[dylan0123]

Hey guys, I'm very new when it comes to off-roading, but I got a taste for it in my '00 X, and I can't get enough! All my friends are pros, with sweet jeeps and huge F350 trucks (one of my bro's has 42'' tires on his truck! it sits eye level with semi's!)

Anyway, I need some new tires. I bought it w/ Toyo Open Country A/T's, and they just don't work that well in the mud.

All we mainly go through is mud and water, I don't do much rock climbing and don't plan on it. Don't do much sand either. I will be commuting to school on the highway a lot too.

I'll be sticking with the stock 15'' rims. I was thinking I want some 31's or 32's for more ground clearance, but I didn't know if they would fit without modding.

I was thinking about some BFG Mud Terrains. What do you guys think? What's the biggest tires i can fit on stock suspension and rims?

What would you guys buy if you were in my spot?

 

[TJTJ]

Hey guys, I'm very new when it comes to off-roading, but I got a taste for it in my '00 X, and I can't get enough! All my friends are pros, with sweet jeeps and huge F350 trucks (one of my bro's has 42'' tires on his truck! it sits eye level with semi's!)

Anyway, I need some new tires. I bought it w/ Toyo Open Country A/T's, and they just don't work that well in the mud.

All we mainly go through is mud and water, I don't do much rock climbing and don't plan on it. Don't do much sand either. I will be commuting to school on the highway a lot too.

I'll be sticking with the stock 15'' rims. I was thinking I want some 31's or 32's for more ground clearance, but I didn't know if they would fit without modding.

I was thinking about some BFG Mud Terrains. What do you guys think? What's the biggest tires i can fit on stock suspension and rims?

What would you guys buy if you were in my spot?

You can fit up to 32's on your stock X....up to 34's if you did a 2" BL, etc.

A lot depends upon if you are willing to give up on road performance to gain off road performance.

For example, a set of 31x11.5 Interco LTB's would fit your stock X, and give you amazing mud traction for less than you paid for those Toyo AT's...but, as a bias ply aggressive mud tire...it would NOT handle as well on the ROAD as those AT's, etc.

Also -If those Toyos are still in good shape, for ~ $50/rim, you could get a SPARE set of tires for play time...and keep the toyos for daily driver duty...and use a second set for when you wanted to play dirty. (W/O wearing out the big aggressive lugs on pavement...)



So - What's your priority?

 

[jusfloorit]

BFG Muds are good. The side lugs are nice. If you want cheap and effective, try out the Dunlop Mud Rovers. I use them on my Toyota and love them. They air down nice and give a larger footprint. Swampers are good but really niosy. I'd put them on some cheap rims and change when needed.

 

[dylan0123]

Guys, thanks for the ideas!

I guess to be more specific:
I'm looking for tires that will do great in mud and snow (I live in IA, we've had some harsh winters recently) and decent on the street (I don't care how they "perform", I don't drive like I'm in a sports car, the only thing I sort of care about it noise level, but ya gotta compromise somewhere.) I will be doing a lot of highway driving, so I probably won't get anything too aggressive.

I'll be in college this summer so I can't really afford all new rims and tires to have extras laying around. I really love that idea though, and when i get a decent job after school I will definitely be doing that. For now I just want to replace my A/T's for mud tires since I'll be meeting a lot of new guys this summer in school and should have a lot more opportunities to go mudding w/ them!

 

[TJTJ]

Guys, thanks for the ideas!

I guess to be more specific:
I'm looking for tires that will do great in mud and snow (I live in IA, we've had some harsh winters recently) and decent on the street (I don't care how they "perform", I don't drive like I'm in a sports car, the only thing I sort of care about it noise level, but ya gotta compromise somewhere.) I will be doing a lot of highway driving, so I probably won't get anything too aggressive.

I'll be in college this summer so I can't really afford all new rims and tires to have extras laying around. I really love that idea though, and when i get a decent job after school I will definitely be doing that. For now I just want to replace my A/T's for mud tires since I'll be meeting a lot of new guys this summer in school and should have a lot more opportunities to go mudding w/ them!

Well, MT's are GREAT when the snow os soft and deep, and SUCK when the snow is hard packed.

MT's ONLY work well when the big aggressive tread blocks can get a bite on the terrain, either because the terrain is heavily textured, or soft enough for a cleat like tread block to sink into, etc.

So, on the road, MT's are nice until they plow once, after that, well, they will just skate over the hard pack, etc.

A dedicated snow tire, a tire with heavy sipes and or multicell rubber compounds, etc...is needed when the snow gets harder.

A way to visualize this is to think about the great traction soccer cleats will give you on soft ground, where the cleats can dig in for traction....and what it would be like to play basket ball wearing the same soccer cleats...

...and what it would be like to try to play soccer on grass with basketball sneakers, etc.

That's why dry pavement racing tires are slicks, 100% rubber contact with the road, no voids...and why when the track is wet, the tires have treads to channel the water out from under the tire, but not big blocks, just narrow channels.

And so forth.

Makes sense?



OK - The Toyo Open Country MT for example is not too bad under those circumstances, the Interco Trxus is decent for an MT, etc (Siped MT's that provide some additional grip when wet/slippery).

But no MT will be as good as an AT when the snow/ice is too hard to get a tread block into...and no AT will be as good as a dedicated snow tire (Blizzak for example) when the snow/ice get a bit harder than that, and so forth.

The BFG AT ko is a really good compromise in that its not helpless in the mud, just helpless in goo that packs treads relative to a MT...and its heavily siped and contains enough tread elements and side bite tread to be functional on a wide range of winter terrain.

The Goodyear Duratrak looks to be a contender as a double duty tire as well, but its limited in sizes, and is too new to be confirmed.

 

[dylan0123]

wow, great info TJ! Picturing the tires like cleats like you mentioned really makes sense...I never thought of it like that.

Well, looks like I have a few options to think about. I'll keep reading researching since I have a little time left before I need new tires anyway.

Thanks for all the help guys!

 

[unconformity]

i just bought a set of hankook's dyno pro Mt's.. they're a nice 32" with heavy tread ... they feel great on and off road... they're not to loud either.. goto my build thread if you wanna see them on my 04

 

[dylan0123]

lookin good unconformity

let me know how they hold up in the long run, ok?

 

[unconformity]

thanx! so far so good.. there really isnt any road noise with them.... except when you drive through new limestone.. lol... i kept hearing this clicking the other night and thought something was wrong with my X but it was a chuck of rock stuck in the tread... i'll grab some up close shots of the tires for you this afternoon.. the tread is deep they're 32's which is a tad over stock it looks nice..

 

[Discount Tire]

Nice work Unconformity! You'll notice a huge difference in the mud and water from your AT's to these.

 

[tameroflions]

i, personally, have kumho roadventure m/t's. i LOVE them. they are actually better than my bfg a/t's on road, and offroad, they are beasts!
they arent too insanely loud, but i mean, theyre m/t's so you cant expect too much noise-wise.
plus not many people have them, so if youre looking for uniqueness, this is a good choice.
i have 32x1150x15s and i didnt lose any mpg after switching from 31x1050 bfg a/ts

 

[unconformity]

yeah in the mud they stick good and rain's not to bad i actually feel way more grounded in the rain now.. i have yet to really notice a mpg loss but yeah.. not to mention they look better than a/t's it was a toss up between these and the baja claws by mickey thompson.. otherwise i'd have those crushers from dC but any tire you find that you dig makes your X yours.. theres not a ton of selection especially if your running larger rim size (17") but if you dig you'll find something that fits your truck's attitude. happy hunting

 

[phillyboy02]

will 31x11.5 fit on 16 inch rims on an 02 without rubbing or will it need a lift?

 

[dylan0123]

man it's been a while since i made this thread!! it's amazing how much i've learned from you guys just reading stuff on this site.

so now i've got the pml and 2'' bl installed, and i'm looking for a good deal on 33's : ) i've come a long way since i first got on here.

i'm really looking for some cooper stt's, or mickey t mtz's, but i can't find any around here for a good price.

anyway, i just wanted to give a little update on what i'm looking for, tire-wise.