tire opinion?

hey guys, i'm thinking of upgrading my tires from some 31x10.5x15 dueler at's to some 33x12.5x15 mudders.
I have had the cooper discoverer STT'S a couple of times, and LOVED them. But, I also really like the looks of the general grabber red labels. I've read some reviews, but those were guys in either 1/2 ton or bigger chebbies, or jk guys complaining because the red labels are too loud and don't stay pretty...

I wheel my jeep. mostly try to stay on the rocks, but in Ky and TN it does rain a lot, so there is a lot of mud, and muddy rocks are pretty hard to get up sometimes. I do drive my jeep on the road, even on the interstate at 80mph regularly. But I'm not too worried about noise really. Most of the time, if I'm driving more than an hour on the interstate, I'm on my way to go wheeling anyway. The jeep has a welded rear axle and an aussie locker in the front, and will stay that way.

I am looking for a tire that will get me farther down the trails, and up the hills a little easier, while lasting for a couple of years being driven a few miles a day, and sometimes a few hundred to the good wheeling or fishing spots, or if I gotta pull a small trailer or Volkswagen beetle across town.

I've kind of narrowed it down to the coopers, or the red letters, or maybe KM2's if I can get a better deal on those. I am stuck buying whatever on a goodyear credit card, and I don't think they can get interco's or I'd probably go with some TSL's and be done with it.
Who has experience with either of these?

thechief86 said:

I am stuck buying whatever on a goodyear credit card...

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MTRs?

Yeah.., all depends on the terrain. You seem to do different stuff. Perhaps if you check out the following links you might narrow down some choices, and with a short list deal with your plastic.
http://www.fourwheeler.com/search/?q=2011 mud tire shootout I went with the winner for that year, and they are going strong through the sloppy mud we have in my area of Alaska. However, they are useless, (non-studded, although could be studded), on ice, and snow.., so I went with the winning tire brand used by the top winning drivers, winning without studs, on our ice-race-lake-course. Therefore, I rotate between two sets, etc.

Goodyear Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar were the runner up in the mud competition, but I'd have to lift a couple more inches to use them, so I opted for the good fit first place tire set which breezes through the mud, and are very quiet on the road up to my self imposed limitation of say around 55 to 65mph. Enjoy the above link, and the following link about the same test but with a more in depth study. http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/wheels-tires/129-1104-massive-mud-tire-shootout-intro/

Since not all wet dirt is the same, nor rocks, lol, it would all depend on what the locals use to their best advantage. However, since you travel around to different footings, you might want to consider the advantage of the Kevlar sidewall.
Happy Trails

thanks guys. I've had mt/r's without Kevlar before, and they didn't last very well. Another used set I got pretty cheap separated on the highway, but didn't blow. just made my jeep wobble until I got it changed out. because of those experiences, I'm kind of burned on actual name brand goodyears, but the goodyear tire shop here sells generals and coopers.
I was really trying to get someone's opinion on the General Grabber red letters, because I haven't heard a lot out of them other than they are heavy, and last a long, long time.
I have had stellar results with the Cooper Discoverer STT's, with great performance and longevity both on and off road. I find myself climbing a lot of hills with washouts and ruts, so the crazy side tread on the cooper really gets me where I wanna go. The dynapros don't really seem to be that aggressive for what I do in the woods...
So it's still down to Coopers, Grabbers, maybe KM2's, or maybe (if somebody convinces me) some MT/R kevlars....

33x10.5x15 BFG KM2. I had the Cooper STT's and they rocked. I find the BFG AT's suits my style well, 95% on road. Why not another set of STT's in a 33" flavor? I prefer the 10.5" width tire

The old MTRs are no comparison to the new MTR Kevelars, completely different tire. I run them in 35s and highly recommend them. I almost went with KM2s but read quite a few people having them chunk after only a few runs so I went with the MTRs and am glad I did, they are very good on the highway and perform great offroad.

oh and they are bullet proff because of the Kevlar....:laugh3:

After wearing out 6 sets of the old style MT/Rs, from a 235/75r15 all the way to a 35", I am now running a set of the new kevlar MT/Rs. I will agree with the others that there really is a big difference between the two. The most improved aspect of the new tire is in mud. The old tire would clog up the treads and lose traction. The new tread design cleans itself easily and maintains good traction. I also feel that the new tire is as good or better in all other performance aspects. Yes, they are a bit noisier but overall not bad.

Yeah, my gut says get some more STT's. I did think hard about trying the red label grabbers...

thechief86 said:

Yeah, my gut says get some more STT's. I did think hard about trying the red label grabbers...

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even though my old STTs were load range D (16" rim) i was very happy with them on and off road. but if i were buying new, id probably save a little extra coin for the MTR/kevlar.

Hmmm this Kevlar MT/R tire sure is getting a lot of mention... I might check into the price for a set of those in the 33x12.5x15. It looks pretty good, has good reviews, and gets mentioned on here like they are worth their weight in gold. Maybe I should give the wrangler name another chance? Now it's between those and the STT's, since nobody is chiming in about the grabbers.
If I can get the kevlars for the same price, I'll give them a shot.

Having witnessed a few rigs running the kevlars recently they will be my next set of tires for sure.

I have general grabber srls in 33 12.5 15 and they are great on dry rocks, and roads. I've had them for about 10k and they wear like iron. Road noise isn't bad. In the rain or when they get wet they don't stick well to rocks. I have beadlocks and air down to about 14psi too. Overall I don't think I would buy another set. I daily my truck and offroad occosionaly. Mtrs are my next tire.

tonis506 said:

I have general grabber srls in 33 12.5 15 and they are great on dry rocks, and roads. I've had them for about 10k and they wear like iron. Road noise isn't bad. In the rain or when they get wet they don't stick well to rocks. I have beadlocks and air down to about 14psi too. Overall I don't think I would buy another set. I daily my truck and offroad occosionaly. Mtrs are my next tire.

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i air down lower than 14psi without beadlocks and havent had any issues *knocksonwood*. my one flat was due to a puncture, not unseating a bead.

give going even lower a shot.

VAhasnoWAVES said:

i air down lower than 14psi without beadlocks and havent had any issues *knocksonwood*. my one flat was due to a puncture, not unseating a bead.

give going even lower a shot.

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The sidewalls wrinkle alot that's why I don't go lower. Before beadlocks I would air to the same. But I popped a bead once when I bent a rim, I would air down more however the tires flex well at a higher pressure.

I think that for what you do
Mtrs or some swampers would work out amazing!

Ok then, if the mt/r's aren't much more $$$ I'll get those. If the difference is crazy, I know I like the coopers, so I'll get those.

tonis506 said:

The sidewalls wrinkle alot that's why I don't go lower. Before beadlocks I would air to the same. But I popped a bead once when I bent a rim, I would air down more however the tires flex well at a higher pressure.

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ah, i dont have any experience with the grabbers and know no one that runs them.

thanks for the clarification.

thechief86 said:

Ok then, if the mt/r's aren't much more $$$ I'll get those. If the difference is crazy, I know I like the coopers, so I'll get those.

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Go for it! I'd go up to 33x10.5 it will help fight off the urge to go bigger for a little while.

I will get 33's. I don't know if I'll do 10.5's because I have wide wheels, but I might. I have cut enough I could run 35's, but I don't want to regear again. I have 3.73's with an ax15

thechief86 said:

I will get 33's. I don't know if I'll do 10.5's because I have wide wheels, but I might. I have cut enough I could run 35's, but I don't want to regear again. I have 3.73's with an ax15

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I think you should be fine with 33s then I ran swampers on 3.55s with an auto and lived. 3.73 with a stick should work fine!