BF Goodrich All Terrains ko2 for winter tires?

[candyman]

My 14inch a/t ko's absolutely suck on packed snow or ice on my syncro. The rubber gets really hard in cold conditions. They have zero siping in the tread. However the ko2's look to have some siping in the treads which will likely make them better. Cant comment on the rubber compound. The general grabbers a/t (underrated for westy) have a lot of siping and the winter ❄️ rating, softer rubber etc... i have them on my passenger tintop and am looking forward see how they handle this winter here in MT. I do have a set of dedicated studded tires in case they dont perfor as I hope

[dobryan]

And siping helps a lot vs non siped.
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Dave O
'87 Westy w/ 2002 Subaru EJ25 and Peloquin TBD

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[michaelbteam]

Winter tires on my lifted Syncro are Michelin X Ice 3; 215-60-16; rated at 1709 lbs; 99H; "extra load", 50 psi; good enough for my winter purpose.
Other set are 215-75-15 KO2's; rated at 1765 lbs; 100/97S, load range C, 50 psi.
Side by side the tire height seems about a half inch shorter for Michelins, I think this was the closest I could match when I researched this solution. Michelins actually have a higher speed rating; H=130mph; S=112mph on KO2's. Not relevant to this car of course!

[E1]

Prefaced in saying we've had KOs in 14" and KO2s in 16" but have run neither in significant snow or ice.

So perhaps to follow is a "For what it's worthless" concept, but here goes...

I'm a huge fan of D-Ratings, but am simply conjecture get here that the D version of the BFG would most certainly be worse in snow compared to the Cs at same pressures. Snow and ice want soft sidewalls in my opinion.

So if/when we ever get our timing all wrong and end up in a blizzard on D-rateds, I will air way down and add chains of necessary... and use no throttle if on ice.
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‘84 Westy, 2.1L with Digijet, 5.43 R+P, GT Gears
"Adding power makes you faster on the straights.
Subtracting weight makes you faster everywhere."
— Colin Chapman

[Howesight]

Here in Southern BC, we get a lot of wet snow, slush and icy conditions. My BFG's are absolutely awful in those conditions. In deep, dry snow, they are passable, but in anything else, they are downright dangerous. Mrs. Howesight and I drive Audi Quattro cars which, even with all season tires, are far better than the Syncro with BFG's. The Vanagon, 2WD or 4WD, needs true snow tires for our local conditions.
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'86 Syncro Westy SVX

[davevickery]

The problem in Colorado is when would you switch over to snow tires. Most of my camping trips take me over the Rockies where there will be snow but then back down into a valley or desert where it might be 75 degrees. All Terrains are about the only decent option around here plus chains if it gets really ugly.

[IdahoDoug]

Yeah, it seems like many have discovered the compromise in how a tire handles conditions at the opposite ends of the thermometer. An all arounder tire like the A/T KO2 will handle a lot of conditions. A D rated version would be only passable in certain snow/temp conditions (the PO's question) but it really is a nice all rounder. With snow conditions really a "choice" involving recreation and intermittent at that, it's likely going to be a very good Syncro choice for him.

As an example, a dedicated Michelin X-ice is a spectacular winter choice, but it would fare poorly offroad and mine will even slip easily on mere wet grass. So it's all a compromise and judgement call based on what you do/expect the vehicle to do for you.
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1987 2WD Wolfsburg Vanagon Weekender "Mango", two fully locked 80 Series LandCruisers. 2017 Subaru Outback boxer. 1990 Audi 90 Quattro 20V with rear locking differential, 1990 burgundy parts Vanagon. 1984 Porsche 944, 1988 Toyota Supra 5 speed targa, 2002 BMW 325iX, 1982 Toyota Sunrader

[Jake de Villiers]

[OldBlueSyncro]

So the Syncro passed it's out of province inspection

I had them put on the BFG KO2's, but in the next little while I'm going to look for some true winters and a set of rims.

My girlfriend said she wants to buy it a set of tires so she can say that it wasn't just me who put money into our camping rig... I'll accept that.

[danfromsyr]

fwiw my favorite/preferred winter snow tires are NOKIANS.

I have a dedicated set, they age out before I wear them out.. but were $65ea shipped..
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