Magazine for the professional tire industry
Issue link: https://mtd.epubxp.com/i/394657
new sizes include a 34-inch tire that will allow enthusiasts to avoid suspension adjustments for popular vehicles such as the Jeep Wrangler Rubicon, according to Reim. Te KO2 is improved in every respect compared to the KO, according to Andrew Comrie-Picard, North American Rally Cup champion, fve-time X Games competitor and medalist and member of the BFGoodrich Tires Performance Team. "You get double the tread life on gravel. Te toughness is improved by 20%. In racing that's extremely important but it's also important in work sites such as oil felds. Tat is a 20% improvement on an already great tire. BFGoodrich takes tough- ness very seriously. Another area of improvement is 19% greater traction in snow due to new compounding. It's hard to update an icon but this is worthy." Te KO2 is produced in Tus- caloosa, Ala., and Ft. Wayne, Ind. Te manufacturer's sug- gested retail price for the tire starts at $222. A product to 'pull people in' Newsome says the KO2 tire has broad appli- cations for recreational, commercial and high- way uses. "It's not a push product; it's something that will pull people in." Te company says major improvements on the KO2 versus the KO are: • tougher sidewalls t h ro ug h t h e u se o f CoreGard technology, a thicker, extended shoulder and computer modeling to predict object paths and create a sidewall design most likely to defect protruding objects; • longer treadlife through optimally blended tread rubber to reduce chips and tears on gravel, a new footprint shape and interlocking tread design to provide more uniform wear and stone ejectors that reduce drilling into the tire by pushing objects out of the tread; and • aggressive traction through side biter lugs in the sidewall that improve traction in mud, snow and rocks, raised bars in the shoulder to help release compacted mud for beter traction in sof soil and 3-D sipes that create biting edges for beter traction in snow. ■ Improvements to the KO2 include thicker shoulder rubber extending down the sidewall to better resist splitting and a serrated shoulder design for better traction. The interlocking tread of the KO2 is designed to improve tread block stability for more regular wear. A major social media cam- paign is planned to support the marketing of the tire.