For the love of .... another tire thread

[zelatore]

Tires….again.
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I’m looking for a 275-70/18 tire for my LR3. I’m currently running Goodyear Duratracs and have been mostly satisfied with their performance however I have chunked the tread and gouged the sidewalls significantly in 20K miles. I’ve only holed one sidewall (small, plugged) but all of the tires show enough abuse and general wear that it’s time to look for something new.
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This is not a daily driver; it’s a trail rig. However, that doesn’t mean it never sees the highway. In fact, it’s common for me to drive it 2 to 8 hours to the trailhead. So while off-road performance it the priority, I don’t want to totally sacrifice on-road manners and noise. That puts me into the aggressive end of the AT or milder end of the MT spectrum.
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The truck is used in the west, so rocks are the norm. I see one or two snow runs a year. Occasionally sand or dunes. Mud – er, maybe if it ever rains in California I’ll have to think about that but for the last couple years not so much.
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Since this isn’t a super popular size, I’m somewhat limited for options. Here’s what I’ve found-
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New BFG AT KO2
http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/tire...f-road-tires/all-terrain-t-a-ko2/tire-details
The old BFG AT was much loved, but long in the tooth. The new tire looks promising, but I suspect it’s a bit milder than what I want. Sadly, the KM2 is not available in my size or it would be high on my list. It does have the winter rating like my current Duratracs, so that’s nice, and it would likely have good street manners being a mild AT tread pattern. And BFG has a good reputation for making strong sidewalls.
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Goodyear Duratrac
https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tire...9,+USA&lat=38.0614344&lng=-122.53192539999998
I’m running this tire now in a 275/65 size. Great snow performance (one of the few actually rated as a winter tire like the BFG above) and decent everywhere else, but the durability leaves something to be desired in the rocks.
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Goodyear MT/R-K
https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/wrangler-mtr-kevlar
Much-loved by the JKO crowd, but I don’t know a lot about it otherwise. Possibly the most expensive option-msrp is almost $100 more than the Duratrac
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Nitto Trail Grappler MT
http://www.nittotire.com/light-truck-tires/trail-grappler-mud-terrain-light-truck-tire/
Also an unknown to me; the tread shows little siping so I wonder about wet pavement or snow performance, though the description does specifically say it’s quitter on-road than their full MT tire which seems to indicate at least some semblance of on-road manners
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Cooper Discoverer ST-Maxx
http://us.coopertire.com/Tires/Light-Truck/DISCOVERER-S-T-MAXX.aspx
I’ve only heard good things about this tire. It looks like a very close match to the Duratracs I’m currently running but should be a bit more durable in the rocks if perhaps a bit less in the snow. Sadly I’m more interested in the STT-Pro but it doesn’t appear to be available in my size.
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Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ
http://www.mickeythompsontires.com/truck.php?item=BajaMTZRadial
Again, I don’t know much about this tire other than it looks to be on the expensive end of the spectrum. The brand as a whole has a good reputation but I don’t know anybody running them.
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Toyo Open Country MT
http://toyotires.com/tire/pattern/open-country-mt-off-road-maximum-traction-tires?cat=10
Other than a friend running these on his RRC who really likes them I haven’t heard good or bad about this tire. It does look to be on the aggressive end, though the marketing material makes it seem like it would be acceptable on the road. Some reviews suggest these don’t hold up long to pavement use though.
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Toyo Open Country RT
http://toyotires.com/tire/pattern/open-country-rt-on-off-road-rugged-terrain-tires?cat=10
This is another of the new breed of ‘in between’ AT/MT tires – in other words, on paper it sounds very much like what I’m looking for. But again I don’t know anybody actually running it. Reviews make it sound like a good performer on the street but I hear little about its off-road performance.
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And that’s about all I can think of – which now that I look at it is a bigger selection than I expected. Keeping in mind my use as stated at the beginning, any thoughts or suggestions? Any tires you can think of I’ve left off my list?
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Discuss…. 

 

[Wolvee]

KO2's are a good options based on the outgoing KO's but I haven't ran them. I'd say they were more of a daily drivers tire more than a true aggressive A/T and if you're looking for M/T's you'll only be let down going backwards. I think the Goodyears are over priced but earn their keep and the toyo's mediocre tires that never really impressed me but a Ok option for some.

I have never ran Mickey Thompson truck tires.

Coopers are the best M/T tire on your list for me.

If I had to chose a M/T, it would be a hard choice for me between the ST-Maxx and the General Grabber red letters. If speed is involved I go with the Grabbers but for technicals I'd go for the ST-Maxx. For my current set of tires I went with an A/T (General AT2) but -although I'm happy with them-, I wish I would have went with the Coopers. I'd gladly take more road noise for the wet muddy morning trails in Virginia.

 

[bijanjames]

I've been very happy thus far with the ST Maxx. They are heavy, produce lug slap around corners, and do hum a little. With that said, they are far more aggressive than a true all terrian. If your priority is a tough tire that will get you to the trail, they are tough to beat, I've tried them all.

 

[Desertdave]

I have the KO2 in 275/70 r 18 on my F350, so they are available.

 

[Inyo_man]

Another vote for the Cooper S/T Maxx.
Great all around tire, like you said more on the aggressive side of the A/T world, but worth the trade off on the dirt.

I used to buy the DuraTrac until they stopped making them with a three ply sidewall.

 

[skeeter06]

I have ran the Nitto Trail Grapplers. They worked fine on wet roads. I offroad ed mine hard and at 35k miles there was still half tread. They did no worse than any other MT in the little snow we get around here.

 

[SSF556]

Cooper ST Maxx...3 ply sidewall

 

[cruiserpilot]

I've got about 30,000 on my 285/75R17 Toyo M/T's on my 60 series land cruiser. Best tires I've ever had. I'll not go back to BFG's, too
weak in the sidewall after just too many punctures and gashes. Same roads, more miles on the Toyo's, no flats to date. Much better!
Highly recommend. Good road manners, even when wet. Mine are siped down the middle. They are heavy, E rated so heavy sidewalls.

 

[zelatore]

While I haven't begun to make the final decision as yet the Cooper was high on my list from the outset. The Mikey Thompsons are also quite interesting as I spend much of my trail time in Sierra rocks and they have a great rep as a tough tire. The BFG while likely a very good tire is falling out of my preference as I'm looking to go more aggressive.

Still plenty of research and I know I'll never find The One Perfect Tire but I shall keep looking!

 

[RubiconGeoff]

Here's another vote for the Cooper Discoverer ST-MAXX. Very quiet and good manners on asphalt, and a fantastic all-arounder off-road. I'm extremely pleased with my set, and I've run a lot of different tires over the years.

 

[zelatore]

Here's another vote for the Cooper Discoverer ST-MAXX. Very quiet and good manners on asphalt, and a fantastic all-arounder off-road. I'm extremely pleased with my set, and I've run a lot of different tires over the years.

Well, you may be a smaller lighter rig than me but you're clearly running the same terrain based on your location. I had hoped to get out to the Rubicon this year but the schedule didn't allow it, so hopefully 2016 will see the big pig do the Con.

 

[RubiconGeoff]

Well, you may be a smaller lighter rig than me but you're clearly running the same terrain based on your location. I had hoped to get out to the Rubicon this year but the schedule didn't allow it, so hopefully 2016 will see the big pig do the Con.

4-door JKs aren't exactly known for being lightweight. But anyway, I was on the Rubicon last weekend and may head back again this weekend if I don't choose a quieter trail for a busy holiday weekend. These ST-Maxx's are terrific in this terrain. The only place they're limited is in deep mud where a Super Swamper is more appropriate, but since we don't get that sort of mud on our trails (and I don't like tearing up trails in the wet season, and I hate cleaning mud out of every nook and cranny of my Jeep's undercarriage) it's a non-issue for me. With that said, these Coopers are like the Goodyear Duratrac in that they are a lot more aggressive than any other all-terrain tire and are really on par with a the usual radial mud-terrain tire in mud but without the on-road compromises typical of mud-terrains.

One thing to keep in mind is that most of the Cooper Discoverer ST-Maxx sizes are Load Range E, but the 315/70R17 I'm running is Load Range D. The bigger size also has much larger tread blocks and voids than the smaller sizes of the same tire, so when cross-shopping, keep those factors in mind.

 

[zelatore]

Thanks - I actually asked for just this sort of update on the STMaxx thread before I saw that you had responded here.

As for weight, the last time I was on a CAT scale I was about 7500 lbs and that was on the way back from a trip so I wasn't totally full on fuel/water/food though it shouldn't be more than 100 lbs or so different.

I'd be running a smaller size to be sure, and E rated of course. As noted at the beginning of the thread I'm looking at 275/70-18s

 

[Buliwyf]

The Mickey T MTZ's and Cooper STT's are pretty much the same tire, same assembly line even. The Cooper looks a hair better in NE mud, and the MTZ looks a hair better in SE sand.

So I'd recommend the MTZ's for you. Except......the MTZ's are softer than the Cooper STT's. So choose wisely. What's your offroad/road ratio?

 

[zelatore]

Hard to put a number on the ratio. The truck is only driven as a toy, not a DD, so it only gets driven to the trail. The catch is that's usually at least 2 hours each way of interstate and sometimes more like 12 (heading to Sedona again this year). So while I do want to maintain some reasonable highway manners it's not my highest priority.

My back yard is the Sierras, so that means rocky. While an LR3 will never be a rock crawler I do like to push it - figure the Rubicon is about my upper limit. I figure if I find a tire that will survive and provide good grip in the rocks it should do fine any of the less technical stuff I do. We haven't had enough rain in the last 2 years to even think about mud, and even in normal years we're usually dry in the summer anyway. I do get out in the snow a time or two each year though.

The Duratracs have been good on the highway and snow and decent everywhere else but they simply aren't tough enough for rocks. Although I've only had one very small puncture (sidewall) all 5 have a good deal of tearing and chunking of the tread as well as significant gouges in the sidewalls. So while I'd easily recommend them to somebody who wasn't playing in the rocks as much as I do, they're off my radar as is the BFG KO2 - definitely looking to go to either a very aggressive AT or a mild MT.

Still wishing the STT Pro was available in my size - I'd end the discussion now if it was.