KO3s in Slick Conditions?

[OxygenMask]

You are correct, they are better in a downpour.

When I first got my RR, I was driving in a downpour in 4A Sport mode doing 55 and because I wanted to test in response to one of these threads, I jumped on it and it got to 90 in a second and I could feel the truck wanting to do nothing but go perfectly straight.

Even though it breaks them loose easier in light rain and light snow, the truck still wants nothing more than to go straight. You just have to stay on it.

In slick conditions, with all the power this truck has, it would seem like they would break loose with any tire. Correct me if that's not the case.

That is not the case.
I've had countless tires over the years, and aside from an AT Dunlop in the 90s, BFG KOs (all 3 iterations) have the worst dry and wet traction of any tire I've owned. Plus they hydroplane in heavy rain.
My F350 came with brand new KO2s. They were always breaking traction, even during 1-2 shifts on dry pavement. I replaced them with Geolandar GO15s and NEVER break traction. And rock solid on flooded pavement. And just as good when its icy and snowy...
My prior F150 also came with KO2s. Same poor traction. Put on Nokian Hakk ATs (no longer made) and what an eye opener!! 500% better and twice as good in snow.

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[Granite Stater]

I've had KO2s on my trucks since the middle 2000s (one Ranger, a couple Explorers, and an F-150) and it was only when I moved to TX from New England in 2020 that I experienced the KO2s breaking traction often in wet conditions. Texas and New England generally use different mixes in their asphalt due to the different climates, and I wonder if that accounts for my observed difference in traction..

 

[NASSTY]

I've had KO2s on my trucks since the middle 2000s (one Ranger, a couple Explorers, and an F-150) and it was only when I moved to TX from New England in 2020 that I experienced the KO2s breaking traction often in wet conditions. Texas and New England generally use different mixes in their asphalt due to the different climates, and I wonder if that accounts for my observed difference in traction..

I've seen a lot of wet traction and hydroplaning complaints about KO2's on the F150 forums. I had a 2017 and a 2020 Raptor, both came stock with KO2's. I ran 3 sets of KO2's up here in the snow belt and never had any wet traction issues or any hydroplaning. Maybe you're right about different types of pavement?

 

[jordantii]

I have a new take on this topic. Early last night my sent me this text: “8 lbs 7 oz, come when you can”. Jumped in the truck, select 4A and haul ass. Mind you it was raining. Florida rain, IYKYK.

My first thought was these KO3’s are gonna be shit in these conditions. Well we are gonna find out because I’m going to send it. Nope! Off the line, tons of grip, braking no problems, corners maybe a tad sketchy but remember I’m trying to win this race (also the name of my son). Yes, I have more driver experience than most but not in trucks. So I just took the rain line and “drove” the truck. There was no option for it to drive me. I’m the boss and you do what I say. Are they like PS4S’s? No but you can drive them. I also discovered how to finally work the brakes to my advantage.

There is no way my M2C would have been the better ride. RR for the race win.

 

[pablo94sc]

select 4A

Sending half the torque to the front wheels tends to reduce traction issues.

 

[jordantii]

Sending half the torque to the front wheels tends to reduce traction issues.

Only on acceleration and corner exit.

 

[Kduane01]

Anyone have a chance to drive their KO3s on wet pavement or snow? I saw a review where the driver said the tires lack grip and get squirrelly.

Had KO2 on the superduty. Bad wet traction tire was my experience. Especially with RV in tow, often had to pull posi lock on takeoff to avoid spinning. Around corners backend kicked out easily on wet roads. Swapped out for Falken ATW4's and huge wet traction difference. Once the oem Goodyear AT's get replaced this year, no way going with any KO's on the Ranger. KO3's may offer slight improvement but for south eastern PA climate and limited use for mountain trail to the cabin, not my tire of choice. Enough reviews posted that it seems these are still not a good wet roads tire. But they sure do look great on a truck

 

[telenerd]

Had KO2 on the superduty. Bad wet traction tire was my experience. Especially with RV in tow, often had to pull posi lock on takeoff to avoid spinning. Around corners backend kicked out easily on wet roads. Swapped out for Falken ATW4's and huge wet traction difference. Once the oem Goodyear AT's get replaced this year, no way going with any KO's on the Ranger. KO3's may offer slight improvement but for south eastern PA climate and limited use for mountain trail to the cabin, not my tire of choice. Enough reviews posted that it seems these are still not a good wet roads tire. But they sure do look great on a truck

Yeah I live in Wyoming and they are pretty decent on snow but ice and wet traction I am not very confident with them. I find I am in 4A more often in my Raptor when conditions are wet/ice. The tires can easily break loose. Off-road they however are amazing in the sand, rocks and dirt.

 

[Flats]

I've had countless tires over the years, and aside from an AT Dunlop in the 90s, BFG KOs (all 3 iterations) have the worst dry and wet traction of any tire I've owned. Plus they hydroplane in heavy rain.

This is what I keep reading no matter who's doing the review. I've only had mine a few days and no rain yet, and I'm pleasantly surprised at how well they do on pavement. But I'm in Florida and wet traction is a priority over off-roading, so I'm going to put on some Continental A/Ts and try to sell the KOs.

 

[jordantii]

This is what I keep reading no matter who's doing the review. I've only had mine a few days and no rain yet, and I'm pleasantly surprised at how well they do on pavement. But I'm in Florida and wet traction is a priority over off-roading, so I'm going to put on some Continental A/Ts and try to sell the KOs.

I'm here as well. I am running 35-36 cold and it's an improvement. Also, whenever it's wet 4A is the move.

 

[ToraRaptor]

This is what I keep reading no matter who's doing the review. I've only had mine a few days and no rain yet, and I'm pleasantly surprised at how well they do on pavement. But I'm in Florida and wet traction is a priority over off-roading, so I'm going to put on some Continental A/Ts and try to sell the KOs.

I am putting on 295/70's (wanted bigger without need for mods) and went with Baja Boss's but the Conti's were a strong contender but they didn't have this size. I'm in the Pacific Northwest and most of my offroading is on forest service roads or snow so the Conti's suited my needs well. Good choice from what I researched for wet traction. I've only had my truck a week and only one rainy day but the BFG's are lame in the wet. I had 02's on a previous Tacoma and dumped them after a week as well. Maybe good for mostly dry climates but not for here. (I went with Falken's on the Taco and their wet traction wasn't amazing but was way better than the BFG 02's.)

 

[Pic-N-Stick]

I'd love to see a Wildpeak A/T4W 295/70R17 in S/L or C rating. A little wider, a little taller, only a couple pounds over the OEM KO3's and I assume no clearance issues stock.

 

[minn19]

I had a Bronco Raptor with K02s and heard even worse reviews about them. I was pleasantly surprised after 10k miles and one winter how good they were in heavy rain and through a MN winter.

I’ve only got 300 miles on my RR with the K03s. After reading some of the reviews in this thread, I purposely took it out in a t-storm last night with very heavy rain. I had no issues going 60-80 on the highway and two lane county roads in 2WD. Of course these are brand new and I made sure they were at stock PSI. I have zero worries about going through another winter with them.

I think it would be helpful if people put how many miles they have/had on their tires and what they think the PSI was set at when they have a bad experience with them.

FWIW, they are rated very highly on TR in their surveys by other drivers.

Might be something to different road construction/materials in various areas of the country. Our roads in MN buckle in 90 degree heat and I don’t hear about that in southern areas of the country where it is much hotter for quite a bit longer.

 

[bluemarlin25]

Like I posted earlier minn19, My issue with them was on a slick recently rained on road

when it was raining, let’s say at a medium to heavy rain, they were fine

 

[jordantii]

Like I posted earlier minn19, My issue with them was on a slick recently rained on road

when it was raining, let’s say at a medium to heavy rain, they were fine

Have you tried lower pressures? I'm down to 36 cold and IMO they are better at these pressures. I might go lower in the rear still.

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