Opinions on MTs or ATs

I was hoping to get opinions on MTs versus ATs. I have a 3rd gen, wanted to get some 31's for my stock rims in hope of a little clearance. I do enjoy off roading, although I don't get to do it as often as I used to. So I was unsure of whether to go for the mts and have nothing to blame it on but my ground clearance when I get stuck, or the sensible all terrains. I would prefer the mts but I'm afraid of the excessive road noise, reduced road handling, and maybe even tire life, but then again what do I know. My sole tire purchasing up to this point has been purely OEM. Should I just man up and buy the MTs or will I still be pleased with the good ole ATs? Any opinions out there?

 

[IAmTodd]

BFG A/Ts are good. So are the Bridgestone's(AT REVOS) If you do most on road driving I'd suggest an AT. MT will be a bit overkill and extremely noisey. I would assume you're going with something like a 265/70R16 tire?

 

[tgertz77]

yeah, depends on the A/T... BFG A/T KO's are really good, especially if your only going to be out in the dirst every once in awhile.

 

[Cdaddy78]

BFG A/Ts are good. So are the Bridgestone's(AT REVOS) If you do most on road driving I'd suggest an AT. MT will be a bit overkill and extremely noisey. I would assume you're going with something like a 265/70R16 tire?

Ya, Probably the 265/70 r16. And yes, it's unfortunately mostly road driving, I don't have another vehicle currently, so she's the daily driver, but I like to jump at any off road opportunities I get, 'cause it's like crack, can't get enough.

 

[Mcane6]

I have BFG mts and i love them i would recommend them to anyone
Road noise i dont hear much bc of the 4 10" but has never really bothered me when i can hear it

 

[Creager]

i got 32" Kumho Venture MT's

Very quiet for a mud terrian. Quieter then Bridgestone Duelers, and Dunlop Mudrovers i think. Its almost identical to BFG MT in tread design, not as fancy looking though.

you wont some LOUD tires, SuperSwamper TSL's make some noise boy.

 

[FROADER]

For anything that you'll even with your truck, an A/T tire will be fine. I'm partial to BFG, has always been a very good tire for me.

 

[ExplorerDMB]

Most MT's like bfg's M/T and Revos are tight little tread patterns and actually ride quietly. What you will want to stay away from are the Super Swampers -- they will be the biggest noise contributer. My SSRs aren't really that bad for the tread pattern, but the Boggers, Thornbirds, TSL, etc are pretty loud. I would go with the BFGs or the Revos. Just my opinion

-Drew

 

[GJarrett]

You live in the east, and I've learned that there's a lot of difference in tire needs offroad depending on where you plan to wheel. Out west, you cannot beat something like BFG A/Ts and they will give you absolutely great performance both onroad and offroad, giving you 60k miles treadlife while stomping rockcrawling obstacles. I put 100k miles on BFG ATs with no complaints whatsoever while wheeling from Texas to California. But they are not MTs and will dissapoint when conditions get wet and nasty off the road.

Now that I've moved out east, I learned real quickly that ATs SUCK on the trail - it's a lot slicker and a whole 'nuther animal on the turf out here. It makes your decision a lot harder. An AT will only work in the east as long as the trail conditions are dry - if you actually plan on doing much offroading out here and the turf is anything but dry then you need to get an MT. I've been using Goodyear's MT/Rs and been satisfied with their in-between performance, getting good treadlife on my 95% highway driving but still able to dig in when things get slick offroad.

It's a balance, and only you can decide where you want the level is for your road/offroad time spent with your Explorer, and the tire to choose from that decision. Some have pointed out that good MT designs are not that loud - if you are that concerned about noise, that may identify how serious you are about going offroad. Choose what you want and you will find that you will enjoy your decision either way.

 

[tankmech]

Bfg At/ko

I have had BFG Radial AT/KOs on all my vehicles until I moved to Georgia. I love the BFG AT/KO and would recomed them to anyone. The only reason that I switched to the BFG MUD/TA is because of the Georgia clay that I have to go through to go hunting. The BFG AT/KO is probably the best AT that is made.

 

[sajnaj]

mtr's suck they become a glazed donut in the mud.

 

[GJarrett]

They do a lot better than any AT. I bought them because I still like to drive west and run rocks, so they are a sort of compromise. If I was only going to wheel in the east, then I'd get MTs. MT/Rs are great on the rocks, a heckuva lot better in the mud than an AT, and seem to be more streetable than an MT - over 95% of my driving is still onroad and this is my daily driver.

 

[dtl 2k2 sport]

gjarrett, how many miles do u have on your truck now? i think it's one of the hottests trucks on this site! What about Pro Comps?

 

[GJarrett]

Thanks for the compliment.... though if you look at it in person close up you can see that it's been pretty beat up, lol. I've got 163,000 miles indicated on the odometer now; probably real miles are a little below 170k. I've got no personal experience with ProComps but have heard nothing bad about them; they seem to be good tires from all accounts. Several here use them; maybe they can answer that qn for you.

 

[Cdaddy78]

Gerald:

I know I mentioned road noise, but I still think I'm pretty serious about offroading. Just ask the 3 running boards, 2 tie rods, front and rear bumper, the paint job and one 4.0L engine (god rest her soul)

In any event I was more concerned with what most people are concerned with in a tire, performance on and off road, tread life, and of course comfort.

My truck likely sees more mud than you western gentleman, it seems every trail I come home from its covered. Also going to my buddy's cabin, it is nothing but mudholes through some deep woods, where I have seen many a vehicle get stuck. It was actually a proud moment when a weekend of hunting yielded some hard rain and some near impossible trails out of there. Of all the vehicles there, I was the only one to get out in my stock explorer. Whether it was their driving skills or not, who's to say. But I had a slight grin on my face hooking up a strap to a lifted Dodge Dakota, a chevy silverado, and an F-150 with MTs. (all 4x4's of course)

 

[FROADER]

I don't like my ProComps at all. 35" Xterrains suck compared to MT/Rs or BFG muds for the type of wheelin' that I do. I didn't like FAKRWEE's ProComp muds either.