Q78 Swamper Road Manners....How Bad?

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Flipper1938

Flipper1938

Joined
Sep 30, 2014
Threads
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424
Location
Kentucky
I know evetbody says that tire companies switched to radials for a reason. But i love the tall skinny look and have not found a radial with that look....and that height.

How bad are they on the streets?

How many miles do they last?
 
jeep.jpg
I have been running them for about a year and a half. I bought them used with a decent amount of tread on them, $300 for a set of 4. My Jeep isn't a daily driver. I can't give you any insight on how long they will last. People say they don't do as well on wet streets as many other tires but I haven't had an issues that way. They are loud and a little bumpy, reminds me of my Army days in a hummer. I have a soft top and no muffler so I am used to load anyway. I use BBs to balance them and they balance out pretty good. At about 45 mph you can tell they are not perfectly balanced.

They are great off road. I wanted a thinner tire with a strong side wall. They seem to be about the only option if you want an aggressive tire. Mine are 34X10.5 15X8 inch rims bias ply. I would like to have 15X7 inch rims.
 
Hi all,

I have been running 33X12.5R15 TSL bias ply tires for several years on my FJ40 that gets driven to the trails, often over 100 miles of pavement to the trail head.

The TSL is a great off-road tread, especially if you are running really muddy trails. On pavement they do okay though they are heavy and loud. Since they are of bias ply construction they "flat spot" if parked for more then 24 hours.

The Q78 Super Swamper TSL will be similar on the pavement to the 33x12.5 TSLs I run. I got these tires for the extremely muddy trails here in the Pacific Northwest. They rock off-road. On street/highway I drive the rig pretty conservatively considering the brakes, steering, high center of gravity, etc.

Regards,

Alan
 
I have driven them on the street but they are not my street tires. From cold after sitting overnight you will have significant flat spots that will take a few minutes to go away (in summer). In winter probably a lot longer.
Compared to any radial street tire they suck. Compared to a radial mud tire they kinda suck. That said they are fine if you dont have any expectatiins of low noise or wet road performance.
 
Thanks for the feedback. I've pretty much talked myself out of them. The idea behind this 40 build is to enjoy life. If I get the urge to go to the beach. I want to be able to make the 500 mile drive without completely destroying the tires. I think toyo AT2's are the best choice for surviving a road trip. Off road performance won't be close, but I don't plan on beating this truck up.
 
What do ya'll think of 315/75/16 toyo at's on white 16x10 pro comp wagon wheels for a retro looking fj40?
 
I need the rubber overdrive. I'm putting a 5.3 chevy in front of a fj60 4-speed.

Even with 35's, I will be spinning 2500 rpm at 70 mph. 35's don't work too well on stock wheels.

How old are those 33x9.50's? They have been out of production a while, haven't they?
 
35s on stock wheels... what's the problem?

70mph in a 40?... I hope you have the steering geometry and suspension dialed in... ;)

I bought these about 5-6 years ago. I have driven the truck around the neighborhood regularly, they have not sat for long periods unused so they have not dry rotted at all.

Here:
For Sale: - 1978-ish (hybrid: wheeler/retro tribute) FJ40 (NY)

img_20151219_153800_994-jpg.1178608
 
woytovich said:
35s on stock wheels... what's the problem?

70mph in a 40?... I hope you have the steering geometry and suspension dialed in... ;)

I bought these about 5-6 years ago. I have driven the truck around the neighborhood regularly, they have not sat for long periods unused so they have not dry rotted at all.

Here:
For Sale: - 1978-ish (hybrid: wheeler/retro tribute) FJ40 (NY)

img_20151219_153800_994-jpg.1178608
Click to expand...
Mine is going to be a similar looking rig, just a little bigger and faster.
 
Serious change of plans....I bought a set of five FJ Cruiser wheels and tires off of Craigslist today. $100 with Toyota lug nuts.
 
Love my Q78-LT16's on my 80 series. There are sacrifices, but I feel they drive just fine down the road. Just remember what the tire really is. BIAS, Luggy, Heavy. I have made the mistake of not airing back up when warm (aired up in the AM and hit the pavement) and had the stone-age flat spot syndrome heading down the road for several miles until they warm back up. the 16" call for a 6.5" wheel I think? I wanted to go that route but Toyota did not make a 6.5 factory wheel, 6 lug. So I got 4Runner wheels, 7 inch. [instagram @battle_axe_503]
 
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