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View Full Version : Help with tire selection for East Coast wheeling



Cebby
09-08-2005, 11:03 AM
Not another tire thread!!!

OK - I'm at a crossroads on tire selection. Somehow, MTR pricing has gotten more reasonable making the spread between BFG Mud TA's and MTRs negligible. This is for 35's. These will be used mostly in mud and some amount of rocks on the East Coast on my locked and geared 4Runner. I had a set of BFG Mud's already and liked them - I've heard that MTR's aren't all that great in the mud.

Weigh in on your selection.

xsjado
09-08-2005, 11:12 AM
MTR's are pretty sucky in the mud, pretty really sucky from what i see and hear.

just my 2 cents.

quicksilver_rubicon
09-08-2005, 11:52 AM
TrXus M/T

its about the best all around tire you can get! performs like an A/T on road and performs like a super swamper off road, cuz it is...

price is just about right too!

EDIT: I had MT/R's when I was stock and now on my dad's ZJ. They are ok in the mud, GREAT on rocks, but for this area, it's mostly mud, roots, falling tree trunks, stumps, etc and some rock.

The MT/R's in the mud just fill up and perform like an A/T...

gonecheenin
09-08-2005, 11:54 AM
MTR's have never impressed me in any terrain other than dry rocks

BFG's are a very good all around tire for the wet, slimy terrain found in PA

I don;t have much experiance with the Truxus, But that's the way i'm leaning myself because i've always loved anything with the swamper name on it

Happycamper
09-08-2005, 12:08 PM
My vote is for the BFG's! I've never run the MTR's, but my BFG's haven't let me down. They have a nice sidewall for extra traction, especially when straddling a rut. I like the Truxs MT's, but there doesn't seem to be a whole lot of void in the tire, seems like they would get packed with mud a little easier. I am now 2 cents poorer.

Bill
09-08-2005, 12:25 PM
I agree with the BFG KMs...

I have the TrXuS right now... Getting them to balance is a total joke! They do perform well, but the crappy construction is sub-par.

I have had the MTRs, the BFGs (Both KOs and KMs) and I will be going back to the KMs - no doubt about it!

JeepGeneral
09-08-2005, 12:49 PM
Personally, I love my Swamper TSL radials. I don't drive much on road so I can't say much about mileage, however on the trail they have been unstoppable, whether in soupy mud or wet rocks. On dry rocks they stick like glue. National Tire and Wheel is the cheapest place I found to buy, if you don't mind driving to Wheeling.

MF Steve!
09-08-2005, 03:14 PM
B F G - M / T (KM). yea i typed it in all caps, spaced out for a reason. cuz thats what you'll get. a big bad tire that will last a long time...i got 44k outta my 32" bfg's and im sorry i bought these mt/r's.

OverkillZJ
09-08-2005, 03:36 PM
My final verdict after way too much wheeling time and too many tire threads:

Goodyear MTR - One of my favorite tires.
Pro's: Excellent on rocks large and small, dry or wet. Toughest sidewalls I've seen (obvious exception of Bias ply tires) have survived where I've seen BFG A/T, SS TSL, SS SSR all fail due to sidewall cuts. More or less an overly aggressive all terrain and pretty good on the street. Never had it on snow or ice as the Jeep doesn't move in the winter.

BFG AT: my favorite AT.
Ok on rocks, even worse than MTR's in mud, don't even move in sand, but good all around tire with very good on road characteristics, even decent on snow and ice (was my first tire when ZJ was my DD).

BFG MT: Damn excellent tire. Can be noisy on the road depending on what you consider noisy. Allowed my dads WJ to get traction in places I never thought an almost-stock WJ would. Pretty decent in the mud, just OK on the rocks, and decent sidewalls like the AT but not indestructible.

Super Swamper SSR'S: I won't ever make that mistake again. Best tire I've had in the mud, will grip almost anything slick. Wears like crap and the sidewalls are thick but WEAK! I destroyed three on one trail in Paragon; that was a long, frustrating, expensive day.

Trxus: The only tire I've listed that I haven't had any personal experience with on one of my Jeeps. They seem to perform well off-road in our terrain of mixed mud / dirt / rock, but as the sidewalls are similar to the SSR's and tire wear has proven to be pretty bad, I'm not a fan.

Super Swamper TSL: I'd argue that this is overall the best tire for eastern wheeling, especially the bias ply (but don't drive on the street with bias, it's painful.) Stronger sidewalls than the SSR's, grip slick rock (rock that’s wet, not the technical wheeling term "slickrock") very well, KICK ASS in the mud. Noisy on the street, but no worse than a worn down SSR or Trxus.

ANYTHING PRO COMP: Stay the hell away. They were considered a decent tire back when they were CHEAP. The cheap price was worth the crappy sidewalls. I've seen more of these tires sidewalls cut up than I'll be cutting sheet metal on the ZJ, LOL.

Overall, I've been so impressed with the MTR that I'll be getting 37's next time around. That or BFG Krawlers :twisted:


EDIT: Another thing to consider that a Super Swamper tire will run over a full inch above an MTR of the same size, and a BFG will measure about .5" over.

My 35" MTR's are really something like 34.7 new.

Mel85CJ
09-08-2005, 04:15 PM
Between all the jeeps we have/had we've run
33" BFG mt/s
33" mud kings
33" Swamper TSL radials
35" MT/Rs
37" MT/Rs
38" Swamper SX's
36" IROKs
31" BFG At's

I have the 36" iroks on my jeep & love them.. they are a vast improvement vs. the MT/R's for wheelin around here & on the east coast. They do great on the rocks and great in the mud. Plus, they are pretty economical (usually around $170 a tire)

Although.. they are much bigger than 35's.. and don't come in smaller sizes

My 35" mt/rs absoluetly sucked in the local terrain around here. There is too much dirt & mud mixed in with everything. They did well @ paragon & places pretty much just rocks. I also ran 37" Mt/rs.. and they seemed to do marginally better in the mud, I think the voids might have been larger. Oh, and I also sliced the sidewall of a 37" mt/r at Wellsville.. and after Isold the tires, the next owners had many issues with broken belts or buldging sidewalls... and the tires weren't very old.

The Iroks are not too bad on the road... I have driven a decent distance on them before (2 hours+ at a shot), but none of my off-road jeeps are daily drivers.

The 33" BFG M/ts did a good.. but it is tough for me to truly evaluate them vs. other tires i've had since I didn't wheel as much or as difficult of trails.

The 38" SX's are on Ricks jeep & he as grooved them very extensively at this point.

-Mel

OverkillZJ
09-08-2005, 05:29 PM
Oh ya, forgot about Iroks! No personal experience, but I don't recall hearing anything but good news about them. I need to look into those for my next tire...

Cebby
09-08-2005, 06:05 PM
Oh ya, forgot about Iroks! No personal experience, but I don't recall hearing anything but good news about them. I need to look into those for my next tire...

Great info in this thread! Unfortunately Iroks are a little too big for my rig (at least until the SAS)

Mel85CJ
09-08-2005, 07:17 PM
Matt,
yes, they are just *about* the same size as the 37" mt/r

here are some side by side unmounted comparisons

http://www.in2jeep.com/rallypix/small/P8080395.JPG

http://www.in2jeep.com/rallypix/small/P8080393.JPG

YJBeef
09-08-2005, 08:44 PM
I want iroks!!!!! :lol:

MF Steve!
09-08-2005, 09:06 PM
anyone know anything about maxxis creepy crawlers? i know of one person who runs them...4wd kelly. never heard any feedback though. but @ $298/ea. for a 35x12.50x15 they better do somethin damn impressive!

Cebby
09-08-2005, 10:50 PM
anyone know anything about maxxis creepy crawlers? i know of one person who runs them...4wd kelly. never heard any feedback though. but @ $298/ea. for a 35x12.50x15 they better do somethin damn impressive!

This is a DD, so no Bias Ply....

bookfiend
09-09-2005, 12:06 AM
I love my bias ply TSL's on my CJs for wheeling around here, so when I got a Grand Cherokee for my DD, I figured I'd try the TSL Radials. Great for light duty wheeling, but still get some miles out of em???

Heck no! They were 31x9.50x15's and I got less than 20,000 miles out of them, mostly in around town driving. Plus they cupped like hell. I'm considering the BFG MT's next, since people seem to have nothing but praise for them on DD's.

I've got those zigzaggy buggy recaps on there now. For just under $200 for 30x9.50's mounted and balanced, I'm giving them a whirl.

dp
09-09-2005, 08:12 AM
Oh man, I'm so glad I don't have to worry about this stuff anymore. Now, it's going to be in 30k miles if I still want a tire as "agressive" (LOL I'm so lame) as the Goodyear Wrangler RT/S or if I want to get the Bridgestone Dueller H/T...haha

YJBeef
09-09-2005, 07:16 PM
Yeah.....I'd hate to have to worry about having fun with my vehicle :roll:

Cebby
09-09-2005, 09:06 PM
Looks like a win for the KM's (landslide)

I polled 3 boards. Here are the results:

KM - 25 votes
MTR - 10 votes
Other - 9 votes

That's a good thing actually, since I have one already. (I feel better :) )

OverkillZJ
09-09-2005, 09:15 PM
I think it is a better tire for eastern wheeling. I like my MTR's considering my yearly Moab trip.

ArtCloud
09-09-2005, 11:03 PM
I just got BFG KM's for this winter, 245/75/r16 on my stock rubicon wheels. I'm real excited to throw them on in November. I haven't been too eager to test them out wheeling considering i paid almost 1000 for five of them and I got a pretty damn good deal on them which is incredibly sad. But they'll see their share of wheeling this fall/winter/spring. I'm sure anything will beat the 20k miles i got out of my mt/r's, and I'm willing to take a hit on a weaker sidewall for better mud performance considering the majority of trails in this area are loaded with mud and not to mention the BFG KMs are supposed to last significantly longer on the highway.

psychobilly
09-12-2005, 11:34 AM
The BFG muds will outperform the mtr's around here hands down. If your looking to save a buck or two another fine choice is the mud king. Cheap and meaty, wear well, balance nice, drive fine and so on. I always ran them on my street legal mochines. All but the rodeo, it runs ltb's but its not on the street much.

OverkillZJ
09-12-2005, 11:41 AM
LOL, I have to admit, I think this is the first time I've seen a tire thread where the majority agrees on what tires are good for what :lol:

LordAthens
09-14-2005, 01:01 AM
I love my TrXus's. Since I've found that real wheeling hasn't been in my future as of late, I find myself playing in mudholes more than anything when I get the chance.

I've been running them for probably 3 years now, bought 5 the first time around, then bought another 2, mainly due to my lack of proper rotations. It's getting about time for another set of 5 though. I'd venture a guess to say i've put ~30k miles on them. Again if I would have taken the time to rotate them, I would have probably put the same mileage on them and not had to buy the other 2.

They are great in the snow and ice, phenomenal in the mud and IMO, well mannered on road. The BFG's WILL wear better, but IMO, the TrXus is a better off-road tire and probably marginally better on road due to the heavy siping from the factory.

The only real con's I have with them;

A freaking BIATCH to balance. Mine are balanced well, but there is still a bit of shimmy at 70mph.

They don't wear as long as a set of BFG MT's due to the softer rubber compound, but then again I knew that going into them and they perform better offroad.

Bill
09-14-2005, 07:53 AM
I love my TrXus's. Since I've found that real wheeling hasn't been in my future as of late

Two points to make...

1. DONT BUY TRXUS IF YOU LIKE BALANCED TIRES.

2. Was wheelin' ever in your past? You have been on one trip with the group that I am aware of. Okay, okay... Maybe two. You are not allowed to wheel (or drive for that matter.) Tiff says "NO WHEELING FOR YOU!"

:finga:

(Oh, that was some good stuff right there... Yes indeed. Maybe you should come around more often and I wouldn't have to hit you so hard with the doggin out - I could spread it out or something.) 8)

r6cyclegal
09-14-2005, 08:54 AM
Two points to make...

1. DONT BUY TRXUS IF YOU LIKE BALANCED TIRES.

2. Was wheelin' ever in your past? You have been on one trip with the group that I am aware of. Okay, okay... Maybe two. You are not allowed to wheel (or drive for that matter.) Tiff says "NO WHEELING FOR YOU!"

:finga:

(Oh, that was some good stuff right there... Yes indeed. Maybe you should come around more often and I wouldn't have to hit you so hard with the doggin out - I could spread it out or something.) 8)

You better watch since you don't wheel much either!!!! And you can't use the I'm not allowed because of my girlfriend excuse--You were begged to wheel!!!

Bill
09-14-2005, 08:58 AM
You keeping tabs on me again? :P

I have been out a few times recently. I have been to Wellsville, Connellsville, and a few local trails. Have you seen my Jeep lately - It is covered in mud and dirt most of the time and the scratches are beyond repair.

I got this! :wink:

r6cyclegal
09-14-2005, 09:15 AM
You keeping tabs on me again? :P

I have been out a few times recently. I have been to Wellsville, Connellsville, and a few local trails in the last 5 years. Have you seen my Jeep lately - It is covered in mud and dirt most of the time and the scratches are beyond repair.

I got this! :wink:

I made it more truthful for you. :wink:

Bill
09-14-2005, 09:23 AM
You keeping tabs on me again? :P

I have been out a few times recently. I have been to Wellsville, Connellsville, and a few local trails in the last 5 years. Have you seen my Jeep lately - It is covered in mud and dirt most of the time and the scratches are beyond repair.

I got this! :wink:

I made it more truthful for you. :wink:

I know you are not attempting to dog me out... YOU HAVE JEEP THAT NEVER HAS SEEN A TRAIL.

Oh, and if we are going back 5 years, you better add Colorado, GWNF, C-Ville, Wellsville, and a few other places too. :roll:

OverkillZJ
09-14-2005, 09:40 AM
come on, we all know I'm the only admin here that actually wheels :twisted:

:finga:

Bill
09-14-2005, 09:42 AM
come on, we all know I'm the only admin here that actually wheels :twisted:

:finga:


Wouldn't that be... The only Admin that wheeled? Your Jeep is out of service. :P

Oh, and you are far from the only one... You will now know what it is like to have responsibilities young Matthew, as Robert Morris kicks your ass! :finga:

r6cyclegal
09-14-2005, 10:04 AM
come on, we all know I'm the only admin here that actually wheels :twisted:

:finga:

That is true.

Bill,
My Jeep wasn't bought for wheeling. I will be able to wreck it on the road soon enough. 8O I don't need to add off road on that. My Jeep was bought for 4wd and to carry things. Since Matt's Jeep is out of service now I guess you will not be wheeling either (unless he rides bitch.) Besides life isn't all work. There are more important things.

Cebby
09-14-2005, 11:40 AM
What the hell does this little exchange have to do with my tires?

OverkillZJ
09-14-2005, 11:42 AM
What the hell does this little exchange have to do with my tires?

Absolutely nothing, we've hijacked your thread:

http://www.mallcrawlin.com/forumpics/hijacked.jpg
http://www.mallcrawlin.com/forumpics/hijacklive.jpg

r6cyclegal
09-14-2005, 01:05 PM
Yep what he said ^^ :jackinbox
Sorry

YJBeef
09-14-2005, 08:11 PM
You keeping tabs on me again? :P

I have been out a few times recently. I have been to Wellsville, Connellsville, and a few local trails. Have you seen my Jeep lately - It is covered in mud and dirt most of the time and the scratches are beyond repair.

I got this! :wink:

It always looks pretty when I see it !!!

Bill
09-14-2005, 09:27 PM
Yeah, it has been clean for the last two weeks or so... I have not been driving it all that much. The last C-ville run really took its tool as far as scratches and dents are concerned though. I guess buying that silver color really paid off though, you cannot see the majority of defects until you are right up on it.

XJJeepGirl98
09-15-2005, 07:00 AM
Those aren't scratches its custom pinstriping. And its hard work getting all that on there just perfectly like that. I would know the paint on my XJ looks like shit if you look at it in certain angles. And the dents are just like scars...chicks dig them and they build character.

Cebby
10-14-2005, 08:39 PM
Finally got my bling mounted up:

http://rigs.corequipment.com/Cebby/93%204Runner/wheels/Mounted%20(Medium).jpg

OverkillZJ
10-14-2005, 08:41 PM
Niiiiiice- PURDY!

Cebby
10-14-2005, 09:02 PM
Here's a couple more...

http://rigs.corequipment.com/Cebby/93%204Runner/wheels/Mounted%20004%20(Medium).jpg

http://rigs.corequipment.com/Cebby/93%204Runner/wheels/Mounted%20005%20(Medium).jpg

Looks like the rim protector on thhe BFG's will protect the rim pretty well.