BFGoodrich All-Terrain T/A KO3 Tire Test: Alaska or Bust

BFGoodrich has been a leader in the all-terrain tire space for nearly 50 years and a pioneer in tire innovation since the company’s founding in 1870. At that time, the B.F. Goodrich Company, named after founder Dr. Benjamin Franklin Goodrich, became the first rubber manufacturer west of the Appalachian Mountains. In 1903 a Ford Model A became the first vehicle to traverse the continent from east to west and did so on BFGoodrich tires. Fast-forward to 1965, and BFGoodrich became the first American company to produce a radial tire, known as the Lifesaver. Then, in 1976, BFGoodrich introduced a new radial all-terrain tire and effectively launched the performance off-road tire category.

In 1986 the company introduced a second generation of its wildly popular radial all-terrain T/A tire (the T/A stands for Traction Advantage) and in the same year captured its first Baja 1000 off-road race win with Mark McMillian and Ralph Paxton. Today, BFGoodrich has 35 Baja 500 and 33 Baja 1000 overall wins to its credit and proudly stamps “Baja Champion” on the sidewall of its tire models that have claimed these victories.

The third-generation tire, the BFGoodrich all-terrain T/A KO, was introduced in 1999 and featured a more aggressive tread pattern and vastly improved durability. The addition of KO to the naming has been the subject of much speculation over the years. It does not stand for “knock out” nor does it mean “killer off-road.” The answer is the far more clinical “Key Benefit, Off-Road.” Lawyers really will suck the fun out of anything.

In 2014, the all-terrain T/A KO2 hit the market with improved mud and snow performance and a more aggressive shoulder design. For 2024, the legend was reborn once again as the all-new BFGoodrich all-terrain T/A KO3 rolled out.

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What Makes the BFG KO3 Special

BFGoodrich soft-launched the new T/A KO3 at the beginning of 2024 with its first introduction coming as the factory tire on Ford’s new 2024 Ranger Raptor. The T/A KO3 is also optional on select 2024 Chevy Silverado HD and GMC Sierra HD models, including the Z71 and AT4.

Improvements over the BFGoodrich all-terrain T/A KO2 start at the sidewall. The KO3’s tread shoulder blocks have an updated, improved serrated design and new mud-phobic bars. These enhancements are intended to improve both mud and snow traction. The company has also extended the tire’s shoulder rubber further down the sidewall from the tread to protect more of the critical sidewall failure zone. This extension of the sidewall design also aids in deflecting protruding objects away from the tire to help prevent snagging and splitting. Finally, borrowing rubber compound technology designed for the company’s race-proven Baja T/A KR3 off-road-only competition tire, the KO3’s sidewalls are more resistant to splitting and bruising.

The tread pattern has also undergone an update. It retains the tire’s legendary “dog bone” design but has been redesigned to more evenly distribute loads, which combines with an improved rubber compound to improve wear both on- and off-road, according to the company. Interlocking tread elements maximize handling and traction by stabilizing the tread center while also offering biting edges for off-road traction. Larger channels now extend farther across the tread than the outgoing KO2 and provide improved water evacuation. Traditional siping (the small grooves in the tread blocks) has been forgone in favor of full-depth three-dimensional interlocking sipes. All these enhancements allow the KO3 to continue the legacy of BFGoodrich’s all-terrain T/A tires to receive a severe snow rating and sport the three-peak mountain snowflake symbol.

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Testing in the Wilderness

To fully experience the benefits of the new T/A KO3, we joined a group of BFGoodrich engineers along with fellow journalists, influencers, and sponsored racers in the Alaskan wilderness. The outfitters at Alaska Overlander supplied a fleet of vehicles (which anyone can rent) made up of mainly Toyota 4Runners and Tacomas, all of which were fitted with the necessary gear for a proper Alaskan adventure. The Tacoma we drove was customized with a mild lift, King shocks, custom steel bumpers, a recovery winch, aluminum bed shell, rooftop tent, and much more. BFGoodrich supplied the 275/70R17 T/A KO3 tires, which were aired down to about 25 psi.

To try to get the full picture of the T/A KO3’s range of capabilities in the short time we had, we crammed in as many different driving scenarios as possible. Unsurprisingly, being Alaska in the fall, it had been raining during the lead up to and through our adventure. We started out with an hour of very wet highway driving before we arrived at the dirt. Off the highway, a graded gravel road eventually gave way to many miles of rocky and rutted shelf road. Water crossings proved abundant, and as the weather continued to deteriorate, the depth of the many creek crossings grew more treacherous.

Along the way we pushed through deep and sloppy mud, which typically isn’t ideal for an all-terrain tire. We also stopped and did a few laps around a sandy pit filled with deep puddles and steep climbs. We opted to leave the truck in four-wheel drive with lockers turned off for the best opportunity to let the tires do the work.

The trail eventually arrived at the Denali Overlook, just outside the boundary of Alaska’s Denali State Park. Sadly, the day’s heavy rain, sleet, and driving wind meant there would be no view of the iconic mountain for our group of explorers. Fortunately, the views we could see were nothing short of breathtaking—and this stop was only the halfway point.

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So, Is the T/A KO3 Good?

It’s often tough to thoroughly vet a new off-road tire in a limited amount of time. Thankfully, the Alaskan wilderness offered an impressive testbed to do just that. Wet-weather performance on pavement was nothing short of remarkable. Even when purposely trying to break traction, the T/A KO3 tires tightly held their grip. When the road eventually began drying out, we were greeted by a distinct lack of tire hum.

Although it isn’t a mud-terrain tire by any stretch, the T/A KO3 performed admirably at keeping the heavy and underpowered Tacoma moving forward when the trails got sloppy. The mud-phobic bars between the tread blocks worked as intended by aiding in tread clearing allowing the tires to not become balled up with sticky mud. Similar results were found in the loose, wet sand as tread quickly cleared and provided ample forward traction. On the gravel roads, we noticed a distinct lack of pebbles being tossed into the truck’s wheelwells, which is owed to the reduction in space between the tread blocks and BFG’s focus on improving the tire’s gravel road wear performance.

That said, we didn’t get the opportunity to do much sharp rock or shale driving, and for better or worse there wasn’t any snow on the ground. We look forward to testing the KO3 in these conditions.

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The T/A KO3 Is Available Now

BFGoodrich sells its line of T/A KO tires in more than 140 countries all around the globe, including far-flung countries such as South Africa and Australia, which feature some the most rugged and demanding terrain in the world. The company also has factory fitments coming for Land Rover, Range Rover, and Porsche models, along with expanding in the U.S. pickup market on vehicles that already run the T/A KO2 from the factory such as Ford’s F-150 Raptor and Bronco Raptor.

In North America the T/A KO3 launched with 35 available sizes for wheel diameters ranging from 16 to 22 inches. Of those, eight are completely new sizes for the brand. An additional 52 sizes will be released in 2025 with 19 more planned for 2026. As the T/A KO3 rollout continues, BFGoodrich says its T/A KO2 will still be available for purchase, with sizes dropping off as they are replaced by the new model.