MPT80/81 Tires on Rubicon Unlimited?

aarcher

New member
Hey Everyone,

I am on the second stage of me jeep build and cannot find a good overland tire in the 40-42" range. Currently I'm running Mud Terrain Km2's with beadlocks. I destroyed the sidewall of one and took off quite a few lugs on each tire on my last trip. With my axle and suspension configuration I can easily fit and handle 40's and 42's will rub sightly. Unfortunately there are not any traditional tires that go that large and have good highway driving/ life expectancy. This is what lead me to the MPT80 or 81. I have read that the Unimog guys love them but have never seen anyone running them on a jeep and am wondering why. My driving is 60% highway, 40% off road. What do you guys think?
 

daveh

Adventurer
You drive a lot of highway. I can't imagine these tires on a jk at highway speeds. I believe they are only rated to 62 mph. Even if that has changed the weight and rotation mass on a jk seems like a bad idea unless you're running prorock 60s with massive brakes and hydro assist steering


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aarcher

New member
Yea the amount of highway on my trips is the problem. To get good highway driving I have to use a more traditional tire but they only go to 37" and then I end up tearing them up once when I'm off the trail. I do have Dana Super 60's (overbuilt with 70 components) and Hydro assist so handing the tires shouldn't be a problem.

You are right about the speed rating being low, that is a disadvantage.

What I am doing now is I have a full spare (tire and wheel) then an additional tire on my top rack of the km2's. I would like to get away from that and what I have been told is the MPT's are almost indestructible besides wear.
 

proper4wd

Expedition Leader
Seems like you've overbuilt yourself into a corner. Any heavy truck tire like the MPT or a Michelin XZL might work, but will be so thick and heavy it won't air down well on a light weight Jeep. Can you fit 16" wheels? If so maybe try to find some 11.00-16 Michelins. That would be a tall skinny 39 with the most appropriate sidewall.
 

aarcher

New member
You are completely right about it being thick and heavy. This would add a lot of rotational mass to the vehicle ( 37" km2: 71 lbs, MPT81: 120-152 lbs). I'm not sure if I can fit a 16" rim around the brakes, I will go measure and explore that idea.
 

aarcher

New member
So with my brake setup I can't fit 17" rims. So I talked to the guys over at expedition imports about what I am trying to do. They said the MT81 has a squishy sidewall for being a high ply tire. So I am just going to dive in and order a set and I will let you guys know how it goes! Then at least someone has done this.
 
@aarcher

Not sure what you're referring to with the 16'' wheels on the Rubicon as our sport has the stock 16's so unless you're running some sort of odd ball backspacing/offset just to have the MPT's installed.. I wouldn't waste my time or money. These tires just do not seem very road worthy but very off road worthy. This tells me maybe you should invest in a set of these tires with the correct wheels and just use these when off roading, or hauling your vehicle to the desired location. I just don't see these tires being very practical or even safe for the road.. are they even DOT listed or highway legal?.
 

aarcher

New member
Hey TrailBadger,
The problem I'm running into is I need a 40-42" tire that will work with a 20" Rim. I can't go any smaller than a 20" rim because of my axle/brake configuration. (my brake disks are almost the diameter of a 16" rim). The MPT81 is approved for on road use, It's for heavy vehicles/ Military use. This is not applicable for a stock Rubicon at all. Those little dana 44 axles would die trying to run these tires.
 

aarcher

New member
Talked to Scott at expedition Imports. The MPT81's should be here Tuesday. I'll post pic's when I get them.
 

Theoretician

Adventurer
I say go for it, and post lost of pictures. I've been eyeing the mpt81 in the 37in size for my f150 once I've run through the warranty. They seem like great tires for a balance of on and off road, and you've obviously built a vehicle that can handle their weight.
 

flatboat

New member
Ever look at interco tires . they have some that are 42" for 20" rims , the tread design may be to aggressive for your application . I run 35"ssr's that hold up quite well
 

Haf-E

Expedition Leader
Interested in seeing photos of these on the jeep. I would think that they will be able to safely operate at speeds slightly over 62 mph since the jeep will be comparably light for these tires and the primary concern is heat build-up due to tire flexing. I would think one of the aftermarket tire pressure monitoring systems which also does the air temperature of the tire.
 

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