Why go w/ AT or MT/MTRs (1 Viewer)

[YngTLCOwner]

This is probably a newb question but I was just wondering why one would choose to go w/ AT tires vs MT/MTRs? Is there significant differences between the two types of tires? Im currently running AT tires and know lots of guys on here that run MT/MTRs. Would there be any reason to switch or pick up a second set of MT/MTRs just for wheeling?

Sorry if this is dumb newb question. I just would like to know and hopefully this will help some others out there. Thanks

Steve

 

[RavenTai]

On road handling, tread life, balancing/cupping problems cost and noise are a few of the reasons, an AT tire is one that is somewhat capable off-road but still has good on road manors, a compromise.

for someone like me putting 70 freeway miles a day on my 80, an MT tire would be a bad choice, AT's world be as far as I could go with one tire set

 

[Gumby]

My AT/S did at least as well in the mud and much better on the road than my MT/R. They didn't look as good and the MT/R seem to do better on the rocks. The MTs are louder, heavier and don't balance as well.

 

[MaddBaggins]

Agreed, when I bought my LC it had MTR's. They were loud and caused the truck to shimmy a bit over 40mph. I bought some AT's and she is much quieter and I can roll down the freeway at 75 no problem. MTR's would be better for a lot of the rocky trail around here, but i deal with it.

 

[spressomon]

My AT/S did at least as well in the mud and much better on the road than my MT/R. They didn't look as good and the MT/R seem to do better on the rocks. The MTs are louder, heavier and don't balance as well.

I have the 285R75-16 M/TR's on my 100...you are spot on with the balancing challenge. I am going to go to another tire dealer and have them force balanced as a last resort. It's kinda weird...they get them balanced and they are silky smooth and within a week they start slight shimmy at certain 5mph range. And if I was not using the vehicle off-road, particularly in/over rocky terrain I would try a tire with less aggressive tread. Having said they these tires totally rule on our Nevada rock trails!!!

 

[macneill]

I only put about 5000 miles a year on my rig, so I put on 305 MTs. I too need to get the force balance done. The tire shop originally balanced them with that Equal crap and they were really wobbly, so I brought 'em back for lead. They're better, but not great.

In hindsight, I wish I had gotten the ATs, but I was going for the cool factor at the time.

 

[NorCalDoug]

I didn't have too many problems with having the MTRs balanced until I went from the 285s to the 315s...the 315s are a bitch to keep balanced. In fact, I need to get my set rebalanced again (they were okay before the Moab trip). I have a couple extra sets of rims in the garage. I'm considering getting ATs for daily use and swapping out for MTRs for trail runs. The MTRs are much better offroad than my ATs were -- I'm referring to Sierra Nevada granite

 

[corbs]

Was this a general question about why would you run either an AT (All Terrain) tire v. a MT (Mud Terrain) type tire? OR were you asking specifically about the Goodyear Wranger MT/r commonly known as the MTR? The latter is the way the thread seems to have gone, however, I think you were asking the former.

If so, the general difference is On-Road performance v. Offroad perfomance. ATs will generally be much better on the road and not as good offroad as an MT type tire, and vice versa. That's not to say that ATs are bad offroad or MTs are bad on the road. It's really just what you want more. I eventually would like to have a set of each, one for the road only and one for offroad.

 

[YngTLCOwner]

Thanks everyone for the replies. I currently have 315 AT BFGs and love them. However, I was just looking into the idea of having a set of MTRs for the trail.

Corbs,
I was just wanting to know the differences between AT & MTRs. Thanks for your reply.

 

[spressomon]

FYI: Had the M/TR's in some snow last weekend and they really hooked up great on snow too!

 

[CruisinGA]

A/T's around here (Tellico) are basically useless off the pavement.

So, I will have to bite the bullet and continue to shell out for M/T type tires on my 80 that gets driven almost everyday, or bit the bullet harder and run two sets of tires.

Where you live/wheeling terrain would affect where I would lean, as well as how much money you have to spend on tires.

For my purposes, an A/T tire is a road tire that looks better than the rest, with a somewhat better sidewall.

 

[MJB]

This is probably a newb question but I was just wondering why one would choose to go w/ AT tires vs MT/MTRs? Is there significant differences between the two types of tires? Im currently running AT tires and know lots of guys on here that run MT/MTRs. Would there be any reason to switch or pick up a second set of MT/MTRs just for wheeling?

Sorry if this is dumb newb question. I just would like to know and hopefully this will help some others out there. Thanks

Steve

If you are really considering a dedicated wheeling tire, go TSL bias Swamper, why compromise with a radial?

 

[MADDEN72]

Get Toyo MT's and get the best of both worlds. They ride better then a BFG A/T and have the performance and durability of a MTR off road.

 

[Gumby]

Was this a general question about why would you run either an AT (All Terrain) tire v. a MT (Mud Terrain) type tire? OR were you asking specifically about the Goodyear Wranger MT/r commonly known as the MTR? The latter is the way the thread seems to have gone, however, I think you were asking the former.

If so, the general difference is On-Road performance v. Offroad perfomance. ATs will generally be much better on the road and not as good offroad as an MT type tire, and vice versa. That's not to say that ATs are bad offroad or MTs are bad on the road. It's really just what you want more. I eventually would like to have a set of each, one for the road only and one for offroad.

I'm pretty sure MT stands for Maximum Traction, not Mud Terrain.

 

[Josh83]

Yeah...AT's are useless around here off road. Last time I went wheeling me and a guy in a 40 on 38" tsl's were the only ones that needed need a strap, due to AT tires. For the west coast rocks and such, AT's are probobly fine.

 

[FirstToy]

Here is a comparison on how heavy duty the MTR's are
http://www.offroader.com.au/features/goodyear-mtr-bfgoodrich-mud-terrain-construction.cfm

I have the stock set of wheels/tires b/c I thought I would swap out and use the MTR's only for the trail but really, what ends up happening is
*IF i'm not tired and
*IF I know for sure I wont do any wheeling for a long time (a couple months at least)
Only then will I consider swapping the tires. Guess I'm just a lazy ass... but the MTR's are not bad on road, they are totally fine.

They are heavy. They feel twice as heavy as my stock tire and my MTR's are only 32's. 35's I bet are REALLY heavy. Maybe that has something to do with my reluctance to swap

I think they are worth it for the offroad traction and rocks. The sidewalls have lugs for grip-tion (AT's do not) and are thicker for added protection.
However, I have seen BFG AT's do great as other AT tires so I dont really know the answer. I'm sold on the MTR's tho, plan to stick with them for future upgrades.

One note, the 35's are on national backorder so you might have up to 6 mo. wait.

 

[YngTLCOwner]

James,
Our you sure about the back order? I spoke w/ a rep at Americas Tire on Wed and he said that he would be able to get me the MTRs within a couple days if I wanted them. I will call and verify w/ him again but he said he could get the 315 or 305s. I will report back once I talk to him again.

Steve

 

[landtoy80]

Equal does suck. Counteract works.
I put Counteract in my WildCountry RVT (mud) tires.
I had the perfect setup for tire cupping: loose wheel bearing, bad alingment .25" each side tow in, worn shocks, worn springs, (they were so worn that the front wheel would bounce up and down and the ABS would kick in when if I was braking while I was going over a bump) and lots of wheelong at Walmart.
There was 40,000 mi on them when I removed them. The alignment was so bad the the inside lugs on both tires were almost bald.
There is NO cupping. I credit it to the Conteract balancing beads.

I tried and removed the Equal crap in the Xterrains.

I put the Wild Countrys back on without balancing them and they shook the vehicle.
I put in the Counteract and I get minor steering wheel shake on some roads (I think its the was the lugs ride on some roads. I turned the tires inside to outside so this might be part of the problem. With the tire off the vehicle and on the ground, it leans)

Its hard to tell but the left side is very worn but no cupping.

I have run mud lug tires on all my 4x4's and the Wild Countrys alway got 50,000+ mi on them (unless I didn't rotate them)