Reply With QuoteI have them on the Defender and very happy so far although only done less than 20,000km and nothing as severe as you describe.
60,000km doesn't sound too bad. Not great, but not too bad given the conditions. Good luck with the next choice.
Master
Well, I bought 5 BFG KM2s in January last year- 58000 k's later 3 are dead, and as i'm changing tyre size the last 2 are useless (well that's my fault). In all fairness, the first 40000 I did involved some hard off road driving, and they were great- gripped well, I thought they were quiet on road and reasonable for a muddie. The big dissapointment has come via the Gibb road, notoriously hard on tyres I know, but isn't that why people pay the big $$- to avoid punctures given reasonable care? Anyway, the tale of woe started at a creek crossing on the Gibb rd, about 100 k's west of El Questro. My father went through a creek crossing whicjh had been paved- the concrete/bitumen was cracked underwater- a slight bump as he hit it and sure enough- flap flap flap. So on with the spare and that one got patched at Drysdale (sidewall puncture- fair enough bit of driver error/bad luck involved. Next- complete disintegration on the Leopold Fairfield road- a bit of a shocker. Third- another sidewall puncture in the Bungle Bungles- luckily the 7 or 8 plugs I shoved in held it together, so at least we had a spare. And lastly, a week a go- a weekend trip 4wding, few steep climbs with some wheel slip & spin involved and a week later a golf ball sized bubble appears on a fourth tyre's side wall!
Now 58000 mightn't seem that bad, but there is enough tread left to go another 15-20k I think, and that's what I think sucks- the sidewalls have been the achilles heel. I am careful with tyre pressures, I keep load within reasonable limits and I think overall this represents poor performance by the KM2s, in terms of durability. I would never fault their offroad ability, and maybe i am being unrealistic- but there it is, I am buying something else next time, but that's for another thread. Interested to hear anyone else's experiences??
ForumSage
I have them on the Defender and very happy so far although only done less than 20,000km and nothing as severe as you describe.
60,000km doesn't sound too bad. Not great, but not too bad given the conditions. Good luck with the next choice.
Master
The damage in the second photo seems to be classic overheating and subsequent sidewall failure. I am not saying you had them underinflated but maybe a slow leak. Either way there wasn't enough air in there.
I am looking at these as my next set of tyres. What size were these?
Regards Gordo
Master
I agree they may have overheated- that would explain the sudden failure. Following the first flat I had the rears inflated to 38 psi, factoring in the load- normally I would run them on road with load at 45, so I think what i intended to run them at (38) was reasonable, whether a slow leak developed i would have no idea- the road was very rough, definitely the worst part of the Gibb rd trek, including the Mitchell plateau which we had done. So a leak could have been disguised despite the care i felt I was taking- was a bit hard to tell if there had been a sidewall tear/puncture after the factOriginally Posted by Gaudough
!. Size was standard D2- 235/70/16. I'm moving away from km2s partly because I just don't think mt's are worth it for me, especially since they clearly aren't as bulletproof as I thought they might be.
ChatterBox
SupporterNever having driven the Gibb, all the advice I've had and read on here would indicate that the pressures you were running were a bit high?
I obviously stand to be corrected here but most seem to run around 30-34psi on that type of terrain to reduce punctures.
I'll be very interested to read the rest of this thread.
D4 SDV6, a blank canvas
ChatterBox
Tyres fail, its that simple, not just coopers but they all do at some point.
60k km's is pretty good if you did what you say is some hard off-roading.
I be happy to get that.
My Potenzas on the ute I be lucky to get 20k km's and the cost double that of the KM2's.
Swaggie
SubscriberIMHO, maybe you had the tyres too old,too high and maybe went a bit fast.
I did the GRR/Mitchell Falls /Kulumburu/Tanami/ Plenty /plus from Sydney with my camper trailer 2 years ago on BFG 205x16 Long Trail reinforced not even LT( Made in France and casings look Michelin).
I had the rears at 28 and the fronts at 24 and did not exceed 80Kmh on dirt.
No punctures at all . Maybe just dumb luck. But I always start a long trip like this with at least 90% tyres.
Just did Cape York with Bridgestone D694 245/70x16 LT same pressures etc no failures. BUT again car and trailer tyres better than 90% on start of the trip.
IMHO there is no "best" tyre just best practice of renewing tyres before a big trip and checking them every day, and running pretty low pressures, and keeping the speed down.
Regard sPhilip A
Master
SubscriberAgree with PhilipA and the Big Guy, we churn tyres all makes and profiles, car, truck or 4x4 if you take a vehicle off road and then do high speeds on the blacktop they will probably let go at some stage. Talking tyres is such an emotional subject, go with what your comfortable with.
Cheers
Rob
Master
KM2's Im very happy with their Performance , best tyre by far for us weekend bush/rock bashers in the Pilbara , where the rocks are way nastier than the Gibb river road ,Got them on D!,D2's D3;s and RRC's , in 15 , 16 and 17 inch rim sizes , yet to find a better performing tyre when a mix of real off-road / long bitumen cruising / is required.Suprisingly quiet , even in 33 X 12.50 x 15 let alone a little 245 x 17 0r 16 .
Sidewall damage , tread Sepos , heat seperations and more than likely Band seperation from water ingress into cuts on the whole are not the tyres fault , they are the operators fault . No tyre can account for incorrect operation by the nut loose behind the steering wheel .
If I could fit 305/60 x 18 BFG KM2 muddies on my D3 I would !!!!! there only 2.5 inches taller than my 255 /60 x 18 GG's !!!
Master
Mate I think you make a very good point, as regards the age of the tyres, because as I say for the first 40000 they were fantastic, except for all the dramas I have had in the last ten I would have told anyone who would listen how good they were. The first 40k included a Vic high country trip, the cape, the gulf, and plenty of rough, hard roads in that time. Never looked like getting a puncture, even on roads that shredded many a tyre (I stayed on a station in NT for a month- one bloke did two tyres on the road in- a 30 kilometre track). It seems age has played a part no doubt. I also spent a lot of time aired down, that has to affect sidewall strength over time. I still stand by my disappointment- they should be able to hack it if they want to be considered the best. Nothing substantial changed, including tyre pressures, when I did the Gibb, so maybe age is the main thing.
I have thought of one other thing- I have polyairs inside my rear springs to help with load carrying- these restrict the action of the spring and may have made life harder for the rear tyres- 3 out of 4 tyre failures were on the rear. Anyone had this issue?
As for 'was I running too high/low', well how long is a piece of string?? I am trying to be as detailed and reasonable as I can- and will be about the next set of tyres I get too.
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