Tire Review: BFG All-Terrain T/A KO2 for Sprinter Vans
This has got to be one of the most popular tires out there. Hands down. We’ve had a set on many vehicles over the years and put about 50,000 miles on a set with our 2013 NVC3 Sprinter Van and currently have the an identical size and spec on our 2020 VS03 4x4 Sprinter. Below are some things we found over the years with these tires that might help you with your hunt for the perfect Sprinter tire (if there is such a thing).
Look: Agressive, awesome. They just look the business. Not obnoxious but still tough 💪
Durability: They are tough - the 10ply sidewall is amazing for heavy loads and 80psi. Also the design allows for great deflection and use at low PSI (aired down) as low as 10psi (for sprinter vans)
Life: They have a 50,000 mile warranty and getting 50k out of them is a normal and common occurrence.
Noise: They are a bit on the loud side. Not as loud as a Mud Tire but definitely not quiet on long highways journeys.
Sizes: This is one of THE reasons to choose this tire. They come is so many tires and load ratings.
Offroad
This is where this tire shines. Just going down the a dirt road, be it in the desert, in the PNW on a logging road or even on the beach, the KO2 performs well.
We found that simply airing down 20psi from highway speeds immediately allowed the tires to soak up the bumps and reduce that dreaded washboard vibration that can rattle every bolt loose. So what, you can air down all tires and get better grip and ride off-road. True. But the where the KO2 truly is worth it’s weight in rubber is it’s durability. And that equates to grip. The sidewalls are just very durable at low PSI and the rubber compound works well agains rocky roads as well.
In the Sand
We have used these on a few of our vans over the years and currently have them mounted in the summer months on both our VS30 and NVC3 Sprinters and have found that these tires are generally great all around tires. They just don’t truly excel at that much. At least not to justify the hype. That being said, they do have the same limitation as other Load E tires. Sand being one of them.
In the wet
Let’s just say it. They’re not the best in the rain. They tend to lack lateral grip (cornering grip) in cold wet applications. They also tend to hydroplane in heavy rain. The tread doesn’t move water as well as you think it would. Compared to the Continental VanContact Winter who felt like velcro in the wet, the KO2 was not confidence inspiring. That being said, they did ok and didn’t show much slip as slower speeds (< 55mph) on damp roadways.
In the snow
First and foremost, check out our writeup on why (spoiler alert) we don’t think the K02 is a great snowtire. TL;DR. As a M+S and 3PMSF tire the KO2 does ok in the snow. Especially when aired down in deep snow. But, with real world typical use such as when running at full highway spec of 50psi front and 70psi rear and you come across the all too common chain and snow tire checkpoints in the California Sierra Nevadas and need to drive 45+miles over Donner Summit to get to Truckee or Nevada on 2"-4” of packed snow on the roadway. Well, in 2WD, you can easily find the rear drifting above 35mph and if stopped on flat or slight incline you will spin easily. Suddenly stopping at 35mph will set your ABS into crazy mode and ultimately forces your brakes to lock up and force you to slide. in 4x4 the system compensates and hooks up quite well. But you occasionally feel some oversteer front-end drifting and washout if you’re traveling over 30mph through a corner. So beware. Simply, we feel the lack of sipping and the rubber compound doesn’t give the snow performance a top score. The biggest issue we found very surprising is that in warmer temps, the tires can begin packing with snow (pictured below) and esentially becoming slicks. This is not what you want. The only solution is to go fast enough to expel the snow and ice. But that speed can be sketchy as you’ll need to be going at least +30mph.
Sizing options
This tire has a ton of sizing.
Popular size for the sprinter that you can find made for the KO2 are:
NVC3 - VS30
245/75R16 (OEM Size
245/75R17
265/75R16 (great balance of larger but not too large)
275/75R16 - 275/70R17
285/75R16 - 285/70R17
T1N
225/75R16
235/75R16
245/75R16 (largest to fit a T1N without a lift)
Check our post for tire sizes that will fit a Sprinter Van.
Cost
Not cheap. 265/75R16 Load Range E are typically $275 a piece. Amazon has free shipping with Prime. So that’s not bad. But you’ll have to get them mounted and balanced at an extra cost. Try your local shop and have them price match, some will through in mounting and balancing for free. Plus, it will save you time and money having to mounting them later. We found Costco to actually be the best price and service combo, but be warned, Costo won’t mount your tires if they’re not the specified size. In this case, they’ll mount your 245/75R16 but not the 265/75R16 as it’s not the OE size.
