Tire Recommendations

[travcaldwell]

Hey, All!

I'm going to be putting an Old Man EMU lift on my 96 Cruiser this summer, so I'm starting to research tires to get a full sense of total cost.

I've been looking at these Pro Comp Xtreme M/T2 Radial Tire. Does anyone have any experience or opinion on these? I'm also curious if anyone has a strong recommendation for something else.

I'd like to keep my 15" rims.

Thanks!
Trav

 

[80 Sack]

Cooper st maxx. There is another thread in 406 Cruisers where everyone talks about how much they love them. Quite a few members run them and are quite satisified including myself.

 

[3rdGenTRD]

+1 for the ST Maxx... I just got some for my 4runner with the center lugs siped for winter and they have been great. I had the AT3s from cooper before and they were good but I do not think I will go back to them. I got them in the beginning of winter so have not actually been offroad with them yet, but I have done 2 large trips, 1 to Minnesota during Christmas time and one to Zion national park a few weeks ago and they did great on the highway for being an AT/MT and are not actually that loud compared to the Cooper ST that are on my dads 89 Toyota pickup. They have been great on the snowy/ icey roads because of the siping mostly. I am sure they will be great this summer on trail rides. Would highly recommend the ST MAXX.

 

[secretasiansam]

I also run the st max. Are you running stock wheels? Should be 16's on a 96. I thought 15's have clearance issues with the rear brake calipers.

 

[travcaldwell]

Out of curiosity, any ideas how the ST MAXX would compare to those Pro Comps?

@secretasiansam Yeah, my bad. They are 16's.

 

[3rdGenTRD]

Out of curiosity, any ideas how the ST MAXX would compare to those Pro Comps?

@secretasiansam Yeah, my bad. They are 16's.

Just from the look of them it looks like they will be better in mud, louder and slightly less stable on the road and worse on ice. I am just going off of how far apart each lug is. I have no experience with the pro comps, I am just going off of what I know of other pure MT tires. For most of the trails that the club does I think they would be about the same. However I have heard that if you want to do sand dundes the MT might dig holes in the the same more than the St Maxx or even a true at but I am not 100% there either, just something I have read. I think both would be good tires, I would personally go St Maxx because they have a little bit of AT in them so they are better on the road and in the winter. But I could be a bit biased as well.

 

[travcaldwell]

Just from the look of them it looks like they will be better in mud, louder and slightly less stable on the road and worse on ice. I am just going off of how far apart each lug is. I have no experience with the pro comps, I am just going off of what I know of other pure MT tires. For most of the trails that the club does I think they would be about the same. However I have heard that if you want to do sand dundes the MT might dig holes in the the same more than the St Maxx or even a true at but I am not 100% there either, just something I have read. I think both would be good tires, I would personally go St Maxx because they have a little bit of AT in them so they are better on the road and in the winter. But I could be a bit biased as well.

That's really good info. I'm definitely looking for an all around tire, so it needs to be able to go highway to trail and be just as good in the winter.

 

[3rdGenTRD]

That's really good info. I'm definitely looking for an all around tire, so it needs to be able to go highway to trail and be just as good in the winter.

I would also say the duratrac but I think it only has a 2ply sidewall and have heard some horror stories but I also know there are a lot of people that love them. We have them on our delivery truck at work and they are nice as well. However with the Cooper it has a much stronger sidewall and that's what I really like cause I don't want anything happening to my sidewall. Otherwise, with the extra siping on my Cooper's I think they are just as good as the duratrac in the winter, and better on the trail I assume cause they are beefier. And probably the same on the street.

 

[80 Sack]

I would also say the duratrac but I think it only has a 2ply sidewall and have heard some horror stories but I also know there are a lot of people that love them. We have them on our delivery truck at work and they are nice as well. However with the Cooper it has a much stronger sidewall and that's what I really like cause I don't want anything happening to my sidewall. Otherwise, with the extra siping on my Cooper's I think they are just as good as the duratrac in the winter, and better on the trail I assume cause they are beefier. And probably the same on the street.

I've heard great things as well about the dura Trac except for weak sidewalls for wheeling. The more challenging trail rides that we do are rough on tires. The coppers have handled the abuse extremely well....

 

[ttFJC]

I have duratracs on my fjc and absolutly love them in the snow. Last winter was a blast

Fjc+6mt+duratracs+traction control off=

Will go down the interestate at 85 and make less noise the my windsheild/air dam on the roof rack. Ive had some mts that were noisy and bumpy! And scary slick on ice or snow.

Can not speak for the coopers but they are 100x better then the crappy bfgs of whatever that came on it stock

 

[MontanAdam]

I'll throw in my support for Cooper ST Maxx. Had BFG KM2s before but they were seriously scary in the winter, and honestly MTs are sort of unnecessary with our dry climate and mountain trails. The ST Maxx have performed great on the trails, are quiet on the highway, are solid in the winter, and should last twice as long as my BFG KM2s. I will say that I've had some chunking and one 2" gash, but to be fair with my previously open diffs I'm hard on tires, and the gash took place on mile 2 or so of a 15+ mile trail and it held up through the end.

 

[rc51kid]

very happy with my Cooper STT Pro. more agressive than the ST Maxx but still plenty nice on the road.

 

[thetoyotaman]

The Pro Comps you are looking at are more aggressive. Chances are they are made by Cooper too as they make a TON of other brands. My neighbor had some Pro Comps that were made by Cooper. I wouldn't be afraid to use them. If you get them siped too they should be good to go in the winter. Nice looking tire.

 

[NyNomad]

Rubber tires are good, I recommend using them

 

[80 Sack]

Rubber tires are good, I recommend using them

Don't trust a New Yorker...

 

[NyNomad]

Aww.. but pink Barbie jeep power wheels hard plastic tires will only get you so far... Around the mall..

 

[ttFJC]

Who wants a jeep when you can get a cruiser !

 

[thetoyotaman]

 

[NyNomad]

She couldn't get Ken with the jeep so she upgraded to the more reliable, more comfortable and higher resale value of the FJ cruiser.

 

[Kyitty]

Love my ST Maxx!