Are M/T's really Necessary?

[hoag4147]

What did i get roped into? Lol I do like these ridge grapplers. I put a lot of miles on every week and they have performed and rode well on street and in mud and sand. No complaints here!

LOL. Sorry Erik. I know you offroad a ton and thought someone that actually uses RGs in that scenario would be a better fit.

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[zouch]

i've put a couple hundred-thousand miles on MTs on one J**p, and currently have them on both.

once i wore out the stock ATs on my first J**p i only had ATs on there twice more; once because they were what was on a set of wheels i bought, and the second time because i had an extended tour planned and wanted the better road characteristics. (i went back to MTs on that J**p again already even though the ATs handled some slimy northern AZ mountain mud surprisingly well.)

that said, i would probably pick a set of ATs or 'Hybrids' now for the new J**p when the (awful) stock Firestone Destinations wear out (or sooner, likely!).

MTs look cool, no doubt. but i was using them mostly because a lot of the places i was going turn to absolute slop when it gets wet, and i just needed that extra 'edge' (pun intended) in places like desert playas, and North coast logging roads. also, when crawling in the harsher desert terrain (think Mojave or Sonora Dezs), sometimes having those big lugs was advantageous in loose and/or rocky stuff.
that's it.
otherwise, MTs suck on most counts; they're generaly more expensive than ATs, heavier than ATs, noisier than ATs, wear out faster than ATs, don't handle as well on the pavement as ATs either wet or dry, and are downright dangerous on ice (a little less so when siped).

further, it has not escaped my notice that ATs seem to be the preference of 2 different groups of people that rely on their tires more than most people; the guys that are racing the Desert racing series' almost always run ATs, as are the guys who are working at the Chain Control stations in Snow Country.

while i do love the look of a gnarly MT, it's very possible my next set of tires will be ATs, or a Hybrid.

 

[HungryHound]

@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.

You're going to want a mud tire in OK most likely. The clay is difficult to shed from an A/T when it's wet. Just watch "My Cousin Vinny" if you have questions about high-clay mud.

 

[MARSHMELLA]

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?

Match the tires to what you will and possibly what you might run in to.
Don’t hate the player, hate the game. ?

 

[HungryHound]

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

Youre right, especially, once you put 22" rim's on a Jeep.

 

[JeepinJason33]

I think it comes down to how much time you plan on spending on the street vs trail. On my 3 daughter's Jeeps, we run BFG KO2's. They wear well, are fairly quite, and have a decent sidewall. The girls go on mostly fire roads and beginner type trails as they need their vehicles for their commutes to college and work. The tires do very well on these trails and it is not so much about the tires as it is about not going on more difficult trails that could result in a higher chance of axle/drivetrain damage. The KO2's perform very well here in the snow and ice. We have yet to have a problem with them on the road, regardless of how much snow falls. That alone pushes me towards them over the MT's for my daughters.

My dedicated crawler TJ now runs 39" Goodyear MTR's. I have been happy with them, but wanted to try something else. For the JLUR, I just picked up 37" BFG MT KM3's. I have yet to mount them on my bead locks yet. But, I have run with several other guys that swear by them. The JLUR will see more street miles than I have put on any other rig with MT's. The MT's tend to be a bit dicey in the snow/ice up here so I will be curious to see how these perform.

Back to the original topic, I have wheeled with rigs running AT's all over the country on various terrain. The AT's are fine, but in some cases will struggle more with grip on rocks or loose/wet dirt. They don't have the large voids to clear mud that you can encounter on a regular trail and have smaller side wall lugs than MT's. In many cases, AT's will require more wheel speed and are tougher to "crawl" over an obstacle. More wheel speed or throttle can be tough on the drivetrain and result in an increased chance of carnage.

With that said, it is far more of an advantage to have lockers!

 

[PyrPatriot]

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?

I tried having the M/T tires mounted on spare wheels and to put them on for "off roading". But then I got stuck driving in the city on a mud spot on my road tires, and my mud terrains in the garage werent going to help me get unstuck. Since then, been using my M/Ts 24/7 on the Jeep

 

[Jabarsetti]

I love all the responses, There's a lot of talk about this brand vs that brand all over the forum. However, I've really never seen anything like my question that I stated. I posted the thread to start a conversation and get the perspective of the community. I love that there are so many options available and like most have said it depends on what you want to do. I do agree that M/T's can get a bit dicey when the weather turns to crap, I honestly have never felt unsafe with mine on road here in CO.

I really like the idea of a more aggressive Hybrid type for a DD/weekend wheeler. Time will only tell.

 

[nowandthen]

Check this out.

 

[JROOO]

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?

I just dropped 2k on A/T because I'm tired of M/T's manners on the pavement. I'm putting my muds on some beater wheels for when I go to Rubicon or whatever, but man do yourself a favor and don't use muds for DD. I'm not an expert, don't listen to me.

 

[blnewt]

@Jabarsetti might give this a look, won't find a better deal on a premium 37 hybrid-AT, @Discount Tire has been price matching too!
https://www.jlwranglerforums.com/fo...-of-mickey-thompson-atz-p3s-get-em-now.68757/

 

[Alleycat392]

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?

Anyone have any thoughts/details on the about to be released Mickey Thompson BAJA Boss A/T tire?

 

[blnewt]

Anyone have any thoughts/details on the about to be released Mickey Thompson BAJA Boss A/T tire?

This is the most recent details I've seen, and it is going to replace the ATZ P3, there's actually a few 35x15.5 sizes, a bit like the old-school size I ran on my CJ-5
https://www.moderntiredealer.com/ar...son-baja-boss-at-is-a-hybrid-all-terrain-tire

 

[Arterius2]

This is the most recent details I've seen, and it is going to replace the ATZ P3, there's actually a few 35x15.5 sizes, a bit like the old-school size I ran on my CJ-5
https://www.moderntiredealer.com/ar...son-baja-boss-at-is-a-hybrid-all-terrain-tire

35x15.5! ?

 

[blnewt]

35x15.5! ?

Yeah, my CJ5 had Denman Ground Hawgs in a 35x14.5x15 so these are almost there! Not sure what wheel diameters yet though. I love that width on a 35, but I was running 15x10" wheels back then, looks like those 15.5s are recommended for a 12" width wheel, but maybe a 10" would work assuming they even make them in a 17???

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