer. lol

Do you know a shop / chain that does this type of balancing? Thank you!

 

[Peter949]

I guess I am the guy that hears all the creaks, bangs, and whistles! . Maybe I should just turn up the Metallica and rock on! That being said, I like everything about the KO3's but the balancing issue.

I learned to leave my music loud. My RR makes lots of creaks because I drive it so hard on and off road.

 

[av8r]

I saw that the members down under using some kind of beads inside the tire to balance it . I never heard of that before.

Balance beads only work well if the interior of the carcass is smooth and there is no moisture.

 

[LordRaptor]

Want to put Toyo Open Country R/T Trail on when the KO3s are done. Work amazing on my Jeep JL 4-door in rain and dirt. https://www.toyotires.com/product/open-country-rt-trail/

How’s the on-road noise and comfort on these RT’s?

 

[tivct]

Having issues with mine as well. I don't think it's a balance issue, it feels like a roundness issue.

 

[Havasu RR]

Disclaimer that I used to work for Maxxis during the development of the Razr AT. It tested really well against the K02 and benchmarked performance and ride quality, was actually quieter and smoother on pavement. Distribution still seems like an issue with that brand.

I've had great luck with Falken Wildpeaks.

I had good success with those on a Chevy Silverado. They don't make them though in 35x11.5x17. I ended up going with Toyo AT3
It's the best all-terrain tire I've owned to date

 

[expertcom]

On the Jeep 4-door JL the noise and on road comfort have been fine. The Jeep does have Synergy progressive springs and Elka shocks though. 99MPH versus 112MPH speed rating is the only downside I see for running Toyo Open Country R/T Trails vs KO3s on the Ranger Raptor.

 

[waffleso_0]

Balance beads only work well if the interior of the carcass is smooth and there is no moisture.

Balancing beads do not work besides when you're at the correct speed..not worth the trouble

 

[av8r]

Balancing beads do not work besides when you're at the correct speed..not worth the trouble

Nope. I used to sell them and used them in my motorcycle business for nearly a decade. They absolutely work and are even used in heavy truck tires (smooth carcass interior). We've been using them in all manner of motorcycle tires including track bikes that routinely run past 140 mph for extended periods. We used zirconium coated grinding media (little ceramic beads used in industry for grinding and surface prep) same as DynaBeads used. Dynabeads even tried to sue me many years ago, but my buddy is a patent attorney and showed they don't hold a patent on the beads, only the plastic bag they use to insert them into the tire. The problem is they are messy and if there is any moisture inside the tire they can clump and cause an out of balance thump. We went back to stick on weights a few years ago when the pallets of beads we had finally ran out.

 

[waffleso_0]

Nope. I used to sell them and used them in my motorcycle business for nearly a decade. They absolutely work and are even used in heavy truck tires (smooth carcass interior). We've been using them in all manner of motorcycle tires including track bikes that routinely run past 140 mph for extended periods. We used zirconium coated grinding media (little ceramic beads used in industry for grinding and surface prep) same as Balance Beads used. The problem is they are messy and if there is any moisture inside the tire they can clump and cause an out of balance thump. We went back to stick on weights a few years ago when the pallets of beads we had finally ran out.

interesting. Yeah, in race applications I can see it but for the casual commuter car seems impractical but maybe I'm wrong..never tried them

 

[av8r]

interesting. Yeah, in race applications I can see it but for the casual commuter car seems impractical but maybe I'm wrong..never tried them

Most passenger car tires have ribs inside the carcass so beads won't work well. I'm sure someone has tried them, but not me. I've read some have used air soft balls also.

 

[superj]

some guys on the ranger station use the beads in their daily trucks. i have not tried them, myself

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