I'm in the middle of my JK conversion and looking at KO2's but the question could apply to any brand of tire. I see most people discussing 10 ply tires. My JK will continue to be my daily driver (75% of my driving) and I hope to be doing some overlanding and light to moderate trails-no rock climbing. Would 6 ply's work or is 10 ply a must?
Thanks

 

IMO.. I believe is 6 ply Load "C" and this would be suitable based on your stated use. Check out JK Rubi's stock tires which are Load "C". 10's imo would be overkill, ride hard. Heck, I ran Rausch Creek Greens with Falken WP AT3..P285/70x17s .. load "B" No problems on my DD.

 

You want to avoid E rated tires and 6 ply is perfect for a jeep.

 

I agree with Dirtman but less than E Rated tires are getting harder to find. Dick Cepek probably has the best range of C rated tires. If modern tires get much harder I will cast up some concrete tires and put nails in for traction as they will be softer riding .
PS: I deliberately run 26lb pressure on road in my E rated Maxxis Bighorns and they are softer, noisier though and wear really even. So 2/3 things are good.

 

Well, usually I agree on a wide variety of topics with the esteemed folks who have recommended six-ply tires, but this time I do not. I have tons of overlanding experience and it's use is a lot harder than rock crawling when it comes to tires. You're driving faster over rough washboard and potholed roads littered with rocks. During my nearly 10,000 mile trip into the Arctic in both Alaska and Canada, my running buddy had D-rated tires and I had Es. Both Duratracs. He had two flats, one on the Dempster Hwy, the other on the Dalton. I had none. One of his flats was a six inch metal rod stuck in the tire. The other was a rather dull and small rock that penetrated the tread. Fortunately we were both carrying two spares because we would be a long ways from support. I now run my third set of E-rated KO IIs* and have been quite pleased with them. Only flat I ever had was a nail I picked up on city streets during a trip. And even that wasn't really flat, just noticed the pressure was low after I returned home. Regardless, if you're going to head out to Big Bend Ranch State Park, they recommend carrying two spares. Because the rocks one runs across are renown for damaging tires ...

https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/...is-everything/

Here's video of when that blunt rock that gave Ray a flat on the Dalton. We had just come down off Atigun pass. Skip to 8:15 ...


*I have nearly 280,000 miles on my 2007 JK, and since I do a lot of actual off-road travel, tires are replaced much before they get down to the wear indicators (which are useful for street tires, not so much for tires actually used for off-road).

 

I have outfitted my JK with a set of BFG 315x70x17 KO2 AT tires. Two outings into the Arizona desert have resulted in two destroyed tires. One with a "snakebite puncture" and one with a sidewall puncture. They were aired down to 18 psi while off road. That all being said, I am beginning to wonder if the decision to go with KO2's was sound. I'm interested to hear other experiences with BFG KO2 tires. They seem to have a large following. Am I just "lucky" or have others experienced a lot of failures with these tires?

 

You can cut any tire or put a steel rod thru it if you hit it right. I have had E rated tires on my truck blow apart while driving down the highway.

 

I feel sorry for us old guys who used to run 2/3 ply BFG Radial T/A tires back in the late 70's with no sidewall damage flats but they were made of rubber not concrete like nowadays. And never got flat spots in the winter and no air down requirement unless you were stuck.

 

I have 30k miles on a set of 285's, BFG KO2 E rated tires and they are heavy and stiff. I run 22lbs of air in them on the street so the ride is acceptable. I have also ruined one on the trail and am not convinced the "E" rating has helped me much with regards to durability.

I now have a set of 35" Patagonia's ready to throw on and they only have a 3 ply sidewall. In comparison, these 35s are only 4lbs a tire heaver than my current 32.5" BFGs. We shall see if they hold up.

 

After shredding tires on flint covered trails, I only run E rated tires. They may run a little stiffer, but I got real tired of changing them. I haven’t had any significant problems since. As for the KO2s, I run them on my truck, but have Nitto’s on my JK.