Off road blow outs and KO2 Upgrades

[AeroMech]

Sooooo.... long story short, my wife and I went offroading in the Santa Ana Mountains south of Corona CA.

1

• AeroMech
• Jul 10, 2019

Having fun running a trail until...

We had a great time on the trail in our Ram 1500 Night Edition 4x4. We were headed down the trail when BAM...

2

• AeroMech
• Jul 10, 2019
• 1

Blow out # 1 on the trail, passenger rear tire.

3

• AeroMech
• Jul 10, 2019

Yup, it's jacked

Passenger rear tire was TOAST, but hey, that's what spare tires are for right?

We change it out and start heading home. We get on the freeway and then BAM...

4

• AeroMech
• Jul 10, 2019

Then on the freeway.... front passenger blew... no bueno.

5

• AeroMech
• Jul 10, 2019

Thank god for Zip Ties... I was able to make this damage go away.

Passenger front tire was TOAST. What's worse it damaged the wheel well and the front bumper.

Not at all how we wanted to spend our Sunday afternoon. Let's say I learned a valuable lesson the hard way, all season tires are not all terrain tires. We're pretty sure we hit an embedded rock that didn't puncture the tires immediately but tore through the steel belts. As we kept driving the belts weakened then blew later.

So the question is what to do? I had to get the truck up and running so we bought two new SR-A tires to get on the road. With a little zip tie mafia magic I took care of the bumper and wheel well issues.

Then the most amazing thing happened... my amazing wife said we should pull the trigger on getting the ATs I'd been talking about.

So now I've got my LT275/65R20 KO2s. 34" tires worked perfect on my air suspension truck. No rubbing, great look, minimal road noise and I CANNOT wait to the truck back out on the trail.


I have to say, I LOVE how the KO2s look....

IMG_4564

• AeroMech
• Jul 10, 2019

Looking great with the new kicks

IMG_4574

• AeroMech
• Jul 10, 2019

Love that stance

IMG_4584

• AeroMech
• Jul 10, 2019

Pride in my ride

What does everyone think?

 

[RoadRamblerNJ]

I think maybe somebody was shootin' at you.

Seriously, I've had them and I liked them. Got about 23k-25k out of a set. I also was doing 100 miles a day in North Jersey and driving it like I stole it every day. YMMV. Found they had really good traction in the rain too.

 

[AeroMech]

I think maybe somebody was shootin' at you.

That’s EXACTLY how it felt.

 

[Troy Gillis]

Good story and all.. but cat access/see the pictures...

 

[AeroMech]

Good story and all.. but cat access/see the pictures...

Wha?! I can see them on mine. And hell.... I posted the pics on the forum in and album and added them from there. That should be the bulletproof way to do it.

Is anyone else not able to see the pics?

 

[Joes1500]

I cant see the pics

 

[MADDOG]

I can see 'em fine.

 

[buddy guy]

lol. of course YOU can, OP, you need to change it so anyone can see them option on your pics.

 

[corneileous]

Wha?! I can see them on mine. And hell.... I posted the pics on the forum in and album and added them from there. That should be the bulletproof way to do it.

Is anyone else not able to see the pics?

This is all I see....

But yeah, those are some nice tires if you do a lot of off-roading. There’s much better alternative street tires out there that are worlds better and far more dependable than those SRA’s, though. Those are about the bottom of the barrel when it comes to tires which is sad because Goodyear is usually pretty good tire brand.

What tire pressure do you runnin’ yours at? With those bein’ an 8-ply LT, BFG told me to run the set I had at 55 psi. Granted, after I pumped them up to that, the truck stopped, cornered, accelerated and handled better but even with my air suspension, they made my truck ride like a tank, so I got rid of them. I don’t go off-road, nor do I tow a whole lot so there was no justification in keeping them.

It’s my fault, though. If I would’ve known that I was going from P-rated four ply passenger tire all the way up to an eight ply light truck tire, I wouldn’t of got them in the first place.

Good luck with them. They’re a really good, dependable, rugged and very capable tire for taking you to the places that it sounds like you and your wife like to travel to.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[AnonStu]

I have been driving a 1/2-ton truck on lease roads, and a little bit off-road, for about 9 years and 90% of that has been on BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires. I'd say about 300,000 mi altogether. Even though they were 10-ply, E-rated tires, I still followed the truck's pressure instructions which meant running them between 33- and 37 PSI. I always got 50,000 mi out of a set and never had a failure other than a puncture from a mesquite root or railroad spike. Half the time, when getting an oil change, the tech would raise the pressure up to 50-55 because of the sidewall instructions, but I would know right away because the back end would start bouncing around so I would just lower them back down.

 

[corneileous]

I have been driving a 1/2-ton truck on lease roads, and a little bit off-road, for about 9 years and 90% of that has been on BFGoodrich All-Terrain KO2 tires. I'd say about 300,000 mi altogether. Even though they were 10-ply, E-rated tires, I still followed the truck's pressure instructions which meant running them between 33- and 37 PSI. I always got 50,000 mi out of a set and never had a failure other than a puncture from a mesquite root or railroad spike. Half the time, when getting an oil change, the tech would raise the pressure up to 50-55 because of the sidewall instructions, but I would know right away because the back end would start bouncing around so I would just lower them back down.

I never did have a catastrophic problem with mine back before I was instructed by BFG that 39psi was dangerously low, and that 55psi with a 50 psi minimum was recommended but maybe that’s the difference between your tires being 10 ply and mine were 8 ply but, quick question; are you’re 10 ply tires the factory stock size, or 35’s? The ones I had were the factory 275/60/20s. And running them at 39psi made them feel awful spongy. It actually rode fairly well, and didn’t make you feel like you were feeling the impact of every single bump in the road but, that’s when I found out just how spongy they were at that pressure because once I pumped them up to 55, and even when I deflated them to 50 psi, that’s when I noticed that my handling, my cornering, acceleration and braking greatly improved- but that’s also when my ride quality went completely to ****.

Finally I found where setting the front tires to about 47 psi, at the back tires at 43 psi gave what felt like the best compromise between handling-braking-cornering and ride comfort but still, they just made my truck ride too much like a “truck”. If I would’ve wanted a “truck”, I would have got a 3/4-ton or a one-ton dually, not a halfton.

Maybe the reason yours works is because you’re running a 10-ply and that because they’re so thick is why you can run less air and still get good wear mileage and not make the truck feel like it’s riding like a tank.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[buddy guy]

ahem....

This Thread Is Useless Without Pics!!!

 

[AeroMech]

ahem....

This Thread Is Useless Without Pics!!!

I feel like a total NOOB. I can't FOR THE LIFE OF ME figure out how to make the albums these came from available for public viewing so the pics will show in the post.

Side note, just picture a bad ass truck with KO2s... yeah, that's my truck. ;-)

 

[AeroMech]

ahem....

This Thread Is Useless Without Pics!!!

buddy guy... please give me good news and tell me that it's working now.

 

[2018NightRam]

I can see them. I'm local to you too. We should meet up sometime

 

[BWL]

I can see the pics fine. I managed to ruin 3 sras and get a flat on the 4th in 3 weeks driving back and forth down a bad road. I think if I slowed down they may have survived. Tread seperation from nasty potholes. How long did you drive on them once they went flat. Don't usually have a tire split like that unless you drive on them at low pressure or flat for too long after a puncture or you hit a nasty pothole with a sharp rock in it.

 

[rwhjr]

I can see them. I'm local to you too. We should meet up sometime

Woah there buddy..did you ever stop to think maybe he’s taken already? Woooooooow.

 

[John Jensen]

Not sure if you made changes or not. I can see the pics fine.

I'm running 10 ply Falkan Wildpeaks and have tried different pressures. 65 psi was a bad ride for sure. 55 psi was a harsh ride and they were wearing in the middle (too much pressure for the weight carried). I've been running 45 psi, wearing properly but still a bit rough ride (much better ride than 55 psi). Thinking about 40 psi.