BFG KM2's backordered? Again?

[WrenchMonkey]

Split a sidewall on my 35x12.50-15 on the CORE Tour way back in November, and while sam's would be happy to replace it under road-hazard, they just couldn't get em from BFG. Four months later they still don't know when they might.

I'd found a few online, but I wasn't willing to buy a tire out of pocket to keep from running a mismatched spare...

But now I've split a second one. So much for BFG's "new n improved sidewall technology..."

So now I'm out of full-size spares. I guess my only options are to cough up $300 for yet another pos tire I can't rely on; or park the rig til BFG feels like making more, and sell the set to buy something better...

I'm sure some pointy headed accountant thought it would save them a pile of money to strip their inventories down to nil, but this is the **** that drives customers away.

I won't buy another set of BFG's, and I'll discourage others from it as well...

Thanks for the vent.

Robert

[tjrider]

Poor poor robert......:( this definitely doesn't boost morale about BFG. I just pray to God I don't bash one of mine. Maybe then we could combine spares and share a complete set

[WrenchMonkey]

Originally Posted by stickman

Sell the other 2 and get somthin better.

You buyin?

If I can get $650 each out of em, I can get a set of kevlars...



Robert

[Coppertop]

Four months and still waiting.That blows...I agree the sidewalls should be stronger.The flat rock slices and cuts them up pretty good.Mine are cut up pretty bad.What do you think about the Pitbull tires??ComancheDude (Tom) likes his set.

Nick

[gothodgie]

Originally Posted by Coppertop

Four months and still waiting.That blows...I agree the sidewalls should be stronger.The flat rock slices and cuts up pretty good.Mine are cut up pretty bad.What do you think about the Pitbull tires??ComancheDude (Tom) likes his set.

Nick

The few guys i know that run the Pitbulls love em, except they seem to run small... I know a guy that has 37's on a yota like mine and with 30# of air the only measure about 35 1/2"s and they are almost new... They will the tire i buy when the time comes....

[WrenchMonkey]

Originally Posted by Coppertop

What do you think about the Pitbull tires??ComancheDude (Tom) likes his set.

Nick

I love the look of them, and I've heard they work really well. But I don't know how they'd be on a daily driver, and I'm seeing prices around $350 ea.

I sent a nasty-gram to BFG, they replied that production is "scheduled" for the end of the month. We'll see.

In the meantime, I guess I'll street drive it w/ a 30" AT spare, and not wheel it til I get a real one...

Robert

(Edit: Nick, I'd like to talk to Tom about those 'bulls. What's the best way to get him? PM here? NAXJA? FB? Thanks!)

[coachholland]

Get the same thing all the time on BFG and Goodyear. Mostly the shortage is due to government and OEM contracts. Aftermarket is not their top priority.

And I hear countless times a day about cut sidewalls on BFG's. Did the same on mine down at Royal Blue and never did figure out what cut it. I can tell you that the trail I was on at the time wasn't much.

If you want a radial that has tough as nails sidewalls and work great on the trail and run true to size, check out the Nitto's. It's by far our best selling tire where I work in Lex and the Trail Grappler is a great trail/street shoe.

Pitbulls have jumped up in price four times I think in the last year. If someone has old stock you might be able to get them a little cheaper, but they're going for over four bones for many sizes anymore and close to that on others. Not great on a daily driver. Too aggressive of a tread and wear too fast unless you have money to burn.

[nshefbuch]

Originally Posted by gothodgie

The few guys i know that run the Pitbulls love em, except they seem to run small... I know a guy that has 37's on a yota like mine and with 30# of air the only measure about 35 1/2"s and they are almost new... They will the tire i buy when the time comes....

Are his radials? Pitbulls are known all over pirate for being oversized. My 37" radials measure slightly over 37".

[Coppertop]

Originally Posted by WrenchMonkey

I love the look of them, and I've heard they work really well. But I don't know how they'd be on a daily driver, and I'm seeing prices around $350 ea.
Robert

(Edit: Nick, I'd like to talk to Tom about those 'bulls. What's the best way to get him? PM here? NAXJA? FB? Thanks!)

PM sent

Nick

[gothodgie]

Originally Posted by nshefbuch

Are his radials? Pitbulls are known all over pirate for being oversized. My 37" radials measure slightly over 37".

not sure... i will look into it..

[kentuckytwostep]

Originally Posted by nshefbuch

Are his radials? Pitbulls are known all over pirate for being oversized. My 37" radials measure slightly over 37".

This is what I've heard also...

My SX'x are holding up to the rocks pretty well wouldn't want to DD them though.

[nshefbuch]

Originally Posted by stickman

Don't forget to look at the width of pitbulls. Damn wide last I looked. Ignore what the tire size is and go right to their spec sheet. 35" rockers are 15" wide.

Pretty sure they balloon like iroks. Measure well when aired up off the vehicle but much shorter air down with weight on it.

I never thought about that. Next time I air down I will measure width. Mine are radials so I don't think they will bulge like bias. I dd mine and that's why I chose radials.

[JeffK5]

I can't understand how a shop offering a road hazard warranty can just tell the guy (wrenchmonkey) .. "hey , we dont have those tires so you're screwed".

They should be making it right somehow..they would be putting a new set of comparable size/style tires on my rig or refunding my money.

[nshefbuch]

Originally Posted by stickman

Since you dd yur stuck with radials. you'll always be at a higher risk of cut sidewalls regardless of the tire. Top choice for me would be kevlar goodyears but they wear out uber fast on the road.

I see the pitbull radials are a bit more normal in width, just don't expect to get the toughness of the bias rockers. That's what their rep was built on.

I understand and agree completely. I have only been on a few rocks before and not enough to even say I Rock crawl any. I mainly do trails and mud but plan on getting on some rocks this summer. I'm running h1's so I was very limited on tire choice. It was narrowed down to irok vs pitbulls and every review I read pitbull came out on top. Plus at the time swampers were in a iffy situation cutting production big time. Pitbulls were on sale too

[crazycollinz]

how many bfgs to do have I need a spare

[comanchedude]

I bought my PitBull Rockers radials Jan 2011 after a lot of research on sidwall damage and didn't find one person that actually had one fail. . what i can tell you is when i mounted them I inspected the sidewalls and they are very thick. they are meaty but i just run bbs in them and they ride good. wear has been very good with a year on them they have barley any wear. I don't drive it everyday but i like to drive it few days a week . they have held up to wheeling very well . I recommend them . and i actually run them. and they have been fantastic on the trails

[WrenchMonkey]

So I'm thinking about retiring the BFG's to street duty, since that's all they seem to be good for, and getting a set of "real" offoad tires second-hand...

Something like these maybe? (link)

35x15.50-15 TSL SX's. Looks like about half tread. I'd need four new wheels (like these?) to accomodate the width (and figure out how I'll fit it onto my trailer!) but the SX is supposed to have the toughest sidewall of them all, isn't it?

Is the half-gone tread going to hurt me on the trail? They look to be about 3/8", compared to 5/8" on my new KM2's.

Thoughts n opinions?

Robert

[Hope Springs Hauler]

Sx sidewalls havent let me down yet. They are a VERY heavy tire, though.

[WrenchMonkey]

Originally Posted by Hope Springs Hauler

Sx sidewalls havent let me down yet. They are a VERY heavy tire, though.

I saw that, 85# each (new), 20# more than the BFGs I've been running. I know the extra weight may be a bit much for my D30, but I've been pretty lucky so far, I guess time will tell...

Robert

[truk]

so the 4 brand new km2s in my garage are junk!!!!! thankss !!! lol was going to run the 35s this year. dam guess ill throw them away.

[Hope Springs Hauler]

Originally Posted by WrenchMonkey

I saw that, 85# each (new), 20# more than the BFGs I've been running. I know the extra weight may be a bit much for my D30, but I've been pretty lucky so far, I guess time will tell...

Robert

The same 36x12.5 TSL/SX that I have on my Sami, were on my YJ. I had stock axleshafts and joints. I made it work, but I would have liked a bigger axle.

They are shorter than advertised when at trail pressure. My 36s measure 33.5"@4psi and 34.5"@10psi. The 35s are advertised (as expected) 1"shorter.

[WrenchMonkey]

Originally Posted by Hope Springs Hauler

They are shorter than advertised when at trail pressure. My 36s measure 33.5"@4psi and 34.5"@10psi. The 35s are advertised (as expected) 1"shorter.

You called that. Besides being beat to death, those "35"s barely measured 33.5, either. Short, wide and ugly as sin. (Like I like my wimmins...)

Anyway, is that something specific to the SX's? Or a general Interco thing? Or just that a bias won't balloon up to full size until you give it full pressure?


Reason I ask: I also found a set of 37" boggers. I never would have thought of running 37s on my setup, but if they run that small, they may not be much bigger than my 35" KM2s...

Robert

[Hope Springs Hauler]

I'm guessing it is specific to certain tires. The 36Irok is taller than the 37Irok. I have heard that some of the 38" sizes are more like 39.......

[gothodgie]

Originally Posted by WrenchMonkey

You called that. Besides being beat to death, those "35"s barely measured 33.5, either. Short, wide and ugly as sin. (Like I like my wimmins...)

Anyway, is that something specific to the SX's? Or a general Interco thing? Or just that a bias won't balloon up to full size until you give it full pressure?


Reason I ask: I also found a set of 37" boggers. I never would have thought of running 37s on my setup, but if they run that small, they may not be much bigger than my 35" KM2s...

Robert

i would think if they are used the boggers would be short... there is a but load of tread on those things... i have heard you can cut more rubber off of them when they start to wear out, but no personal experience with it...

[gothodgie]

Originally Posted by Hope Springs Hauler

I'm guessing it is specific to certain tires. The 36Irok is taller than the 37Irok. I have heard that some of the 38" sizes are more like 39.......

I'll have to measure mine and see how tall they are... i wonder if the 15" iroks are different from the 17" version... i have heard the pitbulls are like that...