Tires! (1 Viewer)

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DiscoveredLC

DiscoveredLC

Joined
Jun 30, 2010
Threads
85
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1,126
Location
in the NV desert
Moved up the ladder a bit at work to a managers position, and now I can start to save up a bit for some upgrades on the 80. Basically Looking at adding ARB's and 315's in the next few months. I already have the complete 4.88's.

I like my BFG AT's, but Im thinking of a bit more aggressive tire. Been down the MT road several times before, and for what I do, I dont think I want to go that route again.

Any ideas for a good desert tire that will still play pretty well in the rocks and snow?

Also, I'm wondering if it might just be better to sell the Nitro gears and buy complete 3rds with ARBs from someone like Marlin. They offer them for the 80 at around 1500 (Yukon gears and koyo bearings) I know it will also cost a pretty penny to install the 4.88's and ARBs, so that may help save a bit in the end.
 
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Toyo MT: About the toughest tire you're going to find in a well made radial. Heavy though. Buddies that run this tire typically get 35k out of them.

Goodyear MT/R Kevlar: Great all around tire including on snow and ice. Considerably lighter in weight than the Toyo though ultimately not as bulletproof.

I'm on my 2nd set of the GY MT/R Kevlar's. In my size, 285/75R18 (~11" width on 35" diameter), I swapped them out at 28k miles. Could have squeezed another 5k out of them though. Strange especially for an MT: They get quieter as they wear. And they're, once again relative to MT tread type tires, quiet. GY runs $80 rebates several times a year plus if Discount Tire here in Reno has $100 rebate a couple times a year it seems...and they will price match any internet pricing. Great service from DT so far! Bought the extended warranty and has paid for itself. Their particular extended tire warranty, very different from other's, covers ANY damage including off-road related: No questions asked.

$200-$250 labor per 3rd R&P&ARB set-up if you shop around. Just don't go to River City Diffs in Sacramento based upon a couple nightmare problems I had with him...I always get that in when someone asks about R&P set-up :rolleyes:
 
I like the Toyo's on our 100, a bit noisy on the road but basically indestructible off road. Also very stiff ride, which worked well in the 100 since we thought the ride was too soft anyway. They do great in mud and snow, the tread self clears pretty well in my experience. I've not done much rock stuff but no chunking from what I have done. They have also worn very well considering how many miles of gravel roads we do in a year. The big downsides are price and width, they are a very wide tire. As Spresso mentioned they are heavy, nearly as heavy as the 36" Swampers I have on the FJ40 base on the grunt test.

I really want to buy the GY MT/R's for my FJ40 I've heard nothing but good things about them. But the are back ordered until Sept. in the size I need for that truck, YMMV.
 
Hey Matt: Congrats on your promotion!
 
congrats on the promotion :cheers: will becoming a manager cut into your :steer: time?

I have the Toyos. I think going on 10-15k miles? Not sure of the mileage when they went on. I would have to check with the Les Schawb guy here. I have had zero issues with them. I know they are heavy, I see the tire guy struggle to get the spare up on to the carrier when they rotate them. I get them rotated fairly often. Maybe every couple thousand miles or so. Can't be sure as my speedometer was big time off with the gears & tires. I now have the mark's correction box (which works GREAT) and I should be able to keep track a bit better. The tires are wearing very well considering I drive my truck everyday. I have done only the one major (not really, but to me it was) trip on them which was to Deer Valley. I think they did pretty good there.

All in all, I would buy them again as I have had no problems with them. I would consider getting another type of tire, AT or something less aggressive, for daily driving.

my .02


Jon
 
Congrats on the promotion Matt. Does that mean more hours with your (I hope) more money?

If you can get both diffs geared with ARB's from Marlin for $1500, that sounds like a screaming deal. I don't think you can do better.

As far as tires, I am seriously looking at the new(er) Nitto Trail Grappler. They were designed to be the quietest mt on the market and that does keep them from being the most aggressive, but they finished fourth in a big tire comparo that Four Wheeler Mag conducted, so they are still decent in the mud.

Discount Tire carries them and like Spresso said, their warranty is hard to beat. Not sure about wear per se, I have only seen one person with any real mileage report and he was at 25k with little wear on a superduty truck, which isn't too bad.

I liked my Nitto's, they were some of the roundest and least amount of weight for a 35" tire that I have experienced and the Trail Grapplers are supposed to be the same way. They also have a 3 ply sidewall and I felt I gave my Nitto's a good test and would run them again. I was disapointed by the snow and deep mud performance of my terra grapplers, but then again, they were a mild at. I had 25k on mine when I sold the 80 and I would say they should make it to 30k with no problems and considered the use/abuse they were subjected to, I had no complaints.

I don't care much for Toyo tires and I really don't like Les Schwab, which is pretty much the only game in town for sourcing them. The mt's are extremely heavy and with the limited power an 80 produces, every bit of weight matters. JMHO.

Jack
 
Gratz on the promotion bud. Well everyone knows where i stand on tires i like the BFG at's have had really good luck with them and are awsome in the snow and ice downside in mud they dont clean out reall well but i have found that every other place rocks,sand snow and ice they are a great tire i abused my 32's in the rocks for 3 years and had no issues. but i would have to say you prolly will only get about 30k out of them maybe 40 but that would be pushing it. they also have a 3 ply sidewall but its ultimately up to u what tire u go with. also the local 4x4 shop in Reno qouted me 3200 bucks for gears and arb's front and rear with install i didnt think that was to bad but thats just my 2 cents lol

Dan
 
locrwln1 said:
I don't care much for Toyo tires and I really don't like Les Schwab, which is pretty much the only game in town for sourcing them. The mt's are extremely heavy and with the limited power an 80 produces, every bit of weight matters. JMHO.
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I have had the same experiences as you with Les Schwab Jack; I ended up ordering my Toyo M/Ts online. Toyo actually manufacturers Nitto tires, and the Trail Grapplers have a reputation for being on the heavy side, though I have heard that they are quiet and wear well.

Matt you are saying that you "don't want to go that route again" so what tires are you after? It seems that there are more aggressive All-Terrains out there these days beyond the BFG A/T, like the Falken Wildpeak, Goodyear Duratrac, Bridgestone Revos, Hankook Dynapro ATM, Mickey Thompson ATZ, and Pro Comp Xtreme AT (Cooper makes both the Pro Comp and the Mickey Thompson). Of those I think that the Mickey Thompson and the Goodyear are the most aggressive/largest voids while still being an A/T.

Congratulations on the promotion!
 
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DirtyHarry said:
I have had the same experiences as you with Les Schwab Jack; I ended up ordering my Toyo M/Ts online. Toyo actually manufacturers Nitto tires, and the Trail Grapplers have a reputation for being on the heavy side, though I have heard that they are quiet and wear well.

Matt you are saying that you "don't want to go that route again" so what tires are you after? It seems that there are more aggressive All-Terrains out there these days beyond the BFG A/T, like the Falken Wildpeak, Goodyear Duratrac, Bridgestone Revos, Hankook Dynapro ATM, Mickey Thompson ATZ, and Pro Comp Xtreme AT (Cooper makes both the Pro Comp and the Mickey Thompson). Of those I think that the Mickey Thompson and the Goodyear are the most aggressive/largest voids while still being an A/T.

Congratulations on the promotion!
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I know that Toyo is the parent company, but my toyo's were made in Japan and the Nitto's were made in the USA, so there must be some differences. I haven't looked up the specs on weight for the trail grapplers, but it wouldn't suprise me to find they are heavy, I just hope not as much as the toyo mt's.

I would pass on the Duratracs, again a tire I was considering, but after hearing about Jereme's extremely fast tire wear, less than 20k (most time around 15k), that is just too fast.

I hate buying/researching tires, way too many variables when you are talking about the amount of money they now cost.

Jack
 
wow, the les schwab here in the bay area has been nothing but great for me. I haven't dealt with any of them in Reno area though. I know some shops are different, but guess that's how things go. Being that I have a SC on my truck, I don't really notice any difference in losing power from them being a heavier tire. I didn't really notice them before the SC either, as I had 5.29s installed. Now, before the 5.29s, well, they were noticeable :rolleyes: With all that being said, each of us that has/have had an 80 has built it differently. Some are lighter, some are heavier, personally, mine is a fat pig and I am ok with that :p Seeing how Matt has built/building up his 80, it looks like the final product will be a lot lighter than mine. I have seen a lot of guys like the Truxus (guess thats the correct spelling) MT. Seems to be a decent tire for most, not sure on the longevity of it though.

I was thinking of some GY Duratracs for normal street tires. Anyone have any input on those? Looks like they would do nicely during my winter trips over the summit back home. GAH, just read Jack's reply on the Duratracs. Guess I will keep looking around for something else.


Jon
 
thumper said:
I have seen a lot of guys like the Truxus (guess thats the correct spelling) MT. Seems to be a decent tire for most, not sure on the longevity of it though.
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I like the TrXus M/T, they are reasonably priced and work well in a variety of conditions (including snow and ice) but they take some weight to balance and wear fairly quickly. They are also nearly impossible to get these days too with Interco's back order issues.
 
Thanks for the input guys! And thanks for the congrats on the promotion. Yup, more hours, and now salary, but it will make paying the bills a lot easier compared to where I was at.

I have mixed emotions about the Toyo's. The main issue is the weight, and I have heard from many others that they are heavy too! Like Jack said, not to fond of a heavy tire on a pigish truck to begin with. My brother has a set on his Ford, and they seem like a very hard compound tire too. Maybe thats why they last so long I guess.

To answer your question Harry,
I ran the old style BFG KM's and hated the wear. I also ran the KM2's and hated the wear. Both tires developed a bad rumble on decel, and the KM2's started chunking on the rocks. Basically I'm afraid to go with a MT because of those reasons. On the other hand, that was with my Rover, and it was a daily driver. The 80 is a different beast, and is my trail toy.

I did however run a set of Mickey Thompson Baja Claw MTZ's for a short period before the KM2's and LOVED them. I didnt get a chance to use them for long because I got a smoking deal on the KM2's at $125 a piece. The KM2's were a larger size that I wanted (33") and I made the switch before really testing the MTZ's.

I guess Im not totally against an MT, I'm just a little hesitant with my poor wear experience on both BFG's. This is a trail rig though, so that makes a huge difference.

Ive been thinking about trying the MTZ's again, but I have a lot to think about! Tires are a freaking expensive investment! :eek: It will be a while before I make the jump, just trying to figure out what kind of cost Im looking at right now.
 
We had three identical trucks (Chevrolet CC's, shortbed with Caravan Camper shells) loaded with gear that were running the GoodYear Wrangler Duratracs. I got the most mileage out of them with a mixed use of NV dirt roads and pavement.

I'm being generous when I round it up to 16,000 miles. :rolleyes:



Congrats on the promotion Matt. You work tomorrow?
 
With the large, chunky tread blocks on the BFGs I found it essential to keep my truck in perfect alignment or they would become cupped nearly instantly.

If you liked the MTZs I think that you would like the Pro Comp Xtreme MT or Cooper STT as well. They all are fairly hard, so they wear well and don't cup so bad, but at the expense of some traction. Maybe wait until 4Wheel Parts does their "Buy three get one free" on the Pro Comps.

The Goodyear MT/Rs would be another great choice, as others have mentioned. They are relatively light and right now Tirerack.com has an $80 discount on a set of 4. 315/75R16s are $266 each before the rebate.
 
Speaking of tires i need t2 decent 32's or 33's dont really care what brand or mt or allterain u can call my cell 775-530-4292


Dan
 
So I really considering throwing in the 4.88's that I have right now, and slapping on a set of 315's.

I would like to install the lockers and everything at once, but I honestly dont know when I will find an extra $2500 under my couch cushions for ARB's and a mini compressor.

Right now its just a matter of installing the gears, and buying the tires. I know what lockers can do for a rig (had them on the Rover) but I know this truck is extremley capable without them too. I can always add them later down the road...

opinions?

As far as tires go, I'm still on the fence. Some of my crawler buddies have said the MTR kevlars are total garbage and I would be stupid to buy them, but on the other hand, lots of folks on here love them. I dont own a crawler so those opinions might be a little skewed... I'm thinking about the KM2's, but I'm still on the fence... Buying tires SUCKS! :rolleyes:
 
Crawling is a whole different game than general off roading. If you plan to crawl rocks only, then they will probably suck compared to the tires made only for the rocks and the softer compound racing type tires.

I swapped over to swampers for the following reasons.

1. Rig basically does short trips and sits 90% of the time.
2. Ride and noise don't matter to me on the rig.
3. They are tougher than any of the tires I could afford, and they were bought used/cheap.
4. Dry rot is not really an issue with swampers. Radials fall apart if left out in the sun and not driven.
5. I don't care about tread wear or loss of MPG with a rig that gets used so little every year.
 
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DiscoveredLC said:
So I really considering throwing in the 4.88's that I have right now, and slapping on a set of 315's.

I would like to install the lockers and everything at once, but I honestly dont know when I will find an extra $2500 under my couch cushions for ARB's and a mini compressor.

Right now its just a matter of installing the gears, and buying the tires. I know what lockers can do for a rig (had them on the Rover) but I know this truck is extremley capable without them too. I can always add them later down the road...

opinions?

As far as tires go, I'm still on the fence. Some of my crawler buddies have said the MTR kevlars are total garbage and I would be stupid to buy them, but on the other hand, lots of folks on here love them. I dont own a crawler so those opinions might be a little skewed... I'm thinking about the KM2's, but I'm still on the fence... Buying tires SUCKS! :rolleyes:
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Are you going to try the gear install yourself or have someone do it? I'd hate for you to "pay" twice for the gear install. Now having said that, obviously if you have someone do the install now and then later decide to do the ARB, it should be a "little" cheaper/easier. Hopefully the pinion depth won't change, so that makes life easier. But of course the routing/drilling/testing of the ARB will probably eat up any savings.

Are the 33's worn out already?

As I said earlier, I agree that buying tires sucks. I am still months away from buying and I am driving myself nuts with choices. MTR's and KM2's seem to polarize people when it comes to opinions, some really like them and others really hate them.

Good luck.

Jack
 
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