BFG calls T/A KO2 'toughest ever' A/T tire

ENSENADA, Mexico (Sept. 5, 2014)  — Michelin North America Inc.'s BFGoodrich brand has developed what it's calling its “toughest all-terrain tire — ever.”

The company claims its new All-Terrain T/A KO2 offers industry-leading sidewall durability coupled with increased treadlife and traction.

The new line — the successor to the T/A KO — will hit dealers' showrooms this November in a dozen sizes. They will be followed in 2015 by 13 more sizes in the spring and 31 by fall, the company disclosed at a ride-and-drive event in Mexico that retraces portions of the course used in the annual Baja 500 and 1,000 off-road races.

Using technology from BFG's series of competition-tested off-road tires — including the Baja T/A KR2, which nine of the top 10 finishers in the 2014 Tecate SCORE Baja 500 used — the tire maker increased the integrity of the sidewall to improve its resistance to splitting, which Dan Newsome, BFG's country marketing manager for light truck tires said is responsible for 84 percent of all all-terrain tire failures.

Bundled together as “CoreGard” technology, the development combines new sidewall and tread compounds with slightly reinforced upper sidewall/belt-edge to produce a tire that the company claims is 20-percent stronger than the KO, as well as outperforming all the major competitors' products in the all-terrain product category.

BFG is rolling out the KO2 38 years after it launched what it contends was the industry's first all-terrain tire.

To promote the launch of the new tire, BFG will use traditional advertising and a range of social media efforts, all tied together with the message: “BFG All/Terrain KO2 takes on…” any number of challenges, leading up to the ultimate challenge—“Playground Earth.”

One specific challenge BFG is highlighting on social media is “KO2 takes on gravity,” that shows a set of mounted tires being dropped from an airplane at 10,000 feet and then one retrieved tire being mounted to a stranded Jeep, which then drives away.

Other improvements BFG claims over the KO are:

• Treadlife lasting twice as long on gravel roads and 15 percent longer on asphalt;

• 10-percent greater traction in the mud, thanks in part to the use of a mud-clearing cleat design borrowed from farm tires; and

• 19-percent greater traction in the snow, the latter allowing BFG to mark the tire with the Rubber Manufacturer Association's Mountain Snowflake symbol, indicating that it exceeds the industry's severe snow traction requirements.

The additional rubber in the sidewall adds about a pound of weight to the tire, depending on size, according to John Jewell, one of the engineers who helped design the KO2. This results in a slight rolling resistance penalty.

BFG lists a manufacturers' suggested retail price starting at $222, depending on size. The new tire is being produced at BFG plants in Tuscaloosa, Ala., and Ft. Wayne, Ind.

The sizes in the phase one release are: LT225/75R16; LT245/75R16; LT315/75T16; LT265/75R16; LT235/85R16; LT275/65R18; LT265/70R18; LT285/75R16; LT285/65R20; LT265/65R18; LT285/65R18; 35x12.50R18LT; LT275/55R20; and LT275/60R20. 

All the sizes are Load Range E with raised white lettering.

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To reach this reporter: [email protected]; 330-865-6145.