Tire comparisons, Owner ratings chart. What's good and what's hype

[zouch]

can you please confirm; you're referring to the Mickey MTs here, right? (i haven't seen the ATs listed in a 40 yet,...)

[snip]

Mickey Thompson Baja Boss 40
Noise = 7
Wear = 7
Ride = 8
Dry =8
Wet = 8
Snow = 8
Mud = 8
Sand = 9
Trail = 10
Look = 10
Overall = 9
Would I buy again? = Yes, my favorite tire so far, I don’t see myself moving away from this brand/ model.
[snip]

Sponsored

 

[OBJLU]

can you please confirm; you're referring to the Mickey MTs here, right? (i haven't seen the ATs listed in a 40 yet,...)

Yes mt

 

[Deleted User 38384]

2) Different environments. What do “mud”, ”wet traction”, “winter traction”, and “trails”, mean to you?

I think this is the biggest thing. Where you wheel is very important. The dirt here in Texas, is not the same as the dirt in Arizona, is not the same as the dirt in Florida. Different consistencies offer different experiences. Just cuz one tire may be good on trails in Texas, doesn't mean they'd respond the same in Florida. Air quality also plays a large part in soil. If you got it really humid climate, the soil will respond differently than it will in a very dry climate. Consistency and amounts of yearly rain also affect this. Local plants affect this. Case in point, dirt is not the same everywhere!

 

[doublethebass]

I think this is the biggest thing. Where you wheel is very important. The dirt here in Texas, is not the same as the dirt in Arizona, is not the same as the dirt in Florida. Different consistencies offer different experiences. Just cuz one tire may be good on trails in Texas, doesn't mean they'd respond the same in Florida. Air quality also plays a large part in soil. If you got it really humid climate, the soil will respond differently than it will in a very dry climate. Consistency and amounts of yearly rain also affect this. Local plants affect this. Case in point, dirt is not the same everywhere!

Agreed - same goes for snow

 

[dragoneggs]

I appreciate the diversity of opinions expressed in this thread. Lots of disagreement. There’s some agreement too, of course, but some folks hate tires that others love.

I think most differences can be explained by:
1) Different use balances (mostly highway with occasional trails? Mostly around town? For example, the drone of a loud mud tire is hardly noticeable if you’re seldom at highway speed. My brother’s use is about 50% trail, 45% around town at 45 mph and below, and 5% on the highway — so he almost never hears the irritating drone.)
2) Different environments. What do “mud”, ”wet traction”, “winter traction”, and “trails”, mean to you?
3) Different experience and frame of reference. Have you been driving offroad for three years in one place, or forty years all over the country?

I live in mountainous Oregon and my brother lives in mountainous Colorado. He never sees the slick, 18” deep, rock-embedded mud we deal with in Oregon’s coast range, so traction in “mud” means something different to him, and neither of us have anything like the bottomless, greasy, clay-based mud we knew as kids on the Georgia-Florida boarder (before Florida was converted to New York south). Similarly, when my brother wheels in snow, the good, large-lugged mud tires (like a Toyo MT) work great, because they’re almost always biting into packed snow, but those tires are a terrible choice for me, because much of our northwest snow is wetter, so it quickly compacts to ice, and the roads on the way to the trail are often covered in ice. The Toyo MT is the worst ice tire I have ever driven, bar none, because it’s a hard rubber compound with big lugs. They slip like football cleats on polished concrete. (On the other hand, the Toyo MT is a great tire if you live where there is no ice — they’re extremely quiet for such an aggressive tire, they wear forever, even on heavy diesel trucks, they aren’t prone to hydroplane, and they’re strong on mud and rocks.)

I’ve found the KO2s to be a great balance for trails as long as there’s no deep mud or snow, and they provide very good traction on ice and wet pavement, as long as there’s no standing water. Unfortunately, the comparatively tight tread pattern that improves their grip on ice and wet pavement also means they are less effective at evacuating water, so the big puddles on the interstate can be a real hazard, especially in a light jeep with oversized tires that want to float.

For my use in my current environment, the KO2 is the perfect summer tire. Studded Duratracs are the perfect winter tire. That’s the combination I run on my pickup. The Duratrac isn’t made in a 17 x 37, so I chose the studded Grabber ATX for the winter tire on the JLUR. Then, two years ago, I decided that I wouldn’t bother keeping studded tires for the Jeep, so I pulled the studs out of the ATXs and I’m using them as year-round rubber. When we have to travel in the ice we take the truck.

I’m two months shy of 47 years of Jeep ownership, almost all of which has been in Oregon’s various environments, but my opinions on tires have swung back and forth depending on environment, changes in my use, and my experience. We all tend to think the tires we have are great when they take us to amazing places and get us through sticky, scary spots, so I LOVED my old KO2s until one scary Thanksgiving episode in the mud (where we winched for hours to get home because I had no traction) and two terrifying hydroplane experiences in super-heavy diesel F-350 pickups running 35x12.50x16.5. I still think highly of the the KO2, but my opinion is tempered by it’s limitations. My opinion was very different before those three experiences.

All this rambling to say, all of our opinions should be taken with a grain of salt and considered through the lens of our use, experience, and environment.

Excellent post!!! Thank you.

I love my KO2s, running them for years on my F-150 and JLR. EXCEPT Freeway driving in lots of rain. I know now to slow down and watch for standing water.

 

[gdeyarmond]

Here is the VCS pricing sheet for Duratracs...

 

[Dusty Roads]

Was running KO2's on my work truck and averaged 15-16 thousand miles a set and pretty much just lived with buying two to three sets a year. This is a rough old West Texas ranch that eats up tires. My new truck I had them put the Ridge Grapplers on at the dealer. Fixing to order another set after 27 thousand, saved me at least one set of tires a year. They were quiet enough I put a set on my Jeep and it seems quieter and handles a little better on the road. It had the stock Firestones on it before.

 

[jeepoch]

Was running KO2's on my work truck and averaged 15-16 thousand miles a set and pretty much just lived with buying two to three sets a year. This is a rough old West Texas ranch that eats up tires. My new truck I had them put the Ridge Grapplers on at the dealer. Fixing to order another set after 27 thousand, saved me at least one set of tires a year. They were quiet enough I put a set on my Jeep and it seems quieter and handles a little better on the road. It had the stock Firestones on it before.

Mike, that's just phenomenal. I'm still on my first set of Goodyear Duratrac All Terrain 35x12.5x17's with over 55K miles. I do a ton of off roading here in Colorado on some very tough terrain. Maybe 10 to 15% of total miles driven. Granted, nearly all of the on-trail stuff is aired down to 15 psi.

On road they get aired up to 42 psi. I know many (many) people tell me that's too high. But that's been my secret sauce. This rubber has been remarkably impressive and I'll certainly look forward to replacing them somewhere in the next 20K miles. 60K to 70K on a single set. Clearly not the same experience.

I do also perform 5 tire rotations every 5K to 8K miles. These tires have been impressive in not only wear, but I get good fuel economy, just shy of 24 mpg average and they look cool, are quiet and ride great even in the CO snow.

And no, I own zero Goodyear stock. I just feel glad at chosing these. I had considered a lot of others including KO2's and Nitto's as well myself. At the time it felt like a crap-shoot at making the best choice.

Regardless, I'd go nuts replacing rubber as often as you. I may certainly be comparing apples to oranges but felt you needed some opposite experience feedback.

For reference I drive a 2019 2 door JL 3.6L Auto. Driving around metro Denver and the Colorado Front Range is nothing like the grueling Texas rocks and dirt but the Rockies are still certainly named appropriately. And I do get out into the mountain wilderness often.

I can say that my next rubber will very likely be another set of Duratracs. Still thank you, I'm smiling at not having to deal with your dilemma.

Here is a pic of my current rubber. My odometer just rolled past 66K. I had these since installing my lift at near 10K.

Best Regards,
Jay

 

[Whaler27]

I‘ve always gotten great mileage out of BFG KO tires, even on our ~7000 pound diesel F350s which we equipped with 35x12.50x16.5s. Those heavy trucks used to eat tires, in part because the first and last ten miles of every day were on a winding chip-sealed road surface, but the KO2s held up extremely well. The BFG KMs lasted about 60% as long. I can’t imagine how hostile the road surfaces would have to be to eat KO2 in less than 20,000 miles on a comparatively light vehicle.

We later mounted Toyos MTs on the diesel trucks because the BFG KMs didn’t last and the KOs were worthless as soon as rain turned the roads/trails to mud. The Toyos are amazingly quiet for an aggressive mud tire and they’re extremely durable. They’re also worthless on ice or hard-packed snow — like football cleats on polished concrete — but that’s not a concern for folks in the hot-n-flat states. (We finally landed on Goodyear Duratracs for winter use, as they function well on mud and ice.)

The new electric vehicles are eating tires up with amazing speed — to the point where some manufacturers are reportedly designing new compounds/treads to manage wear. I mention this because it underscores how subtle differences in use/environment can have a dramatic impact on tire life.

 

[Old Jeeper]

Mike, that's just phenomenal. I'm still on my first set of Goodyear Duratrac All Terrain 35x12.5x17's with over 55K miles. I do a ton of off roading here in Colorado on some very tough terrain. Maybe 10 to 15% of total miles driven. Granted, nearly all of the on-trail stuff is aired down to 15 psi.

On road they get aired up to 42 psi. I know many (many) people tell me that's too high. But that's been my secret sauce. This rubber has been remarkably impressive and I'll certainly look forward to replacing them somewhere in the next 20K miles. 60K to 70K on a single set. Clearly not the same experience.

I do also perform 5 tire rotations every 5K to 8K miles. These tires have been impressive in not only wear, but I get good fuel economy, just shy of 24 mpg average and they look cool, are quiet and ride great even in the CO snow.

And no, I own zero Goodyear stock. I just feel glad at chosing these. I had considered a lot of others including KO2's and Nitto's as well myself. At the time it felt like a crap-shoot at making the best choice.

Regardless, I'd go nuts replacing rubber as often as you. I may certainly be comparing apples to oranges but felt you needed some opposite experience feedback.

For reference I drive a 2019 2 door JL 3.6L Auto. Driving around metro Denver and the Colorado Front Range is nothing like the grueling Texas rocks and dirt but the Rockies are still certainly named appropriately. And I do get out into the mountain wilderness often.

I can say that my next rubber will very likely be another set of Duratracs. Still thank you, I'm smiling at not having to deal with your dilemma.

Here is a pic of my current rubber. My odometer just rolled past 66K. I had these since installing my lift at near 10K.

Best Regards,
Jay

X 2 on GY Duratac @ 35 x 12:50 x 17

 

[roaniecowpony]

...

The new electric vehicles are eating tires up with amazing speed — to the point where some manufacturers are reportedly designing new compounds/treads to manage wear. I mention this because it underscores how subtle differences in use/environment can have a dramatic impact on tire life.

Electric cars have been getting application specific tires for a long time. Mainly for fuel economy reasons. But the higher performance electrics like the Tesla Model S Dual motor and similar demand multi dimension performance.

 

[wibornz]

View attachment 732897

On my quest for tires I've come across multiple threads that become tire debates. There are a lot of threads but not a lot of ways to compare one to another. I hope this thread/chart will serve as an easy reference tool to help people compare tires without having to read a thread for every tire they want to look at. It may also help them find a tire they didn't realize they might be interested in. To do this, I need your help.

I made the above chart based on actual user experience. I also added ratings from vendor/manufacturer on common tires discussed (some aren't rated yet). I will also add tires if someone reviews one that isn't on the list.

To contribute to the chart simply post what tire you want to rate, along with your ratings in the same order as the chart (Tire, Noise, Ride, Dry, Wet, Snow, Trail, Look, Overall). If you haven't driven in a condition, such as snow for you southerners, simply put a "0" or "x" for that rating.
For example someone from Florida wants to rate the Duratrac but they've never had them in the snow. They could post "Duratrac 9, 9, 10, 9, x, 8, 7, 9" and I'll add their rating in.

To clarify my categories. 1 is the worst 10 is the best.
Noise = I'm talking about road noise. How loud are they when you're driving?
Ride = How do they feel? Shhhh don't tell, but Jeeps drive on the road too, not just the trail. How does this tire feel on the road?
Dry = Do they corner well, do the stop well, do they spin easily when you accelerate?
Wet = This is the same question as dry, but when the ground is wet.
Snow = This lumps light snow, deep snow, slush and ice together. How does the tire handle in winter conditions.
Trail = This lumps all off-road use together. Rocks, dirt, sand, mud, etc. I know some tires are specific to different off-road conditions, but this chart is simplified. Just give it an overall trail rating on your experience.
Look = How do you like the look of the tire/tread? Are they aggressive enough looking, are they boring?
Overall = You're overall take on the tire. It doesn't have to be an average of your ratings. You may love the tire, despite it falling short in some categories.
Wear = Do they wear out fast/unevenly or do they wear like iron? Do the tread blocks chip off on the edges or do they hold up well to abuse. How is this tire in regards to durability.

That's it. Post up your ratings, and I'll continue to update the chart. Obviously we can have discussion about various tires throughout the thread too. Hopefully this goes as planned, and it will become a great tool.

EDIT/ADDITION:
Upon popular request, I added a category to the chart for wear. Same 1-10 scale, but you can rate how they've held up for you.

EDIT 1/21/23 FOR CLARIFICATION:
Just a remind, since it's come up a few times through the conversation of the thread. When reading the chart, the "Overall" category is NOT an average of all the categories. This is based on the reviewer's overall opinion of the tire regardless of how each category scores. For example, if they rate the tire 8's across the board, it may be the best tire they've ever had an thus feel it deserves a 10 overall. As a result the chart would show 8's in every category but a 10 overall rather than the averaged 8.

Well it is a good thing that I didn't do the rating on the the tires that I have owned or had personal experience with. None of them were even close for the good or bad depending on the tire. Also I think that tire performance changes as they wear. For instance the Cooper STT PRO tires are not loud for the first 35,000 to 40,000 miles if you rotate them properly. After 40,000 or so miles they get start getting louder. AT 50,000 miles, I pull them off as they are to loud for me and I can sell them on Marketplace and still pull a good amount of money for them.

The Milestar Patagonia are the worst tires I have ever owned. In my opinion, they are only decent on dry pavement and sand. Not great, just decent. Their wet pavement performance is horrible. To the point that I have to change my driving style and be very aware of how poor them performed. Just know that when I see someone running Milestar Patagonia tires, I think to myself they have been a victim of a YouTuber influncer like I was. If you think your Milestart Patagonia tires are great tires, drive around with your traction control, stabilization control and anti lock brakes systems turned off. Then you will quickly find out how much your Jeep hides their poor quality in every category. The BFG KO2 tires are great tires, but they tend to cup easier than the other tires as they wear. Rotating the KO2 is very important if you want the max life out of them.
My current favorite tire is the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT. I am getting ready to go to my second set. I did suffer one tire failure. Not really sure how I feel about it yet. I did a deep cut to the sidewall in California last year and the tire did not fail. I put about 10,000 more miles on that tire with a bunch of off roading and being aired down to 3 psi at time, plus pulling a camper about 4,000 miles. The tire failed about a week ago. So it lasted almost a year with this gash to the side wall.

 

[Jtphoto]

In NWO Canada the Duratrac is the “Go To” tire. Good mileage when rotated regularly and a great tire all around. The only downside is they don’t make them in 37x12.50x17. I’ve been running them on and off for years in 315/70R-17 or 315/75R-16 when I’m not on 37s. Hands down much better tire then the KO2 up north.
And yes cold snow up north is very much different then warm snow in the south.

 

[roaniecowpony]

Well it is a good thing that I didn't do the rating on the the tires that I have owned or had personal experience with. None of them were even close for the good or bad depending on the tire. Also I think that tire performance changes as they wear. For instance the Cooper STT PRO tires are not loud for the first 35,000 to 40,000 miles if you rotate them properly. After 40,000 or so miles they get start getting louder. AT 50,000 miles, I pull them off as they are to loud for me and I can sell them on Marketplace and still pull a good amount of money for them.

The Milestar Patagonia are the worst tires I have ever owned. In my opinion, they are only decent on dry pavement and sand. Not great, just decent. Their wet pavement performance is horrible. To the point that I have to change my driving style and be very aware of how poor them performed. Just know that when I see someone running Milestar Patagonia tires, I think to myself they have been a victim of a YouTuber influncer like I was. If you think your Milestart Patagonia tires are great tires, drive around with your traction control, stabilization control and anti lock brakes systems turned off. Then you will quickly find out how much your Jeep hides their poor quality in every category. The BFG KO2 tires are great tires, but they tend to cup easier than the other tires as they wear. Rotating the KO2 is very important if you want the max life out of them.
My current favorite tire is the Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT. I am getting ready to go to my second set. I did suffer one tire failure. Not really sure how I feel about it yet. I did a deep cut to the sidewall in California last year and the tire did not fail. I put about 10,000 more miles on that tire with a bunch of off roading and being aired down to 3 psi at time, plus pulling a camper about 4,000 miles. The tire failed about a week ago. So it lasted almost a year with this gash to the side wall.

Ted,
I have been running Cooper/Mickey Thompson tires on my trucks for about 200,000 miles. In particular their 3 ply sidewall polyester carcass that was the same between the Cooper STMaxx and the Mickey ATZ P3, with tread differences, but in the same "R/T" catagory. I believe Cooper redesigned the tread to the Baja Boss A/T and used their is the same as the BB AT is made on. The BB AT seems to have replaced the ATZ P3, straddling the line between a traditional mild treaded A/T and the more aggressive treaded R/T catagory. While I've never "rock crawled" my trucks, they've seen plenty of rocky 2 track roads and have held up great. I'm convinced your situation would have been worse with another tire brand.

For my mere 250,000 cents, I think they did a great job on the tread redesign.

 

[AZJeepGuy]

Has anyone tried Radar brand? Discount has 35's for like $236.

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