KO3s in Slick Conditions?

[Bt_okst]

They are not good on wet pavement. Spin out horribly leaving stops. Better than ko2s, but not much.

Will be replacing them on my 2026 when it comes in.

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[Chuck2001]

They are not good on wet pavement. Spin out horribly leaving stops. Better than ko2s, but not much.

Will be replacing them on my 2026 when it comes in.

This is the only reason I would consider switching the KO3s.

What tires are you shortlisting?

I'd like to get some feedbacks in the coming months about the new Pirelli Scorpion XTM. But so far not impressed.

 

[Bt_okst]

Goodyear
Wrangler Outbound AT

 

[NASSTY]

The KO3s were fine for me in rain or snow. We don't get icey roads here very often so I never drove them on ice. I probably wouldn't even try them if I knew the roads were real icey. I doubt any all terrain is going to be good on ice, maybe studded Duratracs?

 

[Lion77]

Some people swear the O3's are garbage, others generally like them, seems that most people only look at the KO3's on-road performance and almost never review their OFF-ROAD performance where they outperform the competitors in the AT category and even many of the MT's (aside from in actual deep mud).

I'm at 19.5k on mine, gone through sleet, deep slushy snow, deep powdery snow, ice under snow, rain in hot and cold weather (Ohio, it goes from 20F to 60F in just one week due to lake effect!), sand, rock shelfs with sand all over them, watery mud pits with rock bottoms, farm field covered in snow and my favorite way to enter and exit my garage, right through my ditch in the front yard .

Supposedly my KO3's are going to melt down, start on fire and blow up when I hit 20k according to forum lore, but thus far, they have been EXCELLENT and I have a Pro Cal tune making 536 lb-ft of torque.

Sure, I can easily spin the rear end in 2WD on wet pavement if I floor it, especially around corners because it's an open diff truck....but I could also walk the entire rear end sideways with Pilot Sport 4S on my 2016 Mustang GT with a Torsen LSD and those were some of the stickiest street tires made for performance cars....

 

[Tailwagger]

Ran them in light snow the other day and lateral grip seemed pretty good in 4A. A few test stops had me pretty easily getting into the ABS, so not unexpectedly confident braking remains a bit of an issue. Might do better in deeper snow. Caught some patches of ice on the road while out early this morning. Was actually pretty scary. Rear end wanted to step out pretty quickly even on a modest curve. But then ice is pretty damn scary to drive on regardless, so take it FWIW.

 

[pablo94sc]

Some people swear the O3's are garbage, others generally like them, seems that most people only look at the KO3's on-road performance and almost never review their OFF-ROAD performance...

Maybe, and I'm just spit balling here, it's because most people spend most of their time driving on pavement?

 

[Kduane01]

Just swapped KO2 for Wildpeak AT4W on a 2018 Superduty. 80%% driving was on pavement and KO2 were slick in the rain. The Wildpeaks rated and reviewed better on wet pavement so giving them a try. So far good couple months. Will probably go with these or AT3W - rated even better on wet pavement- on Ranger this coming fall when stock Goodyears are beat. Both the KO3 and the AT4W are some nice looking tires.

 

[Jeffola]

I was going to the airport for an 8am flight and as I rounded the moist (Not even wet, just morning dew) exit ramp at a very reasonable speed the truck kept turning when I straightened the wheel, I have video but it doesn't do the little slip justice. Horrid wet traction. Probably going to switch to an AT tire, the MT KO3's are overkill for my needs and I am not ashamed to say it.

 

[Lion77]

That's one of the bad characteristics of the KO3's and I do say that is probably it's big flaw. When you exceed their traction on-road...you don't get it back quickly and it's just gone (has a very fine edge between traction and not on-road). It will just push and push and push, you have to let off throttle, avoid brakes and let them start to bite again.

They stick until they don't so knowing their limits is important on-road. Off-road is another story, they don't exhibit that characteristic at all, very linear off-road. The new Pirelli XTM's look very promising too, I'm not sold on the WildPeak AT4's off-road prowess because of the lack of alternating side lugs, in pea gravel, mud and sand, those give you most of your traction.

New SCORPION XTM AT: SUV tires | Pirelli

These have the alternating large side lugs for deep / soft terrain traction that a true off-road focused AT tire should have, but they appear to have more precise handling dynamics on-road, so these might be a better balance of on-road vs. off-road for those who actually drive their RR off-road somewhat regularly. If you want a more on-road focused tire, by all means ditch the KO3's, there are tons of better on-road options, but most of those options give up a lot in real off-road capability.

I'm sure the WildPeak's have better on-road manners as they seem a bit more of road focused AT tire than the KO3's and I've really liked my WildPeak AT's in the past on my wife's Mazda CX-9, but in that application I knew they were a road focused AT and matched up well for a road tuned AWD light SUV that I just wanted to enhance it's all weather capability and add some traction for dirt roads / fields to keep my wife from getting stuck when she visits family, goes to the fair in summer, camping etc.

 

[jordantii]

That's one of the bad characteristics of the KO3's and I do say that is probably it's big flaw. When you exceed their traction on-road...you don't get it back quickly and it's just gone (has a very fine edge between traction and not on-road). It will just push and push and push, you have to let off throttle, avoid brakes and let them start to bite again.

They stick until they don't so knowing their limits is important on-road. Off-road is another story, they don't exhibit that characteristic at all, very linear off-road. The new Pirelli XTM's look very promising too, I'm not sold on the WildPeak AT4's off-road prowess because of the lack of alternating side lugs, in pea gravel, mud and sand, those give you most of your traction.

New SCORPION XTM AT: SUV tires | Pirelli

These have the alternating large side lugs for deep / soft terrain traction that a true off-road focused AT tire should have, but they appear to have more precise handling dynamics on-road, so these might be a better balance of on-road vs. off-road for those who actually drive their RR off-road somewhat regularly. If you want a more on-road focused tire, by all means ditch the KO3's, there are tons of better on-road options, but most of those options give up a lot in real off-road capability.

I'm sure the WildPeak's have better on-road manners as they seem a bit more of road focused AT tire than the KO3's and I've really liked my WildPeak AT's in the past on my wife's Mazda CX-9, but in that application I knew they were a road focused AT and matched up well for a road tuned AWD light SUV that I just wanted to enhance it's all weather capability and add some traction for dirt roads / fields to keep my wife from getting stuck when she visits family, goes to the fair in summer, camping etc.

I am super interested in these as well. The one thing that might be a drawback is they are 2 ply sidewall vs 3 ply on the KO3. I was looking at their site and it's not mentioned anywhere. I think it was on Tyrereviews. I like that guy. Not sure if it's true and if it's even a concern. If they have similar off road characteristics and improved on road they could be a nice win win tire.

 

[Pic-N-Stick]

That's one of the bad characteristics of the KO3's and I do say that is probably it's big flaw. When you exceed their traction on-road...you don't get it back quickly and it's just gone (has a very fine edge between traction and not on-road). It will just push and push and push, you have to let off throttle, avoid brakes and let them start to bite again.

They stick until they don't so knowing their limits is important on-road. Off-road is another story, they don't exhibit that characteristic at all, very linear off-road. The new Pirelli XTM's look very promising too, I'm not sold on the WildPeak AT4's off-road prowess because of the lack of alternating side lugs, in pea gravel, mud and sand, those give you most of your traction.

New SCORPION XTM AT: SUV tires | Pirelli

These have the alternating large side lugs for deep / soft terrain traction that a true off-road focused AT tire should have, but they appear to have more precise handling dynamics on-road, so these might be a better balance of on-road vs. off-road for those who actually drive their RR off-road somewhat regularly. If you want a more on-road focused tire, by all means ditch the KO3's, there are tons of better on-road options, but most of those options give up a lot in real off-road capability.

I'm sure the WildPeak's have better on-road manners as they seem a bit more of road focused AT tire than the KO3's and I've really liked my WildPeak AT's in the past on my wife's Mazda CX-9, but in that application I knew they were a road focused AT and matched up well for a road tuned AWD light SUV that I just wanted to enhance it's all weather capability and add some traction for dirt roads / fields to keep my wife from getting stuck when she visits family, goes to the fair in summer, camping etc.

The Scorpion XTM AT's look intriguing! I can't seem to find specs on the 285/70R17's. Hoping to see more info on them soon, such as load rating, weight and tread width.

 

[jordantii]

 

[Dubfound]

I have like 30k miles on my Ranger Raptor and I live in NH with all sorts of weather. I personally think the K03s are great.

 

[Pic-N-Stick]

Thank you. WOW! Over 31 pounds less of rotational weight, more accurate steering and slightly wider tread...Nice!

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