KO3 sidewall protection C vs E

[soupy1234]

Hi.
I don't do a lot of off-roading but I'd kind of like to get out to the Racetrack in Death Valley once more before I get too old. The road has warnings about sharp rocks. In fact, the last time I was there (decades ago) we had to help out a couple of guys that had a sidewall cut and (of course) a flat spare tire.

I'm using it as an excuse to get some better tires and am looking at KO3s. BigO only has E's in stock OR size but if I go up to 285s I can chose between C or E.

I'd like to hear opinions on whether there is a significant difference in sidewall protection between KO3 C and E rated tires.

Thanks

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[Vidman]

If your going to be doing any kind of wheeling in the rocks you should go with the E rated.. I spent a lot of time in the north woods of Maine while bear hunting.. had many flats until I put on E rated tires with 2 spares.. solved that problem

 

[SnowmanJPS]

People hate on E’s for their weight, on my pro I put stock sized E BFGKO3’s and I also had E’s on my 2018 TRD Sport, never had a flat and I had almost 70k KM’s driven on my KO2’s they were close to needing to be replaced, I had normal oem dunlops on my 2nd gen and I had so many flats and same with whatever came on my sport, it just increases the reliability for me

 

[Airborne]

What are you guys doing for torque spec on wheels, i did a search on forum here and its across the range from 83- to 90. Then looked up toyota specs and one says 83 to 90.

 

[Dirt]

Have put E's on my '07 Tundra, '19 Taco and '24 Taco and run thru the rocks without a cut sidewall. Pictured is the C rated OEM TRD OR on my '24 before changing.

 

[soupy1234]

What are you guys doing for torque spec on wheels, i did a search on forum here and its across the range from 83- to 90. Then looked up toyota specs and one says 83 to 90.

From the owner's manual (TRD OR):
Steel Wheel: 154 ft-lb
Aluminum wheel: 97 ft-lb.

If you have aftermarket wheels, I'd check with the manufacturer.

 

[soupy1234]

People hate on E’s for their weight, on my pro I put stock sized E BFGKO3’s and I also had E’s on my 2018 TRD Sport, never had a flat and I had almost 70k KM’s driven on my KO2’s they were close to needing to be replaced, I had normal oem dunlops on my 2nd gen and I had so many flats and same with whatever came on my sport, it just increases the reliability for me

Weight difference between C and E KO3s is only 3 lbs. (285's, 265 C KO3 not out yet, supposed to come out this year). Big difference is going from stock tire to KO3 (12 lbs) but I've already decided I'm upgrading. Just wondering if I need Es. BFG claims to have extra sidewall protection in both C and E.

 

[SnowmanJPS]

What are you guys doing for torque spec on wheels, i did a search on forum here and its across the range from 83- to 90. Then looked up toyota specs and one says 83 to 90.

wheel torque for the Tacoma is 97.

 

[SnowmanJPS]

Weight difference between C and E KO3s is only 3 lbs. (285's, 265 C KO3 not out yet, supposed to come out this year). Big difference is going from stock tire to KO3 (12 lbs) but I've already decided I'm upgrading. Just wondering if I need Es. BFG claims to have extra sidewall protection in both C and E.

For stock size OEM pro wheel and tire (75.2lbs) to stock size E BFG KO3 it was closer to 20lbs heavier at 95lbs per, its a big difference, but I really like these tires

 

[Airborne]

Thank you guys

 

[soupy1234]

For stock size OEM pro wheel and tire (75.2lbs) to stock size E BFG KO3 it was closer to 20lbs heavier at 95lbs per, its a big difference, but I really like these tires

Was going by the weights at the BFG web site. Guess I need to break out the barbells and start working out.

 

[Briscoelab]

E rated KO2/3 are NOT stronger tires than a C in regard to the sidewall. They just have different load ratings and construction changes. These are both 3 ply sidewall tires. The old adage about "8 ply, 10 ply, etc" tires doesn't apply to modern radial tires. It's an approximation to an old standard that people relate to load ratings on modern tires.

Load rating could have a strength effect on another brand, if it meant you went from a 2 ply to a 3 ply side wall or a differently constructed sidewall. This isn't the case on the BFG tires. Going with an E, if there is an option for a C is just sacrificing ride quality and weight for no real gain on a truck this light weight.

 

[JayTech]

E rated KO2/3 are NOT stronger tires than a C in regard to the sidewall. They just have different load ratings and construction changes. These are both 3 ply sidewall tires. The old adage about "8 ply, 10 ply, etc" tires doesn't apply to modern radial tires. It's an approximation to an old standard that people relate to load ratings on modern tires.

Load rating could have a strength effect on another brand, if it meant you went from a 2 ply to a 3 ply side wall or a differently constructed sidewall. This isn't the case on the BFG tires. Going with an E, if there is an option for a C is just sacrificing ride quality and weight for no real gain on a truck this light weight.

The construction changes in the side wall ARE what make it stronger. You are right it doesn't necessarily have anything to do with how many ply the sidewall is, but E rated tires are constructed to be more resistant to punctures than a C rated tire. Both will still have much more sidewall protection from your standard equipped tire.

 

[Briscoelab]

You can believe this to be true, but It is simply incorrect. An E rated ko2 or 3 isn’t “stronger” than a C load. BFG engineers have even confirmed this. It’s a very common misconception.

I understand this might not be intuitive to most people. But, nonetheless higher load rating BFG off-road tires do not have stronger, more puncture resistant sidewalls once you get into the LT tires. E rated tires are constructed to carry more load, not necessarily to be more puncture resistant. It's just design parameters and one does not always equal the other.

Construction changes to allow higher psi and hence an increased load are not overlapping with sidewall puncture protection. A lot of the changes are actually in the tread bed and design on these to allow for more tread block stability and weight support. Pretty interesting to dig into.

You are absolutely right, that either of these will be WAY better than an SL or P rated tire though. Any BFK K02/3 or KM will offer excellent sidewall protection.

 

[Briscoelab]

One last point of clarification here. Some Mfgs could absolutely engineer their higher load rated tires to have more puncture resistance sidewalls. It's just the devil is in the details and you shouldn't assume that to be true. BFG has chosen not to do that.

Other manufactures actually have weaker sidewalls with regard to puncture resistance/abrasion on their E load tires compared to a C load counterpart within the same product line. Falken is a great example of this. Some of their Wildpeak AT4W tires have an "HD" sidewall in E load and that is actually a 2 ply, while a C load in the same rim size and product has the Duraspec sidewall that is 3 ply and more puncture resistant.

So we should help educate others here that it is important not to assume that "E is stronger than C".

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