Who here is running the KOs? Im sick of the stock Goodyears not keeping balanced, so I got 4 new BFG A/T KO on order through the local dealership (had another Goodyear go out...so the dealer is going to buy that 1 BFG to replace that...so Im really only paying for 3). I upsized to the 285/65R18s. I hope this is the answer. I routinely carry heavy pallets in my bed, and I think the Goodyears just werent up to snuff. These BFGs are D rated (+1 from the stockers), and I think the tire guy said they are the equivelent of a 10 ply tire. I had looked at the Bridgestone REVOs, but they had an inferior sidewall thickness in comparison to the BFGs. Thoughts from current owners?

 

I had a set of stock sizes on my 97 F150. They were great for off road, and unbeatable in the snow. My two wheel drive could keep pace with the 4x4's once those tires were on there. Only issue I had was that I used the truck for a lot of driving...close to one hundred miles a day. I thought that they didnt wear as well as a michelin road tire. Also felt like on a hard stop in the rain they did not grab the road well.....but when using the tire for what it was designed for I loved them....fairly quiet to considereing the aggressive tread pattern.

also loved the feature that allows you to deflate the tires and not have them roll off the rim.

 

those are the tires im seriously considering, even though im not having any problems with my goodyears. my friend at work has the bfgs and we use her truck to haul stuff aorund all the time and arent having any issues

 

I have the BFG AT KO's, 285x65rx18. IMO, they are the best all around tire you can by. I always put these on my 4x4's and have always loved them. They look great, they are very quite, and wear great! You will love them. Good decision.

 

When I first got my 04 I went with the KO's and ran them for about a year. They are a good tire in everything but the kind of mud I needed to be able to navigate so I switched to the Cooper Discoverer ST's.

As with yours Wheel my new truck requires the 18's and I was going to go back to the KO's until I took a good look at my old set. When I really looked at them I saw that they were pretty gravel chewed and so I decided to stick with the Discoverer ST's with the addition of studs for ice driving. They are a lot noisier than the KO's, but I want to be able to travel in pretty marginal conditions.

I had a pretty good talk with a number of tire people here in Red Deer. This is oil patch country and tires get a pretty good workout. The bottom line appears to be that there is a lot of variability in the quality and tread life of the same model tire from the same manufacturer. In other words one set of KO's will last 60k and the next set only 30k used under very similar conditions. When I asked around about the Coopers I got pretty much the same picture.

The one thing I am sure of is that in Northern Canada the Goodyears are definitely not the way to go, so you're making a good decision to change.

One thing to note is that although Goodyear now has a Kevlar belted version of the AT/S Ford continues to use the "old" version.

BTW the D load range is supposedly the equivalent to 8 ply. The 10 ply equivalent is load range E. After talking with a lot of tire people the only real difference is in the strength of the bead area allowing the tires to be inflated to higher pressures. The D range tires max out at 65 psi and the E range at 80 psi.

 

Just dawned on me that I was reading your expressions re: not getting your 06 muddy a few minutes ago. I hope that you are not going to back slide and take your new truck off road (not!)

Like yours my new one is a Lariat and it's not going to get babied any more than the last one. We need to get them muddy on occasion or they will suffer an identity crisis and start performing like a car.

Oops, just checked your gallery and I see yours is the FX4 (Off Road). You didn't get those skid plates to just stay on the road either. BTW nice truck and nice gallery.

 

Thanks for the compliments. I am upgrading to these tires because of a number of issues:

I need a heavier duty tire for the kind of weight I have to carry for work.
I do live on a farm, and have to slop through muddy fields rather often, as well as old tractor paths that have fallen into disrepair.

I went with the FX4 because it offered basically everything that the XLT did, but you could order it with the Audiophile. When looking at the numbers, a similarly packaged XLT was only a few dollars cheaper than the FX4...without the Audiophile. Was a no brainer.

As for my comment about no mud....well clearly its gonna see mud in its use, but I will be damned if I go and try to get the thing stuck. I only go through what I have to.

 

285-75-17's and I love 'em.


They grip better than the old factory cheapies and the ride is alot smoother with there being more rubber on the road.

D

 

Well I have to chime in here of course.....I had them on my 96 and loved them as well. I came to them from having Kelly Safari AWR. I wish I could have kept them, but they were 15in, new truck has those 17in Generals. What are they good for? I don't know yet.

 

For that use I think you'll be happy with the KO's. As I recall you have the 3.73 gears which will work fine with the +1 tires.

 

i thought you couldn't get the bfg's at's for the big wheel, the rim width is diff are they available now?

 

Apparently they were on back order for a long time (one guy told me 2 years). They are now generally available here in Canada so I would guess they are readily available in the States.

You are right about the wheel width though. BFG recoomends using them on 8 to 10 inch wheels and the factory Fords are only 7.5!

 

I am running 285/17 on my truck and I am more than happy with the quality/aesthetics/performance of the tires. I originally had them mounted on my factory 7.5" width wheels and the fitment was fine. Even on the BFG website, they recommend 285 on a wheel with at least 7.5" width. Nevertheless, I give these tires a two thumbs up! All you have to decide is whether you want the white walls to show (PITA to keep them clean/Looks classsy when they are clean) or you want the blackwalls. Good luck

P.S. If you decide to get these tires, rotate the tires regularly. A buddy of mine has them on his Jeep and he neglected to do so, resulting in wearing down the ridges of his tires. It wore down the edges and lost the rugged look of the tires. I rotate mine every 5,000 miles and the edges are still mint!

 

had the ko's on my 94 bronco 33x10.50's and they were awesome the stock tires, goodyears, on the 04 suck

 

Everyone says that they are excellent tires. I'm having mine installed tomorrow. 285/70/17 blackwalls.