Undecided on tire size for trails around the PNW

[norcal420]

I beat the ever living piss out of my XJ, only one I know who flogs there rig more is KarlVP, but he’s not right in the head. With my driving "style" I've broken two sets of U-Joints and am only running a 33"x10.5" tire.

Yeah, then replacing the D30 for 36s might be a good idea. :idea: :looney:

 

[wrecked]

My original plans for the build had been Waggy 44's front and rear with 35/36's. Obtaining the rear 60 has really thrown me off. I loved my old setup. Granted it was about 2" higher than I would have liked, the 35's were perfect.

I think at this point I'll go with a set of 37's. I hear everyone's point of 33's and I agree that Jeeps on 33's are totally capabable. However, I will have one rig on 33's and the onther on the larger sized rubbers.

Tread design, looking a bit further into it...

Creepy Crawlers, Nitto Mud Grapplers, Krawlers, Boggers, SX, TSL, Bogger, Irok, Pitbulls(rocker, growler and the other) are all options on the table.

I would prefer something in a narrower pattern. I don't really like the 14.5" wide tires. Krawlers have a huge following, as do Boggers(except side hilling), Iroks worry me a bit in the wet muddy rocks/roots. Pitbulls run a bit wide. SX's and TSL's look good. Not heard much on the Grapplers. Creepy Crawlers are said to be hard compound and possibly chunk. Is this for the sticky compound or not?

-Kevin

 

[2xtreme]

Creepy Crawlers, Nitto Mud Grapplers, Krawlers, Boggers, SX, TSL, Bogger, Irok, Pitbulls(rocker, growler and the other) are all options on the table.
-Kevin

This is a VERY wide variety of tread!! With VERY different strengths!!

What do you do, where do you like to go, what is most important for the tire. We are already assuming you are driving to the trail only, and don't care about price. Give us the rest of the info so that we can make a semi-educated response.

Michael

 

[wrecked]

This is a VERY wide variety of tread!! With VERY different strengths!!

What do you do, where do you like to go, what is most important for the tire. We are already assuming you are driving to the trail only, and don't care about price. Give us the rest of the info so that we can make a semi-educated response.

Michael

Yes, it is a wide variety of tires. I thought about 2 more last night as well, the Procomp X-terrain and the MT Claws.

I LOVE playing on rocks, BIG rocks. I will be running trails as well. Sidewall strength is relatively important to me. I know I will be playing in rocks alot so I don't want anything with a real thin side wall that will be sliced easily. I will be running beadlocks on my setup. I also want something versitile. It needs to do well in the rocks, on off camper slick stuff, and mud. Granted I don't like mud much and I won't be going looking for deep puddles of mud, I will no doubt run across it. I found the boggers to do really well in the rocks on my last rig in the 35" flavor, however there were those times where the tires felt they weren't quite so stable and slid around side to side alot when doing something perpendicular to the angle of the hill. Price, I am concerned about price. However, I do get really good deals, so it's not that huge of a concern.

I would really like to find a long wearing tire, so that driving to the trail head is not such a big concern. I don't have a trailer yet so if I want to hit the trails any time soon, I will have to drive. However, I know that what I'm looking for would essentially be a miracle tire.

-Kevin

 

[Avanteone]

Strong sidewalls.... that rules out Baja Claws, and the X-terrains. Good all around, that rules out Boggers. The Irok's seem to work well at first but get rounded/worn easily and then don't work nearly as good. The TSL/SX seems to be the favorite for an all around tough/aggressive NW terrain tire. My personal vote would be for Krawlers, Creepy Crawlers or SX's. I haven't seen enough of the Pitbulls to make a decision there, but I know a couple of guys on Timbercrawler are running them and love 'em.

John

 

[2xtreme]

I agree 100% with what John has said.
I would shorten the list to the following:
TSL/SX
Krawlers
Creepy Crawlers

I would make my purchase based on price and experience with these tires.
If I were to get TSL/SX's I would plan on grooving all of the larger center lugs also, not sure that I would do that with either of the other two.

Michael

 

[wrecked]

I am one really indecisive kid. I narrow down my tire choices and then I'll read something and change my mind. I had originally planned on the SX's in whatever size I chose. Are the SX's the same compound/stickiness as the TSL's? I believe that the SX/TSL would be my first choice. They tend to run less than either the Crawlers or the Krawlers and tend to last quite a long while.

Heres an odd/off topic question. I was looking through the "Readers Rides" magazine. On pg 63, theres a built XJ. In the axles he lists the same setup that I have. 44/60 combo. However, he makes mention of the 3/4 ton shafts. I thought that the 1/2 ton 44 and 3/4 ton 44 shafts were both the same. Is there any difference? I know that brakes on the 44's out of the 3/4 ton trucks use a dual piston caliper and 8 lug. Was I wrong in thinking that was the extent of the differences?

I appreciate all the help guys.

-Kevin

 

[Dookie]

i'd vote for the tsl/sx's over the iroks, personally.

 

[CanMan]

Was I wrong in thinking that was the extent of the differences?

Shafts would be the same. Brakes, bigger, yes.

 

[wrecked]

i'd vote for the tsl/sx's over the iroks, personally.

I've been doing ALOT of reading/reasearch and I just found my notes again on tires (I have a little bit of a memory loss issue and tend to find my self researching the same thing many times). Irok's are looking to be better in snow and on dry rocks. I think that there is far too much of a chance for me to encounter wet situations, after all this is the PNW.

As for the axles, I was thinking that that was the case.

-Kevin

 

[2xtreme]

I believe that there is a difference between some of the Ford D44 front ends (maybe it is just specific years?). A friend of mine who wheels EB's has mentioned to me several times that he has always upgraded his front axle internals with 3/4ton stuff (shafts, brakes, steering,?) Is there a chance that the early 1/2ton 44 came with smaller 260 joints?

I do not know if there is any differences in the compound of the TSL or TSL/SX. But there is a significant difference in the carcass. And they run very different sizes (and probably weight!!)

Again, if I was running the TSL I would definietly re-groove the main lugs, this should help on the snow, rocks, roots, etc.

Michael

 

[JBweld]

I believe that there is a difference between some of the Ford D44 front ends (maybe it is just specific years?). A friend of mine who wheels EB's has mentioned to me several times that he has always upgraded his front axle internals with 3/4ton stuff (shafts, brakes, steering,?) Is there a chance that the early 1/2ton 44 came with smaller 260 joints?
Michael

Yes, the Early Bronco dana 44 font ends originally came with small 260 joints. Don't know about the F-150 stuff.

 

[Dookie]

I've been doing ALOT of reading/reasearch and I just found my notes again on tires (I have a little bit of a memory loss issue and tend to find my self researching the same thing many times). Irok's are looking to be better in snow and on dry rocks. I think that there is far too much of a chance for me to encounter wet situations, after all this is the PNW.

As for the axles, I was thinking that that was the case.

-Kevin

i think you hit the nail right on the head. my iroks do well in the snow - at almost zero psi, the sidewall still holds the tire up. makes a BIG footprint. and when it's dry, their softness really works. but on wet rock - and timber - they seem to lose traction readily. it's been a while since i had teh sx's, but i remember them being a lot grippier in the wet. if i recall, they cleaned mud out better too.

$0.02

 

[wrecked]

Thanks for the help guys. I appreciate everyone giving their imput and providing personal experience. It's really nice to have people running the trails that I am in the same vehicle I am(for the most part give or take a few mods). I think I'll run down and take a look at some of the SX's on friday and size things up.

I'm hoping to get this build up to speed after we get settled into our new place, possibly around mid may. I may be done by late July, it depends on if the shop gets hit with 14hr work days again or not. Certainly will be ready for the snow season next year.

-Kevin

 

[wrecked]

One more tire to toss into the mix. The TRXUS. I see alot of people running the TRXUS tires on the road and judging by Interco's description they should do pretty well in the rocks. THe tread thickness is 21/32" where as the SX are 22/32". Of course the sx doesn't have quite the siping as the trxus so winter driving may not be as nice. How have people felt about the trxus in the NW mud, rocks, slick root ridden trails?

Thanks
-Kevin

 

[Avanteone]

One more tire to toss into the mix. The TRXUS. I see alot of people running the TRXUS tires on the road and judging by Interco's description they should do pretty well in the rocks. THe tread thickness is 21/32" where as the SX are 22/32". Of course the sx doesn't have quite the siping as the trxus so winter driving may not be as nice. How have people felt about the trxus in the NW mud, rocks, slick root ridden trails?

Thanks
-Kevin

The TRXUS M/T has proven to be a VERY VERY good all around/all purpose tire. They are great on a daily driver/weekend warrior type rig. I would compare them to like the BFG Mud Terrain as far as traction goes, tread wear, etc... although the TRXUS has slightly stronger sidewalls. That being said, if your rig is trail only, trailered, etc. as you had described above, I would still stick /w something like the TSL or TSL/SX. They are MUCH MUCH tougher when it comes to the tree roots sticking out and stuff.

John

 

[Blkxjkrawler]

How have people felt about the trxus in the NW mud, rocks, slick root ridden trails?

I love mine, they are a great all around tire. I bought mine origionally as a compromise becuase I still DD my rig. After driving on them for the last year and running them through alot of diverse NW terrain I would not hesitate to purchase again. That being said, I do worry about the sidewall thickness on them. Not enough that it alters how I drive, but it still rolls around in the back of my mind. FWIW They are, in my opinion unparalleled in the snow.
Ryan

 

[Blkxjkrawler]

IF they hold up, I will never own another tire. They are the best tire I've ever seen in the snow, don't clog up in the mud and do great on wet rocks. MUCH better than a BFG M/T, IMHO. I would not heistate to own these tires on a trail rig.

They are better than my old TSL's as well as my old SSR's, for what ever that's worth. My only concern is the sidewall strength, but there's a guy on here who runs them in 35" on some very serious trails. Here's a thread I started a while back when I was debating the Trxus':

http://www.naxja.org/forum/showthread.php?t=901113&highlight=IXNAYXJ

Here's IntrepidXJ's rig w/ 35" Trxus:

-----Matt-----

I might be wrong Matt, But unless he has gone to 35's recently I believe Intrepidxj is on 33's.

 

[IXNAYXJ]

I might be wrong Matt, But unless he has gone to 35's recently I believe Intrepidxj is on 33's.

You could be right, I was just under that impression for some reason. His website does indeed say he's running 33x12.50 tries. I know there's someone running 35's, though. Just can't remember who.

-----Matt-----

 

[WaXJ_Skier]

You could be right, I was just under that impression for some reason. His website does indeed say he's running 33x12.50 tries. I know there's someone running 35's, though. Just can't remember who.

-----Matt-----

write the check it could be you!