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xj stage 2

emr1101

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Raleigh, NC
Hey so im doing some planning on putting my jeep into its second stage of massive amounts of spending (first one was about $5,000 and was done by previous owner). I have 2 main goals, driveability yet capability to run 35s. Ive got most everything worked out (ill put a thread up later of my axle plans and stuff) but im having trouble with tires.

I was planning to run 35x12.5R15 BFG ATs due to their excellent on road mannors (tread life, fuel economy, smoothness, ease-of-balancing, rain performance, etc) and just seemed like a great all around tire. I have 32 BFG MTs on it now, all worn to shi*, and i noticed the ATs were running at $161, far from the TSLs and other yummys i noticed at around $250~. $161 seemed good, but the Mud Terrains are only $17 more at $178.... Now thats a dilema....... So my question is if any of you are running 35" MTs from BFG or ATs from BFG, what do you think? These 2 questions pretty much sum it up...

1. How much worse is the BFG AT than the BFG MT in mud?
2. How much better is the BFG AT than the BFG MT on the street?
 
90% of my driving is on the street. Part of my mod list includes drop brackets and shocks so i forsee a dramatic increase in ride quality, but i dont want that to be nulled by a new set of mud terrains.

BUUUUT then again, Noise level from the tires never really bothered me, it was more ride quality. I kind of liked in a way the throaty drone of the tires, one thing also is i plan on doing a full exhaust, which may also nullify the advantages of All Terrains. The kind of wheeling i do, i hate to say it but includes a lot of mud. But its always seemed to me its not the tire that will get you out, its the size. My last ZJ on all terrains did fine in everything and only got stuck when it bottomed out on the axles, same with my current lifted XJ with mud terrains. It seems to me the tires dont really make a difference in mud holes, only on like hill climbs when you need to dig into the dirt...
 
I've run both. Both of the BFGs are very well mannered on the street. The MTs aren't that loud, but they do hum a little bit more than the ATs. All Terrains are better on ice and in rain, the MTs better in the mud. So, it all depends on what you will be wheeling on and driving in most. Either way, you can't go wrong.
 
MT > AT.
 
waggy401 said:
I've run both. Both of the BFGs are very well mannered on the street. The MTs aren't that loud, but they do hum a little bit more than the ATs. All Terrains are better on ice and in rain, the MTs better in the mud. So, it all depends on what you will be wheeling on and driving in most. Either way, you can't go wrong.

hmm alright heres a question, which ones were easier to balance? Im assuming the all terrains were a piece of cake, but with bfgs being as chunky as they were, did you have to rebalance them often?

*Also, how did they differ in tread life (in terms of miles)

Thanks man
 
emr1101 said:
hmm alright heres a question, which ones were easier to balance? Im assuming the all terrains were a piece of cake, but with bfgs being as chunky as they were, did you have to rebalance them often?

*Also, how did they differ in tread life (in terms of miles)

Thanks man

Balance them internally (airsoft or bb's) and never worry again!! I have found very little difference between AT and MT as far as tread life is concerned. Sipe the inner tread blocks on the MT's for better ice performance. I prefer the MT's awesome all around tire!! My 2 cents......:clap:
 
If you are looking for cheaper, check out the Kumho M/T's on tire rack. They are cheaper than the BFG's and have a very aggressive tread pattern, almost like Goodyear M/TR's
 
yea im probobly going to go with the BFG MTs and sipe them

raptor i was planning on using airsoft BBs anyway, any idea how much i should add to each tire?
 
I have run both and liked the M/T a lot more. They are defintely worth the extra money. My A/T's didn't last much longer than the M/T's, but on the trail there was a huge difference. I'd go with the M/T if i was you.
 
how many miles would you guess id get out of the mt? is it safe to bet ill get at least 40-50k with airsoft bb balancing and rotations/alignments?
 
for the extra however much, id rather buy something made in the USA, as the bfgs are... and im not even that patriotic.
the way i look at it, bfg has supported desert racing FOREVER... why goto someone else based entirely on price? i dont wanna buy blood tires! or tires made by korean children.
dont let them play in OUR MARKET by their rules...(paying under aged, under educated, under paid eployees to make stuff reverse engineered off american designs) buy american... even if your canadian!

the differance betwen the AT's and the MT's are insignificant when it comes to noise.... the MT could be a librarian compared to a set of mickey thompson baja claws i used to run.. not bad at all.
 
baja claws are loud, i hear that. i rememeber before i was into wheeling seeing a jeep drive by me late at night and i heard only the howl of its tires, looked closer and they were defintly baja claws. he was only doing 30mph, too...
 
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