since 1976
since 1976
By Lee Pang Seng
FEW might have heard of the BFGoodrich name but those who venture to challenging off-road terrain would certainly vouch for its capability under highly trying conditions. You would expect nothing less for an American tyre brand that develops its tyres in very demanding events like the Baja 1000, a most gruelling desert race.
We were reasonably impressed with what the BFGoodrich KO2 could do over off-road trails eight years ago in Brisbane and were looking forward to see what the latest edition, KO3, could deliver now, in more or less the same place. We were not disappointed although this time we didn’t get to enjoy a chopper ride to the deep jungles in the hinterland. The tyre performance session was conducted on a vast piece of land belonging to a winery that uses the facility for similar events, outdoor concerts and other social gatherings.
Firstly, we could relate to the name – KO3 – that is normally an abbreviation for ‘Knock Out’ in sports events like boxing or wrestling. We learnt during our first visit in 2016 that KO is sort of a French description that refers to the tyre’s role as an all-terrain product. Likewise, another interesting part of the tyre name on the sidewall is T/A. Some might see it as a reference to Trans-Am, a widely followed American motor sport series, but it isn’t.
Nevertheless, it is a patented abbreviation by BFGoodrich to mean ‘Traction Advantage’.
From these high flung names, it should impress you that BFGoodrich is very confident of its KO tyres performing well up to expectations and this sentiment is well founded. However, even top performing tyres need to evolve with the times and get even better to meet higher off-road demands. That’s where the KO3 comes in.
The latest KO development was approached from three areas; durability or in BFGoodrich’s words, ‘Treadwear Engineered To Endure’, sidewall toughness and traction ‘designed to do it all’. The first area sees a new all-terrain tread compound, optimised footprint space and full depth locking 3D sipes.
The new tread compound is said to be formulated to deliver longevity on tarmac road and gruelling off-road conditions. Here, BFGoodrich says the KO3 offers 15-per cent better tread wear performance than the predecessor KO2. This new tread compound is also formulated to improve wet traction.
A wet braking test was conducted in Thailand by TUV Rheinland Thailand Ltd on a KO3 fitted to a Toyota Fortuner. The procedure involved braking hard from 80km/h to 0 and the KO3 was found to stop 4.2 metres shorter than the KO2. By the way, the BFGoodrich KO3 is made in Thailand, where one of the three BFGoodrich tyre factories is located.
The optimised footprint space is designed to evenly distribute stress across the tread area for long and uniform wear on and off road. What is more interesting is the full depth locking 3D sipes. These sipes close up or lock to increase tread block stability that BFGoodrich says would allow for even tread wear over the long haul.
The tyre sidewall is often considered to be the weakest part as it could be easily punctured or cut by sharp elements, like rocks with sharp edges. Here, BFGoodrich introduces its CoreGard technology that was developed for racing in the Baja (using the BFGoodrich Baja T/A KR3) and which is said to give the KO3 ‘excellent sidewall toughness’.
From the KR3 development, BFGoodrich has come up with the split and bruise resistant sidewall rubber, Advanced Detection Design that helps deflect protruding objects from snagging and splitting the sidewall and extended shoulder rubber down the sidewall that was designed to protect more of the critical sidewall failure zone.
And finally the traction part where it is said to reign supreme, which for our region is the treacherous muddy terrain that surely qualifies to be the ‘worst of conditions’. The KO2 performance is already hailed as legendary and the KO3 is developed to do even better.
What’s new here to allow the KO3 to reach fresh heights are the updated serrated shoulder design and ‘mud phobic’ bars that work in tandem with the improved treadwear elements. Actually, all three areas are integral to the tyre’s overall performance, including better gravel road durability; BFGoodrich says the KO3 has 20-per cent better gravel road durability than the KO2.
Sirromet Winery Test
The Sirromet Winery doesn’t have vineyards, only a mock-up at its entrance but it processes the wine from grapes brought over from other places. Located about midway between Gold Coast and Brisbane, it’s a place for food and enjoying its wide range of wines. There are huge lawns with dedicated places for lying on the grass to enjoy the wine under the bright sunshine, albeit in cool weather. You have to watch out for wallaby poop though as there are many of them there.
That was our start point for the three tyre sessions laid out for us that day, which included a native dance to welcome us. The first was a mud experience, braking test and a full-bore off-road chauffeur run. It was dry, windy and chilly (apparently, it was the coldest winter for quite a while; Australia has its winter in midyear), not quite the conditions for a mud experience.
When the event was held for the Australian media during the week prior, it was raining daily and the off-road tracks became all muddy and slushy. This gave the BFGoodrich team the idea to showcase the KO3’s performance on muddy terrain, although the tyre is not classified as a mud tyre but an all-terrain performer.
The irony of it was that the week that we were there, it was dry and windy. So, they had to create a muddy section with 1000 litres of water a day, which was good enough to demonstrate the full depth 3D sipes at work. We could see flat tyre prints in the mud, indicating that the tyre had optimum grip on such surfaces. This was after we had driven through the mud hole. We were asked to drive as slow as possible; we were told that the tyre work the hardest on muddy terrain at slow speeds.
The off-road brake test was a first for us as we usually do this on tarmac. To impress us on the KO3’s better stopping distance, we took the Ford Ranger Raptor up to 80km/h before hitting the brakes hard. The short stopping distance on dusty off-road terrain was impressive. On the return run, the stopping distance was slightly longer but then again, we had hit the brakes at a higher speed of 90km/h.
The full bore run at the hands of a veteran off-roader was to show the KO3’s ability to shine under high-speed driving under ‘demanding’ conditions. We were going through some of the off-road turns at up to 120km/h, kicking up plenty of dust. It was a breathtaking session and an insight into how fast rally drivers go over such terrain.
Moving onto the second session was driving the Ranger Raptor over a variety of terrain, earth banks, mounds, inclines and a shallow stream crossing. Prior to that, a Ranger Raptor was driven onto a rocky patch with sharp and jagged stones. One of them was wedged against the KO3 sidewall; apart from creating a dent in the sidewall, it didn’t pierce or cut the strengthened sidewall.
As to the tyre’s performance over the other terrain, there was little to doubt that the BFGoodrich KO3 would take to them like a fish to water. The Raptor covered this terrain section in 4H four-wheel drive, which was about right, even for the area with steep inclines and descents.
The final session was a drive through mild off road and tarmac to reflect on its all-terrain performance. For the on-road section, the KO3’s chunkier tread pattern and serrated shoulder profile didn’t generate road noise any higher than expected. The ride was reasonably quiet and comfortable. It would have been good if we had covered this road session in a Ford Ranger Raptor instead of a Toyota Hilux for a more consistent experience.
Whichever part-time four-wheel drive vehicle the BFGoodrich is fitted on, the KO3 should perform well up to expectations. This dedicated off-road tyre would be introduced to the Malaysian market in September.
