Are M/T's really Necessary?

[Jabarsetti]

So here I go! Yes this is another "tire thread". I'm just curious, do we really get an "off road" advantage to using a M/T style tire other then the oblivious. I've been in my JLUR for a little over 2 1/2 yrs, it came with the WildPeak M/T's and about 15k miles in with a lift, I switched to a 315 with the Milestar Patagonia's to give me a bit more belly room. I'm sitting at close to 40k miles and my current tires are wearing great but I'm contemplating going to a 37 and or a different tire just for the hell of it.

What is everyone's impressions of A/T vs M/T when it comes to a DD that sees moderate off-road/trail driving. I'm currently in CO but will soon be moving to OK where it's a completely different off road experience. I'm really wondering if the juice is worth the squeeze?

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[Arterius2]

So here I go! Yes this is another "tire thread". I'm just curious, do we really get an "off road" advantage to using a M/T style tire other then the oblivious. I've been in my JLUR for a little over 2 1/2 yrs, it came with the WildPeak M/T's and about 15k miles in with a lift, I switched to a 315 with the Milestar Patagonia's to give me a bit more belly room. I'm sitting at close to 40k miles and my current tires are wearing great but I'm contemplating going to a 37 and or a different tire just for the hell of it.

What is everyone's impressions of A/T vs M/T when it comes to a DD that sees moderate off-road/trail driving. I'm currently in CO but will soon be moving to OK where it's a completely different off road experience. I'm really wondering if the juice is worth the squeeze?

Depending on where you wheel, out east there are slick rocks that you can slip on, but I don't think there is much super slippery stuff in Colorado.
I haven't really found a trail (that I would be comfortable to go on) that ATs couldn't handle.
I also don't intentionally ram into mud pits for shits and giggles.
So no, I don't see a point going to MTs other than "looks"

Also MTs are horrible in snow so that's out for anyone living in the north.

 

[WontonJLUR]

So here I go! Yes this is another "tire thread". I'm just curious, do we really get an "off road" advantage to using a M/T style tire other then the oblivious. I've been in my JLUR for a little over 2 1/2 yrs, it came with the WildPeak M/T's and about 15k miles in with a lift, I switched to a 315 with the Milestar Patagonia's to give me a bit more belly room. I'm sitting at close to 40k miles and my current tires are wearing great but I'm contemplating going to a 37 and or a different tire just for the hell of it.

What is everyone's impressions of A/T vs M/T when it comes to a DD that sees moderate off-road/trail driving. I'm currently in CO but will soon be moving to OK where it's a completely different off road experience. I'm really wondering if the juice is worth the squeeze?

Sounds like you wheel a bit. I think M/Ts will give you a slight advantage on the more hardcore side of rock crawling, with the bigger tread blocks and side lugs.

If you're just gonna be doing some more overlanding stuff then an A/T is completely fine, and an A/T is completely fine for probably the majority of people who "rock crawl".

 

[conFUcius]

When I was at Windrock, I was slipping like crazy since I was the only one with ATs (KO2s) and everyone else had MTs. It had been raining/snowing for a few days so the trails seemed like “peanut butter” as one person in our ride called it. That being said, I only had to winch once thanks to the help of some good spotters. Ultimately, I changed to MTs (Cooped STT Pros) because I got a good deal and had a buyer for my KO2s that only had ~6K miles on them. The Jeep is the only vehicle but I WFH (even before COVID).

@UNC Rubicon made the switch when he upgraded tires so he can share some experiences he had when wheeling with KO2s and then STT Pros.

 

[WontonJLUR]

When I was at Windrock, I was slipping like crazy since I was the only one with ATs (KO2s) and everyone else had MTs. It had been raining/snowing for a few days so the trails seemed like “peanut butter” as one person in our ride called it. That being said, I only had to winch once thanks to the help of some good spotters. Ultimately, I changed to MTs (Cooped STT Pros) because I got a good deal and had a buyer for my KO2s that only had ~6K miles on them. The Jeep is the only vehicle but I WFH (even before COVID).

@UNC Rubicon made the switch when he upgraded tires so he can share some experiences he had when wheeling with KO2s and then STT Pros.

Windrock in the snow/mud is probably my favorite wheeling trip to date. My avatar pic is from the top of one of the peaks at sunrise with snow on the ground.

 

[Jabarsetti]

@conFUcius, I've never liked the KO2's if I would go A/Ts I would stay away from them anyways. the only reason why I left my OEM tires on for so long without upgrading was because they where M/T's, the Pats where my throw away tire to get me a little bit of height advantage while I decided on 37's and what upgrades I may need to do to house the spare.

I really am just curious if M/T's gives that big of advantage in moderate off roading. I don't really play in the mud but with moving to Oklahoma the few trails there seem to be a bit more wet the CO... and well, if you don't know OK has a lot of Clay and sand.

 

[WontonJLUR]

@conFUcius, I've never liked the KO2's if I would go A/Ts I would stay away from them anyways. the only reason why I left my OEM tires on for so long without upgrading was because they where M/T's, the Pats where my throw away tire to get me a little bit of height advantage while I decided on 37's and what upgrades I may need to do to house the spare.

I really am just curious if M/T's gives that big of advantage in moderate off roading. I don't really play in the mud but with moving to Oklahoma the few trails there seem to be a bit more wet the CO... and well, if you don't know OK has a lot of Clay and sand.

If you were doing pretty much all dry offroading, not much difference to the average person who will do moderate difficulty stuff. If you think you'll go out on trips where there might be mud, I'd recommend M/Ts.

I hate mud. I will never ever go "mudding". But running into spots of mud is inevitable when you go to different places, especially in a forest where a lot of the sunlight is blocked out and stuff is near perpetually muddy.

 

[Cappy]

For the most part, tires are all about the look you want.

 

[jludave]

For the most part, tires are all about the look you want.

For some, maybe. But for those who are serious about off-roading, then there's a performance aspect of choosing a tire that's more important.

 

[conFUcius]

Windrock in the snow/mud is probably my favorite wheeling trip to date. My avatar pic is from the top of one of the peaks at sunrise with snow on the ground.

That’s awesome! Definitely want to do Windrock again but I may wait until Uwharrie in NC closes before I make it out there again. Only have so much PTO available to make overnight weekend trips.

@conFUcius, I've never liked the KO2's if I would go A/Ts I would stay away from them anyways. the only reason why I left my OEM tires on for so long without upgrading was because they where M/T's, the Pats where my throw away tire to get me a little bit of height advantage while I decided on 37's and what upgrades I may need to do to house the spare.

I really am just curious if M/T's gives that big of advantage in moderate off roading. I don't really play in the mud but with moving to Oklahoma the few trails there seem to be a bit more wet the CO... and well, if you don't know OK has a lot of Clay and sand.

I went with KO2s because that’s the tire I knew (came with the stock JLUR) and I had never wheeled before in the mud. The first time out at Uwharrie, it was so dry so never really slipped. After Windrock and a planned trip to Rausch with @UNC Rubicon and @chevymitchell in a few weeks, I decided to jump into the Coopers since they weren’t that loud and would be better for me in case there is mud.

If you were doing pretty much all dry offroading, not much difference to the average person who will do moderate difficulty stuff. If you think you'll go out on trips where there might be mud, I'd recommend M/Ts.

I hate mud. I will never ever go "mudding". But running into spots of mud is inevitable when you go to different places, especially in a forest where a lot of the sunlight is blocked out and stuff is near perpetually muddy.

100% agree with you, I’d never intentionally go mudding. Just haven’t leveled up enough to be able to change the weather when I travel to destination wheeling sites

 

[WontonJLUR]

100% agree with you, I’d never intentionally go mudding. Just haven’t leveled up enough to be able to change the weather when I travel to destination wheeling sites

Please let me know if you figure it out!!

That’s awesome! Definitely want to do Windrock again but I may wait until Uwharrie in NC closes before I make it out there again. Only have so much PTO available to make overnight weekend trips.

When is Uwharrie closing? I haven't heard that. One of my buddies and I were planning to head out there for a quick trip before he moves from SC to TX.

 

[Jabarsetti]

If you were doing pretty much all dry offroading, not much difference to the average person who will do moderate difficulty stuff. If you think you'll go out on trips where there might be mud, I'd recommend M/Ts.

I really just thought this would be a good conversation to start, I am just bored at work and this question was just my "thought of the day".

I hate mud. I will never ever go "mudding". But running into spots of mud is inevitable when you go to different places, especially in a forest where a lot of the sunlight is blocked out and stuff is near perpetually muddy.


This is my dilemma, I will never go looking for mud (hate the clean up) but if its on a trail , there's now way I would turn around to avoid it (unless it' s super deep). I'm sure when I make a decision, I will stay with M/Ts. However I will definitely be moving away from the Patagonia's not because their a bad tire, they have handled every condition that I've thrown at them from Snowy mountain passes to slick granite rock faces and even deep creek crossings with sandy/rocky bottoms. My only issue is the most common wear, have close to 20k miles on them and even though I could probably go another 15K+ they feel super soft, like the rubber is being sanded daily while driving. No joke you can wipe rubber dust off of them.

 

[blnewt]

I hate mud. I will never ever go "mudding". But running into spots of mud is inevitable when you go to different places, especially in a forest where a lot of the sunlight is blocked out and stuff is near perpetually muddy.


This is my dilemma, I will never go looking for mud (hate the clean up) but if its on a trail , there's now way I would turn around to avoid it (unless it' s super deep). I'm sure when I make a decision, I will stay with M/Ts. However I will definitely be moving away from the Patagonia's not because their a bad tire, they have handled every condition that I've thrown at them from Snowy mountain passes to slick granite rock faces and even deep creek crossings with sandy/rocky bottoms. My only issue is the most common wear, have close to 20k miles on them and even though I could probably go another 15K+ they feel super soft, like the rubber is being sanded daily while driving. No joke you can wipe rubber dust off of them.

The more aggressive hybrid ATs may be a good compromise. Wait til next month for the new Baja Boss AT from Mickey Thompson, like the rest of their tire lineup they should be a top tier choice!
https://www.moderntiredealer.com/ar...son-baja-boss-at-is-a-hybrid-all-terrain-tire

 

[Jabarsetti]

The more aggressive hybrid ATs may be a good compromise. Wait til next month for the new Baja Boss AT from Mickey Thompson, like the rest of their tire lineup they should be a top tier choice!
https://www.moderntiredealer.com/ar...son-baja-boss-at-is-a-hybrid-all-terrain-tire

I think seeing the discussions on these types of tires is driving my question.

 

[WontonJLUR]

I hate mud. I will never ever go "mudding". But running into spots of mud is inevitable when you go to different places, especially in a forest where a lot of the sunlight is blocked out and stuff is near perpetually muddy.


This is my dilemma, I will never go looking for mud (hate the clean up) but if its on a trail , there's now way I would turn around to avoid it (unless it' s super deep). I'm sure when I make a decision, I will stay with M/Ts. However I will definitely be moving away from the Patagonia's not because their a bad tire, they have handled every condition that I've thrown at them from Snowy mountain passes to slick granite rock faces and even deep creek crossings with sandy/rocky bottoms. My only issue is the most common wear, have close to 20k miles on them and even though I could probably go another 15K+ they feel super soft, like the rubber is being sanded daily while driving. No joke you can wipe rubber dust off of them.

I agree with everything you said, including about the Pats. I have 39" KM3s now, way mo betta.

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