Launched last year in the USA, BFGoodrich® Tyres have now introduced the new All-Terrain T/A® KO2 tyre – its most advanced 4X4 tyre ever – to Africa and the Middle East.
The KO2 is an advancement on the already formidable KO Tyres.
The KO2’s sidewall strength has been a big focus, as this is crucial to tyre longevity when off-roading. The tyre’s shoulders are made of thicker rubber and extended to reach lower than before, adding more rubber to the upper-half of the sidewall. This means that the tread now extends over the entire shoulder to remove one of the main weak points of any off-road tyre where the tread meets the sidewall.
A new footprint shape and interlocking tread design provide uniform wear when used on the road and BFGoodrich claim that tread life has doubled when it comes to gravel. and improved by 15 percent on the road thanks to special stone ejectors that push objects out of the tread to reduce the risk of objects drilling into the tyre.
Other improvements relate to traction, with a 10 percent improvement in muddy conditions. Lugs in the sidewall improve traction and new “mud-phobic bars” (small bars that fit between the tread) have been installed to help the tyre shed sticky mud by breaking the seal against the rubber.
“BFGoodrich is delighted to bring to its customers a game-changer that will take on anything that ‘Playground Earth’ has to offer,” said Pierre Granzotto, general manager for passenger cars and vice president for Michelin Africa, India and the Middle East. “Thirty-eight years ago, BFGoodrich launched a tyre that created the all-terrain category that earned 80 off-road wins at races in the Baja peninsula – by far the most of any other tyre brand. While the original KO defined the all-terrain tyre category for decades, the new All-Terrain KO2 is designed as a tyre that will pose no boundaries for drivers taking on a new world of adventures.”