BFGoodrich KO2 vs General Grabber ATX

The General Grabber ATX and BFG KO2 are two very popular all-terrain tires on the market, and at first glance, they might seem very similar. But, dig a little deeper, and you’ll find a lot of key differences that make each tire excel in specific terrains and driving conditions.

Let’s find a better tire for you here.

Key Takeaway

When comparing the two, the General Grabber ATx stands out for:

• Better snow performance.
• Relatively better wet traction and handling.
• Longer tread life.

In contrast, the BFGoodrich KO2 is better for:

• Durability, offering 3 ply sidewalls.
• Off-road performance.
• Dry handling with slightly better steering responsiveness.

Tread Design

The General Grabber ATX (review) has 3 ribs in the middle and all of them have full depth interlocking sipes, and biters / notches enhancing off road capability.

The two wrapping around ribs are also studable and they separate from shoulder blocks with wavy longitudinal channel.

On shoulder blocks, they are staggered and have slightly different siping pattern but same kind of notches.

And these shoulder lugs make nice sidewall design (tire also comes with white letters outside on sidewalls with “General Grabber A/Tx” written on it).

On the other hand, the BF Goodrich KO2 looks very much alike. In fact some thing that the Grabber is rip off of the KO2, that’s not true.

It also has 3 ribs in the middle with notches and full depth interlocking sipes, but the tire does not make clear longitudinal channels like the Grabber ATx.

It’s blocks are more haphazardly placed in comparison and this make a slightly more wild web of tread voids.

The BF Goodrich KO2 is also equipped with more powerful shoulder blocks with bigger traction scoops and very killer sidewall lugs with edged biters installed.

Also see if you can find triangular shaped stone ejectors, besides between all shoulder blocks.

Wear Resistance

Tread wear resistance is unbeatable on General Grabber ATX. That’s why I’ve put this tire on my list of best all-terrain tires as the best for wear.

The tire does all things right to fight wear. It provides you with deep enough tread and it’s compound has polymers embedded which keep it stiffer and elastic.

The kevlar compound in the tire also adds resistance and make it chip and cut resistance, although that is also seen with BF Goodrich KO2.

Both tires also provide a very even wear, and with full depth siping, they both keep their traction values as they age.

But General Grabber ATX is a clear winner here.

The BF Goodrich KO2 although is more durable and has 3 ply sidewall which adds to life, it’s also becomes heavier and with more weight comes more pressure on tread and that sets off more wear in comparison.

On Road Performance

Where usually all terrain tires are notorious for the poor on road performance, both of these tires bust that myth with their appreciable performance.

Both provide pretty decent grip and handling which is confidence inspiring, but digging a little deep, we still find some differences in both that you should not miss.

Dry Traction

The General Grabber ATX communicates with the steering wheel a little better. The tire is very responsive during handling and provides better grip compared to it’s bigger brother.

It provides more rubber to pavement contact compared to BF Goodrich KO2 so the traction times are seen better.

But the BF Goodrich KO2 still provides better lateral traction on roads, where the cornering seems very powerful, as you experience more G forces in comparison.

This credit goes to it’s killer shoulder blocks where a lot is going on (talked about it in appearance section above).

Wet Traction

Let me start off here by this. Both of these tires are not going to impress here, if not disappoint. And with these tires on, I always advice to keep your traction control on.

But still you are going to get better performance out of General Grabber ATX. Simply put, this tire offers slightly better siping structure with more flexibility.

In other words, its sipes are more effective in absorbing moisture coming directly underneath the lugs.

The BFG KO2, on the other hand, falls short due to its lower silica density in the rubber compound.

Even with numerous full-depth sipes, it doesn’t deliver the same level of wet performance overall.

Additionally, the KO2’s stiffer secondary rubber layer reduces the effectiveness of the sipes as they wear, further compromising traction over time.

Hydroplaning Resistance

Hydroplaning is calculated by measuring how fast a tire can move on standing water.

And this is highly dependent on the tread’s ability to evacuate water out of it.

Both tires being so similar provide you with a web of grooves with interconnected channels, and they both provide nice pathway for water to pass through without any hurdle.

But still out of the two, with some sizes, you are going see better hydroplaning resistance on General Grabber ATX, as it goes up to 16/32″.

Where on BF Goodrich KO2, almost all sizes have 15/32″ (with the exception of 4, which have less).

So with slightly more tread depth the Grabber ATX is able to offer better values here.

Noise Reduction

Tread noise is very common with off road tires, where the wide gaps between the blocks allow air to strike (block sides) producing sound.

The nice things about both these tires is that they offer variable pitch tread which cancels the noise levels.

So you are not going to hear too much of a noise with them.

Though, the Grabber ATX do get more vocal after 10k miles, where BF Goodrich KO2 keeps it’s noise at bay for a long time.

Fuel Efficiency

Both tire are not impressive here, as they are both going to provide a lot of rolling resistance.

But still the General Grabber ATX has an advantage of being slightly lighter in weight. So with that, rolling resistance lowers down on this tire.

The BF Goodrich KO2 provides 3 ply sides and with more layers comes more weight, and moving around more weight needs more energy.

For Your Info: If you are mostly staying on highways, I’d recommend going with P rated tires, as they would provide less rolling resistance. Also make sure that your tire’s have optimal air pressure in them, this also improves fuel economy.

Winter Performance

Winter driving comes with a lot of challenges, and the good news is that both the Grabber ATX and BFG KO2 are equipped with the 3PMSF (Three-Peak Mountain Snowflake) symbol, meaning they’re rated for severe snow conditions.

Yet, the Grabber ATX still manages to provide slightly better results overall, where it excels the most with:

• Better acceleration on snowy surfaces,
• Shorter braking distances on both icy and snowy conditions.
• Superior handling and steering responsiveness.

Compared to KO2, the Grabber’s rubber is more thermally adaptive. And its slightly deeper tread depth also helps it tackle heavier snow more effectively.

Plus its sipes are better oriented for biting into icy surfaces, in particular.

And yes, it also offers studable lugs and using those can further increase its ice traction.

But… Don’t get me wrong, KO2 is also pretty good, and like the Grabber, its hook shaped lug design provides pretty nice snow to snow contact, enhancing grip.

That said, it’s important to remember that neither tire can match the performance of a dedicated winter tire. While they’re capable in snow, they’re still all-terrain tires at their core.

Durability Comparison

BF Goodrich KO2 can be a synonym for durability. The tire offers simply the toughest tires out there.

It provides you with a very strong 3 ply polyester casing on which high strength cords make dual steel belts layers.

All of these are then wrapped with 2 layers of another polymer compound, nylon. This layer is actually spirally wound so they also cover the sidewalls, providing more strength to 3 ply sidewalls.

Mostly folks believe it has 3 ply side construction where they forget about the 2 extra layers of nylon further adding to it’s strength.

The General Grabber ATX doesn’t stand a chance here, as the tire has typical inner construction of 2 ply sidewalls, without any reinforcing nylon covering here, as they are only on top of 2 steel belts and polyamide layer.

Off Road Performance

Off road things get pretty aggressive and both these tires can handle it.

The BF Goodrich impresses with it’s durability that shines on rocks and the Grabber ATX provides you with a very decent dirt and gravel handling.

Sand Driving

Sandy terrains needs a lot of rubber contact to bring traction.

The General Grabber ATX does that by providing more rubber to sand contact. The tire is also less edgy on the shoulder blocks, so its not going to dig here as much as the BF Goodrich KO2.

This is a very important factor as you don’t want your tires to dig here, you need a momentum.

The BF Goodrich KO2 provides very aggressive shoulder blocks which dig more in comparison. The tire with stiffer sidewalls also lacks in incline traction test.

Traction on Rocks

The General Grabber ATX lacks in the lateral traction department but other than that its great on rocks.

The tire is also very performing on gravel and emits stones with ejectors between all its shoulder blocks.

The BF Goodrich KO2 on the other side provides you with similar stone ejectors, as well as triangular ones embedded within grooves, so gravel performance is great here too.

It also provides more protection to the sidewalls, with the 3 ply polyester with nylon wrapping, so they are going to be less prone to damage, and this really inspires confidence off road.

Mud Driving

Mud terrains require tires to have self cleaning abilities. And both these tires are not up to the mark.

Their interconnected central rib are not good at clearing out the mud.

But still both tires have staggered shoulder blocks which help them, but let me add that it’s wise not to take them in deeper muddy terrains as they would get packed very quickly.

Still out of them, I think the BF Goodrich KO2 has a slight upper hand with its more aggressive shoulder blocks with bigger mud scoops, that would help the tire get out of light mud in a slightly better way.

Take Home Points

The Grabber ATX is better of a performer on dry roads, but lacks slightly in lateral traction, this is felt more off road (particularly on rocks). But other than that provides pretty decent traction values on all sorts of terrains, including snow, where it’s significantly better than KO2.

And yes it also delivers superior wet performance as well compared to BFG’s tire.

Now the KO2 although lacks a little on road, particularly in wet conditions, it makes up for it, with superior off-road performance.

It provides a more durable construction, and offers consistent performance in all sorts of rugged terrains.