Best overall tire suited for Overlanding/Expo?

[NCtrail4R]

Running a set of 285/75/16 E Duratracs and have been pleased with the ride/traction. Mine have around 40,000 miles on them now and are probably good for around 5,000 more on road. Tread depth is getting a little low to maintain traction offroad, though. A mild MT or aggressive AT tire suits my needs well and I have no complaints with the Duratracs. They have gotten a little louder as they've worn, but not too bad.
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My only concern with them is the durability of the sidewalls. I haven't had a problem but had a friend cut a sidewall on a mildly rocky trail that I've been on many times - the rock caught the tire just right (or wrong). Have also read of other sidewall issues.
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Thinking of going with something a little tougher next time around. Torn between a tire like the Hankook MTs (a mild MT with closer lug spacing), and the ST Maxx (aggressive AT tire with good reviews so far). Both seem to have tougher sidewall with similar ride qualities. The lack of siping on the Hankooks is a little concerning, but they get decent reviews for wet traction. Can't have it all, though and I see that the ST Maxx is a pretty heavy tire due to the tough casing. The Hankooks won a mud tire shootout against all the big boys so I think they'll be plenty of tire for my needs!
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Searching around I've found some pretty good examples of the capabilities of the ST Maxx. This group's videos show trucks running the same trails with different tires/trucks so you can see that the ST Maxx perform well against some dedicated MTs. Check out their other vids for a range of trucks and setups. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hoHuB-qFkQM
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I'll keep watching this thread!

 

[Arclight]

I have about 5K miles on my Silent Armors and I like them. I'm running them on a Toyota T100, and I do a lot of desert exploring and search and rescue, which can take us anywhere. So far, they have been good on snow/ice, are quiet on the highway, and aggressive enough for the off-roading I do. I have not had to go through deep mud so far.

For a lot of us, a typical trip involves 300mi of highway driving and then 50 miles of good-to-bad dirt roads. These tires work well in this application. I also see them on a lot of fleet vehicles, like logging trucks and public safety stuff.

Arclight

I went through 2 sets of the old style MTR's in 285/75/16 perhaps a moot issue since newer MTR's are on the market. The old MTR's would dig into sand before any forward motion and great on all other off road surfaces, road wear was poor. On my third set of Silent Armor's in (2 sets) 285/75/16 and now 235/85/16 I consider them the best overall tire under all conditions on my K2500 Burb. I had found that the factory suspension bushings was the weak link that contributed to excessive tire wear on the IFS on my K2500 Burb.

I'll soon be changing out gear sets to run 35"+- tires.

Picture show the 285/75/16 MTR mounted to 16" ALCOA's then 235/85/16 Silent Armor mounted on factory steel.

View attachment 96271View attachment 96272

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

They also have the snowflake symbol which I'm told is only available on the E rated BFG ATs (?).

Nope, I have C rated 33x10.50x15 BFG AT's and have the snowflake on mine. So did my old C rated BFG AT 30x9.50x15's.

 

[Dazrin]

Nope, I have C rated 33x10.50x15 BFG AT's and have the snowflake on mine. So did my old C rated BFG AT 30x9.50x15's.

Tire Rack shows which tires do and don't have the snowflake symbol - go to the "Specs" tab here. The tires that say "Not Rated For Severe Snow " do NOT have the snowflake symbol. Most have it, some don't and some sizes are available both ways.

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

Tire Rack shows which tires do and don't have the snowflake symbol - go to the "Specs" tab here. The tires that say "Not Rated For Severe Snow " do NOT have the snowflake symbol. Most have it, some don't and some sizes are available both ways.

Why are you telling me this?

 

[Dazrin]

Because you were the easiest one to quote - there were several questions about which ones have the snowflake or not, so I thought I would provide an easy reference to see which ones are and are not.

 

[NorthernWoodsman]

Because you were the easiest one to quote - there were several questions about which ones have the snowflake or not, so I thought I would provide an easy reference to see which ones are and are not.

Ahh, got it. Thanks for the link too.

 

[T.Low]

Australian 4wd Action No 167 (2011). Awesome tire test of All Terrains. I just spent a half our explaining the test and it's results and my observations of said results, but expo timid me out and my text was lost. Maybe later.

I enco urage someone with better Google **** than I to find and post a link to it.

 

[Hilldweller]

http://www.leichtstyres.com/images/CooperSTMAXX-test.pdf

Can't say I agree with their top pick: http://www.jaxquickfit.com.au/pirelli-tops-offroad-tyre

 

[T.Low]

http://www.leichtstyres.com/images/CooperSTMAXX-test.pdf

Can't say I agree with their top pick: http://www.jaxquickfit.com.au/pirelli-tops-offroad-tyre

Yeah, that is most of my text that did not somehow make it into my post.

My first reaction was surprise: it's such a street looking tire, there's no way it could legitimately be the winner.

Then I realized two of my own personal observations over the last 5 years that made me understand how they could very well be right.

My jobsite truck is an '06 F150 4x4 with factory 20"s and Pirelli Scorpian ATRs. The truck had traction both in the dirt and on wet hilly corners where my Dodge Ram had previously always slipped. Never really thought to attribute it to the tires, though.

One day even though I grew up driving In Michigan snow, I found myself at the top of a super steep ascent, single lane wide, off camber with just enough turns to make the two inches of virgin snow look terrifying. Great, I'm going to put my company truck over the edge. It crawled down the long steep ascent without loosing any grip whatsoever.

I was astonished. No less than 30 cars were in the ditch in this mountain neighborhood development (Sudden Valley, Wa. )

The second observation I was living on a weekly basis for the last 5 years: I ride a Gas Gas 450 EC competition enduro. At 54 hp/250 lb bike, there is none faster or more powerful. Many of us here in the Pnw have switched from a knobby rear tire to a specific trials tire instead; the Pirelli MT 43 , because the trials tire is designed to grip wet rocks and wet roots, and even wet loose hill climbs. The traction is incredible.

An illustration of the traction of the Pirelli mt43 is seen near the local orv park staging area. The high traffic trails that head out from the staging area are super steep, so many of them are paved with ecology block to prevent them from simply turning into a massive eroded bike swallowing rut.

While knobbies are sliding out and spinning on these wet dirty blocks, I'm wheelieing up these trails with the trials tire on.

Same with wet log rides and slimy wooden bridges. And it always surprises the heck out of people on the loose hill climbs.

A knobby digs, a trials tire grips.

Pirelli has simply put their trials and racing technology into the Scorpian ATR and it grips.

Makes perfect sense to me after thinking about my own experiences with Pirelli.

I'm leaning more toward the Cooper because I want a3ply sidewall, vs the 2 on most ATs.

The bad sidewall reputation is keeping me away from the Duratrac.

 

[RememberTheFallen]

Only problem with that idea is thick mud or clay. I ran a mt43 on my Husaberg for quite a while. Although it was great in a lot of situations in was absolutely horrible in Georgia clay or boggy mud. Sticky tire technology can go only go so far before you need some more wheel speed and more room between the lugs to clean them out. I am also surprised that such a street oriented tire was picked as top overland tire.




"The second observation I was living on a weekly basis for the last 5 years: I ride a Gas Gas 450 EC competition enduro. At 54 hp/250 lb bike, there is none faster or more powerful. Many of us here in the Pnw have switched from a knobby rear tire to a specific trials tire instead; the Pirelli MT 43 , because the trials tire is designed to grip wet rocks and wet roots, and even wet loose hill climbs. The traction is incredible.

An illustration of the traction of the Pirelli mt43 is seen near the local orv park staging area. The high traffic trails that head out from the staging area are super steep, so many of them are paved with ecology block to prevent them from simply turning into a massive eroded bike swallowing rut.

While knobbies are sliding out and spinning on these wet dirty blocks, I'm wheelieing up these trails with the trials tire on.

Same with wet log rides and slimy wooden bridges. And it always surprises the heck out of people on the loose hill climbs.

A knobby digs, a trials tire grips.

Pirelli has simply put their trials and racing technology into the Scorpian ATR and it grips."


(Screwed that quote up!)

 

[stolz]

I think it's more about personal opinion. The tire topic can go on for days and days, if not months.

 

[T.Low]

Years actually. This thread is over two years old.

The Pirelli wasn't "picked", it placed high enough in all the events to outs core every tire in the end. It empirically out climbed the BFG AT, out mud bogged it, out performed it in the dirt slalom, etc.

 

[daddyusmaximus]

My truck had Silent Armors on it when I bought it. They were great on the road, including snow covered roads. Once I left the pavement... not so good. Like Buliwyf stated, break through the grass and you end up spinning in the slick mud. At least you weren't digging a hole, but you were not going anywhere either. I couldn't get up the slight grade in my own back yard without engaging the front axel. I run Toyo Open Country MTs now. They are well mannered on the street for a mud tire. Not to loud, just a nice low hum. Very good in snow too. Not great on ice, but nothing really is short of a dedicated winter tire. Off road they really shine. Very good grip, and tough side lugs for when you're aired down. Pretty good in mud, always a concern in the Midwest where I live. Over kill for a daily driver, but it's my one and only truck, so I need it to be ready to go to the worst places I want to take it. I chose to go slow and easy on the street with a mud tire, for a better chance at getting stuck less often in the boonies. I'm retired Army, and don't work, so I'm seldom in a hurry anyway. Mud tires will get you down any street. Street or AT tires may not do it on the trail.
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BTW, I also go "slow and easy" off road, unless I need momentum to get through a mud hole.

 

[Hilldweller]

I've only seen a Scorpion in the GA mud once. It was comical. Absolutely no traction. It was the most sideways I ever saw a Land Rover go.