BFG KO2 All-Terrain vs KM3 Mud Terrain | A/T vs M/T | All-Terrain vs Mud Terrain

Read detailed article here: https://comparethetire.com/bf-goodrich-ko2-vs-km3/ Both tires are although from the same company they sure are very different. On one side, we have the famous BF Goodrich KO2, coming in all-terrain category, and on the other, you get a more aggressive mud-terrain tire, the BF Goodrich KM3. Lets start off with their designs, and then we'd see how both tires perform next to each other on all types of terrains including highways. The BF Goodrich Ko2 presents a 3 rib design in the middle featuring worm like blocks with full depth siping, notches and off-set edges. These make an interlocking web of grooves running in all directions, joining up with outer lateral tread voids, the shoulders make. These shoulder lugs are much more aggressive, they are bigger in comparison, and are equipped with bolder notches and stone ejectors placements in between. And on the outer edges, these lugs are equipped with powerful mud scoops and sidewall lugs, providing ample off-road traction. Though its still not enough when compared to it's bigger brother. The BF Goodrich Km3 features a more open tread design with larger tread voids forming interconnected lateral and longitudinal channels. Moreover, just like the KO2, its' tread also feature dual stone ejectors, where the triangular ones are placed in the outer tread voids, and conventional ones are clearly seen between the shoulder lugs. All these features account for much better self cleaning efficiency on Km3, allowing mud and dirt particles to escape out in multiple directions. Though this comes at a cost as the tire's on-road performance gets severely compromised. Let's talk about that. As one would expect, the BF Goodrich Ko2 being a less aggressive tires performs better roads. It provides more rubber to road contact, generating better friction, and it's lighter weight combined with shallower tread depth delivers faster steering feedback in comparison. The BFG Km3 on the other side, weighs more, and its softer compound with a lot of tread depth causes it's lugs to bend and move a lot. This results in under and over steering, causing the tire to have a slower steering response. That's why KM3 only offers up to Q in speed rating, whereas on BFG KO2 it goes up to S. Moreover, with excessive bending of the lugs, the KM3 also gets a shortened tread life and a reduced fuel economy. This is because energy is dissipated through the flexing of the lugs, instead of being utilized for rolling the tire. And as these lugs carry more weight on them, they rub off the surface with more force, decreasing overall tread life, and so it makes sense why this tire does not come with any tread wear warranty, whereas on KO2 you get 50k miles. Moving towards wet traction, although Ko2 is not so great to begin with, it still does better in comparison. The tire provides a lot more siping, which provide better wiping abilities. Though in case of hydroplaning, both tires get to supply similar efficacy with their network of aqua channels. In order to perform better, all terrain tires, try to mimic a lot of features which winter tires have to offer. Besides being rated eligible for sever winter performance, these tires also try to make snow to snow contact, as snow sticks better on snow, and they get to have a thermal adaptive rubber which don't get stiffer with freezing temperatures. And so as the BF Goodrich KO2 shows up with more of these features, its more effective and gets rated with 3 peak mountain snowflake symbol unlike the KM3. The tire's interlocking design with traction notches, and full depth sipes, everywhere (including the shoulders), trap in the snow particles and make much more efficient snow to snow contact. The BF Goodrich KM3 on the other side, due to its wider grooves, does not provide optimal snow traction. However, it can still be expected to provide some traction on deeper snowy terrains. Moving on towards the off-road performance. Although it makes sense why BF Goodrich KM3 yields a better traction on all types of rugged terrains, it's still surprising to see how KO2, being an all-terrain tire isn't too far off either. First off, the tire provides very resembling durability. It offer similar cut resistant rubber with Kevlar reinforcements, and it's internal construction consist of 3 ply polyester casing and 2 steel belts just like the KM3. Additionally, both tires feature a similar sidewall design, with joined up lugs that offer enhanced biting edges. This structure provides comparable traction on rocky terrains, especially with lower air pressure levels. Though mud and sand are the two terrains where you'd see Ko2 struggling a lot more in comparison. The interlocking design of the of this tire, which excels in retaining particles in its grooves, proves to be a disadvantage on muddy terrains as it hinders efficient evacuation abilities. #tires #allterrain #mudtires #4x4 #offroad #jeep #mudrunner