I'm also intrigued by the FCII. Seems like it might be a nice balance of noise, traction and wear and in a different looking package. It's probably a really neat tire with unappreciated attributes and style, unpopular because it's not a 'big name' brand... or it's a so-so tire that is nothing special. I'm betting they might be pretty cool and Haggis' opinion counts for a lot.
Cooper
Yep, I'm still undecided on the pros & cons of the 'chip/cut resistant' tread compound on the 285 S/T-Cs. I missed a call this afternoon from an engineer at Cooper. I waiting to hear if the tread compound is 'harder or softer' to be chip resistant, but regardless of what the facts are the compound is certainly 'different' and per the sliding scale on Cooper's site the S/T-C tread is NOT as good for winter traction but it better for off-road.
I still like my skinny little S/Ts. They might be a little too narrow and soft, which is noticeable in the turns as there is little yaw resistance, but still a great all-around tire. Might be weak but I haven't popped one yet, but they haven't seen tons of off-highway use like my Maxxis Bighorns either.
Mickey Thompson/******** Cepek
Today I spoke with a guy at Mickey Thompson who was pretty helpful (they own ******** Cepek and I think Cooper owns them both - Cooper at least builds all the tires).
I asked about the Fun Country's resistance to cutting and he said they are pretty good at resisting cutting/chipping as they are a "harder" all-terrain tread compound. When asked about the exact construction of the tread plies he originally told me they are a 6-ply tread. After walking out to read the construction on the tire sidewall and calling me back we learned they have a 5-ply tread.
Sidewall is 2 polyester plies
Tread: 2 Steel, 2 Poly, 1 Nylon
This sounds good as the additional nylon ply should help strengthen the tire, this is the same plies as the Maxxis Bighorns.
Then I asked him about noise and void ratios. Obviously the MTZ has more void and more noise. When it comes to the FCII and the ATZ he couldn't make a definitive call about noise, but agreed that the FCII was a more aggressive all-terrain than the ATZ because of the outer tread lugs with a higher void ratio - a "hybrid design" just like their advertising says (one of the things I like about the tire).
I also called a custom Jeep builder/ shop owner I'm casually aquatinted with from Oregon. I remember he or one of his guys mentioning the FCII a couple years ago and I wanted some additional input. He said it's a good tire, and quiet. He doesn't have enough miles on them to comment on wear. His only negative was that they don't “look” aggressive enough when he puts them on a built-up Jeep to match the overall look of the build.
285/75R16 Fit?
The real rub ☺ here is will a 285 even fit on my Mall Crawler without additional mods? My fear is the answer is NO from all the stuff I have read on Toyota120.com and the FJC Forum. I don't mind a little rubbing, but too much that damages the car body or tires, or inhibits off-highway performance is not okay.
I might have an opportunity to borrow a buddy BFG ATs in this size, we'll see.
The jury is till out
I had originally posted this over in my Cruiser thread when you asked about the MTZ tire but the comments are valid here...
Both the Cooper and ******** Cepek would be good tires. I've seen a few FCII first hand and was intrigued by them. Back in Canada, a member of our local off road group purchased a set of ******** Cepek Mud Country tires in 33" x 12.5" and was very pleased with their performance (might as well throw one more in the mix for you...:sombrero
. One concern about the Coopers ST-C is that the rubber compound may be too hard. No first hand experience but somthing to look into.
Cheers,
P
