Tire Review: Hercules Terra Trac AT2

[1stDeuce]

Well, I've been trying to find some used 235/85's to put on a set of 16x6" wheels that I want to run on my Comanche project... The other day I called on a CL ad for "New AT tires" in Denver and found that he was selling 235/85R16 Hercules Terra Trac AT's for $120/tire. These tires get good reviews, and the price was good, so I asked for 5 and he said he'd meet me half way. When I found him, he had 5 of the newer AT2's instead of the old AT's. Evidently he was down to the last four AT's, and with me wanting 5, he thought he'd just give me the new ones at the same price. I decided that I'd take his offer, even though I liked the old tread better. This way I'll be able to buy a replacement for years to come if I damage a tire...

Since everyone loves pictures, here we go...


Stacked three deep (I had already installed two of them) against a 285 ST Maxx, they're about the same height! (The ST's are about 50% worn...)


Here you get an idea what the sidewall looks like, and the height across the tops. I think the sidewalls look nice, without being too "bold".


What do you know, Made in the USA!! Nice!


Interestingly enough the sidewall says AT-C, which reminded me of Cooper's "ST-C" tread compound that's used on several tires, and touted as "cut and chip resistant". Being curious, I checked the mfg code, and sure enough, they're made by Cooper Tire in Findlay Ohio. Probably the same tread rubber compound as cooper's ST, STT, and ST Maxx, which all seem to use the ST-C compound.


And finally a shot of the last one mounted on a 16x6" wheel.


I'm getting pretty good at changing tires using two spoons. (Ok, sometimes I cheat and use a 3rd one...) I can put a tire on the wheel in about 2 minutes. Takes a little longer to get them off the wheel, but not much. I didn't balance these at all for now. I have some heavy airsoft BB's coming in the mail, and I'm planning to try them out if needed. The front two didn't seem to have any issues on my way to work, but I'll find out if they need some balancing tomorrow now that I have all 5 mounted up. I'll get a picture of them on the Jeep too.

Stay tuned for my take on noise, traction, and overall performance!
(These will be on the TJ until I can get my old 16x8 aluminum wheels cleaned up and a set of 255/85 ST Maxx tires delivered, which is probably more than a month away.)
Chris

 

[88Xj]

Huh very interested in this review. We just got the americas tire "pathfinder sport" which reminds me of the cooper at3 & hankook at. Very nice looking tire.

I'm up between them & the wild peaks, may wait a bit and see how these do to.

 

[alan]

we have been selling these tires in Australia for years and using them on our own 4x4's they are just as good as any brand on the market for 1/2 the price!

 

[jpat30]

They look great. Two questions; what do they measure out at height wise and how much do you think they weigh? Thanks in advance.

 

[1stDeuce]

I just measured them at 31" static loaded height. (36psi) Looks like the diameter is about 31.5", as measured with a tape an one eye shut... Site says 31.77", so that's probably a more accurate number. It's hard to measure without giant calipers or something like that... They were actually a little taller than the 1/2 worn set of 285 STMaxx's on my friend's 4-runner!

They weigh 41 or 42lbs each according to my bathroom scale. Hercules site says 40lbs. My scale is probably not that accurate...

Just poking and pinching the sidewall before I mounted them up, they feel substantial. I wouldn't expect a load range E tire to feel thin, but I was nice to feel a much thicker sidewall than the C's that I took off the wheels. I don't think I'll have problems.

They do look a little small on my TJ, but I'm running about 2" of lift, which would probably like a 255/85 a little better. They're not bad though, and I love the skinny look!


Next two pictures of the rear tire at 36psi. I used to run 215/85's at 40, so I figured these would need a little less. Looks pretty good to me. The outer 1/4" of tread is a slightly more black, so I might have just a tiny bit too much in them yet, but they drive and ride very well, so I'll probably run them like this for now.



My drive to work revealed no balance issues at 65mph. That's with no weights or beads, so I might not dump beads in unless I get some bounce on the highway. I think this speaks for how well the tires are made that they aren't balanced and aren't out of balance enough to feel. (Generally 2.5oz's out will cause a bounce on my jeep, so they're balanced better than that!)

I'm very happy with these tires! They have an amazing amount of siping too, so I'm expecting good things from rain, snow, ice, etc.
Stay tuned!!

 

[jpat30]

Thanks for the quick response and the close up pics. I am in the market for new rubber and these present another great option. They look super, are made in the States, and at 40lbs are significantly lighter than the other options that I was considering. Thanks again.

 

[1stDeuce]

Snow Traction

Thanks Colorado for not waiting too long to give me some snow so I can see what these tires do!!
After being sunny and 60 Tuesday, it's 11F out today, and we got several inches of snow! It's packed on the roads in lots of places, with intermittent snirt where they've tried to keep intersections from freezing over.

I'm still loving these tires! I normally use 4wd to scoot out into traffic when the roads are snowy, and with my worn STT's or the AT/S's that I was recently running, I could easily drift my way into the lane, and continue to spin all four tires if I stayed in the throttle. This morning, I never put it in 4wd, and had no problems pulling out into traffic. If I really get on it, I can slip the rear tires, but they are still hoooking up and accelerating me! I'm sure the narrow width is helping, but I'd rate these tires very similar to the Cooper AT3's we put on my girlfriend's Liberty. Kinda takes the fun out of driving in the snow, but that's OK with me for now.

Oh, and looking at my tracks in the light snow areas, it's evident that I am still running a little too much pressure. The edges of the tread are hardly making any contact... I'll try 33psi and see if that works better. I'm sure traction will improve some more...

Might be a while before I get to try them on the rocks... Then again, I'm moving to Farmington NM in a few weeks, so you never know...

 

[tommudd]

What wheels are you running? Just curious since I've been trying to find some narrow 16 inch like those
Thanks

 

[1stDeuce]

What wheels are you running? Just curious since I've been trying to find some narrow 16 inch like those
Thanks

They are wheels from a military jeep program that Chrysler did with Egypt I think. AAV was the organizer, and there were YJ and TJ versions.
http://www.cherokee-fr.com/~jeepfamily/Afrique/Egypte/AAVYJL/AAVWranglerYJL.htm

The wheels have the Chrysler pentastar on them, and say made in Brazil. They were never put on any US vehicles.

Best wheels for what you're looking for are on a KJ Liberty, and they're 16x7 I believe. There were other aluminum 16x7's, but I'm not aware of any 16x6 wheels. Perhaps stockton could make you a set??

 

[tommudd]

Thanks,
I have plenty of junk ugly stock KJ wheels laying around already, not what I am looking for.

May have to go with a custom wheel from Stockton or one of the other wheel places

 

[1stDeuce]

I hear ya. I don't know why they went with such an ugly design for the base KJ steel wheel.

You might check out Ford Explorer/Ranger wheels... If there was a space saver spare available, the wheel might be suitable, and would be the correct bolt pattern if it's a solid axle rear. Not sure about the pattern on newer IRS Explorers.

I've seen wheels that look VERY similar to mine on UHaul trailers too, but I bet they're 14's or 15's, not 16's. If you did find some 16" UHaul wheels, I bet they'd be HEAVY! (Which reminds me to say that the 16x6" wheels I have weigh a ton...)
Good luck!!

 

[1stDeuce]

Well, I haven't put a lot of miles on the AT2's, but enough to still like them!! I was planning to swap them onto a Comanche project, and pick up a new set of 255/85 STMaxx's, but moving put a hold on most all of that... I've had these tires in snow, ice, rain, sand, and even a tiny bid of mud, and still have no problems with them. I have the pressure set at 33-34psi for normal driving. There's a good bit of sidewall bulge, but with more pressure the outer tread blocks only touch about half way. I think they would prefer a 6.5" or 7" wheel, rather than the 6" wheels I mounted them on.

On another note, the size is working quite well, and with a fairly huge cost difference between 255/85 and 235/85, I may opt to just stick with the 235's instead of going to 255's. I'm sure once or twice in the next 5 years I'll miss the extra .4" of clearance, but it's really not that critical 99.99% of the time... Meanwhile, I'm going to put some more miles and these AT2's and see how they like a little spring snow wheeling!!

 

[kojackJKU]

I am running a set of these in 265/70/17 on my z71 suburban family hauler. Im acutally quite impressed with them. We drove 7 hrs in a huge snow storm this pass weekend to get a flight to sunny florida, and they worked great. I only wish that I went with a 285 for summer wheeling. I am going with a 2.5" lift on front and 1.5" on the rear with the burb to fit 285s on a nice wheel. Be able to haul loads of gear to the cottage etc in it.

 

[millerfish]

I have a set on my 2WD Ranger. Excellent dry road traction and have good traction on non paved surface.

 

[kojackJKU]

They work awesome in snow. I use them plowing with the burb. No issues.