Tire wear question.

[njtaco]

:iagree:

I have to agree...those tires look too beat for a cross-country trip, then trusting off-road, then back, etc... (IHMO)

They may be too beat already to sell at this point.

You would have to weigh in on 4 BFG ATKO's, or 5 Geolanders, for example, since you have a BFG spare to rotate in...assuming you go with an AT.

Good luck with your decision.

 

[crawler#976]

I used BFG's M/T's exclusively from 1986 until 2001 with one exception when I bought a set of A/T's - thought I'd see if I could get more than 18,000 out of a set of tires for a change. At the time they were the best available in radial OHV tires.

When the one (and only set, never again will I own a set of BFG A/T's or MT's for that matter - but that's a whole 'nuther story) set of BFG A/T's reached the same level of wear as yours have, I started to get some really weird blisters forming between the tread blocks. After the blisters opened we found the steel cords were poking up out of the tread. They say the tire carcass is the same as the M/T, but I never had the same problem with worn M/T's.

I tried to get them replaced, but the BFG rep refused to do so. They accused me of using the tires for desert racing, calling the damage high speed stone bruising. I had been driving over the typical lava mesa top trails found in central AZ. in my old 1970 GMC short bed. It's rough country, brutal on tires terrain no doubt, but certainly not done at racing speeds. On most of those trails you can't get above 5 MPH without beating the crap out'ta your rig and yourself.

Anyway, I'd not be willing to run the high country trails on those tires.

____________


I know a lot of guys replace tires at 50% wear, but frankly I can't afford a set of new shoes once a year. I average 14,000 annually, and usually get 2 years out of a set of tires on my daily driver. On my wife's truck the set of siped MT/R's have 24,000 on them - I expect to get well over 40,000 on them before they need replacement.

Traction wise I've not noticed an appreciable loss at below 50% with MT'R's in dry conditions. The compound is still soft enough to provide good grip. Obviously the traction suffers some in mud or snow at below 50%, but again, it's not that bad.

 

[Pskhaat]

I don't think they looked bad at all, obviously quite contrary to the other responses...

 

[RoundOut]

Ok, got some pics. I warn you, I am not so good with the camera. Either that, or the camera is not so good.....

Anyway, tried to get snaps of the wear bars, which I still have a way to go on those, and also tried to capture the cracks I was talking about in the valleys. I could not find the plug I know I have seen before, but I might have found a nail :yikes: gotta get that looked at. Looks like it has been there a while (rusty).

Anyway, take a look and see if you can decipher anything. I also did the 'coin in the tread' deal, both on the tires on the truck and the never-used spare, for comparo.

This looks pretty nasty, but I didn't see any other parts that looked ready to fail:

 

[Wanderlusty]

This looks pretty nasty, but I didn't see any other parts that looked ready to fail:

:yikes:

Hadn't even noticed that! Will have to take another look and see if I can find that slash and see how deep it is.

Well, as far as getting new tires, I think I am leaning towards getting new ones if for no other reason than I have already convinced the wife that I need to buy them...and as this would most likely be a 'tax time' venture, if I don't get them this spring, it would probably be next spring before I could swing them again, and I think by then, they would be in poor shape, indeed.

My biggest conundrum now is that I really was planning to swap to MT's, but the AT's have always gotten me where I needed to go, even do pretty decent in mud.

I think the biggest issue with that is that I plan to go in the next few years a lot of places I have not gone, and thinking some of those places may be better suited for an MT....but I don't know.

I know a lot of guys on here run MT's....and don't live near any mud, so what is the advantage that makes you shell out the extra dough?

If I did get A/T's....I want to go into a 5 tire rotation. Is it good to keep that 4 year old tire and swap it in to the mix with new ones, or would it be better to just start with 5 'fresh' ones even if I did go with the AT's?

 

[crawler#976]

...I know a lot of guys on here run MT's....and don't live near any mud, so what is the advantage that makes you shell out the extra dough?

When I ran AT's they left me short of traction when I needed it the most - conditions like heavy wet snow, caliche clay, etc, etc. The only advantage I saw w/ an AT was in soft sand - not a common terrain in northern Arizona.

 

[DaveInDenver]

When I ran AT's they left me short of traction when I needed it the most - conditions like heavy wet snow, caliche clay, etc, etc. The only advantage I saw w/ an AT was in soft sand - not a common terrain in northern Arizona.

I think most people would agree that a MT is going to be preferred to an AT when the surface goes bad. Having run both I think on a daily driver the AT though gives you better on pavement performance and is still reasonable off highway. I think that's the point of an /all/ terrain tire. It's not perfect for specific tasks, but decent at most. On snow packed roads, though, I would much rather have an AT. In the David's case, looking ahead at long highway miles, I'd also prefer the lower noise and vibration of an AT, too.

 

[RoundOut]

MTs vs ATs

One has to balance the amount of trail miles and severity of them, versus the amount of road miles. Unfortunately, of my 77,600 miles, most of them are highway (I bet more than 76,500 of them, in fact). I wish it were not so! ATs for me.

No question, the compound on MTs is softer than that on ATs, which means fewer miles traveled before replacement. This should also give better mechanical keying on hard surfaces, though.

My BFGs already have 35,000 on them and look pretty good for another 5-10,000. I'll keep the best one and use it as my spare, when I get 4 new ones in a few months. Unless my lifestye can afford the change, it'll be 4 new BFG ATs for me. I just can't justify the shorter life of MTs. I envy those of you who can!

 

[SeaRubi]

yeah - those are looking pretty tired; I'd replace them before a big trip.

MT vs. AT ... with no lugs on the outside of the tire, they have a tough time gripping things like rock shelfs or slick tree roots. Even in just a couple inches of soft, dry soil A/T's will spin around. Here in the PNW, most of the trails you're barely getting by on an MT ... swampers are the way to go on a trail rig but I refuse to run 'em on philisophical objections rngartis

if you plan on wheeling (not adventuring down dirt roads) alot then get some good MT's. I think BFG's have the best tread life, but I'd find it difficult to pay full price for a set. I've been eyeing the Maxxis Bighorns as replacement candidates for my GY-MT/R's.

 

[86cj]

I have worn out many sets of BFG A/t's in the last 20 yrs. I have never ran them till bald. They get to a point where they start to puncture from debris in the road or start to come apart. At this point they show signs of dry rubber like poor wet grip not due to being bald. Seems like after 5 yrs this starts to happen regarless of tread depth.

I am still a fan though, because this is after most tires would have been worn out long ago.The tires that came apart all had high mileage but decent tread depth. On heavy vehicles 50,000 miles or more is not a problem and lighter trucks 80,000 or more is common if they don't get to old. I have never had a problem with a newer BFG A/T and the street snow performance is great.