Mickey Thompson Baja Boss vs BFG KO2

[Redcup]

I currently have Geoland XA/Ts on the truck. They came with them when I bought it last year. They have about 80k on them @ 5 years old yet still have 10/32 of tread. There is some cupping and a slight shimmy at highway speeds. So I figured time to get new tires. They are 35x12.5x20 on a 6 inch lift. I have narrowed it down to the two tires in the title. Though the list grows if I research this more. I had KO2s on my F150 and were decent. Hit the trails and did some dicey trails and did ok. So I am looking for opinions on these two tires. I read that the MTs get wishywashy on the highway and have to be run at a lower PSI. I run the XATs at 42 and the ride is good but I read I would have to put these at 38-35 psi? My use will be 80% highway and back roads and 20% light offroading. Though I plan on going camping and taking logging trails and so on now that I have a rig that can handle it. I live in SW Wisconsin so that should help with the types of trails I will be taking though I trek out of state too.

 

[Docwagon1776]

KO3s are out now. Do some research on those. I'm about 90% convinced they will be my next set, but can't offer any first hand experience.

 

[Redcup]

KO3s are out now. Do some research on those. I'm about 90% convinced they will be my next set, but can't offer any first hand experience.

BFG doesn't offer the KO3s in my size sadly.

 

[Docwagon1776]

BFG doesn't offer the KO3s in my size sadly.

They will later this year. MSPN 60060. Not sure exact release date, though.

 

[78Staff]

I've got KO2 AT 35's, and tbh did not get the mileage out of them I was expecting... I rotate regularily since it was included in tire package, but my (current) rears are pretty much gone. Fronts are still ok, but will need replacing soon as well... Most of this trucks use if towing a 21ft bass boat at this point in it's life, so I am sure that has something to do with it. Anyway, I got just about 40K out of them, they have 50K warranty so I will get a small abount of pro-rate when I get tires in the next couple weeks. Just deciding on which brand to go with at this point, the KO3's, or another brand like M/T, General, Nitto, Toyo (I had a set of Toyo MT's on my previous truck and they were excellent, if one can get over the name lol). Also thinking about dropping down in size back to 33's since it's mostly a tow vehicle at this point.

 

[Tray Burge]

Can't speak highly enough of my K02 AT's, great tires. They literally improved the ride on my Jeep too.
Smooth, relatively quiet and great tread life.
If they made them in a low profile street tire I'd run em on my truck.

 

[78Staff]

Can't speak highly enough of my K02 AT's, great tires. They literally improved the ride on my Jeep too.
Smooth, relatively quiet and great tread life.
If they made them in a low profile street tire I'd run em on my truck.

yeah I think the towing is the reason for my reduced milage, tbh. Otherwise have been pretty happy with them. But still thinking of downsizing to a 285/65R20 or 275/60R20 or 275/65R20 in the KOx or Toyo AT, both essentially 33x11.50-ish sizes. Slightly less width is probably better for my 9" rims as well. TBH, I really dont even need the AT style, could go with a more LT truck type like the Defender LTX which everyone seems to love. Funny, I went from Toyo MT's, to BFG AT's, to now maybe a "plain old truck tire"... Getting older, tastes change I reckon .

 

[Tray Burge]

yeah I think the towing is the reason for my reduced milage, tbh. Otherwise have been pretty happy with them. But still thinking of downsizing to a 285/65R20 or 275/60R20 or 275/65R20 in the KOx or Toyo AT, both essentially 33x11.50-ish sizes. Slightly less width is probably better for my 9" rims as well. TBH, I really dont even need the AT style, could go with a more LT truck type like the Defender LTX which everyone seems to love. Funny, I went from Toyo MT's, to BFG AT's, to now maybe a "plain old truck tire"... Getting older, tastes change I reckon .

For sure, I run Pirrelli's on my truck, but sure wished they made them in solid raised white lettering, I'm old school and it's become the rage again.

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

Coopers, milestars, or nittos

Be prepared to set your pocket book down. It's an expensive proposition

 

[78Staff]

Coopers, milestars, or nittos

Be prepared to set your pocket book down. It's an expensive proposition

No kidding, I was shocked at how much tires cost now vs last time I bought, circa 2019 or so.

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

Yup, I consider anything around $300 a tire a bargain. Why I went from 20s to 17s. Larger selection and lower acquisition costs

My nephew is a used car dealer. They are spending $1,000 a week on tires. He only buys used tires now in full sets, vs new. Trying to keep costs down. Getting used tires with good rubber on them, but not a lot of brand names

 

[78Staff]

Yup, I consider anything around $300 a tire a bargain. Why I went from 20s to 17s. Larger selection and lower acquisition costs

My nephew is a used car dealer. They are spending $1,000 a week on tires. Only buy used tires now in full sets, vs new. Trying to keep costs down. Getting used tires with good rubber on them, but not a lot of brand names

Yeah 20" rim is the killer, 17/18's are much less typically. I'm looking at either Cooper or Khumo in the $300-$350 range or just getting another set of KO's which will be around $420 each . Pretty much decided to drop back to a 33" ie 285/60 size, mostly due to towing - so at least that will save me a bit as well.

At this point she's 99% a pavement queen, but occasionally I wind up up having to get on dirt roads ir or "un-improved" ramps where a more street oriented tire like a defender wouldnt work well at all .

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

Advice, make certain you adjust your tire size with alfaobd or another device. Speedo off is 1 thing but shifting is a lot better if the computer has the correct tire circumference in mm.

I used this site to calculate. Then I had a good staring point to get zeroed in. After mounting and then weight of vehicle I was about 95 mm less than calculator.

Tire Size Calculator - Compare Tire Sizes | Tacoma World

Tire size calculator compares diameter, width, circumference and speedometer differences for any two tire sizes. Supports tire sizes in metric and inches.

www.tacomaworld.com

 

[RamDiver]

Advice, make certain you adjust your tire size with alfaobd or another device. Speedo off is 1 thing but shifting is a lot better if the computer has the correct tire circumference in mm.

I used this site to calculate. Then I had a good staring point to get zeroed in. After mounting and then weight of vehicle I was about 95 mm less than calculator.

Tire Size Calculator - Compare Tire Sizes | Tacoma World

Tire size calculator compares diameter, width, circumference and speedometer differences for any two tire sizes. Supports tire sizes in metric and inches.

www.tacomaworld.com

I have summer and winter wheels requiring to adjust wheel sizes with AlfaOBD after every change.

I used an old style standalone GPS and a calculator to zero in the wheel circumference settings.

.

 

[Bigskyroadglide]

Agree, took me 1 adjustment since I did tire size calculator first, then the 2nd calculation was the difference in speed vs GPS. The millimeters is the challenge, since I work in $$ not millimeters routinely.

 

[RedcardRam]

I have run both the ko and ko2 as well as the baja mtz. I found the ko were great and lasted a long time, the ko2 were garbage in my opinion so I went mickeys and haven't looked back.
On my second set and love them!!!
The bfg kept blowing belts...the quality control went to s#*t.

Will be going with some 37x13.50r22 baja mtz on my next set.

The bajas are quieter on the pavement as well.
The other were all 35s

Good luck

 

[mtofell]

Here's an old thread I started that has a bunch of good info. I ended up getting swayed to Coopers from my original question thanks to some posters here.

Toyo AT3 vs Falken Wildpeak AT3W

I think I've narrowed my tire search down to a couple choices. I found some YouTube videos doing a direct comparison which was very helpful. Anyone have any experience with either of these? I think I'm leaning towards the Falkens but have never had a set so am a bit nervous. I've run many...

www.ramforum.com

 

[78Staff]

Yeah 20" rim is the killer, 17/18's are much less typically. I'm looking at either Cooper or Khumo in the $300-$350 range or just getting another set of KO's which will be around $420 each . Pretty much decided to drop back to a 33" ie 285/60 size, mostly due to towing - so at least that will save me a bit as well.

At this point she's 99% a pavement queen, but occasionally I wind up up having to get on dirt roads ir or "un-improved" ramps where a more street oriented tire like a defender wouldnt work well at all .

Kinda heading OT here, but did want to follow-up, went with a set of Toyo Open Country AT's, 285/60/R20, which are essentially 33's. So dropping back from the 35's I usually run, since I use this truck for towing a boat mostly these days.

I was a bit worried since I do have Bilstiens and 1.5" Icon Springs in the rear, and while they are smaller, they still look pretty decent in the wheelwells imo... In fact, they probably are a more "symetrical" fit than the 35's were, really, as the 35's gave it a bit of a 'fat tire" look .



Compared to the BFG 35's...

 

[CanuckRam1313]

Coopers, milestars, or nittos

Be prepared to set your pocket book down. It's an expensive proposition

Exactly...

My Michelin Defender LTX M/S in LT295/65R20 are almost $600 plus tax per tire here in Ontario, Canada.

However, the Michelin quality, longevity, and warranty are incredible.