Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus vs BF Goodrich T/A KO2: Both of these tires are particularly designed to show off all-terrain actions throughout all seasons. And both provide good traction on road as well as off the road.
The Pirelli All Terrain Plus has extravagant features that make it more competent and steadier on road in a dry environment. (In fact, the tire is one of the best ones out there, when it comes dry/wet handling and grip). While the BF Goodrich KO2’s unique features make it more capable off the road and on wet surfaces.
Examine the treads on these tires closely. They hold the key to knowing which to choose. In fact if you visit my "tread design" page, picking the right tire would never bother you.
Side Note: Did you know that that another variant of Scorpion, the Pirelli Scorpion ATR, is one of the quietest All-Terrain tires out there?
Table of Contents
Side By Side Comparison
Pirelli Scorpion AT Plus
BF Goodrich KO2
The Pirelli Scorpion All Terrain Plus contains a symmetrical tread design and closely placed tread blocks that help it to stand its ground on dry roads, making it well-suited for on-road applications.
It contains deep grooves and adequate siping that gives it a good self-cleaning ability to avoid hydroplaning in wet conditions.
Furthermore, its lateral shoulders work alongside its grooves to provide succinct traction on soft terrains like mud and light snow.
However, its grooves are not wide enough to efficiently clean the treads.
Therefore this tire faces difficulties in Deep mud and snow.
This makes the tire more compatible with the road in dry conditions.
On the other hand, BFG KO2 features a symmetrical interlocking tread pattern and a scarce tread design.
In light of this design, the KO2 has reduced traction on dry surfaces such as roads.
In addition to that, it has 3D sipes, mud phobic bars, and staggered shoulder blocks that give it an amazing self-cleaning ability.
This allows the tire to not only perform well on wet surfaces but also soft terrains like mud and snow.
As a consequence, the KO2 is better equipped to deal with off-road terrains.
Other specs of these tires:
| KO2 | Pirelli AT+ | |
| Average Weight | 55.3 lbs | 43.7 lbs |
| Average Tread Depth | 15/32″ | 14/32″ |
On-Road Traction Comparison
The T/A KO2 has a symmetrical tread pattern with interlocking tread blocks.
The blocks have large gaps between them which significantly reduces the KO2’s contact zone with the ground and therefore results in a lower rolling resistance.
As a result, the tire loses some dry traction on the road.
The KO2 comes back to life on wet surfaces due to its deep grooves and considerable siping that helps it to efficiently evacuate water from its treads and sustain an outstanding grip in wet conditions.
Even when the conditions are extreme, the KO2’s grooves provide adequate self-cleaning ability to uphold its grip and move confidently on wet roads.
In contrast, the All Terrain Plus has a symmetrical tread pattern in a blocky tread design.
In this design, the tread blocks are placed more closely together.
As a consequence, the All Terrain Plus has a large surface area to adhere to the surface of the road and ensure outstanding traction on dry roads.
However, this tire still has smaller groove voids than the KO2.
Therefore, it has a lower self-cleaning ability than the KO2.
The All Terrain Plus can boldly maintain its grip on wet roads, but when the conditions are severe this tire cannot avoid hydroplaning as its grooves cannot accommodate large amounts of water.
All and all, the T/A KO2 offers superior wet traction on the road.
Meanwhile, the All Terrain Plus moves more confidently on dry roads.
Side Note: Nitto Ridge Grappler is one of the best contender when it comes to ON Road traction with these all terrain tires.
Snow Traction comparison
Both of these tires are well-equipped to address snowy conditions.
The KO2 and the All Terrain Plus both feature 3 peak snowflake ratings, making them good enough to deal with the snow.
Discussing the KO2 first, it contains deep grooves and adequate siping that enables it to shovel and throw the snow that comes across its path with sheer force.
So, it can effortlessly move on the snow. What’s more, this tire can even continue to perform on heavy snow.
But when this tire goes off to hard snow, it cannot maintain its grip that well, this is mainly due to its smaller footprint that gives it a lighter grip on the surface.
Coming onto the All Terrain Plus, it has the ability to provide good traction on light snow owning to the high void ratio in its tread design along with multiple block edges and in block sipes that give it a decent biting force to travel over light snow.
Nevertheless, this tire starts to lose its traction on heavy snow because its shallow grooves cannot put up with it.
The All Terrain Plus comes back to the limelight on hard snow. It provides much better traction on hard snow due to its compact tread design, making it sit more firmly on the surface.
Therefore, the KO2 is well-suited for soft snow and the All Terrain Plus is more cut out for hard snow.
Traction on Rocks
A Ruggedly built tire performs better on rugged terrains like rocks and gravel.
The KO2 is manufactured from a tough rubber compound that makes it strong and durable.
It contains extended shoulders and upper sidewall armor to protect the tire from cuts, abrasions, and punctures.
Moreover, it embodies Coreguard Technology in its fabrication which makes it even more capable to face rough conditions.
Conversely, the Pirelli All Terrain Plus is made from a cut and chip-resistant compound that makes it agile and durable.
Furthermore, it has shoulder blocks to shield the tire against rocks and gravel and conical stone ejectors that repel the rocks away from the tire and helps in the prevention of cuts and punctures.
Consequently, the BF Goodrich KO2 is more ruggedly built than the All Terrain Plus to confront rugged terrains.
Traction on Mud
For a tire to perform better on mud, the self-cleaning ability of the tire is the most important aspect.
The T/A KO2 contains wide and deep grooves that have the capacity to collect and excavate mud in the path and provide amazing mud traction.
In addition to that, it has mud phobic bars and serrated shoulders that improve its biting power which results in enhanced traction on the mud.
On the other side, the Pirelli AT+ has narrower grooves.
However, it contains multiple block edges and in-block sipes that work in conjunction with its grooves to give it the clawing action needed to upfront mud terrains.
Groove cones are also added in its construction for better traction on the mud.
Despite that, it cannot perform as well as the KO2 on mud, because it doesn’t have those deep grooves to effectively clear mud from its treads.
Side Note: We compared, KO2 with the Goodyear DuraTrac, and the Mud traction on these tires were amazing.
Comparison of Tread-wear and Durability
The BFG KO2 is assembled from a cut and chip resistant compound, twin steel belts reinforced with spirally wrapped nylon, and 3-ply polyester cord sidewall ply construction in its internal structure.
All of these components make the tire robust and durable.
Moving forward to its tread-wear, it has an advanced footprint that distributes the load evenly on the road and results in longer tread life.
The BFG KO2 has an efficient tread-wear, thanks to its open tread design that reduces its surface area and its rolling resistance.
Therefore, it spends less energy on the road.
The Pirelli All Terrain Plus utilizes a new generation cut- and chip-resistant tread compound and its internal structure contain a polyester casing and two high-strength steel belts that stabilize, support, and empower the footprint of the tire.
The Pirelli AT+ has optimized contact pressure distribution which causes the tire to sit flat on the road and promotes even wear of the tire.
Anyhow, this tire has a compact tread design which increases its rolling resistance and demands more power to move on the road.
This makes the All Terrain Plus somewhat less economical than the KO2.
Comparison of Comfort
The KO2 has an exposed tread design and wide grooves between its tread blocks.
Due to this, the KO2 traps more air in its grooves that collide back and forth to produce vibrations and louder noise.
Therefore, the KO2 is less comfortable on the road.
On the flip side, the All Terrain Plus has a dense tread design with smaller gaps between the blocks.
Therefore, it entraps less air between its tread blocks and generates less noise and fewer vibrations.
This ensures a comfortable and smooth ride on the road. Its compact design also makes it more stable on the road.
Price Comparison
The BFGoodrich T/A KO2 is more expensive than the Pirelli All Terrain Plus.
The price difference is reasonable in light of the extra features that the KO2 possesses to confront off-road Terrain.
While the All Terrain plus is designed to give a more comfortable ride on the road. So, choose the tire that meets your everyday needs.
So whats the verdict?
Well both tires are great but still the Pirelli here is a more on road oriented tire. The tire also weighs less in comparison (which consumes less fuel).
On the other side, with durable 3 ply construction, the BFG KO2 is built tough.
That’s why BFG says its their toughest tire ever.
Compare BFG KO2 with other AT tires:
- Nitto Recon Grappler.
- Toyo Open Country AT3.
- Falken Wildpeak AT3W.
- Cooper Discoverer AT3.
- Nitto Terra Grappler.
- Nitto Ridge Grappler.
- General Grabber ATx.
- General Grabber AT3.
- General Grabber AT2.
- Yokohama Geolandar X-AT.
- Firestone Destination AT.
- Hankook Dynapro ATM.
- Hankook Dynapro AT2.
- Michelin LTX A/T2.
- Bridgestone Dueler AT Revo 3.
- Kumho Road Venture AT51.
- Goodyear DuraTrac.
- BFGoodrich Trail Terrain.
