Dayton Timberline MT Performance

I spent Saturday at the Superstition Mountain run and flogged my new
Dayton Timberline MT's pretty heavily. I ran a 4.0 (out of 5) trail and then ran what some say is a 4+ (Bills hill going uphill) and played around in the dunes for a couple hours. My XJ is open in the front, minispooled in the rear, 3.55 gears, AW4, stock rims and has 4.5 inches of lift. The tires were 31x10.5's aired down to 12psi. My previous tire was a Bridgestone Dueller AT P235-75-15LT which is a good tire in my opinion.

Sand:
I did some steep 50' to 150' dunes with no problems. I choose not to try and climb sand dam which usually requires pressures below 10 and a lot of power. I drove "smart" with an easy throttle, used momentum and avoided virgin blow sand. Why ask for trouble? My concerns about the agressive tread pattern digging in were unfounded. The tires could have done more than I asked of them in the sand.

Rocks:
Awesome. I would have shredded the sidewalls of my Duellers going up Bills hill and the Timberlines didnt have a scratch on them. As long as I gave the Timberlines something to grab they pulled hard. I was the second rig in the line and the only one not on 33's. All the others were TJ's or YJ's. The leader was locked F&R and I made it up just a couple of minutes behind him. I had to do a little road work at one point but then had the pleasure of waiting 20 minutes at the top for the third Jeep to catch up. It to took the group about an hour to reform. I am thrilled with these tires in rocks. No sidewall damage and no tread block damage, in fact almost no sign of wear at all. These are better tires than I am a driver, so I couldnt ask for more.

Rain:
There was a light rain on the way home with a little standing water on the highway. Not enough water to fully evaluate the tires but I certainly had no problems with what little there was. The tires are not siped so I doubt they will be great rain tires but they arent going to be dangerous either.

Highway Driving:
The tires create a light hum on the highway, which is pleasant enought at 50-60 mph with the windown down. Window up it is hardly noticable and has no effect on conversation or the radio volume.

There was not mud or snow present so I cant comment on performance here.

Overall I am thrilled with these tires and while I really liked my Dueller AT's the Timberlines are far superior off road and in the rocks. With a three ply sidewall and agressives tread they inspire confidence and reward that confidence with great traction. I highly reccomend them for an inexpensive alternative tire, $125 each mounted, balanced & aligned.

John

There are quite a few guys here running those tires and they have nothing but good to say about them. Good tire offroad and good tire to drive on the street, and to put a lot of miles on as well.

I've also been impressed by this tire, actually the Firestone Destination MT [same tire]... Seems like a solid alternative to the MTR/BFG MT...

I have this tire in the 31x10.5x15 flavor. Originally i wanted the Firestone mts, but they are basically they same, Dayton is cheaper, firestone was out of stock at my tire guy's place, and it was the night before my first trip to tellico, so i went with Dayton. Couldnt be happier. They did great on dry rocks, wet rocks, through the water crossings, up hill climbs. I've had them in the mud a lot, they clean out AWESOME. better than all my buddies with BFG MTs, and most of those are 33" and bigger, and on TJs with at least 1 locker. Yet whenever we stopped, mine had cleaner treads, even with smaller voids, than theirs. Couldnt be happier with these tires. They wear really well so far, no chunking, and no scratches in the sidewalls yet...my previous Dueller ATs had a lot more wear and damage on them from less hardcore stuff, but still a good tire.

I would recommend these to anyone, over the BFG MT, just by seeing how they perform in the same condition compared to the BFG

i used to run a set of 33s on my jeep, they had very good traction on rocks, but i did manage to slice a sidewall. overall they were a good dd/off-road tire.

Not they are any better or worse, but the Firestone Destination MT's have a similar sidewall, but a more open tread. The Firestones are supposedly 8 lbs heavier in a 31x10.5 According to the specs. I have the Timberline AT's and like them pretty well. May try the MT next time.