All you ever wanted to know about tires (please add to)

[gothamist]

I saw Schlud's post about having a sort of knowledge-base for different Xterra related things, so here's my crack. Everyone please contribute, we can make this the longest and most informative tires thread ever on an Xterra board!!!

Note: this is what I have gathered in my own experience, and from lurking/posting on the other Xterra boards for the past long while.

I've also included the weight of the tires, use this as a relative indication of how much the tires will affect your braking and acceleration, apart from the general problems of getting taller gearing w/ new tires. The weight listed is actually for a *33x12.50* tire, as I don't have the info handy for 31's or 32's. Sorry.

Stock tires on 2000/2001 XE 3-pack and 2000 SE: 265/70R15 BFG Long Trails and/or General Grabbers.
Stock tires on 2001 SE: 255/65/R16 General Grabbers.

Stock tires: good on the street, quiet, suck in mud, weak sidewalls (many of us shredded them.)

All-terrain Tires
As a rule, the all-terrain tires have good street manners and are not much (if any) noisier than stock tires on the highway.

BFGoodrich AT/KO: a crowd favorite, tough 3-ply sidewall, good in rocks, snow and hardpacked dirt, bad in mud (they clog.) Very expensive in 16" sizes.
Weight: 49 lbs.
Users: xtoolbox, gothamist (on occasion), many, many others.

Yokohama Geolander A/T: the underdog, not much feedback on them, less aggressive than the BFG's, supposedly better in wet pavement conditions. A good competitor to the Pirelli Scorpions.
Weight: 48 lbs.
Users: Carlton McMillan, a few other of the SWXC folks?

Pirelli Scorpion: seems to be a very good tire for the price, especially compared to the BFG's in 16" sizes. Widely available, good on the street, and doesn't give up too much to the BFG's in the dirt (but are not as aggressive.)
Weight: don't know.
Users: Schlud (sometimes), ChuckH

Mud-Terrains
Uh-oh, you're getting serious now. Mud-Terrains compromise onroad handling a bit, and are noisy (some more than others.) Will have more bite offroad than all-terrains almost all the time (i.e. not just in mud), although in some circumstances all-terrains do better on wet rocks and hard-packed snow.

BFG M/T: Excellent tires for the many weekend warriors among us. Relatively tough sidewalls (especially for its weight), hard (but not impossible) to clog in mud, and in general an off-road staple, or so it seems. These don't come siped, so expect poor wet pavement traction, and they aren't the greatest in hard-packed snow (i.e. onroad snow.) You'll hear these tires on the highway, but the other cars around you probably won't.
Weight: 51 lbs.
Users: Synchro, MT, FSRBIKER, Mosi, etc.

Yokohama Geolander MT: Very cool directional tires. The directional part of these tires is a double-edged sword, IMHO, because it means you have to make a decision of what type of spare to carry (left or right.) These tires get mixed reviews but most of the people I know who actually own them really like them. Unfortunately they don't come in a 32x11.50 size, so 31's are the biggest you can get short of lifting and getting 33's.
Weight: 55 lbs.
Users: Carlton McMillan, Flyin'S

Interco TrXus: The new kid on the block. Seems to be getting good reviews, though. Allegedly not as loud as BFG MT's, but with a tread pattern equally aggressive. Unfortunately, not available in a 32x11.50 size yet.
Weight: ???
Users: aquamander, XXXTERRA, BJones

Goodyear Wrangler MT/R: This tire seems to be much more aimed at rocks than mud, but is aggressive enough to get lumped in here. Again one of those, gets-mixed-reviews-but-everyone-who-has-them-seems-to-love-them kind of tires. Does not work as well in mud as BFG MT's, is supposed to have better rock/dirt traction though. The main point of contention seems to be sidewall strength--I'm not sure if these tires are 2 ply or 3 ply. Also very expensive and they run rather small for their size.
Weight: 58 lbs.
Users: fabien, who else?

Swampers
Okay, so maybe they don't need their own category, but there's a whole range of tires more aggressive than the typical mud terrain. Most Xterra owners aren't running them though, and therefore you won't find me talking about Mickey Thompson bias ply tires, or the like (yet... ).

Super Swamper SSR: Excellent but expensive, these tires wear fast and weigh a lot. Work great in all but the very gooey-est mud, and have a ton of grip in the rocks. Siped from the factory, and like all Swampers, have very very thick sidewalls. When my set wears out, I'll replace them with another set of SSR's (only maybe a little bigger ) These tires run big, so be warned. They're also kind of loud on the highway--other cars can hear your tires as you drive by. :finger:
Weight: 67 lbs.
Users: gothamist, Schlud, Pikachu, rhombus, Craisy Daisy

Super Swamper TSL Radial: A little more aggressive than SSR's, and considerably louder on the highway. These are not siped, and as such are a good bit cheaper than the SSR's. The 32x10.50 and 33x10.50 tires are only 0.6" different in height, but the 32's are over an inch wider (despite them both being labeled as 10.50's.) They also have a different tread pattern--the 33x10.50's have a continuous center chevron, while the 32x10.50's have the center chevrons divided into blocks. Allegedly the 33's are better in mud, the 32's in rocks...? In all likelihood, these tires cause hearing loss if used over 50 miles per hour...
Weight: 55 lbs.
Users: Swampwrecker, fee_nx

Everyone, please contribute your opinions/experiences (especially if you disagree with what I've said)!!!

Eventually maybe we can move this thread over to the FAQ section or something.

[Schludwiller]

Here is my 2 cents.

Trying to chose between BFG and Pirelli Scorpion A/T's?

Rank your offroading vs. commuting routine. (1-5, 5 being a lot of offroading, 1 being a gravel road on the way to a hiking trail).

If you fall at a 1-2 then get the Scorpions. If you are in the 4-5 then get the BFG's. If you're around a 3 then be honest and pick where your truck will be most of the time.

Pirelli's are excellent road tires. Do great in the rain and the snow, and hold their own in offroading trips. If you commute with your truck and like to go offroading then these tires are for you.

If you're offroading more often. Are looking for additional traction and durability at the loss of some road handling and water traction, then get the BFG's.

Either tire is an excellent A/T. The Pirelli should be the OEM tire for the Xterra. Or at least an option.

[ScottG]

I have read good things about Pro Comp tires. I have a friend that has the A/T's and the tread looks fairly aggressive, but not as aggressive as the BFG. They have a 50,000 mile tread warranty. The BFG's wear kind of fast in my opinion. Pro Comp mud terains are supposed to be fairly quite. They have a 2 ply sidewall, but they claim to use some type of compound that makes them puncture resistant. Pro Comp tires were really cheap at 4 Wheelparts Wholesalers about a year ago, but I've noticed that their prices are going up. I don't think they have a size 32, just 31's and 33's. Every now and then they have a sale, in which you can buy three tires and get the fourth free.

The best offroad tire in my opinion is the Super Swamper Bogger, but it's probably not very highway friendly. Also, I think the Boggers run wide which would cause them to rub.

[Philosopher]

Originally posted by ScottG

The best offroad tire in my opinion is the Super Swamper Bogger, but it's probably not very highway friendly. Also, I think the Boggers run wide which would cause them to rub.

Nope, Boggers aren't highway freindly.

And the thinnest Bogger you can get is still 12.5" wide, which would rub like hell in an X's wheel well.

[xterrabull]

I'm using 31x10.5 Geolander AT's and have the following comments:
-Quieter than you'd think given the fairly meaty tread (IMO the tread looks more aggressive than BFG AT''s)
-No dicy moments in rain-soaked streets or snowy roads to/from Lake Tahoe (this is the main reason I bought the X and an AT tire).
-I found them harder than I expected to spin in a (albeit fairly DRY) patch of mud.
With all this said, I should say that I'm new to offroading & don't have much to compare to but I have been extremely happy with these tires.

[Schludwiller]

The only thing about the ProComp M/T's is that they look almost like an A/T. The tread pattern is very tight.

Here are some tire reviews by bc4x4.com. A good site if you ever want to check it out.

ProComp M/T

and

Goodyear Wrangler MT/R

[Mobycat]

The Goodyear MT/R's are indeed 3ply sidewall. Still way too expensive, though.

[ChuckH]

Goodyear and expensive go hand in hand! I will never buy GoodYear tires because 90% of their line is mediocre at best and is over priced, and the ones they have that are good tires are way overpriced. this is especially true in their car offerings. Infact, I've never talked to anyone who liked their BadYear car tires, except those with the really high end stuff and even then, price was a complaint factor. They get away with this because of the name and the racing association...not too unlike Firestone, except without the shredding problem!

[FSRBIKER]

Interco must have just posted this info on the Truxxus as it was not there a few days ago, they have some nice 16" sizes available and they look like they run big. I think the 33x12.5x15 is now available as I have seen them advertised.


SIZE PLIES Width O.D. C.S. Rim Max
LT235/85R16 10 6.9 31.9 9.3 6.5x16
LT255/85R16 8 7.4 32.7 10.1 7x16
LT265/75R16 8 7.7 31.9 10.5 7.5x16
LT285/75R16 10 8.3 32.7 11.2 8x16
31x10.50R15 6 8.0 31.0 10.8 8.5x15

33x12.50R-15 Coming Soon

34x12.50R-15 Coming Soon

35x12.50R-15 Coming Soon

33x12.50R-16 Coming Soon

34x12.50R-16 Coming Soon

35x12.50R-16 Coming Soon

33x12.50R-16.5 Coming Soon

35x12.50R-16.5 Coming Soon

33x12.50R-17 Coming Soon

[wqbang]

Anyone have mileage estimates for some of these tires. I am now considering The BFG A/T KO, The Pro Comp M/T and the ProComp A/T. The Procomp A/T supposedly has a 60,000 mile treadwear warranty.

Anyone want to post the marked Treadwear ratings from their sidewalls?

Update: I got a chance to look at the BFG A/T KO's today on a truck here at work. There is no treadwear rating on these tires like most passenger car tires. I would assume that very few LT tires would have this.

[ScottG]

I'm pretty sure that I read somewhere that the Goodyears MT/R's have 2 ply sidewalls. I think it was in a tire comparison in Peterson's 4 Wheel & Offroad. The testers were initially worried about puncturing the side walls and commented that this was a problem with older Goodyear M/Ts. They ended up saying that they thought the MT/R was pretty tuff. Goodyear claims (like Pro Comp) that they use some type of criss crossing plies made of some kind of special compound that resists puncturing. I'm not a big fan of Goodyear tires either. I have heard that the MT/R produces more road noise than some other, more aggressive tires. But, the test in the link Schlud posted above indicates that they are fairly quite.

[unite@af]

Everyone go out and get Mays issue of Petersens 4Wheel and Off Road... They just did a comparison on the top ten tires!!!!! And get Four Wheeler why your at it and look for the f-650 truck... its awesome

[rhombus]

In the June Issue of Petersen's 4Wheel & Off-Road they do a "Giant Mud Tire Test"

Here is what they based it on:

• Distance in the pit (ft)
• Flotation
• Steering
• Launch
• Hillclimb
• Cleaning

Here is the run down: [list=1][*]Swamper Booger (well it is the best mud tire :-)[*]Swamper SSR[*]Goodyear MTR[*]Swamper TSL[*]Gumbo Mudder[*]BFG Mud-Terrain[*]Mickey T Baja-Claws[*]Pro Comp Mud Terrain[*]Yoko Gelolandar[/list=1]

[unite@af]

Hes correct its Junes Issue

[FSRBIKER]

The BFG Mud actually placed 5th just behind the TSL...they just fogot how to add :bonghitte