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BFGoodrich KM2 Mud-Terrain TiresThe New Mud-Terrain Is The Biggest BFG From the February, 2009 issue of 4Wheel & Off-Road By Fred Williams Photography by Fred Williams
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The BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain has been around since 1980 and a stable performer in the off-road tirescene since before many of you readers could even drive. These tires have been used in every terrain and could be depended on for solid performance no matter where you wanted to take your 4x4. So why mess with a proven thing? Well, we like to think that the guys at BFG are just like the rest of us with our trucks-always trying to make them better. However, we were skeptical; we like the old BFGs, and like an old codger, we weren't excited about change. Funny thing is we have a weakness for big tires, and BFGoodrich delivered to us the very first set of the biggest tire they have ever made, the new Mud-Terrain T/AKM2. Fresh from the molds, a set of 42-14.50R20 showed up at our door for our Rubi Wagon Jeep project. Our first thought was how similar the tread design is to the BFG Krawler. However, when you realize that the Krawler design is a derivative of the world-renowned Michelin XML and XZL military tires, it's easy to understand why this design was chosen. Michelin is the parent company of BFGoodrich, and years of research on military tires combined with BFG's longstanding performance in both recreational and competition four-wheeling were bound to result in a tough-as-nails (or should we say tougher than nails) tire with great results in the dirt.  First Impressions BFGoodrich...  First Impressions
BFGoodrich is changing the old classic to the new Mud-Terrain T/AKM2, and we were lucky enough to get our hands on the very first set in size 42x14.50R20. Our tires weighed 92 pounds each, and 150 pounds when mounted on a 20x10-inch Poison Spyder Custom's Beadlocks. We didn't balance our tires, but they ran straight and true with no vibration at all.  Rocks In the rocks the Mud-Terrain's...  Rocks
In the rocks the Mud-Terrain's traction ability, though they were not as sticky as the elusive competition-compound Krawler, did well. The BFG representative on the trip constantly told us to just let the tires work, so we tried to stay out of the throttle and just crawl the obstacles. We found that unless our heavy Jeep got hung up on its low belly, the grip was usually there to pull us up and over.  Side Wall The new Mud-Terrains...  Side Wall
The new Mud-Terrains have an especially tough sidewall, virtually eliminating the Achilles heel of the older Mud-Terrain. BFG said that this is due to larger sidewall tread, a more cut-resistant rubber compound, and sidewall cords with a claimed 33 percent increase in strength. Our abuse of these tires was inhumane, stuffing them into narrow rock channels, scraping them against sharp brush and rocks, and climbing our heavy pig of a Jeep through obstacles on the sidewall alone. Though we could see some wear and tear, we never did hear the hissing of a puncture. We took these big 42-inch-tall tires and headed for Ultimate Adventure, a true week of both on- and off-road testing, and they did great. One of our only complaints with the old Mud-Terrain was the sidewall strength wasn't as tough as some other mud tires on the market. So we felt it our duty to beat the living snot out of these new Mud-Terrains, and scuff, scratch, and scar them we did. Yet even with a 7,800-pound 4x4 bearing down on them in sharp Texas rocks, we never lost a puff of air. Plus, the traction and ride both on and off road was equal or better than any prior Mud-Terrain. After more than 3,000 miles of both on- and off-road exploring, we can finally say that this change is good.  Comparison BFG is a little...  Comparison
BFG is a little late to the game with 40-plus-inch tire, but the wait was worth it. Here the new 42-inch KM2 (center) is compared to a 42-inch Irok from Interco (left) and a 39-inch Krawler (right). We measured the KM2 at just over 41 inches. For such a big tire we felt the tread depth was a little shallow. The Mud-Terrain is definitely quieter than the Irok or Krawler on the street, and performs as well in the mud. We feel the M-T is a better tread for the all-around truck that sees street duty as well as off road, where if you are building an extreme buggy, you'll most likely want one of the more extreme treads.  High Way Going down the road...  High Way
Going down the road it was hard to determine how quiet these new BFGs really are when riding in a Cummins-powered open-top Jeep. As such we also mounted a set of 37-inch Mud-Terrains on a mildly built pickup and found the tread noise very mild at highway speeds. Any mud tire will be louder than a street or all-terrain tread, but on the scale of noisy aggressive tires, these BFGs are about a 1 or 2 out of 10, perfect for the daily-driven four-wheeler. By the way, our 37s did require some added weight for balance, but none over 2 ounces.  Mud Finally in the mud, we...  Mud
Finally in the mud, we were happy like pigs. Our four-door Jeep is no featherweight, and we were crossing our fingers that these new Muddies wouldn't leave us floundering in the slop. We hit the deep holes with the throttle pegged, and the KM2s pulled us through. The narrow tread voids did great against the soupy mud, and only especially thick tacky stuff packed these tires. In the worst case scenarios where progress ceased, the tires could still claw us out backwards. Though this new BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/AKM2 is becoming available as you read this, it is only coming out in sizes for 17-inch-and-larger rims for 2007. Expect some smaller rim sizes next year around September. For now here are the sizes being offered: | Tire | Overall | LT Tire | Overall | | Size | Dia. (in) | Size | Dia. (in) | | 35x12.50R17/D | 34.8 | LT245/70R17/E | 30.8 | | 35x12.50R18/D | 34.8 | LT285/70R17/D | 33.0 | | 37x12.50R17/D | 36.8 | LT305/55R20/E | 33.5 | | 37x12.50R18/D | 36.8 | LT305/60R18/E | 32.6 | | 37x12.50R20/D | 36.8 | LT305/65R17/E | 32.8 | | 38x14.50R17/D | 37.8 | LT315/75R16/D | 34.8 | | 40x14.50R17/C | 39.9 | LT325/60R20/D | 35.6 | | 42x14.50R20/C | 41.8 | LT335/55R22/D | 36.7 |
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Mud Tire Test
We're doing all we can to test some new treads with all these mud tires!...
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