Thread: BF Goodrich KM2 tyres & wet bitumen

Originally Posted by LRT

Many thanks Newhue. What a great recommendation! It does seem that the BF Goodrich MTs are proving to be a great tyre, which is not surprising, given that they are made by Michelin. LRT

They work well over here in a 285/75

Thanks for that georgesadlik. Fantastic picture! LRT

Gday LRT, i'm running 235/85/16[32"] KM2's on my d2 have done 10k on them now and find them great in all conditions wet dry mud etc. i had cooper st's on before that where horrible on wet tar,good everywhere else. i also find the bfg's quieter than the coopers. cheers ben.

Thanks bn172, great conformation about the abilities of the KM2's to handle wet bitumen. LRT

Originally Posted by troppojon

I have KM2s on my defender and find them great in the wet.
Probably better than the old style which were good.
They seem to wear quicker, hence better grip.
I just got a quote from tirerack.com for a set of 4 235/85x16 for about US$1075 inc freight.

Troppojon

Did you end up getting the 235's from Tirerack.com ?

Cheers

Following is an extract from a message off an opposition forum that I thought was an interesting comparison and may be of value to members of our forum. I'm sure the original author would not have a problem with his advice being viewed in this place.

[open quote

Here's my opinion after driving on STT/KM2/MTR's and Duratrac's over 5 years and 3 vehicles.

1 best / 5 worst

Wear :
1 - Duratrac's - 72,000km's @ 65% tread left. The best wear out of all tires.
2 - STT - 60,000km's @ 50% tread left.
3 - KM2 - 45,000km's @ 40% tread left
4 - MTR Kevlar - 42,000km's @ 35% tread left

Mud :
1 - MTR Kevlar - outer lugs shed mud well
2 - KM2 - had decent bite but pattern is odd - tied with Duratrac's for mud
2 - Duratrav's - inner AT packs fast but outer lugs shed and clean well
3 - STT - packs across the lugs and not the best out of the bunch

Road handling dry:
1 - Duratrac's - handles like an all-season/all terrain and has amazing grip
2 - STT - similar feel to Duratrac's but stiffer
3 - KM2 - good but doesn't track straight as well as the above two
4 - MTR - outer lugs slap the pavement and ride is very stiff

Road handling wet:
1 - Duratrac's - best out of the bunch by a long shot. amazing wet traction
2 - STT - can spin the rear end in places where the Duratrac's gripped
3 - KM2 - can spin but if you drive conservatively, they are okay
4 - MTR - not bad for the first 5k and then the compound gets worse in the rain

Road handling highway:
1 - STT - best out of the bunch. tracks straight and predictable
2 - KM2 - similar to STT's but louder
3 - Duratrac's - little soft and can wander unless you air up/load range D/E are just as good as the STT's
4 - MTR - likes to wander and loud

Snow/ice/slush:
1 - Duratrac's - take the lead by a lot. they are amazing in winter
2 - STT - average for an AT
3 - KM2 - good for a mud tire but can get your sideways
4 - MTR - just like KM2's - not a dedicated snow tire or even close

Out of driving on different types of terrain and using a set strickly setup for touring, I would only pick the Duratrac's hands down.

Going through the same ruts and mud bogs as guys with KM2's, KM's and Procomp MT's, I went through without a hickup with the Duratrac's.

In mud, the Duratrac's kill the STT's and keep up with the KM2 and MTR's.

So if you take into consideration offroad the Duratrac's fare just as good, then there is no contest as it blows the other tires out of the water on the road/highway and for touring.

Goodyear finally put out a tire that is good in everything and wears well. Amazing technology. I hope they don't discontinue them. Goodyear has a history of discontinuing a good tire for some stupid reason.

They wear better than all the others and the wet/stick performance continues through it's life so Goodyear obviously did good with the compound on these tires.

Most tires get worse as they wear down but the Duratrac's are no different at 50k than when 2k.

I'm on my 2nd set at 25,000km's and you can barely notice any wear at all.

If I couldn't get the Duratrac's, I would get the KM2's.

end quote]

As I'm hunting around for a new set of boots for my 01 Disco TD5 and had come down to a couple of the tyres mentioned on this list, I thought the authors views were interesting as they were gained from long time personal experience. (possibly his ratings should have been 1-4 )...

I run the KM2s on my D3 and they have performed better than I expected on all surfaces. I would not hesitate to replace them with another set, maybe change the size a little but stick with KM2s.

On wet asphalt I think you still need to use caution.
I haven't had any drama but it isn't really what they were designed for.

Thanks rapserv for the tyre comparison chart. I'm sure other members will find it as helpful as I did. LRT