BFG KO2's on a daily driver (am I going to regret it?)

Woodrow said:
Interesting re the Michelins. I have set of Michelin PS4s on my mildly modified Mustang GT. They are real good and I was considering the even grippier Sport Cup 2s for my next set.
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I'm a fan of Michelin tires and usually run them, but the prices have gone stupid. I had to buy two sets of tires for Civics this year, 205/55/16, and for the Defender line all shops wanted $1,000-$1,100. I went with Yokohama on one and Falken on the other for almost 1/2 that price.

If price isn't much of a concern, I'm still a fan of Michelin tires.
 
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BlueC said:
I'm a fan of Michelin tires and usually run them, but the prices have gone stupid. I had to buy two sets of tires for Civics this year, 205/55/16, and for the Defender line all shops wanted $1,000-$1,100. I went with Yokohama on one and Falken on the other for almost 1/2 that price.

If price isn't much of a concern, I'm still a fan of Michelin tires.
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I just looked at Tire Rack's site. Sport Cup 2Rs in 285/35R19 are almost $2100 for 4! Sounds terrible and it is but the 4Ss are $1600 now.
 
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Woodrow said:
I just looked at Tire Rack's site. Sport Cup 2Rs in 285/35R19 are almost $2100 for 4! Sounds terrible and it is but the 4Ss are $1600 now.
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Poor boi specials 😏

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My LJ came with 31" KO2s and it will more than likely get another set when these are worn. I'd like a bit more wet performance from them, but I'm coming from a high performance road tire reference so the bar does need to be lowered a bit there. The compound and tread are a compromise in this situation, but I work with my equipment and adjust my driving accordingly. I don't drive a lot as I work from home, but it is the most driven of the two vehicles I own, essentially my DD.
 
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BlueC said:
I'm still a fan of Michelin tires.
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Probably the best tires on the road overall. At the moment, compared to the KO2 at TireRack, only about $100 in it for five weenies...

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The Michelin is what I should buy, but the BFG is probably what I will buy. 🤓
 
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chili_pepper said:
Probably the best tires on the road overall.
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The LTX and Defender series have been my favorite street tire for the last decade. I recommend them for pavement pounding.

I think I'm a bit offended. My truck tires size really hasn't gone up that much since I last bought.

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Son of a bitch. They dropped the price on my car size. 🤦‍♂️ I bet a little flag went off in the system when I my new non Michelin tires hit the road. Bastards.

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Camdenst said:
I went with the General Grabber ATX and have been quite pleased. Though not a daily, i dont think twice to drive five hours to wheel in PA. I remember they were cheaper as well.

https://generaltire.com/tires/light-trucksuv/grabber-atx
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Same here. It’s been an amazing tire.
I have driven this set to UT and Colorado on multiple trips and they have performed better than my old KO2s. In my experience.
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I've been through 2 sets of KO2s and never found them to be noisy. I went with Falken Rubitreks on the 4runner because they were a good bit cheaper than KO3s and I didn't notice any significant drop in noise level from the KO2s at 4/32" and the brand new Falkens.

I think they look good, too. Like the shoulder lugs are actually useful.
 
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BlueC said:
The LTX and Defender series have been my favorite street tire for the last decade. I recommend them for pavement pounding.

I think I'm a bit offended. My truck tires size really hasn't gone up that much since I last bought.

View attachment 653661

Son of a bitch. They dropped the price on my car size. 🤦‍♂️ I bet a little flag went off in the system when I my new non Michelin tires hit the road. Bastards.

View attachment 653662
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I've run those Defenders on all my big trucks and SUV's. Great tire. Very, very quiet and a great ride. But, last time I looked I thought BFG had discontinued them. I'd be very happy if they were still available.
 
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NashvilleTJ said:
I've run those Defenders on all my big trucks and SUV's. Great tire. Very, very quiet and a great ride. But, last time I looked I thought BFG had discontinued them. I'd be very happy if they were still available.
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Great tires. I was told Michelin was doing some "updates" to that tire line, and that looks to be true. Notice the LTX and Defender labeled tires all have a "2" at the end now. The website says the new tire, which looks the same, is available in 54 sizes. https://www.michelinman.com/auto/tires/michelin-defender-ltx-m-s2
 
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I bought KO2 for the LJ as they were just about the lightest 35 inch tires around and a good reputation. My JL came with 35 inch KO2s and my GMC truck also came with KO2's. I'll admit I probably would not have bought three sets of the same tire from the tire store but that is where I have landed. I have relatively low miles on all three sets but I am very happy with them all, no noise complaints at all.
 
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I don't think Michelins are bad tires at all, to be clear. The other brands have certainly stepped up their game and Michelins are just harder to justify the cost for, particularly on a car like a RWD BMW that eats tires every 25k - 30k miles.
 
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NashvilleTJ said:
I've run those Defenders on all my big trucks and SUV's. Great tire. Very, very quiet and a great ride. But, last time I looked I thought BFG had discontinued them. I'd be very happy if they were still available.
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BlueC said:
Great tires. I was told Michelin was doing some "updates" to that tire line, and that looks to be true. Notice the LTX and Defender labeled tires all have a "2" at the end now. The website says the new tire, which looks the same, is available in 54 sizes. https://www.michelinman.com/auto/tires/michelin-defender-ltx-m-s2
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They went from LTX M/S (long ago), to LTX M/S 2 (somewhat long ago) to Defender LTX M/S (5 to 6 years ago), and now Defender LTX M/S2 (within last couple years). The Defender LTX M/S2 is sort of picky on sizes. I have only seen LT Metric and euro-metric XL for them. I have not seen them in 15" wheels at all, and for a tire size that the industry does not offer XL rating for, the M/S2 does not offer anything for.

So for example, the Defender LTX M/S had 265/75R16 which is a 116 load index and SL rating. 265/75R16 does not have an XL version in the industry at all, doesn't exist. So Michelin now does not make a 265/75R16 tire for the Defender LTX M/S2. They could technically release an LT version, but they haven't (not yet anyways).

So while yes, the M/S2 exists and is a good tire (I have it in 265/70R16 XL on a Tacoma), they are not available for near as many sizes because of Michelin insisting on making all the passenger rated versions XL rated. It's a good thing for the user but bad if it means your size gets skipped because XL doesn't exist for it.
 
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machoheadgames said:
They went from LTX M/S (long ago), to LTX M/S 2 (somewhat long ago) to Defender LTX M/S (5 to 6 years ago), and now Defender LTX M/S2 (within last couple years). The Defender LTX M/S2 is sort of picky on sizes. I have only seen LT Metric and euro-metric XL for them. I have not seen them in 15" wheels at all, and for a tire size that the industry does not offer XL rating for, the M/S2 does not offer anything for.

So for example, the Defender LTX M/S had 265/75R16 which is a 116 load index and SL rating. 265/75R16 does not have an XL version in the industry at all, doesn't exist. So Michelin now does not make a 265/75R16 tire for the Defender LTX M/S2. They could technically release an LT version, but they haven't (not yet anyways).

So while yes, the M/S2 exists and is a good tire (I have it in 265/70R16 XL on a Tacoma), they are not available for near as many sizes because of Michelin insisting on making all the passenger rated versions XL rated. It's a good thing for the user but bad if it means your size gets skipped because XL doesn't exist for it.
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Thanks for the history lesson. Great info. My guess is that the last time I looked, and the Defender had been "discontinued," Michelin was in one of those transition phases.

The deep level of knowledge on thus forum always astounds me.
 
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