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Gonna be swapping out my OEM Goodyear wrangler adventures soon, and most likely going for KO2s in the 275/55/r20 size. I've always had good experiences with KO2s in the past (jeeps, pickups, etc.), but no experience with them on a Defender (mine's a p400 110 x dynamic, no lift, no plans for towing). I know what to expect from an offroad perspective, but am curious about your overall impressions as it relates to on-road handling, and general ride quality on this truck. I know they are considerably heavier and I'll be adding about 75 pounds, but my assumption is that's relatively negligible in the grand scheme of things. I also know I'll pick up a bit more road noise and might even lose an MPG or two. Anyway, before I make the swap, I figured I'd toss it out to the forum and see if anyone had any other insights. In my past experience, some tires play well with certain trucks and others not so much. Oh, and I know there are plenty of other options (falken nitto, toyo, etc.) but really just interested in the KO2 experience at the moment. Thanks!
We changed wheels and tires out. We took off the 20” wheels and went with the TuffAnt 18” alloys and 265/70R18 K02s. We lost about 1MPG, but it’s still slightly better than our 2011. The K02s are fairly quiet on the road, but we have the roof rack, ladder, and box, so it’s possible the wind noise drowns out the tire noise. The vehicle is very quiet and we did not notice any significant road noise going to the K02s. They are my favorite all around All Terrain tire, as they are good on road and off road, while having a negligible impact to drivability and noise. I would highly recommend them.
I've just mounted these K02's 265/70R18's on my new Defender. I only have a couple of hundred miles on them. There's no noticeable tire noise on any roads to date, including highway driving. I've put K02's on most of my 4x4 trucks and have never had any negative experiences.
I've just mounted these K02's 265/70R18's on my new Defender. I only have a couple of hundred miles on them. There's no noticeable tire noise on any roads to date, including highway driving. I've put K02's on most of my 4x4 trucks and have never had any negative experiences.
Gonna be swapping out my OEM Goodyear wrangler adventures soon, and most likely going for KO2s in the 275/55/r20 size. I've always had good experiences with KO2s in the past (jeeps, pickups, etc.), but no experience with them on a Defender (mine's a p400 110 x dynamic, no lift, no plans for towing). I know what to expect from an offroad perspective, but am curious about your overall impressions as it relates to on-road handling, and general ride quality on this truck. I know they are considerably heavier and I'll be adding about 75 pounds, but my assumption is that's relatively negligible in the grand scheme of things. I also know I'll pick up a bit more road noise and might even lose an MPG or two. Anyway, before I make the swap, I figured I'd toss it out to the forum and see if anyone had any other insights. In my past experience, some tires play well with certain trucks and others not so much. Oh, and I know there are plenty of other options (falken nitto, toyo, etc.) but really just interested in the KO2 experience at the moment. Thanks!
For what it’s worth, and this is only my humble opinion, I love BFG’s (had them on all of my previous 4 original Defenders) and have loved their capabilities, strength and off-road experiences.
I had issues originally with Goodyear Wrangler Adventurers, and quickly found out that the sizes that LR fit they don’t have Kevlar technology in the sidewalls, damaged 3 sidewalls on the 2nd outing so changed to Duratrac’s….and found exactly the same issue.
Without hesitation I fitted KO2’s, and again, I was really impressed with them, yes….slightly noisier, but with the sound deadening qualities of the New Defender, it drowned a lot of that out, lost about 3mpg, again, no issues with the benefits of them out way it this.
The issue came in winter, and on road…….off road they are superior to most others, but in road, and in the wet, I noticed the Defender was ‘wandering’ on certain road islands, and sharp bends…..with the D300 having so much torque and power, I felt the tyres struggled to keep the lines and on a couple of occasions (again, in the wet) I almost lost the truck…..now, you could argue I should drive slower, but I was speeding in any situations that felt uncomfortable.
Indecided to change tack and swapped them for Yokohama Geolander’s and was really impressed with their road presence, smooth, quiet, comfortable and was very happy with them……until I took those off-road and damaged 2 sidewalls …..and popped one off the rim! …..and ended up limping back at 35mph with a Discovery 19” wheel!
Now I’ve bought the Nokian Outpost as they’re the highest rated on road/off road tyre there is and having spoken to a few owners who have used them swear by them!
Again, this is just my feelings and experience, and it’s a shame as I love the KO2’s! Ended up limping back with a Discovery 19” wheel
...they’re the highest rated on road/off road tyre there is
Thanks for the review. I've literally never heard of Nokian other than in the snow tire arena; it looks like you're in Europe or the UK from the cars in your siggy (and your horrific misspelling of "tire." ). From the reviews I just perused the Outpost seems to get very high marks for its snow performance. I didn't find any reviews comparing its onroad (dry/wet) performance to other AT tires. Did you have any particular review in mind when you wrote the above? I'd love to read that review. I have a dedicated set of off-road wheels/tires and the OEM Goodyears for street, but when they eventually wear out I'll take a look at everything in the AT space.
It’s interesting that the Cooper Discoverer AT3 seems to be very close to the Nokian, despite being positioned about 5 places below; not sure what that’s about. But many of their marks are quite similar. I wound up with a version of the Discoverer, but mine, the Rugged Trek RT, is a little more aggressive than the AT3, without being a full-on MT. Unfortunately it’s not in their review — specified down in the list of “tires we have no reviews for.”
At any rate, I suppose when it comes time to replace my road tires I’ll look closely at those two options.
09-21-2022 | 12:14 PM
For the KO2 crowd - Good match for Defender?
). From the reviews I just perused the Outpost seems to get very high marks for its snow performance. I didn't find any reviews comparing its onroad (dry/wet) performance to other AT tires. Did you have any particular review in mind when you wrote the above? I'd love to read that review. I have a dedicated set of off-road wheels/tires and the OEM Goodyears for street, but when they eventually wear out I'll take a look at everything in the AT space.