Cheap 31" Tire Comparison

[Pack]

I have a friend who works at a tire shop. He is going to sell me a set of 31's to go on my 98 Sport this weekend (the Warrior shackles are in the mail). If I take something he has in stock, I will get a really good deal. My question is if you had the choice which ones, if any, of these three tires would you buy, and why? I will go offroad when camping 2-3 times a month, and my daily commute is about 15 miles. Here are the choices:
1. Goodyear Wrangler RT/S - $75 ea.
2. Bridgestone Dueler A/T - $70 ea.
3. BFG Radial Long Trail - $80 ea.
These will be mounted, balanced, and alligned for free. And he will also make it so that I never have to see those Wilderness ATs ever again! Thanks in advance for the input.

 

[leebo]

stay away from the bridgestone tires. They are just about the same as the firestones with a different name. I myself would go with the BFG for that price. I've heard nothing but good things about them.

 

[megillet]

BFGs Good

Pack,
Go for the BFGs, that is what I have and I like them very much. They are quiet, well minded on and off road, have good wet traction and make snow travel a breeze. Hope this helps.

 

[Ray Hutchinson]

Tires.

BFG's , No guestion, but why "Long Trails" these are little more than car tires, IMHO. Go with All Terrains or Mud Terrrains, unless you never leave the security of pavement. Remember " the sweetness of a good price disappears long before the biterness of a bad deal". I'm not implying that your friend is giving you a bad deal, but for a few more bucks you can have far superior O.R. traction, and you'll be happier in the long run, if you go off road. (And why would anyone buy a 4X and not)?

[Edited by Ray Hutchinson on 10-24-2000 at 11:06 PM]

 

[offroader_69_me]

tires

I hate to disagree with a fellow member but in this case I have to, I had the Bridgestone's on my explorer for about 6 months they saw about 20000 highway miles at speeds of 70-90 aired up to about 30 psi on average, without a problem they balanced well, had great highway manners, did superb in rain, and performed well offroad, which they saw a decent amount of, but this is of course another battle of opinion. I put the, still 3/4-5/8 tread left, Duelers on my stepdads 87 dodge which sees 98% highway/city time running, 45 psi when the truck is loaded down and he loves them, they handle the loads well and they still are smooth and wearing evenly!
I am going to make up for my disagreement with a member by agreeing with another, STAY away from the BFG trails if you are going to go that route just get some car tires and save more money and get a few more MPG's the trails are just oversized car tires, they do great on the road and perform well in the rain and light snow, however show them a rock and watch them run!
As for the goodyears i cant really say, i have the at/s's on mine and i really like them so far they do good off road, handle nice on road, but as for snow I havent got to test them, so with the rt/s's I imagine the street manners would be a little better, but sacrifcing the trail use, still not as much as the bfg's though!
Good luck and safe drivin
Marshall

 

[RU MAN]

Spend a few more dollars and get the BFG AT KO's. They will last you as long as the BFG LongTrail and longer then the others. The tire proforms good in snow, rain, and pretty good in mud. Just my $.02

 

[Phi 844]

Goodyear RT/S

My parents have a 96' XLT and it has Goodyear RT/S's on it and they have 70,000+ miles. Granted they're mostly highway, but they do well in the rain and snow. However I did just but BFG AT's on mine.

 

[CougarX]

I just got a set of 31" Dueler ATs (recall replacements) and I think their great. I had BFG Long Trails before that and the Duelers ride and drive just as well. The Long Trails are a good street tire but they don't have much off-road potential. The Duelers are much more capable off-road too. If you get them I would suggest putting the blackwall out as the white letter don't look to good.

 

[2001ExpSport]

Go with the BFG's or spend a few more bucks if you have it on the AT KO.

 

[Rob Slade]

The BFG's ranked highest in the consumer reports ratings for SUV tires. Granted they didn't test their off road worthyness, but the rode and handled the best out of the one's being tested (Michelin, Bridgestone, etc) They also have a higher wear rating than that of the dueler's. I however have the BFG all terrain KO's. Just thought I would share the info.

Rob

 

[Pack]

BFG's

I have put off adding 31's to my truck because it seems like the choices I had to begin with were not that great. I have decided that I will get an all terrain tire of some sort instead of a street/trail hybrid. I have seen two tires that interest me, one inexpensive, one expensive. BJ's Wholesale has BFG ATko's for $102.99 each, which I know are quality tires. I'm just now sure i want to put that much into tires that only last 40k mile or so. The other option is Dunlop Radial RV's at $74 each. The final question I ask people to answer is: Are the BFG's worth the extra $100 or so for the set? Again, thanks in advance.

 

[GRNMACHINE]

i have heard nothing but good things about the new bfgoodrich t/a ko's. they look great too. i can say my explorer originally came with the goodyear rt/s and i run those in the winter. they are great tires from my experience in dry,wet, and snowy conditions. if money is your concern i would go with those over the others your friend has,if not, go with the bfg t/a ko's. if my local dealer can give me a good trade in price for the rt/s i hope to have a set of bfg's myself.

 

[2001ExpSport]

Trade in price?

I didn't know you could trade in old tires for $$ or credit. I could trade in my 16" wilderness, only 9k on them.

 

[GRNMACHINE]

a local shop out here who i have dealt with said he was interested in my goodyear rt/s 235/75/15 tires if in good shape. said he is having difficulty with getting that size. dont know yet what he will offer, tires are like brand new. some places will take tires in for trade and sell them as used but usually offer peanuts like the good ole'honest car salesmen do for trade-ins. i hope to go there this week.

 

[Ray Hutchinson]

BFG's

For general offroading, especially on rocks or rocky trails, the BFG AT's are really superior, if not for traction, but for durability. The triple sidewall design makes the sidewalls very rugged and rock gouge resistant. I ran my first set of 31AT's for about 45K miles, and the second set for about 25K Miles, and they were only half worn out, but I wanted to move up to 33 AT KO's. Also, the AT's very respectable on highway. obviously, not as soft riding as Firestone Wilderness, but we all know what happens to them! ;-) I didn't buy a 4X for a cushy highway ride, I got it for Off Highway performance, so the highway ride/handling isn't an issue to me, as long as its safe. If you do a lot of mud, you may want to consider BFG MT's. but for the arid west AT's are the answer, IMHO. I'm concerned about doing as little trail damage as practical, and the MT's and other more agressive tread tires aren't as ecologically sound unless you have mud. I'll give up as little traction to help prevent trail erosion, etc.

Anyhow: I heartily reccommend BFG AT's or MT's. The KO's are the newer design, but you may be able to find the regular AT's, left over somewhere for a better price. I had two sets of those, with lotsa whellin, absolutely NO problems.

[Edited by Ray Hutchinson on 10-31-2000 at 11:55 PM]

 

[scratched 95]

Cheap 31 tires

I don't know where you are in the country, but I got a set of Pathfinder All Terrains from America's Tire Store here in Oregon. These are BFG ATs made for America's. Identical tire, different lettering. They cost me $78 each, 31X10.5 - $30 less than the 'real' BFGs. 38K miles so far, about 1/2 tread left.

 

[Okrazie1]

Got Long Trails Today

I had the 31X10.5 Long Trails put on my Explorer today. So far, so good. I had some rubbing on the corners of the bumper cover when backing up with the wheels turned, but a few minutes with an razor knife took care of that. Looks much better than it did with those puny 235/75-15's.

 

[97bignslow]

Out of the three you mentioned, the Goodyears would be my choice. I had them on my truck for about 40,000 miles. I have BFG's on my truck now, but they are the A/T's. The Goodyears tread pattern is somewhere in between the A/T and the Long Trail.

Eric

 

[Krzyboy2o]

Re: Got Long Trails Today

Okrazie1,

do the long trails give the explorer a different
look? does your suv look any higher then stock? Why im
asking is because i also have a 99 Explorer Sport (fully stock), and im thinking of getting 31's. If anyone has
a pic please post. thanks

andre

 

[Okrazie1]

Krzyboy2o,

I think my Sport looks much better with the 31's. The tires fill out the fender wells. I'm running with no lift, and other than the slight rubbing that I mentioned in the other post I have had no problems. It sits maybe an inch or so higher than with the 235/75-15's. I had it loaded up with four people the other night and it rode great. I haven't taken any pictures yet (waiting until I install my Safari bar and PIAA 40's this weekend) but will try to post some then.