Initial impressions of my Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT’s

[blnewt]

Can't go wrong w/ those, and pretty light too!

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[DadJokes]

When I said pavement performance, I meant dry pavement performance, I thought it was a given that siping improves performance on ice and snow.

Also siping on wet performance is debatable, while dedicated drainage channels specifically designed for rain does improve wet performance, but those zig-zag mountain snow-flake sipings that goes to nowhere definitely do not, in fact, they actually help trap water within treads blocks causing hydroplaning.

https://www.consumerreports.org/cro/2012/12/should-you-slash-your-tires/index.htm

You know, I’ve stood and looked at tires and wondered about the siping that basically goes nowhere... and whether it would just create a propensity for hydroplaning at that location on the tire. Hmm. I guess I was on to something. It makes sense. Yes, it retains snow for snow traction, but traps water too I guess.

 

[Arterius2]

You know, I’ve stood and looked at tires and wondered about the siping that basically goes nowhere... and whether it would just create a propensity for hydroplaning at that location on the tire. Hmm. I guess I was on to something. It makes sense. Yes, it retains snow for snow traction, but traps water too I guess.

Bingo!

I used to run a set of Falken Wildpeak AT3W.
It's also a sipe haven, superb snow performance, however, it's one of the worst wet performance tire I ever rode on!

The tire was plagued by sipes that lead to nowhere, and the narrow channels between tread blocks means it doesn't drain water quickly enough.

I was literally hydroplanning all the time during rain.

Duratracs resolved this with wider and more hydro-dynamically designed channels.

Sorry about these long rants on tires, it's sort of a mission of mine to find the perfect tire, so I analyze them quite in depth.

 

[DadJokes]

Bingo!

I used to run a set of Falken Wildpeak AT3W.
It's also a sipe haven, superb snow performance, however, it's one of the worst wet performance tire I ever rode on!

The tire was plagued by sipes that lead to nowhere, and the narrow channels between tread blocks means it doesn't drain water quickly enough.

I was literally hydroplanning all the time during rain.

Duratracs resolved this with wider and more hydro-dynamically designed channels.

Sorry about these long rants on tires, it's sort of a mission of mine to find the perfect tire, so I analyze them quite in depth.

Please share when you find it! lol

I hope these BB A/T’s make up for how much they weigh. The weight still bugs me but not enough to take them up on the offer to return them. I’m just curious and they look great. Who knows, the competition might breed a new/better KO series A/T.

 

[PrimeTimeRubicon]

I’m not near it right now but I should be able to see if I can measure them soon.

I can’t see that they would go full depth because I’d think that would compromise some lug integrity. I’m not a tire engineer though.

I was told by Mickey Thompson that the siping goes 15/32. From the first pics you posted, it looks like they go down to 15/32, meaning they are only 3/32 deep. When you zoom into your nice quality pics, at the edges of tread blocks the sipes don't go very far down. Thanks for checking this with a paper clip or other thin tool.

 

[jkratty]

Just a few very impromptu pics. This is with the 1” wheel spacers installed unlike the last set of pics. No rubbing at full lock now.

The driver side bumper end cap’s missing because I unwisely trusted some part numbers given on here. I’m using the numbers Benny of Allmoparparts gave me this time. There’s a couple of irregularities that can throw anyone off with these parts diagrams.

I just drove on a short road trip. At hwy speed the extra weight of the tires is more noticeable. It’s much harder to hold 8th, of course, but I’d swear it got just a bit better with some miles. Shrug, maybe wishful thinking. I can imagine telling the wife I need another 4k for gears and I may as well upgrade the axle shafts with some RCV’s. *running away*

@DadJokes - Thanks so much for this thread. Would love to get updated impressions along these lines, particularly with regard to on-road ride quality, wet performance and overall on-road performance. I read in another thread that the transmission will "re-learn" new shift points to compensate, but don't know if this is accurate or not.

I have a set of these on order (35x12.5R17) but am starting to question my decision given the extra weight you've observed and its impact.

 

[Arterius2]

I was told by Mickey Thompson that the siping goes 15/32. From the first pics you posted, it looks like they go down to 15/32, meaning they are only 3/32 deep. When you zoom into your nice quality pics, at the edges of tread blocks the sipes don't go very far down. Thanks for checking this with a paper clip or other thin tool.

The edge of the siping usually don't run down the tread blocks entirely, it tapers in diagonally as it go down, for the purpose of preserving structural integrity of the tread block. Which is also why winter performance goes down as your tire wears, because the siping becomes shorter and shorter.

 

[PrimeTimeRubicon]

The edge of the siping usually don't run down the tread blocks entirely, it tapers in diagonally as it go down, for the purpose of preserving structural integrity of the tread block. Which is also why winter performance goes down as your tire wears, because the siping becomes shorter and shorter.

That's what I'm curious about and hoping DadJokes can confirm. I'm looking for nit picky reasons to go with this or their Baja Boss MT.

 

[DadJokes]

Here’s what I measured. I suspect as Arterius2 says that I measured a spot or two where the depth was shallower but transitioned to deeper like the outermost lugs.. Most everywhere was the deeper measurement.

My impression when I made the deepest mark and put it down along the outside of the lug was that I might not run them with that little bit of lug left anyway, especially in winter.

 

[PrimeTimeRubicon]

Thanks for the depth confirmation. It lines up with the 15/32 that Mickey Thompson said and what Aterius2 noted. Great info. Thanks!

Now to decide if I want to get the tires that match my use best, the AT; or to get the tires that I really want to try out and hope they are manageable in our MN winters, the MT. Same rubber compound, same weight, price within 10% and both on backorder. I don't want to get the MT and dread the 10-15 days a winter where the roads are actually packed snow or ice covered. I don't want to get the AT and be out on a trail wishing I had more traction or wish I had a more aggressive looking tire on my lifted JKUR. My head says AT, my heart says MT. Head usually wins.

 

[DadJokes]

Thanks for the depth confirmation. It lines up with the 15/32 that Mickey Thompson said and what Aterius2 noted. Great info. Thanks!

Now to decide if I want to get the tires that match my use best, the AT; or to get the tires that I really want to try out and hope they are manageable in our MN winters, the MT. Same rubber compound, same weight, price within 10% and both on backorder. I don't want to get the MT and dread the 10-15 days a winter where the roads are actually packed snow or ice covered. I don't want to get the AT and be out on a trail wishing I had more traction or wish I had a more aggressive looking tire on my lifted JKUR. My head says AT, my heart says MT. Head usually wins.

That’ll be something you have to decide of course but I weighed the same decision and figured I have to live with them, want max fuel range (mostly due to lug spacing in this case with the similar weight! lol), and then there’s the mileage warranty and my curiosity. Also, I have ALL the recovery gear, good knowledge to use it, and won’t be the only vehicle in the remote areas.

The only downside that came to light for me after purchase was the typo saying they only weighed 66.4 lbs vs the 75 they really are for my 295/70/18’s.

 

[PrimeTimeRubicon]

You've had them for a couple weeks now. I'm assuming you like them, but what are your overall thoughts? Have you been in any rain with them? Any little things you don't like at this point?

 

[DadJokes]

You've had them for a couple weeks now. I'm assuming you like them, but what are your overall thoughts? Have you been in any rain with them? Any little things you don't like at this point?

Between being out of town and them being new, I’ve not really driven on them enough and in extreme conditions to really say. It’s been light and steady rain at the worst.

 

[DadJokes]

Really, looking at this tread design vs others in the AT category, at worst I think you’re going to see a very small difference between most (not all) in wet road performance. I know that’s anecdotal but I can’t see them rolling out a bomb of a tire like it wasn’t tested. I’d bet they’re at least as good as the previous generation on wet roads. For me, I may never see enough speed on water covered roads to judge them, much less compare my first hand experience to multiple tires. It does happen to have the characteristic vertical channels decent wet weather road tires have.

Really, I bought these based on faith in their BB MT, the outgoing AT design, achieving 3 Peak rating, the sidewall durability, and the very aggressive side biters for an AT where they’re noticeably taller than the side biters on our Rubicon’s KO2’s. Normally I’d read reviews too but it’s obviously early for that for actual owners who aren’t bloggers, YT’s, or a magazine outfit.

If you need light AT’s, these aren’t... lol. I guess it’s not easy to have it all in one tire and with a 50k mile treadlife warranty.

Just some thoughts on these tires.

 

[jkratty]

@DadJokes " If you need light AT’s, these aren’t... lol."

Ok, sorry to pry, but what do you mean by this? You've described how these tires are more aggressive in the looks department. But how about performance? Are they noticeably worse on road than KO2s, for example? Any comparisons against a "light AT" tire like the KO2s would be extremely helpful. Thanks!

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