What Tyres Have You...

[Geobloke]

...and do you use? and what are your opinions on them?

I have noticed in alot of pictures that it seems people are offroading with road tyres on (and in one case an RRC with almost bald tyres) and it got me wondering what tyres you all use and how you rate them.

I am interested in the brand, type, size, bias and your experiences with them.

Let me start; (in order of use)

1) Pirelli, Scorpion ST, 205/75/16, 90% road biased. These are what Eva had on when I bought her, superb on road, wore down very quickly, good on sand or hard surfaces, terrible on anything else (grass, mud, ect.). Overall too small and road biassed for what I use the D90 for.

2) General, Grabber AT, 31/10.50/15, 50/50 road to offroad. These were lovely tyres, stuck to the road like glue, wore down slowly and were quiet too. Good in most terrains except mud where the treads filled up quickly. Overall excellent AT tyre but still too small for the D90.

3) Bronco, GripEdge, 235/85/16, 30/70 road to offroad. These are retreads and the grip pattern is very similar to BFG tracedges. Soft rubber that stuck to the road, wore down really quickly and quiet on the road. They were excellent offroad too with their MT side lugs and AT centre. Overall they were a good allround cheap retread but their soft compound wore down very quickly. Bought them as a stop gap until I could afford...

4) BF Goodrich, MT, 265/75/16, 10/90 road to offroad. What can I say? AWESOME all round tyre. Have had them 6 months so far and they have far and away bettered my expectations! They are superb on road and even better offroad. They are quiet and hard wearing, have had no problems so far. Overall they are IMO the perfect allround tyre. but I guess only time will tell...!

Over to you!

[Funrover]

I am running BFG AT.....235 85 16's... I have been really impressed with these tires.... I had some knock-off brand MT's for awhile that did alright but these are a lot better!!!

[RageRover]

My friend with his dad's Jeep Wrangler, managed to get about 60,000 miles outta these Michelin LTX M+S 265/?? 16". I'm not sure if he's lying, cause I saw the tires when he replaced them for the same brand, newer, but never saw the odometer to see what he got outta them. So I'll just take his word for it. I just hope the tires I get from Drum will last for as long as I am in college, and for some off-road abuse.

[grtdivide302]

michelin tires will last forever but they are expensive, a friend with a d1 really like his xlz? it's a m/t but the steel beltling runs up the side for great protection.

i have run 215/85/16 dunlop rover r/t. great tires

now i have the truxxus radial mt from interco great off road but alittel to be desired on road. the dunlops were d rated and the intercos are e rated, i think that this make a big difference.

i have a 2" lift, if i had a 3" lift i think that i would go 265/75/16.
al

[RageRover]

The tires I will be mounting are 255/65 on a 16", the originals I had, were 205/80 on a 16", which sounds like the stock tire size for my RRC according to other LRO members. I don't know if the larger size will even make my RRC look a little taller, I think it might, but not by a huge margin cause....referring back to the same friend who is the same dude that totalled his other Jeep; now driving his dad's Jeep, had an oversize tire on his, and they were 31" tires (don't know what the exact specs for it are, like 265/65 or 270 ).

They were these Dayton, Timberlands and they seem to be a very popular tire with an interesting tread pattern. Was flawless on his Jeep but he wrecked the damn thing. Oh well sh$t happens.

[gordo]

Hey guys first post over here!
I am running the BFG MTs 255/85/16 on my classic. A bit of cutting (it is ugly and rusty so dont freak) was needed. Great tire and nice size but Im trading for some LTB 34 x 10.50s tomorrow. I dont drive it except to wheel so I will give up road manners and noise for mud traction. Dunno if these are available in North Wales. They do STUCK on the road though as my bro in law has TSL 33 x 13.50s on his classic. On my D1 I bought some Goodyear Workhorse 215/85. More of a commerical tire but a great treadpattern. Not so good in the mud but pretty quiet and a bit more aggressive than an AT. Got them at Walmart pretty cheap too. They are wearing well and for the money a great looking tire. I do wish I would have gotten the 245s though. On my 92 DD RRC, I run the michelin Sycrhomes. They SUCK. Two blowouts in 6 months. One was a road hazard so not the tires fault, the other the belt flew apart inside. I started hunting and turned up 5 new (old spares) XM+s 200/244 (original tires for early classics that arent made anymore). They look better to me and I got them cheap! Gordo

[Funrover]

Welcome Gordo!! great start!!!

[Discrover]

Like Aaron I have the BFG AT but in a 265-75-r16. I actually think they are the best all around tire...even better than the MT. If you are in the mud all the time though they can't be beat...but the All Terrain is a much smoother tire on road and actually has more meat and is a wider tire on the surface than the MT version.

They actually look bigger then the MT because of this.

I am actually really considering the Interco Trxus 285-75-r16 though after I get regearing in the rear end and another 2-3 inches of lift. I am use to no smaller than a 33" tire on my offroad trucks and a 285-75-r16 is a true 33" tire just will take allot of trimming and maybe even fender flares to be able to stuff the tires.

The 265-75-r16s are just WAY to small for my taste.

Here is a Disco that belongs to our club president with the Dallas Chapter of the Texas Land Rovers...and he has a 5" lift running 285-75-r16 Interco Trxus tires on American Racing Steelies.

Truck has front and back HD Axles...regeared rearend...front and back lockers...rockware sliders...and a ton of other mods...the back bumper is his own creation though.

[SCSL]

An open-ended tire thread? How do I resist? I've posted some thoughts on other threads but I'll try to break down my own observations on tires, based only on those that I have driven, or those that I have seen on the trail on numerous occasions. No mention of Simex as these are rare stateside & I have no personal experience with them. Also, I do not address the issue of side-wall strength in any great detail. This is a highly subjective matter and, in my observation, most sidewall damage is caused by driver error. With some notable exceptions, the sidewall strengths of most major brand off-road tires (particularly radials) are similar. Again, these are just one man's opinion, for whatever that's worth. So,,,here we go:

Best all around off-road tire: Interco Swamper TSL SX.

Best Mud-Tire: Toss-up, IMO - Both interco: Swamper LTB or Bogger. If I had to choose a mud tire today, it would be the LTB in 34x1050x16. However, the Bogger has clearly proved it's worth in mud. Both have weaknesses in rocks: the LTB is too thin & loses lateral traction. The Bogger chunks off lugs, and is not designed for lateral traction in rock.

Best all around off-road radial: Toughest category to pick. I would offer up the Interco TrXus MT, the BFG MT, and the ProComp X-Terrain (more on this one below) with the X-Terrain's primary weakness being mud. I think an arguement can also be made for the Interco TSL radial. The BFG MT and TSL Radial's weakness is slick pavement, but either can be siped. TrXus MT & ProComp-X already have some siping, making them perhaps a better "out of the box" tire for 50/50 rigs that see consistent trail use and/or have long drives in inclement weather to the trail.

Best Mud-Tire (radial): Again, toss-up in my opinion between BFG MT & TrXus MT,,,there are stengths & weaknesses of both. BFG doughnuts faster than the Interco. But BFG has flexier sidewalls.

Best All Terrain: BFG AT -- Until you have aired this tire down to 12 psi & driven it over 8+ trails, it is difficult to fully appreciate how awesome this tire really is. Head & shoulders above it's competition. Super-flexy sidewalls, pronounced lugs, excellent street manners,,,superior. Weakness, obviously, is mud, but that is true of any AT. In the land of ATs, this tire has no serious competition.

Best Rock Tire: Maxxis Creepy Crawler. Best lateral traction I have ever seen on rocks. I cannot comment on the BFG Krawler only because I've never seen one on an actual trail, despite their huge sponsorship of pro rockcrawling events... this may have to do w/ price for the non-professional wheeler.

Best Rock Tire (radial): Good Year MT/R. Strong sidewalls for a radial. Superior traction on dry rock (slickrock). Different story on wet rock, where this tire loses lateral traction rapidly. Doughnuts in mud. IMO, this is a single-purpose tire for either a 50/50 street rig that sees general trail use or a rig that sees dry rock specifically (Colorado, Moab, etc)

Best multi-purpose general road/street radial: Interco TrXus MT. Adequate in mud, rocks, general trail. Siped lugs. Good range of sizes & prices.

Most over-rated tire: Nitto Mud- and Terra-grapplers. The success of the Terra-Grappler is, in my opinion, largely a function of their making tires to fit 18" rims. I have seen this tire on the trail & was not impressed. As for the Mud-Grappler, there are better mud-radial choices. The tread pattern and performance did not impress me.

Most under-rated tire: Pro-Comp X-Terrain. This tire has made a bit of a come-back lately but Pro-Comp had generally been dogged by accusations of weak sidewalls. My brother has driven the same set of X-Terrains for several years with zero blow-outs. Not a bad choice for a 50/50 rig, or a rig that sees mostly dry-rock or general-trail use. Some issues w/ lateral traction on wet rock, similar to the MT/R.

Beyond that, there are other outstanding off-road tires that I've heard people rave about (the Interco IROK comes to mind). But again, I've just focused on tires I've had personal experience with either driving or seeing function on the trail on multiple occassions.

[Geobloke]

Originally Posted by SCSL

An open-ended tire thread? How do I resist?

And precisely why I thought it was a good idea! Lets help people make an informed decision whent hey next come to buy tyres, it is a bloody minefield out there of facts and figures (true or made up!!!!).

[p76rangie]

Probably the best all rounder for road and off road is a Goddyear MTR. Excellent on the road, rock sand, etc. Not that brilliant in the mud. But come in a large range of sizes. Have seen them in above 35 inch.

My vote for the best off road tyre is the Simex JT2's. I run 33x10.5x15 (Really 34's) However, BFG has an agressive tyre now that a lot of the competition trucks are using. I just can't remember the name. But at $600 a tyre, they are too expensive for my task.

In a Mud Terrain, the BFG's a probably one of the better ones. I have the 255/85/16's as my road tyres.

I had Hankook 235/85/16 muds at one stage, but did not like them and gave them away. They did not bag properly and you end up running on the sidewalls.

All terrian. I looked around for an allterrain for a long time at one stage. End up buying Hankooks as they had a very good tread pattern with slightly large tread towards the outside. I was impressed with them off and on road.

Road tyres I know nothing about, never used them.

Ian

[FrankyRizzo]

I bought the Dunlop 265/75/16s because the price seemed attractive. So far I really like them. A few guys out here have run them with very good longevity. I also like the fact they say Rover on the sidewalls as well. Kind of a cool match. I was out in the sand last weekend and without airing them down they seemed to work very well. For 120 a tire I couldn't pass it up. I got the unlimited coverage on them as well so I can tear them up.

[Discrover]

Originally Posted by SCSL

An open-ended tire thread? How do I resist? I've posted some thoughts on other threads but I'll try to break down my own observations on tires, based only on those that I have driven, or those that I have seen on the trail on numerous occasions. No mention of Simex as these are rare stateside & I have no personal experience with them. Also, I do not address the issue of side-wall strength in any great detail. This is a highly subjective matter and, in my observation, most sidewall damage is caused by driver error. With some notable exceptions, the sidewall strengths of most major brand off-road tires (particularly radials) are similar. Again, these are just one man's opinion, for whatever that's worth. So,,,here we go:

Best all around off-road tire: Interco Swamper TSL SX.

Best Mud-Tire: Toss-up, IMO - Both interco: Swamper LTB or Bogger. If I had to choose a mud tire today, it would be the LTB in 34x1050x16. However, the Bogger has clearly proved it's worth in mud. Both have weaknesses in rocks: the LTB is too thin & loses lateral traction. The Bogger chunks off lugs, and is not designed for lateral traction in rock.

Best all around off-road radial: Toughest category to pick. I would offer up the Interco TrXus MT, the BFG MT, and the ProComp X-Terrain (more on this one below) with the X-Terrain's primary weakness being mud. I think an arguement can also be made for the Interco TSL radial. The BFG MT and TSL Radial's weakness is slick pavement, but either can be siped. TrXus MT & ProComp-X already have some siping, making them perhaps a better "out of the box" tire for 50/50 rigs that see consistent trail use and/or have long drives in inclement weather to the trail.

Best Mud-Tire (radial): Again, toss-up in my opinion between BFG MT & TrXus MT,,,there are stengths & weaknesses of both. BFG doughnuts faster than the Interco. But BFG has flexier sidewalls.

Best All Terrain: BFG AT -- Until you have aired this tire down to 12 psi & driven it over 8+ trails, it is difficult to fully appreciate how awesome this tire really is. Head & shoulders above it's competition. Super-flexy sidewalls, pronounced lugs, excellent street manners,,,superior. Weakness, obviously, is mud, but that is true of any AT. In the land of ATs, this tire has no serious competition.

Best Rock Tire: Maxxis Creepy Crawler. Best lateral traction I have ever seen on rocks. I cannot comment on the BFG Krawler only because I've never seen one on an actual trail, despite their huge sponsorship of pro rockcrawling events... this may have to do w/ price for the non-professional wheeler.

Best Rock Tire (radial): Good Year MT/R. Strong sidewalls for a radial. Superior traction on dry rock (slickrock). Different story on wet rock, where this tire loses lateral traction rapidly. Doughnuts in mud. IMO, this is a single-purpose tire for either a 50/50 street rig that sees general trail use or a rig that sees dry rock specifically (Colorado, Moab, etc)

Best multi-purpose general road/street radial: Interco TrXus MT. Adequate in mud, rocks, general trail. Siped lugs. Good range of sizes & prices.

Most over-rated tire: Nitto Mud- and Terra-grapplers. The success of the Terra-Grappler is, in my opinion, largely a function of their making tires to fit 18" rims. I have seen this tire on the trail & was not impressed. As for the Mud-Grappler, there are better mud-radial choices. The tread pattern and performance did not impress me.

Most under-rated tire: Pro-Comp X-Terrain. This tire has made a bit of a come-back lately but Pro-Comp had generally been dogged by accusations of weak sidewalls. My brother has driven the same set of X-Terrains for several years with zero blow-outs. Not a bad choice for a 50/50 rig, or a rig that sees mostly dry-rock or general-trail use. Some issues w/ lateral traction on wet rock, similar to the MT/R.

Beyond that, there are other outstanding off-road tires that I've heard people rave about (the Interco IROK comes to mind). But again, I've just focused on tires I've had personal experience with either driving or seeing function on the trail on multiple occassions.

Hey SCSL,

Great to see you giving an opinion and on all tires you have owned and put through their paces. That has to be respected!!

Can't stand when people want to through out opinions on best tires and they only pick the tire they have run and never tried or tested any others on their trucks.

YOU DA MAN....how is Virginia going...I figured you would be living at RTE by now...also anymore pictures of that Disco with the chop top and cage?

[SCSL]

Originally Posted by Discrover

Hey SCSL,

Great to see you giving an opinion and on all tires you have owned and put through their paces. That has to be respected!!

Remember, I said tires I have run *OR* those I have seen used by trail buddies on multiple occasions. I certainly have not run all the tires I mentioned myself. Nor would I claim to have.

YOU DA MAN....how is Virginia going...I figured you would be living at RTE by now...also anymore pictures of that Disco with the chop top and cage?

VA is great. I will, in fact, be at RTE tomorrow morning,,, I'll have pics of the completed project soon. Soft top is getting made next week.

[Hank]

I agree with SCSL almost 100%, except the MT/R's suck balls, and I think the Krawler is the best non-radial rock tire. The best radial rock tire I've seen is the Swamper TSL.

Having owned two set's of Interco MT's, I don't see them any better than a BFG Mud, but the BFG lasts a lot longer. The sipping is nice, though.

If the road manners on the TSL were better, I think that would be the ideal tire. The Trxus tires are nice off-road, but don't get the grip like a TSL.

I can't wait for this new BFG!!!