BFG KO2s getting louder?

[Nels]

Looking for an expert's opinion. I put BFG KO2s on my truck in February. Have put about 5000 miles on them since. Size 285/60/20, running at 36 psi. The last couple of weeks I have a perception that they are giving off a little more road noise than they had previously. I am wondering - are they really getting louder? Or is it just my own perception because my windows are down more frequently in the summer? Should i be adjusting the psi in the summer? Am i running a psi too low or too high causing unnecessary wear?

 

[securityguy]

When you put any off road capable tire on a truck, the more miles you put on the tires, the louder the tires will get over time. Some don't mind and some have stated the noise got so bad they changed out the tires long before the tread was due. Some, like you, say at 5000 miles it began...some say a lot more before they start hearing higher noise levels.

 

[brian42]

The quietest day is the day you buy them. After that the noise will increase as the tire wears and the rubber gets harder over time.

I had KO2s on my last truck and they definitely got noisier over time. I drove an old diesel that sounded like a garbage truck so I didn't care.

Even at their end of life they still weren't as noisy as others though.

 

[Redfour5]

I've had three sets of them. They are the best tires I ever had for mixed towing, off road. Yes, they do change over time. And to be frank, I don't think I have ever gone over 40K on mine because that is the point where the traction starts to go on snow and heavy water and I live in MT where the snow can last from Sept to May (2017 first foot Sept 17/2021 last foot May 12th) and they never take all the snow off roads on purpose and don't use salt.

But I still kept buying them... I found that I tended toward what is called "simulus generalization" where your brain just ignores a constant stimuli...kind of like the background music (AKA Muzak) in a store.

 

[brian42]

I got about 35K out of mine. Up until that point I was a KM2 guy but finally got tired of regularly re-balancing them after every off-road weekend so they wouldn't shake the truck when I was going over 60mph.

To be fair that was on my F-250 which was over 2000 lbs heavier than this truck and had a solid front axle.

 

[Awood05]

As others have said, with A/T tires like these they get louder as you wear them. The tread pattern and rubber compound also affect noise.

I had KO2’s on my Raptor. At one point I decided to put on Nitto RidgeGrapplers. The Niitto’s were noticeably louder fresh off the installation machine. I wouldn’t say they were mud terrain loud, but definitely a noticeable difference. I will also say that the factory Goodyear Wranglers on my TRX are at about the same noise level as the Nitto’s were.

 

[Nels]

Thanks for the responses. Im fine with the current noise level. I just wanted to confirm that getting louder ia normal, and that i wasnt causing unnecessary wear with improper inflation.

 

[Guyfromthenorth]

Sorry to dig this one up from the dead but I have a related question. I've got some KO2's on my 2019 Ram 1500 4wd and they are probably 1\2 to 2\3rds of the way through their life. Over the last year or two I've noticed a sound in my truck that appears to be from the front drivers side...but that's also where I'm sitting so it may be just apparent there to me. I don't know how to describe it other than a sci-fi UFO kind of sound. My passengers don't notice it, but they also aren't ear-tuned for vehicle sounds that are out of the ordinary like I tend to be. At first I thought because I had 90k miles on the truck it may be a bad wheel bearing, so I replaced the entire hub assembly but didn't change a thing. Front diff has oil in it and seems happy. I'm down to it has to be either the CV axle (no clicks\clunks and the boots are fine) or the tires?

The sound is VERY evident between 40 and 45mph then disappears at higher speeds.

Could it just be my KO2's aging? Can anyone else describe their tire sound? I wish I could do a better job of mine, but picture a 1960's sci-fi movie with a UFO flying around making a woowoowoo kind of sound.

My only other tires to "test" driving on that aren't my KO2's are the carbide studded winter tires I own and they make SO MUCH noise (chainsaw driving on dry pavement) it doesn't exactly give me a good comparative lol.

 

[1923bob]

Keep the window up ! lol

 

[mikeru82]

Try rotating your tires and see if the sound changes at all. Or even try swapping the front left tire with the spare and check the sound.