Post by Eric on Oct 3, 2003 12:39:51 GMT -5
It's a long process to finally settle on what tires you want and/or need. There are a few factors that go into choosing the right tire.
[glow=red,2,300]Application[/glow]
What are you going to do with the tires?
On pavement mostly = AT
Some on pavement some off = MT
A lot of off road driving or dedicated trail rig = Extreme Duty
[glow=red,2,300]Budget[/glow]
A factor for everyone, how much are you willing to spend?
Tires can range widely in price based on several factors. They are primarily as follows, but in no particular order:
Composition - What they're made of and how they're made
Size
Traction level
Load capacity
Tread life
Brand - The more advertising a tire gets, the more it usually costs as compared to an equivalent tire from a less-prominent manufacturer.
A guy getting started in somewhat serious 'wheeling is probably going to find that his best bet is to buy something along the lines of a mud terrain tire. This sort of tire is a little more durable that an All-Terrain tire, and will provide better traction, but will probably not last quite as long if driven a lot on the pavement.
Ideally, a guy really needs two sets of wheels. What I am doing, for example, is leaving All-Terrain tires on my factory alloy wheels for tooling around town and getting around in the snow, and just swapping out at the trailhead with some inexpensive steel wheels with my trail tires mounted on them. That way, I should be able to get 5 years out of both sets, instead of having to replace mud terrains every year and not getting the traction I need out of the all terrains.
A set of four steel trail wheels can run as little as $30/wheel, and a guy would have to buy tires anyway, so it's advantageous to just put them on the extra wheels.
The more aggressive the tread design, the better traction you'll probably get in the mud and dirt, but with that aggressiveness come more road noise, quicker wear, decreased ability in the snow, and a little more expense for the same size tire than an all terrain.
[glow=red,2,300]Amount of Street Driving[/glow]
How much are you going to use them on pavement?
For the guy who hardly ever goes off road, but still needs some traction once in awhile, All Terrain (A/T) tires are more than enough for anything you'll run across.
For example, my 245/70R16 Bridgestone Duelers have been fantastic at Tuttle Creek state park in Randolph, KS. I was climbing and getting through everything everyone else was who was running 31" or bigger Swampers and mud tires.
If you do a fair bit of 'wheeling, and still drive plenty on the street, some light-duty mud tires like the following would be good:
Mud King XT
BFG Mud Terrain
Goodyear MT/R
Yokohama Geolandar MT
Dunlop Mud Rover
Maxxis Buckshot
General Grabber MT
Bridgestone Dueler MT
If you do a lot of 'wheeling, and/or can stand to spend more per tire and deal with a rougher ride, you may want to purchase something along the lines of one of the following:
Interco Super Swamper TSL
Interco Super Swamper Bogger
Interco Super Swamper LTB
Interco Super Swamper Thornbird
Interco Super Swamper SSR
Parnelli Jones Dirt Grip
Mickey Thompson Baja Claw
Maxxis Mudzilla
ProComp X-Terrain
All of the above tires are driveable on the street, with widely varying levels of noisiness, wearability, price, and off-road ability. This will be detailed out soon.
[glow=red,2,300]Noise and Ride[/glow]
Sort of a continuation of the above, it pertains to how much noise and change in ride quality you're prepared to tolerate.
[glow=red,2,300]Size[/glow]
It's been contended that a 32x10.50 tire is the largest tire that will comfortably fit under the wheelwells of a Trooper. That's not to say that you can't trim down the fenders to make bigger tires fit. I just havent' done anything like that.TEXT
[glow=red,2,300]Summary[/glow]
So what it boils down to is this:
A/T: Usually cheapest of all options in same size, quiet, yet somewhat capable off-road. Can last up to 75,000 miles with constant on-pavement use. Smoothest ride.
M/T: More capable off-road, yet still has some road manners, but a little more expensive. Lasts between 25 and 50,000 miles with constant on-pavement use. Slightly rougher ride, with a little more noise. Cooler-looking than A/Ts.
Extreme duty: More expensive, but most capable off-road. Not so good in snow. Rougher ride due to tougher but thicker sidewall, and noise is highly increased. Looks really cool, though. Lasts between 10 and 30,000 miles with constant on-pavement use.
[glow=red,2,300]Application[/glow]
What are you going to do with the tires?
On pavement mostly = AT
Some on pavement some off = MT
A lot of off road driving or dedicated trail rig = Extreme Duty
[glow=red,2,300]Budget[/glow]
A factor for everyone, how much are you willing to spend?
Tires can range widely in price based on several factors. They are primarily as follows, but in no particular order:
Composition - What they're made of and how they're made
Size
Traction level
Load capacity
Tread life
Brand - The more advertising a tire gets, the more it usually costs as compared to an equivalent tire from a less-prominent manufacturer.
A guy getting started in somewhat serious 'wheeling is probably going to find that his best bet is to buy something along the lines of a mud terrain tire. This sort of tire is a little more durable that an All-Terrain tire, and will provide better traction, but will probably not last quite as long if driven a lot on the pavement.
Ideally, a guy really needs two sets of wheels. What I am doing, for example, is leaving All-Terrain tires on my factory alloy wheels for tooling around town and getting around in the snow, and just swapping out at the trailhead with some inexpensive steel wheels with my trail tires mounted on them. That way, I should be able to get 5 years out of both sets, instead of having to replace mud terrains every year and not getting the traction I need out of the all terrains.
A set of four steel trail wheels can run as little as $30/wheel, and a guy would have to buy tires anyway, so it's advantageous to just put them on the extra wheels.
The more aggressive the tread design, the better traction you'll probably get in the mud and dirt, but with that aggressiveness come more road noise, quicker wear, decreased ability in the snow, and a little more expense for the same size tire than an all terrain.
[glow=red,2,300]Amount of Street Driving[/glow]
How much are you going to use them on pavement?
For the guy who hardly ever goes off road, but still needs some traction once in awhile, All Terrain (A/T) tires are more than enough for anything you'll run across.
For example, my 245/70R16 Bridgestone Duelers have been fantastic at Tuttle Creek state park in Randolph, KS. I was climbing and getting through everything everyone else was who was running 31" or bigger Swampers and mud tires.
If you do a fair bit of 'wheeling, and still drive plenty on the street, some light-duty mud tires like the following would be good:
Mud King XT
BFG Mud Terrain
Goodyear MT/R
Yokohama Geolandar MT
Dunlop Mud Rover
Maxxis Buckshot
General Grabber MT
Bridgestone Dueler MT
If you do a lot of 'wheeling, and/or can stand to spend more per tire and deal with a rougher ride, you may want to purchase something along the lines of one of the following:
Interco Super Swamper TSL
Interco Super Swamper Bogger
Interco Super Swamper LTB
Interco Super Swamper Thornbird
Interco Super Swamper SSR
Parnelli Jones Dirt Grip
Mickey Thompson Baja Claw
Maxxis Mudzilla
ProComp X-Terrain
All of the above tires are driveable on the street, with widely varying levels of noisiness, wearability, price, and off-road ability. This will be detailed out soon.
[glow=red,2,300]Noise and Ride[/glow]
Sort of a continuation of the above, it pertains to how much noise and change in ride quality you're prepared to tolerate.
[glow=red,2,300]Size[/glow]
It's been contended that a 32x10.50 tire is the largest tire that will comfortably fit under the wheelwells of a Trooper. That's not to say that you can't trim down the fenders to make bigger tires fit. I just havent' done anything like that.TEXT
[glow=red,2,300]Summary[/glow]
So what it boils down to is this:
A/T: Usually cheapest of all options in same size, quiet, yet somewhat capable off-road. Can last up to 75,000 miles with constant on-pavement use. Smoothest ride.
M/T: More capable off-road, yet still has some road manners, but a little more expensive. Lasts between 25 and 50,000 miles with constant on-pavement use. Slightly rougher ride, with a little more noise. Cooler-looking than A/Ts.
Extreme duty: More expensive, but most capable off-road. Not so good in snow. Rougher ride due to tougher but thicker sidewall, and noise is highly increased. Looks really cool, though. Lasts between 10 and 30,000 miles with constant on-pavement use.