Clawhammer
Adventurer
I thought I'd post a little review information for anyone who's interested in running this tire, or this tire size on a smaller 4x4, since there's not just a whole lot of info out there.
I've got an '04 Taco with 120k or so on the clock. It's got a 2" OME lift and when I went to buy new tires, I decided to go with 235/85's (mainly because I like the "utilitarian" look, but the price didn't hurt) instead of the 265/75's I had before. The Cooper's had good reviews, aggressive tread, and a decently long mileage rating, so I went with them.
Now, I had a few bad experiences out of the gate. First off, the tire shop had trouble getting them balanced. After a couple tries, it's pretty good, very livable, but not perfect. Ok, I can deal with that. Secondly, the tires initially felt a little "splashy." It's hard to describe, but in sudden evasive maneuvers, the truck wouldn't feel planted to the road, if you know what I mean. I think this was due to the taller sidewall giving some flex that I'm not used to. Anyway, this seems to have gone away after about 3,000 miles and they feel better now. The tire shop initially had about 48 lbs of pressure in my tires (!) and the handling was awful. I lowered things to about 34 lbs, and found it much more to my liking. That's about all I can say bad about this tire/size. Onto the good...
I took off from Ohio on I80 headed toward Colorado a couple weeks ago. At 80mph the tires did fine, some road noise and some vibration, but nothing I'd be concerned about from an off-road-ish tire. I ran several passes and Jeep trails out there and I have to say, these tires took them like a champ.
I ran Gore Pass first, which is pretty mild but did have a few moderate parts. I never lost traction, and although my engine did seem to strain a bit at higher elevation on some of the steeper grades, I made it over fine. Next up was Weston Pass near Leadville. Once again, this was a fairly mild trail and I didn't have trouble getting traction. I also ran Big Union Gulch, Trough Road, Homestake Creek (up to Holy Cross where the trail got wild and I turned back) and a handful of forest service roads and was pretty impressed overall.
Hagerman Pass had opened the day before I got to it, and i knew that although this trail is rated as moderate, it was going to be a little tough this early in the season. There were washouts, ruts, water crossings (I need to lube my leafs now, they're squeaking like crazy after driving though the water!), very rocky sections, some mud, some fairly deep mud, and of course, snow at the pass. I also rain some of Mosquito Pass, but decided to turn back where there was a series of mangled culverts that I was concerned could slice a tire. Mosquito Pass was roughest of any I ran, but I only did a portion of it.
Through it all, the tires stuck and I made it out just fine. I should point out that I don't have a rear locker, and I did not air down. Granted, I probably should have aired down, but not having a tire pump with me, I decided to take my chances. I did gear down often, of course, though I never felt the need to go to 4L. I have to say, if you can adjust to some handling differences while you wait for the tires to break in, I think the Maxx's will serve you pretty well.
Just though I'd share in case it would help anyone out. Travel safe!
I've got an '04 Taco with 120k or so on the clock. It's got a 2" OME lift and when I went to buy new tires, I decided to go with 235/85's (mainly because I like the "utilitarian" look, but the price didn't hurt) instead of the 265/75's I had before. The Cooper's had good reviews, aggressive tread, and a decently long mileage rating, so I went with them.
Now, I had a few bad experiences out of the gate. First off, the tire shop had trouble getting them balanced. After a couple tries, it's pretty good, very livable, but not perfect. Ok, I can deal with that. Secondly, the tires initially felt a little "splashy." It's hard to describe, but in sudden evasive maneuvers, the truck wouldn't feel planted to the road, if you know what I mean. I think this was due to the taller sidewall giving some flex that I'm not used to. Anyway, this seems to have gone away after about 3,000 miles and they feel better now. The tire shop initially had about 48 lbs of pressure in my tires (!) and the handling was awful. I lowered things to about 34 lbs, and found it much more to my liking. That's about all I can say bad about this tire/size. Onto the good...
I took off from Ohio on I80 headed toward Colorado a couple weeks ago. At 80mph the tires did fine, some road noise and some vibration, but nothing I'd be concerned about from an off-road-ish tire. I ran several passes and Jeep trails out there and I have to say, these tires took them like a champ.
I ran Gore Pass first, which is pretty mild but did have a few moderate parts. I never lost traction, and although my engine did seem to strain a bit at higher elevation on some of the steeper grades, I made it over fine. Next up was Weston Pass near Leadville. Once again, this was a fairly mild trail and I didn't have trouble getting traction. I also ran Big Union Gulch, Trough Road, Homestake Creek (up to Holy Cross where the trail got wild and I turned back) and a handful of forest service roads and was pretty impressed overall.
Hagerman Pass had opened the day before I got to it, and i knew that although this trail is rated as moderate, it was going to be a little tough this early in the season. There were washouts, ruts, water crossings (I need to lube my leafs now, they're squeaking like crazy after driving though the water!), very rocky sections, some mud, some fairly deep mud, and of course, snow at the pass. I also rain some of Mosquito Pass, but decided to turn back where there was a series of mangled culverts that I was concerned could slice a tire. Mosquito Pass was roughest of any I ran, but I only did a portion of it.
Through it all, the tires stuck and I made it out just fine. I should point out that I don't have a rear locker, and I did not air down. Granted, I probably should have aired down, but not having a tire pump with me, I decided to take my chances. I did gear down often, of course, though I never felt the need to go to 4L. I have to say, if you can adjust to some handling differences while you wait for the tires to break in, I think the Maxx's will serve you pretty well.
Just though I'd share in case it would help anyone out. Travel safe!
