BFGOODRICH is extremely proud of how its tyres excel on rough terrain and took pains to demonstrate that in Brisbane with its latest product, the KO3.
It was sort of a deja vu for us as we were in Brisbane just eight years ago to sample what the predecessor KO2 could deliver.
There was no chopper ride this time into the remote hinterland to put the tyres to the test but instead, we were gathered at a sprawling winery that provides such outdoor activities as off-road driving, among other events.
The only parallel was that it had rained the week before we arrived and was dry, sunny and windy, being typical of the Australian winter.
Apparently, the good results gained with the KO3 in wet terrain conditions that involved the Australian media led to a mud course experience to highlight the tyre’s performance, even though the KO3 is not classified solely as a mud tyre.
To let the media from six Asian countries enjoy the experience, they had to water the mud course with about a thousand litres of water daily.
Like its predecessor, the KO3’s performance quality is honed primarily in Baja desert marathons, a critical testbed since BFGoodrich is an American tyre company.
However, coming under the Michelin group, BFGoodrich is aggressively reaching out to markets in this region with its well-proven Baja performance.
In fact, the tyre is being made in the Michelin facility in Thailand in addition to it being made in the US and one other country.
It is classified as an all-terrain tyre with a T/A add-on that originally was meant to indicate “Trans Am”, a popular Trans-American Championship that started in the mid-60s.
The royalty payment is probably too high and BFGoodrich decided to use these letters T/A to mean Traction Advantage.
What’s new about the KO3 over the predecessor is that it has new all-terrain tread compound optimised footprint shape and Full Depth locking 3.0 sipes.
It continues to use the CoreGard technology applied for the KO2, which is developed for racing in the Baja, and the focus is on achieving excellent sidewall toughness.
There are three areas of development here, the first being the split and bruise resistant sidewall rubber that is derived from BFGoodrich’s race proven Baja T/A KR3 tyre.
The second is the Advanced Deflection design that helps deflect protruding objects from snagging and splitting the sidewall.
The third CoreGard development is the extended shoulder rubber down the sidewall that is designed to protect more of the critical sidewall failure zone.
Two new developments are also made to ensure better gravel durability to measure up to its all-terrain character.
Here, the new all-terrain tread compound plays its part in the formulation to deliver longevity on road and in gruelling off-road conditions.
Likewise, the optimised footprint shape is designed to evenly distribute stress and attain long and uniform wear on and off road.
And of course, like its name suggests, it is designed to improve on the KO2’s tyre legendary mud and snow traction.
While the latter is generally insignificant in the Asean context, our seasonal monsoon rain does require the tyre to excel in muddy courses.
The improved mud traction is provided through the updated serrated shoulder design and “Mud Phobic Bars”.
Then, there are the interlocking tread elements to maximise handling and traction on and off road by stabilising the tread centre and providing biting edges for off-road traction.
A new feature is the Full Depth 3D locking sipes and snow/mud notches that BFGoodrich says are engineered to improve mud and traction.
What this locking sipe does is that it stays open just before the tyre rolls onto the muddy surface, upon which it closes up to provide maximum traction, and opens up again as it passes that area.
The final factor is that the new all-terrain tread compound is also formulated to improve wet traction and stops 4.2 metres shorter than the KO2.
BFGoodrich says the second area is based on a third-party wet braking test for new tyres at its Automotive and Tyre Testing Research and Innovation Centre in Thailand.
The KO3 tyre used, which was fitted on a Toyota Fortuner, was made in Thailand and was of the size LT 265/60 R18.
Against the KO2, the new KO3 is said to provide 15% better wear performance and 20% improved gravel road durability.
Unlike our 2016 BFGoodrich KO2 experience, the KO3 winery exposure was generally similar to those that we had gone through with road tarmac or asphalt tyres.
There were separate sections to check out each area of tyre improvement, a road drive experience and the fun part of the day in being chauffeured at full blast around a kilometre-long dirt track.
We started with the mud drive at speeds well below 50kph; apparently, such tyres work harder at low speeds than at a fast pace.
The mud patch was inconsistent in texture and slushy enough for us to feel the Ford Raptor wiggling around as we inched our way through.
This was followed by what we would normally call the ABS (anti-lock brake system) run except that we were doing it on a dirt track for the first time.
Hitting the brakes hard on reaching a marker, the KO3-shod Ford Raptor stopped within a short distance, loose surface and all.
It stopped over a slightly longer distance on the return run as we had hit the brakes at a higher speed (above 80kph) at the marker.
This good stopping performance should spare some the agony of hitting darting wildlife that they might come across in off-road excursions.
The multiple terrain course covered a good variety of surfaces and inclines; rock bed with sharp stones, uneven mounds of different sizes, angled banks, shallow river crossings, muddy patches and 30- to 40-degree inclines and declines.
Needless to say, the KO3 aced its performance over the respective sections, including the rocky patch, where an earlier demonstration of a sharp stone wedged against the sidewall underscored its toughness.
The full-trot chauffeur experience brought us back to our rally car chauffeur experience in the late 70s, during which speeds slightly above 120kph were achieved this time before a sharp bend.
James certainly had his fun taking the 20-plus strong Asian media around the short circuit to demonstrate the toughness of the KO3 under high-stress off-road drives on a variety of dirt surfaces.
The on-road drive at the end of the day was to impress us on the KO3’s relative comfort and quiet running performance despite its busier all-terrain tread pattern.
The latest KO3 tyre would be made available, either progressively or simultaneously, in the Asian region from September.
