I don't have direct experience with the KO2 however whether a car is AWD or not, doesn't affect things like hydroplaning, braking.

Hydroplaning, especially at freeway speeds, is heavily dependent on the tread pattern either having circumferential grooves or many V shaped lateral grooves (or both) that give water a direct route to getting out from under the tire.

An all-terrain tire has a more labyrinth-like tread pattern, optimized for low speed all terrain traction instead of highway traction.

This is what a formula-1 tire looks like, designed for heavy rain:

KO2 tread:

 

My buddy had BFG KOs on his VW syncro, 4wd vanagon, and they weren’t great on the road. Awesome off road, but he def lost control on the road 2x. Once in rain another on ice.

ive got falken wildpeaks on my 07 outback and i feel like they are a good middle ground tire. Good on/off road, good traction in snow/rain, fairly decent price, not too aggressive looking.

 

Hello,
I am looking to replace some Yoko geo g015's. They have done very well, mostly bought them to have something that performs well in the snow. I would most certainly buy them again. However, I like experimenting. I have been eye balling the BFG KO2's.

I have been noticing online that people don't like their performance in rain. But they have also been on cars that are not subi's. My question is, how do the BFG's on a subi handle in the rain. Have you noticed them slipping or hydroplaning?

Also while on the subject, how have you liked the BFG's in general and would you buy again?

thank you for your time and have great day.

I've done a couple writeups on this site about how much I love the KO2's. I've had these on a 2015, and my current 2014. I would never put anything else on my Outback. I do a lot of gravel and off road driving that requires these, but this is also our family road trip car, so there's plenty of 80mph+ highway driving also.

Regarding their performance in rain: They consistently impress me. I've never been able to break these tires loose on the road, no matter how much rain.
(I was only ever able to lose traction when I was trying to, playing around on 10inch+ thick ice, haha)

The roads here flood regularly (lots of old, low bridges), and between Subarus AWD system and these tires, I am always extremely confident going through quite a bit of water, where many other cars have turned around.

Hope I was of some help!
Happy to answer any other questions

Kindest Regards
-JD

 

I ran them on a Toyota Tacoma, they were excellent , imho. Never hydroplaned. I slow down in heavy rain, regardless of tire.

 

KO2's were great on my trucks except on ice. For a Subaru you'll have quite a performance penalty because of the unsprung weight, but as long as you're willing to accept that (as many here are) you'll be fine (except on ice). Here's an article that might help: Please Stop Ruining Your Subarus

 

KO2's were great on my trucks except on ice. For a Subaru you'll have quite a performance penalty because of the unsprung weight, but as long as you're willing to accept that (as many here are) you'll be fine (except on ice). Here's an article that might help: Please Stop Ruining Your Subarus

I find it hard to believe any tires work much better than others on smooth ice (obviously besides studded tires, etc).

Also, I've read that article, and it's kind of clickbait because it's talking about people who modify their Subarus for the looks. Then, when the author is reviewing this aggressively treaded all terrain tire, they complain about fuel economy and cornering at high speeds.

Neither of which are really relevant when selecting such a tire, again, unless it's done solely for the looks on a car that will never leave pavement.

Just my two cents


Kindest Regards
-JD

 

(deleted)

 

The ko2s are one of the worst tires in cold wet conditions. They were not designed for that. The rubber compound is hard. I had them on a previous vehicle. They are designed for off road. The tread pattern has large voids leaving less rubber in contact with the pavement. They have zero siping for rain. They are worse in the snow. Chunky treads that break up snowpack do worse. Snow sticks very good to itself. When it gets broken up it actually hurts traction. Get them for looks, the raised white letters or whatever, but not for traction or safety. When I sold tires, I would sell em, but only if their mind was set for that model tire.

 

Yep, I agree with the above!!!

 

Been on my set of Falken Wildpeaks on my 2020 Impreza since 6k on the car. Almost 50k and I would have to say they have been the best all around tires I have ever had on a vehicle. Got a set preloaded for my 2024 Wilderness as soon as I get it. Great off road, very little noise on road and hwy. Way better in snow than I figured they would be. Surprised the heck out of me to be honest. No concerns in heavy rain either.

Live close to Vancouver, BC, Canada so I get crap ton of rain and all the snow I want in the winter. Falken has a Customer for life now.

 

Drive fast enough, any tire will hydroplane.
Drive slow enough, any tire will maintain traction in deep water...until the car floats.

Here is one data point you can read.

https://www.anrdoezrs.net/click-100...id=autolinker&url=https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tests/testDisplay.jsp?ttid=249

Edit: one interesting thing about the KO2 from the test is tire pressure. Their test tire needed to be inflated to a higher pressure for the same load. If other drivers are not running the correct pressure, that can result in a greater propensity to hydroplane.

 

i have run ko's and ko2's on at lest 8 different cars and trucks...they are great for low speed snow and high speed highway driving. slick mud...thats a hard no...truly heavy rain...not so much either. but for a summer tire on something you dont pan to have out in slick mud very often out on a rocky trail or paved highways...they can be great.
and the occasional surprise snow storm they're great IF you aren't pushing too hard.
that said i got 74,000 miles out of a pair on my super duty and they worked great just not in mud or heavy rain.
same as on every other vehicle i've run them on.
as was said the lighter the vehicle the worse they will perform as the compounds tend to be rather hard so on lihter vehicles there are other options for more mud in a lighter car like a subie or for heavy rain.
bottom line there is no one best tire out there the trick is always to figure out what you are most likely to be driving on your vehicles weight and research what seems to be best for that application. there will always be trade offs like with so many other things in life.