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tires, tires, tires...LONG

Safari Ary

NAXJA Forum User
Ok guys, I'm having a big dilemna. I have a set of 265/75 16 BFG AT KOs(32x11.50) on black steelies right now. One is brand new, two are 70% and two are are shot. My plan is to buy one more new one, and use the other new one and the two 70% ones to make a decent set and one of the two bad ones for a spare. These will make perfect road tires and should last me quite a while.

Now here's my dilemna. I need 'wheelin tires. I ran 31x9.50 swampers last year in the local rocks and mud and don't think I could live w/ the durability and lack of traction of an AT after that(don't think I'd wanna try either). Tire size will be a 285/75 16(33x11.50). I'm looking for a tire that will hold up well to western rocks and east cost mud and perform favorably in both. Treadwear is a concern because I will be driving cross-country and back on them(going to hike the John Muir Trail in CA and I'm not gonna drive by all the sweet 'wheelin you guys got out there and not hit some of it). Also, I can get BFG MTs at about 20$ below tirerack's prices through work, but I'm not sure if they'll hold up in the rocks. The other options are MTRs and TrXus MTs in my mind. $$$ is a definate concern, so I'm shying away from the MTRs. According to what I've read here's how the tires stack up...

Treadwear:
BFG
MTR
TrXus

Rocks:
MTR
TrXus
BFG

Mud:
BFG
TrXus
MTR

Money:
TrXus
BFG
MTR

Now, I've seen the BFG and MTR side-by-side in the mud, and I KNOW I will like the BFG better, but that's the only scenario I have real world experience with. Oh, one more thing. The ATs will most likely be switched to some M/T Classic II's w/ ~3" of BS for road duty and a nice healthy wide stance, and the off-road tires will get the Black steelies w/ 5" of BS. Thanks for any input or suggestions, and sorry about the length. Peace

Ary

P.S. If you're wondering about the 16" rims, it's cause of the WJ knuckles that will be going on soon.
 
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i say bfg's or the trXus, i have bfg 33x10.50 and love them. 4 wheel and offroad has a write up on the trXus mt and they seem just as good. the write up is in the may issue.
Good luck
Jimmy
 
I think my biggest concern about the BFGs would be the sidewall strength and susceptibility to punctures. Thanks for the input.

Ary
 
I have had great luck with the non-KM BFG MT in 33x12.5 except for one that got destroyed @ 700 miles /3 weeks old. (the sharp seam in the back of the front wheelwells will get a tire, if it is wet and doing 150 mph going nowhere trying to bump out of a deep mudhole) I bought these from 4 Wheel Parts, and haven't tried to get warranty help on the cut one. That points out an advantage to buying locally vs mail order.

Acceptable treadwear as a DD, and not too noisy until they get past 50% or so. (noisier than those 2 semi-worn TSL 31"s I have on front now)

No firsthand experience with MTRs or Truxus (or the KM-MTs), but we have all heard that our West Coast folks love the MTRs.

I'd go with the BFGs again, especially if I could find a deal locally. Keep in mind that BFG has been a generous sponsor of the NAXJA website and our events!
 
BFG AT's :)
I have had them on both my old XJ, my current (second set on that one), my dad is on a second set on his Dodge Van.....
In regards to wear... I have to say it's great... in regards to a sidewall strength, for one they are 3 ply, also on my old XJ I tore out a big chunk once (not even when or were) that was the size of a silver dollar and pretty deep!! Guess what... I drove on that one at least 2k miles (I was broke beyond imagination that summer and my spare was the donut in that XJ :( )....
Anyways, what I am trying to say is that they are very strong and reliable :)

Btw, if you do decide to buy BFG's... wherever you get them from, just tell them you are from NAXJA.... you won't get any additional deals, but a lot of that info does go up the food chain there and gets back to our sponsor :)

Kejtar
 
Kej, I already HAVE BFG ATs ;) I will continue to run those on the road, but I need a tire that will hold its own in the mud, which the ATs definately do NOT. I'm leaning towards the MT KMs 'cause of the price break I get, but I'm convinced. I know the western guys love the MTRs, and I'd love to get a set, but if they're not THAT much better than the MT KMs, then I'll take the BFGs for $$ reasons. Peace

Ary
 
Simple choice between the ones you have listed. BFG. Particularly in the narrower sizes. Not to stomp out Goodyear but their narrow MTR's suck on the rocks and in the mud from what I have seen, The side wall strength is similar between the two (both are a triple side wall) and in a larger tread pattern I think they might be more comparable but with the narrower tires my vote definetly goes to the BFG MT's.

Michael
 
I have had good luck with the non-KO BFG's. A lot of side wall abuse with no punctures. I do have a tear though. MTR's might be your best bet from what I have seen and read.
 
Well, it seems everyone agrees on the BFGs out of the ones I've listed. However, anyone have any suggestions for other tires that I haven't listed?? The only road time these tires would see are the driving to and from 'wheelin spots, and this summer(hitting the west coast and don't wanna haul an extra set of tires w/ me). Should I be considering the good 'ol indestructable TSLs?? or anything else? THanks

Ary
 
I say don't compromise. Get the Swampers for off road and use the steelies for them. Run the BFGs on some aluminum rims on the street. The only money you will spend will be for the rims. Both sets of tires will wear better because they are being used as intended. Especially the swampers.
mattk
 
Hunter-Lynchburg said:
buy some production krawlers if you can get bfg's cheap. tell us how they do on the road, in the mud, and on the rocks.


Hunter

Too bad they don't make it in a 33x12.50 yet. ;) Peace

Ary
 
Ary,

Here is a suggestion against BFG's. I just plain don't like them. At least not the AT or MT's, the Krawlers look awsome. My vote goes to the MTR's. I was in the same position as you. I was looking for a 285/75-16 to replace my 265 Perelli Scorpions. I drive the Jeep cross country to wheel so wear was a concern for me too. So far I have run Stock tires, General Grabber AP's, BFG AT and MT tires, and Perelli Scorpian AT's on my Jeep. The BFG's were my least favorite. There were places in Moab I didn't make it where I know my Scorps would have got me. Some will say that AT's work better in the rocks (and it is true I beleive) but I ran the BFG AT too and I was unimpressed . I have been less than impressed with BFG's both in what I have seen and experienced first hand.

On the other hand, from all I have seen and heard of the MT/R's I had to give them a shot. I still have not wheeled the MT/R's but from what I have seen they will wheel great. I saw a mag review different tires and the MTR's are just plain better in the rocks than the BFG's (according to them) and about the same in the mud. The BFG's may be slightly better in the mud but unless that was the only wheeling I did I would go MT/R.

Also, even with your price break I would find it hard to believe that the MTR's are more money. The BFG 16" tires are just plain rediculous with regaurd to price. The MTR's are more in line with thier 15" counter parts.

HTH,
B-loose
 
Thanks Bloose, I priced the 285/75 16 MT KM today, and they came back at $201.88 a piece:eek: The AT's in that size are only 135, which IMHO is a deal. I will be getting that one tire for right now, so that I don't have to worry about driving to and from work for the time being. However, I've been thinking about what mattk said, and swampers are starting to appeal to me because of their price and their ruggedness. I abused the he!! out of my 31x9.50s on the road, and I sold 'em to woody w/ 12k miles on them, and two still had 75% tread left(other two were in worse shape b/c of laziness on my part regarding alignments). So, with that said, what swamper do you guys think I should look at?? Just a regular old TSL Radial?? I really like the size of the 34x10.50 LTB, but I've heard bad things about them chunking. Whatcha think? BTW, the ATs are gonna stay on the steelies 'cause they only have 5" of BS and I want my 'wheelin tires to stuff really well, which would probably happen on 4-4.5" of BS better than 5". Thanks for your help guys, I just can't make up my mind :laugh3:

Ary
 
It just occured to me that I should buy the tires used, and it just so happens that AEV is trying to sell the MTRs off of their brute, and guess what size they are!! 285/75 16. I sent them a message, hopefully they'll reply. Even if that falls through, I'm sure I can pick up a decent set of SOMETHING for not a TON of money. Thanks

Ary
 
Forget about BFG and the other MTs and buy the real stuff --> TSLs

I had BFG MTs, General Grabber MTs and finally have 2 sets of tires, 35 x 12.5 Grabber for street use and 38.5 x 13.5 TSL SX for offroad use. The BFG don't even come close to the performance of a TSL.
 
Ary.....I think you'll have a hard time going wrong with the MT/R.....I don't understand why MT/R's 'suck' so much in the mud. I can't believe that some to the clayey soils from our conveniently located Great Salt Lake ( :rolleyes: ) are not as sticky as mud in other places and in that environment, the MT/R is as good as any other 'street' MT (Swamper exception there). They are great on the rocks and definitely 'fair' to 'good' on the street. I don't have a lot of experience with the BFG MT/KM as most guys are still running the MT/R, but I'd bet they'd be comparable to the MT/R in everything but rocks.


(tire history.....32" MT/R, 33" SSR, 35" MT/R)
 
I've been running my mtrs for seven years now and can promise you amazing tread wear! i'm also needing a new set of shoes myself and have been really looking into the new bfg MT km2 with the crawler like design and stronger sidewall they seem like the winner in my eyes. But i would also get another set of mtrs in a heart beat! i say it's between those two... In the end it's still up to you.
 
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