A/T VS> M/Ts

[94ZebraRanger]

I am looking to get new tires for the EX soon. I am either getting 31x10.5s or maybe 32x10.5s . I am wondering if anyone has opinions on the differant types of tires. I have 30x9.5 A/Ts on there now. They are a good tire and does much better than the POS stock michilins that where on there when I go it.
It is a driver that I trail run. I can run into just about anything here in the Rockies; rocks, mud, dirt, snow, ice, sand, Etc.

Any thoughts on what type of tire I should look at???
once I figure out type I can look for brands, but that is a long process.

Tim

 

[ExplorerDMB]

well if you are more offroad then M/Ts are your best bet. Just know they might not wear as nicely on the road. You can do some searching on the boards and see what tires people like the best - but opinions are all over on what type of tires are great for certain things. I like my SSRs, just don't balance well and don't clean out that well.

-Drew

 

[FROADER]

I would say an A/T. They will get you through pretty much anything you'll want with only having them as big as a 32. Plus like DMB said, a mud tire won't wear good on the street compared to the A/T.

 

[hiridin]

I would say an A/T. They will get you through pretty much anything you'll want with only having them as big as a 32. Plus like DMB said, a mud tire won't wear good on the street compared to the A/T.

i say the mt b/c you'll only have a 31 or 32" tire you'll need all the extra traction u can get. and how bad can wear be if u can get 40,000+ maybe 50,000 maybe even 60,000 miles out of a mud terrain? i think thats pretty darn good right there and u have the traction of a mt... only ONLY reason not to is the fact that they suck on ice. but what u gonna do? maybe get the ssr like dmb... its awesome traction offroad and its siped for wet traction though i bet u only get like 40,000 mi or so out of them. which still ain't bad. aside from wet traction bfg mt's are a great tire. great traction with great wear. and i think an all terrain for mud is like bringing a knife to a gun fight... bad move it was night and day difference when i switched from my a/t's to the 31" bfg mt. that was with 3.55 gearing open diffs... basically the only thing i had was 31" mt's and wow they helped ALOT. jmho

 

[FROADER]

I've had both and love them both, but for a truck that doesn't see much other than paved street, I think a mud tire is a waste. When you only have a 32 at the biggest if you go in mud, it's not your tires that are going to get you stuck. Also, since he lives in the Rockies, ice is a big possibility and like you said the mud tire is no good on ice. My dad has 70k miles on his BFG A/T as a daily driver and off-roader. A/Ts are quieter as well when they wear.

 

[hiridin]

I've had both and love them both, but for a truck that doesn't see much other than paved street, I think a mud tire is a waste. When you only have a 32 at the biggest if you go in mud, it's not your tires that are going to get you stuck. Also, since he lives in the Rockies, ice is a big possibility and like you said the mud tire is no good on ice. My dad has 70k miles on his BFG A/T as a daily driver and off-roader. A/Ts are quieter as well when they wear.

i hate to say it but my truck sees more pavement than offroad time... its my daily driver and i still would never put any less on it than a mt. unless it was a pavement princess but its not. in fact my next tire will be a tsl radial. i don't see it as a waste. when i do use my truck i want all the traction i can get. all terrains jus wouldn't do it. and i've had really bad experiences with at's but anyways. without my 31" mt's i'd get stuck in wet grass... in fact i did although i managed to slide into a stop sign (in my old s10) with bfg at and then switched to bfg mt's and it made all the difference. or atleast enough to not get stuck so pathetically easy. and when i got my x my first mod was 31x10.50 bfg mt's. and fyi the explorer is better all the way around than that s10 was. especially after i got some meats on there. i don't really think its how often u offroad... its what u do when u do offroad. i mean ofcourse that can play a factor but... when i play it better be able to handle what i throw at it otherwise play time is no fun :thumbdwn: and i won't let my tires be my limiting factor. although i did screw up when i bought the xterrains but i'd still take those anyday over a at

 

[Norad]

In the case of an AT I have had the best of luck with my michellin LTX's which have just over 90,000 on them and I would say that they have at least a 1/3 tred left. If you do get them make sure to get the LT version instead of the P version because the passanger version has a good amount of sidewall flex at all times and sometimes worries me offraod. They are great in all condition even on ice due to the factory sipeing. You might also want to take a look at the new goodyear silent armor tires which have a similiar tred pattern to the AT/S's.
If you do decided to go the MT route then I would say that goodyear MT/R's or BFG's are probably your best bet. I really like MT/R's becausethey last and they are bullet proof and the same has been pounded into be by my BFG buddies about the MT's
I respect of the height to width ration I would rather have a taller tire with a narrow contact patch rather then the other way around. To much contact area can be a problem in snow and on ice depending on the tire. In any case new rubber is better in bad weather then what you are running right now, I am guessing

 

[hiridin]

In the case of an AT I have had the best of luck with my michellin LTX's which have just over 90,000 on them and I would say that they have at least a 1/3 tred left.

u got me there. that is amazing mileage. i guess when u compare 90,000mi to 40,000/ 50,000/ 60,000 mi a mt isn't so great for mileage. i still reccomend a mt over a at. its just my preference. imho there are quite a few all terrains that dont have much bussiness being off road. alot of them look like strictly street tires. and some street tires i've seen look more aggressive than some all terrains. true there are good at's out there... aggressive at's... mileage aside... and if u must get a at get an aggressive one. but alot of them look like they just threw an all terrain badge on some regular old tire and viola instant all terrain. anyways i'm not trying to start a debate. its just my opinion of some all terrains i see. and i will admitt a all terrain tire is more practical so don't get me wrong. anyways if i had to reccomend an at i would say. bfg at's (although i really don't like them) u could do soo much worse. i really like the super swamper sts all terrains... and the nitto terra grapplers seem to be pretty decent. and while i don't care for the looks i've heard good things about the dick cepek fun county 2's or something like that. but u know u really want a mud terrain

 

[hiridin]

to clarify a little on what i was saying. some all terrains are about as "street" as it gets. they simply are called all terrains. i've seen some "mud terrains" that compare to aggressive all terrains. they are not all created equal. obviously i'm not worried about mileage here if u can get 50,000mi out of it yer doing good imo. i really don't like the pro comp mt's cuz i think its more of an aggressive all terrain. "but" it is siped for wet traction. and would handle itself pretty good if u don't expect too much from it. its either a great all terrain with ok mileage or a not so great mt imo (and when i say not a good mt i mean if it sucks in mud it shouldn't be called a mt it is an aggressive at ) the names are misleading. u need to find out what u want and don't want to deal with and make sure yer getting something good and not something that simply says its this or that. like with any all terrain u can't expect too much from it. but that goes for any tire really...

 

[ryf]

to clarify a little on what i was saying. some all terrains are about as "street" as it gets. they simply are called all terrains. i've seen some "mud terrains" that compare to aggressive all terrains. they are not all created equal. obviously i'm not worried about mileage here if u can get 50,000mi out of it yer doing good imo.

I've got Michelin XCX/APT right now, it looks like a car tire, rolls great on the highway, its still got 50% tread after god knows how long, and its dryrotting off the rim. but they are crap on snow and mud, but decent on ice.

Ice traction is all about the amount of edge surface contacting at one time (from what I remember) if you drive alot of ice, a tire with lots of little knobs and siping (the little lines cut in the tire) will out perform a big knobbed (good looking, IMO) tire. mud and snow is all about self cleaning (big knobs do this better)

good luck with your selection, keep us informed!

 

[Josh]

I have Firestone Destination MT's and I love them. They are good in everything that I have driven in. They arent tyat noisy either unless your alignment is out. The only problem that I have seen is a couple of small chunks taken out of the lugs. Other than that, I have absolutely no complaints, except they dont make a 35. Tread wear has been good. I had the fronts replaced at close to a year due to bad alignment and it was hard to tell the difference between the new set and the old rears. Firestone has givin me the best service. They replaced the fronts on warranty even though it wasnt the tire. Cost me 140 out the door for 2. I dont think you will get get 90k out of these though. I think between 30 and 40 is a good number.

 

[ericradford01]

dont rule out the kumho venture MTs i got them on my ex(33s) and prolly the best thing ever im a 2wd driver and the other day i was the one towing out a 4wd jeep ...also the kumho 31s and 32s i think have the lugs to put in ice cleats or whatever if that ever happens. i have had mine for 6 months and lots of interstate driving....music festivals.. and girlfriends you know...and they show no wear at all... i really believe my tire is one of the best out there that no one really gives credit to...look it up on yahoo and youll find plenty of jeep magazines that will tell you their real rating on them... thats what made my decision...check um out forgot to mention they arent loud at all... they also balance up real well...i think i have a .25 weight on mine compared to swampers that have the whole lip covered in weights..

 

[Josh]

Yea forgot the ice stud part. The Destinations have them as well. I did not realize Kumho made truck tires. I had a set on my VW. Good tires. Below is a review of the Kumhos. Sounds like a good tire considering its one of the cheapest on the market.

http://www.off-road.com/jeep/products/kumho/index2.html

 

[hiridin]

while the kumho's don't look very aggressive for a mt i've never heard anything but good things about them. everyone i've known thats had them says they are great. i really like the look of the firestone destination mt's... they look to be quite an aggressive tire. haven't heard much about them but what i've heard has all been good.

 

[Josh]

I have had BFG ATs and these. I was totaly unimpressed with the BFGs. The Destinations beat them hands down with maybe the exception of milage. I didnt keep them on long enough to find out. I originaly went with the wal mart mudders but they were defective and could not be ballanced. Wal mart blamed the rims that I bought from Firestone. Firestone said will you run my tires if we prove them wrong? I said sure for the sme price. The store manager said OK. I got the Destinations out the door for 485 bucks. They retail between 7 and 800. The tread is deeeep. They dont hydroplane, they are great in snow, mud, dirt, and rocks I just wish they made a 35.

 

[94ZebraRanger]

I am accually looking at the Kumhos. tirerack has a great price on them.

Tim

 

[ericradford01]

telling you these tires are almost identical to the bfg muds the lugs are very deep and still cant believe how well they have stood up...my buddy had swamper LTBs at the same time i got mine and his are already worn down...really good looking tire...the price and performanc cant be beat...

 

[j602]

I run M/T's for the pimp factor.