BFG KO2 - A Great Tire

[globalgregors]

And had a faulty batch of tyres

I believe you’re referring to the change of load rating which led to replacement of tyres across the fleet (2013?) after a number of failures. I gather the issue was that the load rating specified at commissioning proved insufficient in op use (/abuse?). Switch was made to higher load rated version, pity the poor buggers that had to change all those tyres. Such is the story I heard. Not a BFG fanboy btw, I‘ve been running Coopers and before that Goodyear Wranglers (Jeep).

 

[cheswick]

And had a faulty batch of tyres. The whole fleet was grounded after a blow out on the highway when they were first released. They were speed and load restricted and not allowed on the highway till all the tyres were replaced. Just goes to show that brands are not always everything.

The tires were stored stacked horizontally (I’m no tire expert but apparently that causes delamination). And this wasn’t when they were first released. They’d been rolled out under Land 121 with the vehicles themselves at least a few years earlier.

So I think in this case we can let BFG of the hook

 

[globalgregors]

The tires were stored stacked horizontally (I’m no tire expert but apparently that causes delamination). And this wasn’t when they were first released. They’d been rolled out under Land 121 with the vehicles themselves at least a few years earlier.

So I think in this case we can let BFG of the hook

Oh, interesting. To the heart of the discussion though - anything to learn from ADF use (other than how NOT to store them?) @CheJ ?

 

[cheswick]

Oh, interesting. To the heart of the discussion though - anything to learn from ADF use (other than how NOT to store them?) @CheJ ?

Not that I’m aware of. They are a fairly proven tire and were a big improvement over what was on the land rovers (they weren’t even all terrains and to be honest I’ve forgotten which tire that was). Others may have more experience to share but my experience was that it was a capable off road tire, not great but not awful in wet weather and fairly quiet and subdued on the highway considering it’s off-road capability. Oh and the tire life was excellent.

 

[4runnernomore]

Olympic steel treks were the amain tyre on the 110’s and 6by’s .

I think they tyre issue was a combination of errors with the all terrains. Everything that’s normally discussed with tyre issues. Incorrect load rating, age of tyres possibly under or over inflated causing heat build up etc. Definatly no intentional abuse of the tyres. I believe it was a combination of old tyres and incorrect load rating. Could have happened to any tyre brand. Since they ‘upgraded they haven’t had an issue that I’m aware of And they are still BFG’s.

 

[emax]

But these are problems of any tire. If there is a statistical accumulation, there must be / have been something else.

 

[cheswick]

But these are problems of any tire. If there is a statistical accumulation, there must be / have been something else.

Yes and as per my comment above the tires were stacked horizontally with plywood in between the “layers”. This goes against the storage advice for unmounted tires from Michelin. That would be the something else.

 

[Shaky]

I honestly never knew that unmounted tyres should be stored vertically. Never really thought about it or had just tyres to store tbh.

Every day is a school day as they say. Thanks

 

[stickshifter]

I honestly never knew that unmounted tyres should be stored vertically. Never really thought about it or had just tyres to store tbh.

Every day is a school day as they say. Thanks

According to Michelin, there are different best practices for storing tires when mounted on rims vs. not mounted:​

How to store tires with rims​

If you need to store tires that are mounted on rims, hang them up or stack them. Do not store them standing upright.

How to store tires without rims​

If the tires are not fitted on rims, do not stack or hang them. Store them standing up.

 

[DCPU]

That's good stuff ~ every tyre manufacturer seems to have a slightly different view on it however:

Storing tyres | Continental tyres

Whether you're switching to winter tires or to summer tires, it's important to think about how you store your off-season set. Here's a step-by-step guide.

www.continental-tyres.co.uk

 

[stickshifter]

That's good stuff ~ every tyre manufacturer seems to have a slightly different view on it however:

Storing tyres | Continental tyres

Whether you're switching to winter tires or to summer tires, it's important to think about how you store your off-season set. Here's a step-by-step guide.

www.continental-tyres.co.uk

Ha! I wonder if we can find 20 different recommendations I've always stored mine standing up (vertically), and in the middle of the season I give them all a little rotation so they aren't standing on the same spot for six months. Since everyone's got a different idea, I'll just keep doing that!

 

[emax]

It sounds ridiculous to me that a tire which is according to manufacturer spec able to carry a weight of 800Kg shall not stand upright because it might get damaged by it's own weight. That's esoteric.

Perhaps they should be a bit more specific and say ''... if stored significantly longer than 12 months".

 

[rovie]

Ha! I wonder if we can find 20 different recommendations I've always stored mine standing up (vertically), and in the middle of the season I give them all a little rotation so they aren't standing on the same spot for six months. Since everyone's got a different idea, I'll just keep doing that!

 

[rovie]

It sounds ridiculous to me that a tire which is according to manufacturer spec able to carry a weight of 800Kg shall not stand upright because it might get damaged by it's own weight. That's esoteric.

Perhaps they should be a bit more specific and say ''... if stored significantly longer than 12 months".

You habe to distinguish between diagonal tyres and radial tyres. On series 2a I have cross ply ones. After a few weeks they run out of round in the first few miles. This does not happen with radial tyres.

 

[emax]

I don't get the point of diagonal vs. radial in that respect.

How about the weigth a tyre - be it diagonal or radial - is supposed to carry but can not stand it's own weight?

 

[cheswick]

I don't get the point of diagonal vs. radial in that respect.

How about the weigth a tyre - be it diagonal or radial - is supposed to carry but can not stand it's own weight?

It's not that it can't stand its own weight - it's that it will cause uneven stress leading to indentations at the point of contact relative tot he rest of the tire. That indentation will exacerbate and compound as the tire is used, particularly at higher speeds eventually causing component failure. The failure might not even be the tire. I foolishly drove for 5000km (a long time ago - I'm hopefully less foolish today) on a mud terrain with an impact break and can attest to the fact that not only will the tire fail but you will probably destroy the shock too.

Edit: another recent example that really highlights how important tire care is; search google for "Russia Ukraine tire failure" and read some of the articles with regards to what not to do:

• Vehicles in depot should be moved every three months and turned to face from North to South and visa versa so as to not stress the one contact point and to not expose one side of the vehicle to more or less sun than the other. By all accounts this discipline was not maintained.
• Tires on vehicles showing "made in the USSR" - I'll let you do the math on how old those tires must be.
• Trucks that should have been (as per procurement contract) wearing Michelin XZL's instead shod with Yellow Sea YS20's - by all accounts these are a cheap Chinese knock off known to be of poor quality. I imagine there is a Colonel or two with holiday house in Sochi thanks to this.

 

[emax]

Chej,

I completely get your point and agree. But I think

Vehicles in depot

is not tires in depot. Maybe I missed something, but wasn't it about how to store tires ...? And shouldn't they be able to stand their own weight for half a year or so, in particular if their pressure is ok?

 

[DenisM]

From personal experience, even top brand radials can develop flat spots if the vehicle is left parked for a few months months, especially on a hard surface. On a couple of occasions when I knew the vehicle was to be parked untouched for an extended period, I either over-inflated the tyres by 10psi or put it on jack stands....

 

[cheswick]

Chej,

I completely get your point and agree. But I think



is not tires in depot. Maybe I missed something, but wasn't it about how to store tires ...? And shouldn't they be able to stand their own weight for half a year or so, in particular if their pressure is ok?

Sorry I should have said I was veering slightly off the main topic - was just sharing something I thought was interesting about how sensitive tires are to poor maintenance and how you can see the impact in a real world scenario.

 

[Shaky]

So what’s caused all the cracks in the side wall of all the tyres on my car ? Should I be concerned