Nitto Ridge Grappler vs. BFG Ko2’s

[Johnkn]

I ordered the Nitto RGs Friday afternoon while traveling on a fishing trip, the next day my wife called me and said "I see you ordered some more toys".. LOL. Tires arrived in 24 hours.... Hopeful to install tomorrow.

 

[Wizo]

I have the new tires installed this morning.

Looks vs. KO2 tires = These are definitely more aggressive looking and look wider. The tread patter is larger and it has more of a chaotic look to it. I liked the cleaned lines of the KO2 but I am warming up to the new more aggressive look I have now.

Feel = The tires are a little heavier feeling and bulkier. They seem to take a little more effort to get them up to speed and to turn them vs. the KO2. These are very small differences but I can feel it.

Sound = They are a little more louder and you can hear them vs. did not hear anything with the KO2 tires.

Vibrations and driving it. The KO2 tires definitely had a shudder to them (they never had this issue in the past) but we tried 2 sets and both came out the same. This was after road forcing them. The new Nitto have almost none and its much more smoother for sure.

Just my 2 cents but I would go with the Nitto basically because they ride better. If BFG gets their quality control back up to par maybe I would go back but for now I am a Nitto fan boy.

 

[Johnkn]

Thanks for the input.

I see a lot of people also complain that the KO2s get worse quickly (noise, balance, etc.) and wear out in 18-20k miles.

On a different note, is there any reason to remove the bead locks (trim rings) on the factory forged wheels when installing new tires? Will the tire machine scratch or damage them? thanks

 

[Wizo]

I don’t think you can install the new tires without removing them. From memory they have to be dismantled and the tires then removed.

 

[Wizo]

Got some highway time also and I would say for sure these are louder than the KO2 tires. I still like these better because at 90mph I had no shake or wobble.

They also are a bit firmer on the ride but I believe that is because the load rating is higher so the sidewall is stiffer.

 

[Johnkn]

How much pressure are you running in the Nittos vs the KO2s?

 

[Wizo]

I run them at 37

 

[tomahawk]

arent the ridge grapplers wider then most other 12.50 tires?

 

[Johnkn]

IDK, Nitto only lists "overall width" which I guess is section width, 12.72" for the stock size 315s which is the same as BFG lists for the KO2s. Measuring mine in the garage the tread smaller than 12.5". I suspect the tread design gives them the appearance of being wider...

 

[Turbogoat324]

So are you guys noticing the ride is noticeably stiffer with the Nittos? Also overall does the Nitto look any taller/wider than the stock ko2 once it’s on the truck?