K02 tire failure

[MarcoM]

On my way back from a trip and some mild trail running at corrall hallow and some off shoots one of my KO2s blew up on the freeway.

The tires are 3 years old w only 10k miles, with most of those miles being regular everyday driving. The freeway where tire failed was smooth, did not run over anything, tire pressure was my usual 38 psi.
On the trails there was nothing I feel should have damaged the integrity of the tire so seems like a manufacturer defect.

Anyone ever experience anything like this? This is my first, and fortunately it was a rear tire.

I'm now also concerned that the other 3 tires may also be prone to failing in a similar manner.

 

[MMc]

I have run KO's and KO2's for years alway good, my KO2's have not lasted because of short tread life . I have a friend that had 3 do just what yours did, he went bak to LTX's. I would call BFG and start a claim.

 

[MarcoM]

Thanks for the response, claim already started w BFG and Costco.

 

[FishinCrzy]

Whoa, that is a little disturbing. I have had other tires to fail but there was some warning usually. 3 yrs. and only 10K miles sounds like it sat a lot. I have known of tires to absorb some moisture while in contact with the ground or even pavement for long periods in one spot. The moisture accumulates between the plys and then the summer heat causes expansion and failure. Had a big old truck tire go out going downhill on the interstate one hot August day. When it blew it looked like Daytona in my rear view mirror with all the cars dodging me and the debris. and each other. It was a front tire and all I could do was hold on until I could coast down slow enough to pull over. I still have vivid memories. of that one. Pretty sure it was due to the years of sitting on pavement under a shed but still exposed to some moisture. I felt the tire bumping/bubble forming but I wasn't smart enough at the time to stop.

 

[MidOH]

If you run an AT tread on a street carcass, these things will happen. I've nuked Goodyear Duratracs, Firestone XT's, Firestone MT's, Goodyear Silent Armors, Michelin LTX AT2's, and Goodyear Wranglers.

Giant sharp edged potholes, hot tires, and heavy trucks do this.

Armored MT tires are the best bet. But cost far more.

 

[JeepingMike]

Wow! Glad you're safe and I hope BFG looks into that fully.

I've run, and keep going back to, KO/KO2 on various vehicles. Current set on a 13 JK is 3+ years old, 61k miles (85ish% blacktop), and still a good amount of tread. I had one sidewall blowout on an Isuzu Trooper 30+ years ago.

 

[Alanymarce]

I'm sorry to hear this, and it"s good that you"re OK.

Do you have TPMS?

Just a thought - if you had an unnoticed leak and lost pressure to the point at which the sidewall was low enough then it could disintegrate like this in the time taken to stop from freeway speed (easy not to notice if it was a rear tyre).

if you have TPMS then ignore the above.

 

[old_man]

Personally, I run about 28psi in my 35x12.5x15s. 38psi sounds a bit high.

 

[Ocean_Ranger]

Wow, super scary. I am glad that you are ok. I have KO2s that are about a year old with 18k on them and your experience gives me pause.

Can I ask if your tires are C or E rated?

Please do keep us posted on the outcome. Be safe and be well!

 

[OTH Overland]

Been running Ko2 for years, have almost 50k on the current set on my WJ, still have plenty of tread left to be legal, but ready to be replaced for off road reliability. I always get load range E tires on my rigs for the extra plys, never had a flat (knocking on wood currently) with any of them so far, and have hit some huge potholes and rocky terrain. Only gripe with them so far is even though they have the 3 peak mountain rating they do not seem to have the best performance in the ice. Hard for me to justify the extra cost and lower tread life on a mud terrain tire, as even though we do a lot of off road travel, it still a low percentage of actual use with most trails not being that muddy. We might try a set of KM3 on the WJ next as it is a local NW use only rig where we do have more mud, on the JK we will stay with the AT.

 

[Ocean_Ranger]

KO2s (C rated) are my daily driver tires. I love them on pavement and on forrest roads. I recently purchased a slightly used set of KM3s and put them on a second set of wheels. Off-road they are phenomenal. On the pavement they are terrible. I really do like the luxury of having two sets of tires.

 

[OTH Overland]

KO2s (C rated) are my daily driver tires. I love them on pavement and on forrest roads. I recently purchased a slightly used set of KM3s and put them on a second set of wheels. Off-road they are phenomenal. On the pavement they are terrible. I really do like the luxury of having two sets of tires.

Thats not a bad idea I have an extra set of jeep wheels, might think about mounting a set of KM3s up for the wet season

 

[MOAK]

38lbs is fine for an 80 series. I’m gonna say that you ran on this tire for quite a few miles, at high speed, with very low pressure. How the pressure was lost would be anyones guess, slow leak, puncture, who knows. But that is what happened. This happens all the time with semi-trucks. Low pressure, tire gets hot, blows and we see the results laying all over the interstates. Also, you have a 6 thousand lb truck. Run E rated tires. Nothing less. Good luck with Costco being the “in between”.