Mickey Thompson AT, SL or E ?

[onepoundjeep]

(can't make a poll for some reason)
If you have to choose Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT at 285/70R17, at Discount Tire there are 2 options, Load Index either SL or E? Which do you choose?

Am curious on people's thoughts about my situation or for other setups similar too. My Jeep is mainly daily driver. Its a 2door sport, manual transmission, with 3.45 gearing. I have no plans to go bigger than 33" tires. I have not had many opportunities to offroad yet, but want to do more, attend a jeep academy event and go to other places than hidden falls adventure park.

Some of the specs of each:
SL - 48 lbs, 16/32 tread depth, 2756 max load, 44 max psi
E - 63 lbs, 18.5/32 tread depth, 3195 max load, 80 max psi

My thoughts for my situation: I figure being mostly daily driver, cuz 3.45 gearing and because its a 2 door, the E rated would be way too stiff and heavy, where i would feel every bump no matter how low my air pressure is, and would be lugging around in 3&4th gear all the time cuz the tire is so heavy. But then i see so many threads about people saying don't do SL or P tires. But for this choice I think I would have to do SL rated unless i want to do gearing change. I wonder are some tires in SL or P rated ok to use, like Mickey Thompson AT or Toyo AT3, and just need to be more careful on rocks...

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[ArmyRN]

98 TJ. 4.88 gears, 3.5"lift. 2.5/5 speed. MT BB AT 285.75.16. E rated tires. They're heavy, but bulletproof off-road.

 

[Ratbert]

It sounds like you're doing this for looks. Do the SLs look nearly as awesome as the Es? If so, then they would probably be a better fit for you.

 

[bd100]

With the ole' pickup when it was new, with SL tires it got a slow flat on gravel in a national forest campground. Granted, the local ranger said it was an area with very sharp gravel, and he used a bunch of plugs over the years, but still...

Switched to E, and never a flat again for decades. It's almost 30 years now. Did some offroading too.

With the new JT, switched out to E before the first serious trip offroad. After a few days in CO, came back with four intact tires with heavily scuffed side walls. But still intact!

Edit: Think of E as the sports-handling package! Better for hard turns, towing stability, etc. But yes you feel the little bumps, especially with upgraded shocks.

 

[onepoundjeep]

It sounds like you're doing this for looks. Do the SLs look nearly as awesome as the Es? If so, then they would probably be a better fit for you.

I think im just trying to be reasonable, where I want a tire that functionally isnt awful on the road. but I definitely want to do more off roading trips and dont want to cripple myself there with SL tires.

I guess I was first surprised there wasnt anything inbetween SL & E. and curious if anyone runs SL in the baja boss AT.

I also am looking at other tires too, trying to not be super heavy, but also not be SL, i just know the MTs are highly regarded, so was curious how others do it if they are sticking with 33s or are with my 3.45 manual transmission gearing.

 

[Ratbert]

I think im just trying to be reasonable, where I want a tire that functionally isnt awful on the road. but I definitely want to do more off roading trips and dont want to cripple myself there with SL tires.

I guess I was first surprised there wasnt anything inbetween SL & E. and curious if anyone runs SL in the baja boss AT.

I also am looking at other tires too, trying to not be super heavy, but also not be SL, i just know the MTs are highly regarded, so was curious how others do it if they are sticking with 33s or are with my 3.45 manual transmission gearing.

Have you looked at their 33" Ds? It looks like they're the same diameter and might fit your wheels.

 

[onepoundjeep]

well, its prolly already concluded, and prolly has been a hundred times on this forum, just was surprised to see the mickey's in SL, so I thought id ask.

this is also for me to gage my next round or upgrades. I did basic stuff when I knew nothing, now I know lil, so am hoping to be smarter with what I choose.

my short list of what i want but dont want to break the bank:
-BMP tune,
-regear (found a MT with 4.88 to test drive, am -hoping to do it in a couple weeks),
-prolly need different lift soon (currently have rubicon takeoff),
-and tires.

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