Best Tire for Off Road?

[SCSL]

I'm so confused by all this tire hype

Who really makes the best off-road tires, as proven by experience and hard trail use??

Feel free to weigh in with your views.

[Disco]

Here we go again! My vote is for BFG Mud Terrains at the moment mainly cause I've never tried any other brands. When it comes time to change them, I'll have to look seriously at either Simex or Nitto's in mud terrain equivalents. I don't do any serious rock climbing over here. I'm looking forward to an enlightening discussion.

[300bhp/ton]

This is a tough one to answer, and not just for me.

Very few people have experience with many different brands and types. I'm rather fortunate that I have lots of friends with LR's and many different tyres, plus my uncle is some what of a tyre guru, he probably has in the region of 10-15 sets of tyres at anyone time.

Also in your poll you have makes and general tyre types listed. I mean BFG make some good tyres, but the also make some crap ones. This means you can't vote for them in such a vague category.

Same goes for retreads, I mean this covers just about every tyre tread/pattern style there is. You can by road bias, a/t's, m/t's or extreme retreads. Evidently the non off road biased treads will be shite off road where as the extreme setups and some m/t's will kick ass.

And then we get back to the terrain situation as well. Rock crawling and even sand require totally different tyres to slippy muddy trails.

My vote goes to Simex for UK off road conditions. The Extreme Trekkers are probably slightly better than my Jungle Trekkers but not as good on road. Silverstone and a couple of other retread companies make a remould of the Extreme Trekker tread pattern.

BFG A/T's are IMO dreadful tyres. They may be fairly quiet on road, but they don't grip very well in the dry have almost zero grip in the wet on the road (lock up and slide very very easily). And are no good in even light muddy conditions.

On my D90 I just to run BFG Trac Edges, these where an awesome tyre and where so superior to the A/T's in EVERY single category I used them for, on or off road.

I guess the A/T may be more suited to rock crawling or sand use, or maybe hard baked dry terrain.


M/T's - this means ALL of them. I actually quite like this style of tyre. They are for me what an all terrain should really be. They look chunky and generally perform as well as many A/T's on road. And will get you further off road as well.

However I do feel MUD terrains are generally not suited to very muddy conditions. Ironic really. But they simply are not aggressive enough and do not self clean very well. I've been to several Land Rover trials which have been very muddy and EVERY single person on M/T's was struggling to simply move in any form of controlled fashion.

M/T's for pose and looks and if you only have one set of tyres. If I had a Jeep Wrangler I would probably run an "agressive" mud terrain (which means not a BFG) in something like a 35.12.50R15 on a 15x7 rim. It would look really good.

But for real muddy/slippery off roading I don't think you can beat a serious off road tyre.









This tyre (Yokohama make a version, but this is a remould) is actually superb all rounder. It's aggresive, has good side wall (you can even get them with reinforced sidewalls) and has good lug size and spacing. But it actually rides very well on the road, very quite and very stable. I had them on my 3.5 V8 Range Rover, and would certainly buy them again.



EDIT:

In case that wasn't clear.

1. Vote would be Simex Jungle Trekker II's. What I cureently run, they are ok on road but this will just wear them quicker and as they cost over £200 a piece it's not the best thing to do a lot of road miles on them. They are the best tyre I have ever used, and ever personally witnessed off road!

2. The Remould Macho tyre (same as the Yokohama). Very good all round tyre but with great off road credentials. Limited to 33" though.

3. For a all round general use tyre in 35" an agressive mud terrain I think Kumo make a nice 35/12.50R15 for only £90 each. So a heck of a lot cheaper than Simex's.

[lucasd2002]

You forgot 'The General'!

duh!

[01001010]

I'm only by my second set of tires, (which are the first off roaders) so I wont place a vote but will pitch in with my thoughts.

I run BFG Muds in 245/75/16 size

While the 245/75 is a nice all around tire, for a truck as heavy as a Disco, I think a 255/85 would make a better East Coast tire for all the muddy trails.

Boggers may be the best in the mud tire from what I've seen only they're pricy and difficult to come by in the tall/narrow sizes (or maybe I haven't looked hard enough) and wear really fast. Not to mention they are pretty loud on road.

I've heard lots of good about the GeoLanders as well. They clear out great!

my .02


EDIT: Ah what the hek..my vote went for BFG..lol

[Disco Mike]

I think this is a good question, even though it is a loaded one.
When you are looking for the best tire, you have to take into consideration what may be the best for me is not going to be the best for you. Things to consider are type of wheeling, how hard core you get, type of terain, current mods to you truck for extra traction, is this also your primary driver.
For me it is still the 265 BFG MT's which I have run for over 4 years and nearly 70,000 miles.
Mike

[John C]

Originally Posted by 300bhp/ton

In case that wasn't clear.

1. Vote would be Simex Jungle Trekker II's. What I cureently run, they are ok on road but this will just wear them quicker and as they cost over £200 a piece it's not the best thing to do a lot of road miles on them. They are the best tyre I have ever used, and ever personally witnessed off road!

I agree, I love the JTs offroad.

200 lbs???? damn, you should buy a set from me, it'll still be cheaper than 200 quids.....

[KevinNY]

Only problem with some of those is the directional tread, you need 2 spares theoretically. Love my Interco LTB's.

I would love to see a US manufacturer make retreads on some of the Simex or Silverstone designs.

[300bhp/ton]

Originally Posted by John C

I agree, I love the JTs offroad.

200 lbs???? damn, you should buy a set from me, it'll still be cheaper than 200 quids.....

I think I paid about £960 all in for 4 tyres and 4 white 8 spoke rims, with centre caps and nuts/lugs plus fitting and balancing.

How much would a 33.11.50R15 Jungle Trekker II be for you?

[WineryRover]

Originally Posted by KevinNY

Love my Interco LTB's.

That is good to hear Kevin, as that is what I plan on putting on my series. The TSL's I have had in the past (not on LR's) were great tires, but the wear was quick. I won't be DD'ing my series, so wear is less of an issue. How is the LTB's grip on rock?

[KevinNY]

They grip rock very well, I believe they are slightly softer than the TSL. I also siped the center blocks. Look at the avatar.

[SCSL]

300 & Disco Mike: you are correct -- very many variables to consider, given tread design, type of terrain, % vehicle is used off- vs. on-road.

Mine was more of a general question to get some discussion started.

I would have to state my own preference for Interco tires, having had 1st or 2nd hand experience with all listed except the Toyos. And of course, being in the States, I can't claim to have any experience w/ Simex,,, which seem to do a good job for the Brits & Aussies.

Regarding tread patter, I suppose the assumption is we are talking off-road tread design in it's various manifestations. Though there are some natural differences between a mud-tire & a rock-tire, the ideal tire would perform well in both.

[Thor]

I'm pleased with my 285/75 MT/R. Remember MT/R stands for Maximum Traction / Reinforced.... not Mud Tire or Minature Testicles, etc. This is the closest I've ever get to an all terrain tread however. I've had bad times with a lot of A/T's. EXCEPT Michelin LTX/MS which looks very tame.. it rocked in the New Mexico desert and mountains... and really shined in Moab where the full depth sipes were absolutely tenacious.

I rarely see true mud here on Colorado, some moist sand clay but not much boggin' mud.

I've had success with these in many situations off road and they are comparitively well manered and quiet off road compared to a friends Yeep wth BFG MT. Which is an unfair comparison with the difference between a RR and a leaf sprung Yeep.

As far as my own truck, in light of my recent question on the LTB, Simex, Michelin XCL/XZL. I'll wait until my 3 daughters are a little older and I can wheel more to get a more extreme tire.

[LR Max]

Ha! Here we go again indeed!! All this info is based on what has been seen/experienced in the Southeastern part of the US. Mainly, at Tellico.

I have had experience with the following tires in 35 and under sizes
BFG MT
BFG AT
Interco Truxxus (sp?)
Super swamper radial TSL
Super swamper TSL
Super Swamper LTB
Super Swamper SSR
BFG Krawler
Goodyear MT/R
Khumo Venture MT

My terrain is mud, rocks, and rocks covered in mud. Hands down the LTB and TSL are the king. It can get traction anywhere. I echo the LTB, since that is what my buddy and I run on the competition rig. Great tire. The TSL or LTB will leave ANY of these other tires in the dust in ANY terrain (except street). I can run through thick mud and then climb rock piles with minimal issues. All the other tires had to get up on the rock, then attempt to clean out the lugs and heat up their tires to get up. The 109 with TSLs walked it like it was a Sunday drive down to the sammich shop.

In the mud, forget about the BFG AT. You get no love. The BFG MT and AT perform roughly the same on rocks. Its about the compound and they both grip about the same. Both ride very good on the road, but the BFG AT rides better on the road. If you are looking for a good "poser" tire, this is it. Sorry ya'll, but there are so many better off road tires out there.

Same with the Goodyear, you hit mud and its game over. Rocks, they can make it happen better than the BFG MT. Still nowhere near the TSL/LTB. Also they are LOUD. Like, wow. Damn loud.

BFG MT and truxxus perform about the same. Fairly well in mud and ok-ish on rocks.

The Super Swamper SSR and radial TSL, both I have seen fail on the rocks. But in mud both of these work very well. Word on the street is that SSRs have a weak sidewall and tend to get torn open sometimes. Both tires do pretty good on the road, but they are loud.

BFG Krawler (blue label) is a fairly decent tire. Same compound as the AT and MT but the tread pattern is a lot better for rocks. Only issue is available tire sizes. 35x13.50 is the smallest tire size, very wide.

The Khumo is a damn good tire. I've seen it hook up on rocks and go through mud fairly well. Cheap too. It has whooped up on the BFG MT, Truxxus, and Goodyear many times. Main issue is these tires are LOUD. Like, louder than my TSLs. They ride pretty good as well but like I said, they are so loud it would make me double think them.

If you are in America, and looking for an all out off road tire, its either TSL or LTB. These will kick the ass of anything else I have listed and I assume what is what you are wanting to do.

Summary: TSL/LTB or nothing

[MuddyRangeRover]

I currently have ran/run GY MTR and Love em. Great all around tire, and STRONG sidewall(speaking from experience.).
My next tires, will most likely be, the TSL's.