Geolander MT+ reviews? (1 Viewer)

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, Skimlinks, and others.

J

JimmyJack

Joined
Feb 7, 2010
Threads
1
Messages
1
Hello all,
I am looking for real life reviews of the Yokohama Geolander MT+ tires.

From what ive researched i've found that users either love em or hate em, not much inbetween. And almost all of the reviews i've read are about the older MT version, not the new MT+(stronger sidewalls)

I realize that these tires are not meant for on road use primarily and wear fast like any other mud tire. Also, seeing that they have a directional pattern, i will use a ND spare. I intend to use them on a Scout 80 that will see roughly 75% off pavement use.

I would love to hear some real life reviews on these tires. Specifically how they manage out in the sticks.

Thanks in advance
 
I've been using them for a few months, they aren't too loud and they do well in rocks and mud
even pretty decent on sand

they do tend to wander a bit, and I've already seen a little chunking (I'm on gravel roads a LOT)

biggest drawback is the 35psi maximum inflation. I'd like to run them at 33 and not be within 2 psi of "maximum" but that's not a deal killer
 
I ran these on my old ford diesel which is still in the family, I liked them alot and would run them again, I did find them on the soft side for a F250 diesel reg cab 4x4, but they worked alright on snow & ice in a heavy vehicle.

The biggest factor for me is usually price but I would have no worries with running another set.

Cody.
 
JimmyJack said:
Hello all,
I am looking for real life reviews of the Yokohama Geolander MT+ tires.

From what ive researched i've found that users either love em or hate em, not much inbetween. And almost all of the reviews i've read are about the older MT version, not the new MT+(stronger sidewalls)

I realize that these tires are not meant for on road use primarily and wear fast like any other mud tire. Also, seeing that they have a directional pattern, i will use a ND spare. I intend to use them on a Scout 80 that will see roughly 75% off pavement use.

I would love to hear some real life reviews on these tires. Specifically how they manage out in the sticks.

Thanks in advance
Click to expand...

I have then on my HDJ81. I like them. They are tough as nails. They look aggressive enough and do well in all conditions. Even snow, which is a bit of a rarity for mud tires I understand. For highway they aren't too loud either. I plan to buy them again in a bigger size, when mine wear out, which seems to be taking forever by the way!
 
I'm running Green Diamond Icelander MT tires on my 80 series and the ice/snow performance is great, considering this tire is a MT.

The following is a post from my GDT thread and the reason that I'm also posting here is due to the extreme similarity in tread patterns. Wondering if any Geolander MT owners have same experiences.

80t0ylc said:
Had a fair amount of moisture lately in NW Oregon and traveling into and out of the Portland area from Central Oregon gave these tires a good workout in the last couple of days. They did great over the pass last night in the snow, however, a couple of new things have come up lately, and I'm not sure what to blame.

First, when traveling on pavement with tire grooves worn into the surface, the rig wants to follow the ruts. I don't know if it's the square shouldered design or additional traction or what it is, but it seems to be much more noticeable than my ATs or previous MTs. All tires being the same size 265/75 16s, so I can't blame tire size. I don't remember it being so noticeable when these Icelanders were new, of course I had the tire pressure up around 45 psi at the time. The tread pattern is very close to the Yokohama Geolander MT, so if anyone that is running those has any similar experiences, please chime in!

Secondly, with all the liquid sunshine that I was running through in the last couple of days, those tire grooves in the road surface were filled with water frequently and I noticed a tendency to hydroplane and get squirrely at speeds of 45 mph or better. Kind of unnerving at times, so I learned to try and stay out of the ruts, if possible. I'm wondering if a narrower size would be the ticket to better performance in this area...........
Click to expand...
 
My 33x12.50 Geo MT work great in the mud and decent in the snow. I air mine down to 17 psi in the rear and 27 up front cause I don't have power steering (yet). That psi makes them really smooth over the washboard gravel road I live on. I really like the ride and the on pavement handling is better than my old BFG MT in the same size. They are directional and the traction in reverse is not so good, especially in the snow.
As far as wandering in the ruts of the road they are bad. They seem to do ok on good roads but on really rutted pavement they will send you wherever they want to go. The Hydro plane I have never experienced, and I have driven when there is a lot of standing water at highway speeds.
 
I'm about to do 4,000 miles on geolander MTs. Mostly pavement. Probably mostly dry pavement.

I wonder if it would save some tire wear to sipe them? In theory that should help them run a little cooler, right?

I will be running them right at their max pressure of 35psi, in an attempt to save some fuel and tire wear as well.
 
Isaacjohnstar said:
....... I air mine down to 17 psi in the rear and 27 up front cause I don't have power steering (yet). That psi makes them really smooth over the washboard gravel road I live on. I really like the ride and the on pavement handling is better than my old BFG MT in the same size.........
Click to expand...

You run at that pressure all the time? You don't get an under-inflated wear pattern (worn more on the outsides)?


Isaacjohnstar said:
.......... The Hydro plane I have never experienced, and I have driven when there is a lot of standing water at highway speeds.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure if it is hydroplaning. When I hit water in the ruts, approx. 2"-3" deep, I feel significant resistance and the rear end feels like it wants to swap with the front end. I take my foot off the throttle and correct with the steering wheel. It just feels kind of squirrely until I slow down or get out of the ruts back to just wet pavement. I know that hydroplaning is where the water can't escape from between the road surface and your tire tread and you're actually planing on the water - not the best of situations when you want to retain control. Maybe this is normal for hitting 2" - 3" of water or maybe it's the combination of ruts and water that this tread doesn't like. But, I don't remember noticing this so much with other tires.

sandcruiser said:
I'm about to do 4,000 miles on geolander MTs. Mostly pavement. Probably mostly dry pavement.

I wonder if it would save some tire wear to sipe them? In theory that should help them run a little cooler, right?

I will be running them right at their max pressure of 35psi, in an attempt to save some fuel and tire wear as well.
Click to expand...

I think that siping is mainly used for enhancing traction on ice, snow and possibly wet conditions. IMHO, I don't think you would gain much, if any, advantage in dry conditions. Siping aids flexibility of tread and the more flex you have, the more heat is generated. So, if this is true, your tires would actually run warmer. Does this make sense? I don't know where you heard that siping helps tire wear and run cooler. I would have the source of this info explain it, because it just doesn't make sense.
 
sandcruiser said:
Siping (rubber) - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

confusing
the same wiki article says that siping reduces tire life on dry... but that some claim it extends tire life on dry

I'll just let sleeping dogs lie on this one
Click to expand...

Agreed! The wiki article, in the external links section, references different sources with views about tire heat, tire life and sipes.

What is most interesting to me is the racing site link mentions that siping is recommended to generate heat on the tire surface for better smooth track racing performance. Heat is great for racing performance (read: short tire life). They really have nothing to gain other than providing information.

Other tire store links and sipers.com claim that siping will help tires run cooler and extend tire life. What if they're wrong? They sell more tires, not to mention the charge for siping your tires in the first place :hmm:.
 
80t0ylc said:
Agreed! The wiki article, in the external links section, references different sources with views about tire heat, tire life and sipes.

What is most interesting to me is the racing site link mentions that siping is recommended to generate heat on the tire surface for better smooth track racing performance. Heat is great for racing performance (read: short tire life). They really have nothing to gain other than providing information.

Other tire store links and sipers.com claim that siping will help tires run cooler and extend tire life. What if they're wrong? They sell more tires, not to mention the charge for siping your tires in the first place :hmm:.
Click to expand...

It is my gut feeling that siping will increase heat rather than limit it. It seems like therre will be more seams for the tire to flex and rub against itself, and not increase airflow, if you were taking 1/4" wide cuts out of it I think it may increase surface area and help, but I wouldnt think so for the small siping used for ice traction.

Although it is possible that the more cuts in a tread block will aloow it to flex somewhat better, giving the tire more articulation in some sense, and perhaps less rolling resistance, though in a very minor capacity.

Yokohama makes the geo MT's in big sizes these days, it would be a nice change to see 38's or 40's on a dedicated trail rig...
:cheers:
 
sandcruiser said:
I'm about to do 4,000 miles on geolander MTs. Mostly pavement. Probably mostly dry pavement.

I wonder if it would save some tire wear to sipe them? In theory that should help them run a little cooler, right?

I will be running them right at their max pressure of 35psi, in an attempt to save some fuel and tire wear as well.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't worry about running them on the highway. Most of my driving is on the highway and they do fine. For a mud tire they are even quiet.
 
I have run Yoko MT+s for a couple of years on the BJ74 before I went to Coopers. With the Geos when coming to a stop from 10km/h - slower to stop I could feel the knobbies. I put 50,000plus Kms on them and the tire shop where I got the Coopers installed said there was about 45% tread left on the YOKOS
50,000km -45% tread= pretty dam good for a terrain mud tire, very easy to balance. These shots were taken a couple of years ago crossing the Mackenzie River Via ferry to get Diesel in Fort Providence North West Territories /Canada. The BJ 74 was loaded with gear and food for one month grossing 6200lbs
100_3677.jpg
100_3844.jpg
 
Last edited:
Bumping this old thread... Any more input on these tires?
 
@jtwopark has run them in 37"s for years... linkin his avatar name should alert him.
 
...just ordered a set of 315/75/16 for my 80... Done alot of forum hopping looking to get input and reviews... After riding for a while I'll be back to give my 2 cents.
 
MillironFZJ80 said:
...just ordered a set of 315/75/16 for my 80... Done alot of forum hopping looking to get input and reviews... After riding for a while I'll be back to give my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

Did you get these? How do you like them? I'm thinking of ordering them in the same size?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Users who are viewing this thread

Total: 2 (members: 0, guests: 2)

Share this page

Back
Top Bottom