BFG KO2 265/70R17 - Handling on Amarok

[Spatanky]

Hey everyone,

I am running these tires now on my 2015 4 motion D/C. Since moving form my previous tires (Triangle AT 265/65) I have found overtaking another car at speeds over 120 feels dodgy at best.
Only the front tires are new the back ones have about 30k left on them according to the tire guy. My pressure is 2b all around and I have a Beekman canopy with no other extras.

Hopeful someone can give me some advice or if they experienced similar handling issues at highway speeds.

[Alwyn777]

Hey everyone,

I am running these tires now on my 2015 4 motion D/C. Since moving form my previous tires (Triangle AT 265/65) I have found overtaking another car at speeds over 120 feels dodgy at best.
Only the front tires are new the back ones have about 30k left on them according to the tire guy. My pressure is 2b all around and I have a Beekman canopy with no other extras.

Hopeful someone can give me some advice or if they experienced similar handling issues at highway speeds.

You will have to be more specific here. What handling issues are you referring to?

[hein100]

Hey everyone,

I am running these tires now on my 2015 4 motion D/C. Since moving form my previous tires (Triangle AT 265/65) I have found overtaking another car at speeds over 120 feels dodgy at best.
Only the front tires are new the back ones have about 30k left on them according to the tire guy. My pressure is 2b all around and I have a Beekman canopy with no other extras.

Hopeful someone can give me some advice or if they experienced similar handling issues at highway speeds.

I.wont buy a 3 ply tire again unless u do hard work and heavy loads. Mine is at 2.5 and that is per agent they dont like low pressure.

[Spatanky]

You will have to be more specific here. What handling issues are you referring to?

Like feel unstable/jumpy when changing lane to overtake, driving below 100 feels fine and comfortable.

[Spatanky]

I.wont buy a 3 ply tire again unless u do hard work and heavy loads. Mine is at 2.5 and that is per agent they dont like low pressure.

Thanks I will try 2.5 and see if it changes the behavior.

[CraigWatt]

Thanks I will try 2.5 and see if it changes the behavior.

I have KO2's, different size, but they seem happiest at 2.3 front and 2.5 rear or thereabouts on tar for my vehicle.

With 2.5 front things start to get a bit skittish in the wet on tar.

Previous owner (for 18 years and who fitted the tyres the vehicle came with when I bought it in 2020) numbers were:
tar: 2.3 front / 2.5 rear
gravel: 2 front / 2.2 rear
Sand: 1.8 front / 2 rear
Dune: 1.2 front / 1.4 rear

Different vehicle of course, so weight distribution on yours will be different, so you will have to experiment a bit.

[Makaira]

Thanks I will try 2.5 and see if it changes the behavior.

I have 265/65R18 BF KO2s on my V6. I run them at 2.2, no issues.

[Spatanky]

I have KO2's, different size, but they seem happiest at 2.3 front and 2.5 rear or thereabouts on tar for my vehicle.

With 2.5 front things start to get a bit skittish in the wet on tar.

Previous owner (for 18 years and who fitted the tyres the vehicle came with when I bought it in 2020) numbers were:
tar: 2.3 front / 2.5 rear
gravel: 2 front / 2.2 rear
Sand: 1.8 front / 2 rear
Dune: 1.2 front / 1.4 rear

Different vehicle of course, so weight distribution on yours will be different, so you will have to experiment a bit.

Thanks for the reply, I am definitely going to start experimenting. General consensus on Google is 2.2-2.7 (32 - 39 psi) depending on use. Definitely a bit of a learning curve as these tires are quite beefy and its the first time I've had an AT thats more than 2 ply. They are load rated E which google search mentions equivalence to 10ply I should have done a bit more homework before getting them but got a really good deal on 4 used ones (so bought 2 new ones so I have the spare and not uneven when fitting only 1 new tire).

[hatjohan]

Did 75k on mine, always at 2bar no-load and 3bar when fully laden.
Initially had them on 2.2/2.5 but Amarok was jumpy, then Seikel told me to stick to VW specs.
The sidewalls are rather stiff, so lower pressure will work better, I think.
The story about damage at low pressures only apply to very low pressures (1.5 ish?) and high speed, I would say.

[Cobus80]

In the past I found the BFG’s to excellent for heavy duty off road. For me they weren’t great for on road use as far as handling , noise an fuel consumption is concerned… they do look fantastic though…

[HugoNotte]

They are load rated E which google search mentions equivalence to 10ply

That 10 ply rating doesn't refer to the side wall plies, but to the plies underneath the tread. 2 different things. The ply rating isn't an indication of the actual amount of plies in the tyre, but it compares the strength / load carrying ability of the tire to the amount of cotton plies used in earlier tyres. In your case, the tyre's load carrying ability is comparable to one with 10 cotton plies.

[Spatanky]

Appreciate all the replies. I did a trip of around 1500km mixed gravel and tar. The pressure between 2.2 and 2.6. The tires performed way beyond my expectation. I found that 2.2 is very good all round.