Am I a looney toon? 37" AT's

[CreeperSleeper]

Chad, can you elaborate a little? I have been eying that tire for a couple years and thought about running it. Do you have any specs on it? sidewall?

I don't have any specs on the 37. I am running a 285 on my 100 Series and I can tell you they work a heck of a lot better than a BFG AT or Duratrac on that application. I have also watched them in the rocks (dry) and was amazed at how they stuck. I'm completely sold on them!

 

[pmccumber]

With all the tire choices now, including very aggressive All Terrains to mild Mud Terrains, it seems harder than ever to make a decision.

I am in a similar dilemma. As I go up in tire size I fight the natural inclination to go more aggressive on the tread pattern. More clearance = more capable = more aggressive off road tire. I don't think that is necessarily the case though. I am currently on 33 mud terrains. My vehicle does a lot of highway miles to get to those off roading destinations. Also, I live in the west and most of the wheeling I've done tends to be in in rocks, dry dirt, sand, etc. As such it seems like I wouldn't lose anything off road by going to an aggressive all terrain, and only gain in the area of on-road (and desert) performance. Not a lot of mud, but hey, you always want to be prepared right?

For me, a strong carcass is a big requirement, with all the rocky terrain I travel on. As long as I can find a tire with a strong carcass, I would consider an aggressive AT as I go up in size. However, I'm still fighting that inclination to just go with another MT.

FWIW, here's an article that might give you some more perspective. MOAB is one of the terrains covered in the article...they recommend an MT for MOAB.
http://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/1201-4wd-all-terrain-vs-mud-terrain-tires/

Cheers! :sombrero:

I'm definitely with him ^. I have 35" Toyo MTs and while they are everything I hoped (lots of clearance, extremely durable, ...) I regret buying them. Even though I have regeared to 488s I'm still going to go with a 295s on the next iteration and get a good AT tire. The rolling resistance is huge. IMO, we overdo it so much. The tire size helps offroading for sure but you lose a lot on the road going bigger too. And 37s on stock gearing would be pretty rough at altitude here.

 

[Expedition.Report]

I have been running 37" BGF K/O's for two years now, I would keep them when I am forced to switch to my next set of tires.... if they made it in my size (moving to a 16'' rim)

 

[JLee]

I'm definitely with him ^. I have 35" Toyo MTs and while they are everything I hoped (lots of clearance, extremely durable, ...) I regret buying them. Even though I have regeared to 488s I'm still going to go with a 295s on the next iteration and get a good AT tire. The rolling resistance is huge. IMO, we overdo it so much. The tire size helps offroading for sure but you lose a lot on the road going bigger too. And 37s on stock gearing would be pretty rough at altitude here.

35's (315/75R16) on my 80 was miserable with stock gears (50mph uphill). I couldn't imagine stock gears, 37's, and altitude.

 

[Sempertoy]

I am not sure if it is general commentary, or a writing deficiency on my part, but for some reason readers think I am geared stock. This is not the case. I am running 5.29's.

 

[pmccumber]

I am not sure if it is general commentary, or a writing deficiency on my part, but for some reason readers think I am geared stock. This is not the case. I am running 5.29's.

Well that is an ENTIRELY different story! You're committed brother. Anything less than 35s and you'll be buzzy. Do it up. It will be a wheeling beast. Road manners might suffer but that thing will wheel like never before.

 

[Sempertoy]

Well that is an ENTIRELY different story! You're committed brother. Anything less than 35s and you'll be buzzy. Do it up. It will be a wheeling beast. Road manners might suffer but that thing will wheel like never before.

LOL! I need to take my descriptive writing class again. I have been running 37"s for over two years, and have about one year, and two trips to Utah on my 5.29's. Yes, they make a huge difference.

 

[CreeperSleeper]

Wait, you want to step up to 37's?!? :lurk:

Okay, back to the question at hand. I don't think that you will miss running a MT 90% of the time. Out of the other 10%, 9 of them will be when you turn to look at your 80 as you walk away from it, just because of looks. I think the benefits of an AT outweigh the negatives for you at this point.

As to which AT, that gets into personal experience... You know what I prefer, but you can't go wrong with a BFG A/T either. They are just expensive for what they are IMO. As for the Nitto, I haven't been impressed or disappointed from what I have seen. However, they are made by Toyo, which are the WORST tires ever created, so they sure wouldn't get my money. Again, just my opinion.

 

[Sempertoy]

Wait, you want to step up to 37's?!? :lurk:

Okay, back to the question at hand. I don't think that you will miss running a MT 90% of the time. Out of the other 10%, 9 of them will be when you turn to look at your 80 as you walk away from it, just because of looks. I think the benefits of an AT outweigh the negatives for you at this point.

As to which AT, that gets into personal experience... You know what I prefer, but you can't go wrong with a BFG A/T either. They are just expensive for what they are IMO. As for the Nitto, I haven't been impressed or disappointed from what I have seen. However, they are made by Toyo, which are the WORST tires ever created, so they sure wouldn't get my money. Again, just my opinion.

Ok, well you have convinced me. I have read tirelessly trying to find good things about the terra grapplers and no one really has any great things to say about them. Shame too, because they will get here tomorrow.

I have decided on the KO2's or the wild peaks. KO2 seem like the best compromise for me. More aggressive tire, better sidewall.

 

[CreeperSleeper]

I think you would be happy with the KO2's or the Wild Peaks. The KO2's are more aggressive but I'm not sold on the better sidewall. I've killed a lot of BFG tires with sidewall slashes!

 

[jsexton]

I'll chim in - I've had quite a few different AT's and the Nitto Terra Grapplers are by far the best I have ran to date. They ride amazing on the road, have great snow/ice traction, and do well offroad for an AT. My sister has 80k on a set on her 4runner (285/70R17). They are due for replacement now but WOW.

I'm comparing these to Firestone Destination A/T, Bridgestone Dualler A/T, BF Goodrich AT/KO, Dunlop radial rover A/T, Mastercraft Courser AT - the nitto's blow all of those away.

 

[Sempertoy]

Thanks for making this so much easier for me.

 

[DirtAddictLC80]

For the folks who wheel their rigs and also run an AT tire, any particular reason not to consider the Cooper STMaxx?

Don't have these myself, but they are aggressive for an AT and have strong sidewalls (most of the benefits of an MT without the drawbacks).

 

[Sempertoy]

This is turning out to be a very hard decision. I swear I have made important life decisions easier than this. I went and looked at the nitto's. I thought they looked alright, but ended up cancelling my order.

I have a lead on KO2's in town. I think I will check those out.

 

[rickashay]

I think your reasoning for wanting to run a smaller tire with your stock gears makes sense....... Oh wait. Nm.

Haha sorry I had to. If your thinking of getting away from an MT i would seriously consider one of the "hybrid" tires. To me (this is completely subjective) you have regular AT tires like the Bfg or the Nitto. In today's tire market you have tires that kind of bridge the gap between the two: new Toyo R/T or the Cooper ST Maxx. These tires provide the longevity and more respectful daily driving characteristics while still allowing you to get 90‰ of the performance of a true MT in the nasty stuff.

I have ran a ton of tires on my Toy's and I loved my ST Maxx's and hated my old BFG A/T with a passion. That being said and knowing how excellent of a tire my current Toyo's are, I would seriously be considering the R/T if I wanted to get out of the MT tires..... Just to make your decision that much easier.