Km2"s in winter

[andrew7447]

I know we just got into summer,but I need to use my last coupon. I'm thinking on a set of bfg km2s. But I'll probably need to run them this winter as a side dd. Are they too dangerous for our winter highways?
If there really bad I guess I'll go all terrain.

[chevystroker]

My thoughts on the KM2's FWIW

Been running them for a few years now on an LJ. They seem to be a light truck tire, not passenger tire, so are a bit stiff on a jeep. I run 25 or 26 psi in summer in 35x12.5x15 and 22 or 23 psi in the winter with no handling problems. They are much stiffer in the cold.

So they are NOT the best on hard packed roads, but are good on snow covered roads. Guy in the black YJ (Sorry, but forget his name) told me about putting sipes in his tires with an 'oscillating' tool. The one with the blades that vibrate. Took me about an hour per tire, put 3 or 4 cuts in each lug, made a huge difference. Used a 1 inch wide blade, plunged to the depth of the lug. Day after I did it, was doing 110kph down the highway on hard snow packed roads with no problems at all. Felt firmly planted. Huge difference. I think it has made a difference offroad as well on rocks.

If you don't mind cutting up a brand new set of tires, I think they would be fine. And your rig is heavier than mine.

But how many days are the roads really that bad here? Just have to slow down, which you should do with all seasons or even winter tires if it is that bad out.

[andrew7447]

Any shops do that? Think Im going 315/75r16 prob end up being 34"s load D range.

[Creepy]

Tires have to be marked 're-groovable' for a big-rig shop to do it, and KM2's aren't.

[The Garagemahal]

Just buy the bfg at's. Why buy a tire for 2% of your driving ?

[chevystroker]

Jul 10, 2014 11:00:36 GMT -4 Creepy said:

Tires have to be marked 're-groovable' for a big-rig shop to do it, and KM2's aren't.

I did not regroove my tires.

Regrooving is when you cut new tread blocks down below the existing blocks to renew a tire. You are cutting below the original tread wear indicators.

I cut sipes into the blocks, and the the sipes did not cut through the sides of the blocks. The cuts were within the blocks.


Completely different.

[Creepy]

I didn't say you did re-groove your tires!

I'm saying a shop is not going to sipe Andrew's tires because they aren't marked re-groovable. siping, grooving, its all the same to them. Its cutting up a tire.

The common advice given - is to buy the $80 siper off ebay or whatever, and do it yourself. It would be cheaper anyway.



In all the years of asking, no one has yet posted up a professional shop that will sipe tires. Big rig or non-commercial.

[andrew7447]

Jul 10, 2014 11:41:24 GMT -4 The Garagemahal said:

Just buy the bfg at's. Why buy a tire for 2% of your driving ?

Why buy a Rubicon for 2% of the time? That kind on mentality works on anything, I was gonna say a bad girlfriend reference here but ill hold back and let you think.

I guess ill order them in a week or two and look into a cutter.
Once I decide on Pizza 33" or there 315/75r16 which seems to be made small.

[andrew7447]

Aright any links to a good cutter, my searches go down hill and up in price fast.

[GOAT]

Hacksaw blade and a torch.......

[andrew7447]

Meh ill get a cheap oscillating tool and give it a go. I guess Ill find another use for it later lol.

[chevystroker]

You can get a cheap single speed oscillating tool similar to this for about $40 or $50. A cheap one is all you really need for this.

dremel

It is better if you get a single speed one, because my hand was cramping up from holding the variable speed trigger tight to keep it at full speed. It would take less than an hour per tire with the single speed I think, because you would take fewer breaks to let your hand rest up. Plus, the variable speed ones are more expensive.

Mark your blade with paint marker, tape, whatever, at the depth you want to stop at. Put against the tire and plunge it. It will smoke a lot, but as it heats up, it will cut easier. The blade will dull a bit but it will still melt into the tire.

Narrower blades like 3/4" will take less effort to cut in, and it is easy to widen the cut. It allows a bit more versatility in how you cut the lugs. A 1 inch works fine too.

Hope this helps. 

[pyth]

I tried to run KM2s on my rig for a winter once. It lasted until the first heavy snowfall. I drove about 1km towards work one morning, said fuuuuuuck no. Pulled into a tire shop and had snow tires installed on the spot.

With 4 good snow tires on the Jeep is a bloody mountain goat in winter. I also had those snow tires all the way through Renfrew to grand daddy hill, then through a gnarly washout on the return trip, followed by a run through Ellershouse. In short, snow tires worked awesome for both winter wheeling, and winter road driving for me.

That said, I had my Cooper Mud Claws on around the tail end of March this year, and they performed amazing in the few times they saw snow this year. I would be willing to run those tires in a winter situation, even though they're a mud tire.

[andrew7447]

Haha i had mud claws on my chev wouldn't take that down the road in the winter. I still don't take it on the highway really with them on a hot day.
Id probably be happy with a gw duratac but need the use my last coupons.

[Trailbait]

Jul 11, 2014 6:29:20 GMT -4 andrew7447 said:

Haha i had mud claws on my chev wouldn't take that down the road in the winter. I still don't take it on the highway really with them on a hot day.
Id probably be happy with a gw duratac but need the use my last coupons.

I have been selling and running the GY Duratracs for a while now. Very quiet tire, awesome in trails and real good in snow. They suck on ice though....then again its hard to find a good ice tire. I also sell Nokian--- best ice and snow tire on the market.