Replacing BFG's

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Duster

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Hey guys, eventually I am going to have to replace my BFG T/A KO's. This for me has been the best all around tire for my uses, mostly because of the toughness and treadwear. I have been running them with fresh stock height suspension in 245/70R16 and have never had any rubbing. Only semi bad thing I can say about these tires is that one of the 4 is wearing faster which is going to shorten the life of the set. But the treadwear has been by far still the best I have had.

However, I can't get these anymore which *****. I found them in a slightly different size, but they only had 3 lol.

My first instinct was to just finish wearing them out and then throw on 4 new KO2's in place of the KO's. But as I started thinking about it I started asking people with vehicles I saw them on that may have had KO's on it previously. What I am hearing is they are not wearing as well as the old KO's?

Anybody have the newer BFG Rugged Terrain? How is the traction and wear?

So I looked around a little at other all terrain tires that are out there. First I went back and looked to see if General ever started making a size I could use in the ATX since I had AT2 before that were going pretty good until I had an accident. I see that they do now make it in my original 225/75R16 size and also in a larger 245/75R16.

I also see a Toyo Open Country AT III tire out now with sizes I can use. Anyone running these?

And I also see the Falken Wildpeak AT3 with sizes I can use. Anyone running these?

Any other suggestions or thoughts?

Keep in mind I do use my Liberty strictly for work, and it does get off-road regularly. I kind of use it like a 4wd cargo van and it is always hauling a load. Apparently more than I should haul because I have had to replace the rear upper control arm a few times, I think from crawling around off-road with a bit too much weight. I am thinking this all may have some to do with why I was getting very even wear but short tread life out of other tires and why I liked the BFG T/A KO's a lot.

These are 245/70R16 Load Range D 8 ply. I do not know how to compare that to other brand tires the same size to see how they stack up. Any help is appreciated. I'm only seeing SL XL or E
 
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tommudd

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8 Ply , wow .....
But anyways Falken Wildpeak AT3s are on the 03 in 265-70-16s and love them
Went through everything I have thrown at them

Used to Manage tire stores, sold BFGs :(
 
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Duster

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8 Ply , wow .....
But anyways Falken Wildpeak AT3s are on the 03 in 265-70-16s and love them
Went through everything I have thrown at them

Used to Manage tire stores, sold BFGs :(

8 ply rated load range D. Seems like they are in between an XL and an E? Something others don't make. I haven't even checked this on the KO2.

How has the wear been on the AT3's?

I've put more tires on this Liberty than anything I have owned. Like I say, it wears them smooth, but wears them down fast. It came stock with the 225/75R16 Goodyear. When I wore them out I couldn't find anything else but commercial tires that size. So I did it again. Then I think I tried Hankook. It's been a long time. Those might have been suggested to me in 235/70R16 and were HT best I remember. Then I tried some All Terrains can't even remember in 235/70R16 too. And some old Coopers I think AT3W. And there were more sets of Goodyears in between. All these I got 20-30k on depending on time of year they were installed. The General Grabber AT2's were doing decent like over 30k I think when I destroyed one. I have gotten way more life out of the BFG's I know. I need to check how many miles but I know it is the most so far. It could be the size. I didn't know to try the larger size until I spent some time on the forums.

Anyways, there's one for Wildpeak AT3's

Anyone else? Maybe this isn't getting much play because I am not asking about Mud Terrain tires? I don't have anything against MT's. I just haven't asked about any because I am afraid the life won't be any good. And I don't think there is much that fits without a lift which I don't want. I run 245/70R16 and have never had any rubbing. I could maybe squeeze to the next sizes up. Maybe. If you are getting good life out of MT's let me know, I will consider those too.

I know I can run 225/75R16 and 245/70R16. Think 235/75R16 would also be fine. 245/75R16 would have to be real close. I have fresh suspension no sag. It looks like they would clear. But then I also think about crawling and turning at the same time might make things look a little tighter in front than I think.
 

HoosierJeeper

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I just put Toyo Open Country AT3s on my Renegade Trailhawk and absolutely love them. They look great and are as silent as the factory tires were.

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Duster

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I just put Toyo Open Country AT3s on my Renegade Trailhawk and absolutely love them. They look great and are as silent as the factory tires were.

Thank you. Those look pretty good. No noise on the pavement would be nice from job site to job site.
 

Duster

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245-75-16s and stock suspension is a NO

Thought that might be the case. I know i put the new stock height stuff on and then the 245/70-16 and was paranoid. I remember cocking it up all sorts of ways and turning the steering and I don't remember there being much room left at certain angles. But I couldn't remember if the gap was more or less than 1/2" each side. Must of been less.
 

Duster

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Well heck... I didn't realize I was still so limited in tire choices after going to another size. Once I started looking at sizes tonight I realized I don't really have that much choice.

245/70-16
BFG KO2
BFG Rugged Terrain
Toyo Open Country AT3

225/75-16
Kenda Klever MT
Falken Wildpeak AT3W
General Grabber ATX
Kelly Safari TSR

235/70-16
BFG KM3
Kenda Klever RT

I remember now that the closest clearance thing I had with the BFG TA/KO was actually on the back side of the sidewall. So 255/70-16 is out I think. And I did not really find anything in 235/75-16 although I think it would clear. I think my BFG's were 30" new.

Anyways, that looks like the list of options for replacing TA/KO's so is there any other tires I should be adding for consideration? Any of these I should be shedding from the list?
 

lfhoward

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I don’t see Cooper Discoverer A/T3 on the list. Had those once in a 225/75R16 and liked them.
 

Duster

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How are your KO2's wearing so far? How many miles?

I'm not against them by any means. I have just asked some truck guys and they been saying they don't last like the old ones did. I don't know how much stock to put in that.


Looks like they have updated the Cooper AT3 line. I see the XLT LT and 4S. Unfortunately the best looking of the 3 is only available in larger sizes. But the LT and 4S certainly look worthy of a price check. Occasionally Cooper runs rebates too, which might also be a factor when the time comes.
 
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Duster

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Editing my list here making a little progress.

245/70-16
BFG KO2 - most expensive, no treadwear warranty
Toyo Open Country AT3 - too new to find much reviews but quiet and 65k warranty

225/75-16
Falken Wildpeak AT3W - good reviews 55k warranty
General Grabber ATX - I liked the AT2, these look better, 50k warranty
Kelly Safari TSR - really good reviews including mileage

235/70-16
Falken Wildpeak AT3W - good reviews 55k warranty
Kenda Klever RT - too new to find much reviews but impressive tread pattern, does not appear to have full depth sipes


Can anyone help me choose between the two sizes of the Falken AT3W???
The 225 is E rated and has 17/32 tread depth
The 235 is XL and has a 13/32 tread depth

I've never ran an E rated on mine. Weight difference is 4.6 lbs per tire. I wouldn't run high air pressure. I run like 40psi in the D rated T/A KO's.
 
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I was in that very same predicament with the Falken AT3W... E or XL rating.
Some local offroad guys who have tons of experience with different tires told me quite plainly that the ride quality of the XL (6-ply) was going to be noticeably better. I chose to believe them and went with that. Its pretty annoying about the lesser thread depth though. The weight difference in the 245/75 is about 11lbs though, about ~25% extra, and I didn't like the sound of that at all.

I won't have them mounted until late next week but even then I don't have a direct comparison for the KJ on new springs and new wheel size. So I can't really help with any review unfortunately.
 

Duster

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Thanks. that seems like the same thing I was told by a tire shop and they used that for an excuse to keep selling me goodyear wranglers in 225/75-16 as that was stock replacement and back then the only tire that wasn't an E in that size.

So I'd do 235 in the AT3W I guess.

They also make a 255/70-16 which I really think would fit on height. But I really think the width would get me with my stock steels. I'm pretty sure my 245/70 barely clear the upper arm on the inside. I will have to look again.

At one point a long time ago I thought about buying some wheels. But I figured that was just another can of worms to figure out lol.
 

Duster

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Editing my list here making a little more progress.

245/70-16
BFG KO2 - most expensive, no treadwear warranty
BFG Rugged Terrain
Toyo Open Country AT3 - too new to find much reviews but quiet and 65k warranty

225/75-16
General Grabber ATX - I liked the AT2, these look better, 50k warranty
Kelly Safari TSR - really good reviews including mileage

235/70-16
Falken Wildpeak AT3W - good reviews 55k warranty
Kenda Klever RT - too new to find much reviews but impressive tread pattern, does not appear to have full depth sipes
 
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Elliott

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I'm running the Goodyear Ultraterrain and like them, not as loud as my Duratracs were but still aggressive tread and snow-rated. Check them out and see if they are available in any of the sizes you want.
 

Duster

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I'm running the Goodyear Ultraterrain and like them, not as loud as my Duratracs were but still aggressive tread and snow-rated. Check them out and see if they are available in any of the sizes you want.

Nice find. I had not seen those before and I would be for sure interested. But 265/70-16 is the smallest 16 I found.
 

Duster

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I saw the Kenda Klever RT's on a pickup in a parking lot today. These have pretty knarly tread in person. They appear to be an in between tire, like between a mud tire and an all terrain.
 

tommudd

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I saw the Kenda Klever RT's on a pickup in a parking lot today. These have pretty knarly tread in person. They appear to be an in between tire, like between a mud tire and an all terrain.
Just talked to a guy today who is running them on 4 of his Chevy pickups
Hates them, noisy, were hard to balance and wearing fast
Said never again
He liked their looks and tire shop talked him into them and he now sorry
 

tommudd

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Goodyear Ultraterrain in 265-70-16s and 180 a pop I'll go for a set of Falken Wildpeaks again and save 120 or more bucks
 

Duster

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Just talked to a guy today who is running them on 4 of his Chevy pickups
Hates them, noisy, were hard to balance and wearing fast
Said never again
He liked their looks and tire shop talked him into them and he now sorry

Yeah, it would not be hard to be talked into them like that when you are looking at them.

Those are scratched off for me then. Just not doing fast wearing tires and if they are wearing fast on trucks I would probably wear them out in 20k, which in the end makes them expensive too. And this may seem dumb but I also want to try to balance with no weights on the outside lip of my wheels this time. I never thought about this before until one of the weights for the BFG's ended up in the way. I run stock steels with the chrome hubcaps. This works for me because I can just pop off the caps if I'm headed into a bad spot and I don't have to worry about scuffing up rims. At one time I looked a little bit for some cheapy rims but didn't find anything in a charcoal gray color. So just stuck with what I have.

Editing my list here making a little more progress again.

245/70-16
BFG KO2 - most expensive, no treadwear warranty
BFG Rugged Terrain
Toyo Open Country AT3 - too new to find much reviews but quiet and 65k warranty

225/75-16
General Grabber ATX - I liked the AT2, these look better, 50k warranty
Kelly Safari TSR - really good reviews including mileage
Falken Wildpeak AT3W - Yeah they are E rated, but I don't know if I want the other option 235/70 size really

I don't think I would have 2 sizes if everything were available in 245/70-16. It's been a long time since I ran 225/75 but I am thinking I like the 245/70 better. Hard to say.

My tire shop had good things to say about the Falken Wildpeak AT3W when I talked to them about them. But he couldn't price me any. Their supply chain doesn't have any right now. He said it might be to do with COVID but he doesn't know for sure. I told him that was fine as I am in no big hurry right now.
 

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