Tire Decision - Debating between AT and MT

I am looking to purchase new tires next spring and I'm doing my research. I think I've narrowed down my options to the tires below.

What negative things can you tell me about these tires? If you own them, what do you hate most?

This is for an off road rig that sees a lot of highway driving to get to the trails and back so I need road manners and prefer a relatively quiet ride. I don't like mud but here it's pretty much all we have so I have to get through that to get to some rock crawling (which is my favorite type of wheeling). It will never see snow. Currently on General Grabber ATX 31". Staying at 31 or going to 32 max for now, don't want to cut fenders.

Having said all that which of these is the best option?

AT/XT route
Option 1 (my preferred choice) MT Baja Boss AT
Option 2 Nitto Ridge Grappler

MT route
Option 1 MT Baja Boss M/T
Option 2 Cooper Discoverer STT PRO (videos I have watched all were loud on the road)
Option 3 BFG KM3

I dont think I need MT at 31 size...I'm going to get hung up on the diff more than stuck spinning in the mud anyway. What say you?

You have stock gears? What about traction devices?

MTs are loud, wear quicker but can have "better" off road characteristics. AT better on road manners, quite and last longer but you'll lose off road qualities. I'm not a fan of the BFG MT's had them on my XJ and they were obnoxiously loud, did good in the mud but on road left a lot to be desired. No experience with the others. I run falken wildpeak AT3w on my WJ and love them. Do great on road and haven't head issues offroad also do great in the snow. For the money don't think there is a better tire for a jeep that see's roads and trails.

Gas is over $5/gal, inflation is thru the roof, and the economy is in the shitter, and it’s not looking good…
I’d go with an AT. In fact I just did…

Then again, it’s an opinion based question. Only you know what you really want.

My '98 came on 32" Grabber MT's (the main reason for paying as much for it as I did). They are noisy with a window down but have worn well & not had to replace at least one a year, as I did with AT's, due to torn sidewalls. However they are poor on wet tarmac so tended to run in 4WD all the time in the Winter. However now have a set of much tamer 265 M&S tyres which will probably fit this weekend.

I've always preferred the look and performance of a MT. Bfg T/A ko2s were the first new tire i put on a jeep way back when and they were great tires. Performance off road was good and same for on road inclement weather. If I had a rig I drove on long road trips I might consider them again.

Goodyear mtr was my first mud terrain tire and they still rank high on my list. I've had cooper's and a few others. The mtrs are pretty pricey but a great tread design. Among the top choices there are some minor differences but no "bad" tires so to speak. Ultimately price, needs, and availability are my biggest determining factors.

I've never cared about the MT hum though. But i have always had a loud exhuast and stereo so that's never been a concern.

My most recent shoes are Milestar Patagonia MTs.. I have owned plenty other sets but few brand new. Dollar for dollar these are some of my faves. Wouldn't call them overly loud, but not quiet either. Tread is great off road and in snow. Tread life is fair ime. The price is right, so when they need to be replaced I'll likely go the same direction if not just in a bigger size.

Like was said, all we can provide is opinions. The answer is what ever you decide. Cheers

Check out the reviews on the Yokohama Geolandar MT G003 Tire. Its an MT, but it has been getting good reviews on daily drivability. I will be getting the 32x11.5x15 version of these for my XJ soon. I plan to mount them on 15x8x4.5" backspace rims.

Interesting that the reviews refer to their performance on ice & snow when here they are classified as a Summer tyre, so they wouldn't be legal in a lot of Europe for 6 months of the year.

Yeah, snow performance is a concern for these.

Original poster wrote that their XJ will never see snow, so the generally crappy snow performance of MT tires won't be an issue in their specific case.
I love the look of MT tires but the rubber in MT tires gets super hard in cold weather so they would not be my choice as that would be dangerous.

ko3 for the win. On road manners and probably better than most MTs, offroad capable for any terrain, and not bad in snow. As for AT/MT go for what performance you want from the tire and don't worry about the size of the tire to decide on either.

Imo the tires you have for AT selections look like theyll s... the bed when they get into mud.

If you want to compromise between AT/MT, a duratrac, although not on your list, will be capable of all the things your looking for.

You say most of your time will be on the road and then pretty much mud, so Ide be looking into a good MT with good road manners. ko3!

xcm said:

Gas is over $5/gal, inflation is thru the roof, and the economy is in the shitter, and it’s not looking good…
I’d go with an AT. In fact I just did…

Then again, it’s an opinion based question. Only you know what you really want.

Click to expand...

jeep can take your mind off all that...

Had KO2s for a bit. IMO best AT tire out there
Patagonias are good. sidewall is weakest part so unless you're crawling it, might be a good fit

choose a better line if hanging your diff is a concern

nyc98XJ said:

Original poster wrote that their XJ will never see snow, so the generally crappy snow performance of MT tires won't be an issue in their specific case.
I love the look of MT tires but the rubber in MT tires gets super hard in cold weather so they would not be my choice as that would be dangerous.

Click to expand...

Either you missed my point - or I failed to make it.

I appreciate OP has no interest in wintery condition capabilities but the reviews seem to suggest that they perform well in snow whereas here they are classified as summer tyres. Rightly so in my opinion, in fact last weekend I swapped my MT's for slightly smaller, much less aggressive (but M&S rated) tyres for the Winter, mainly because MT's braking in the wet is so poor (perhaps because they are harder in the cold),

The most capable rigs are on grippy small tires with lockers.

Im getting 30-50k out of mt tires on my cummins. Currently a set of thunder track grip mts, before them dirt commanders. Yes cheap from simple tire.

Maxxis razr mtn is on my jeep damn good grip and not to loud.

You said mud off road rig. If that is truly what you do a all terrain street tire will not make you happy.

31s will go places you need beefy diff covers and drag them axles over everything. With a front locker youl spank a open long armed rig on 35s all over the place

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I got 33 inch MT Goodyear Wrangler Kevlar.

Rides fine on highway, (it aint no Porsche) great off road. The kevlar sidewalls are appreciated. I have torn lesser sidewalls.

Of course make sure you air way down for offroading, that makes a hugemungus difference. I run 30 psi cold, 35 psi hot or so on the street, and around 12 psi hot off road.
You will want a good sized compressor as large tires take a lot of air.

Why you running so much air on the street? Is that where chaulk tuned them to or just numbers that sound good to put pressure at.

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i am getting nice even tread wear at 30 psi cold. So my assumption is the contact area is good.
What do you recommend?

I recomend chaulking them to set pressure. for the first 5 10k the wear looks even then all the sudden it looks like center is wearing faster than outside.

If 30 is putting nearly all the tread on the rd then thats what I recomend.

A narrow tire will put more tread down with higher pressure than say a 12.5 on a 8" wheel.

Im running 50 in the front of my cummins and 30 rear. Im alittle over aired in rear but
30 still handles a load decent. Id probly want to air up to run freeway with skid on bored.


22 or so is where my 12.5s on 8" wheel put all the tread down on my jeep I run about 18 for street offroad no reason to air down
Some dont like to run the street aired down that much. I find no issues with it around town or freeway.

Why air up after trail riding to burn the centeres out of my tread to go home.

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Aired down in my rig is good for rock crawling, but causes bad handling on the highway. my rims are 15x10 tires are 33 x 12.5