NEW, IMPROVED RUBBER

[CamTheHedgehog]

Hello,
My BroncoII is approximately +210 pounds sprung and +180 unsprung on the 4" suspension lift, my mass not included. It's primary duties are cross country visit to family in Michigan and Florida, daily 175 mi round trip drive to work and back and camp adventures.

It is getting either 32" or 33" Lt or the metric equivalent; it will spend 96% of its existence going 63 mph and 10% of that hauling a modest device to was my dishes in, AKA sleep chamber.

- wear is a top consideration
- wet road handling is a keystone factor

I am open to all thoughts and suggestions, while the following are sets that I'm considering (in no specific order ):

• Buckshot Mudder Lt78-16 bi-ply
• Cooper Discoverer Road and Trail AT
• Savero HT2 GT Radial Adventuro AT3
• Interco TSL SX bi-ply
• Mickey Thompson Baja Legend EXP radial
• Perilli Scorpion radial

I would normally only consider 15" wheels but I happened into a set of 16" Al Ranger wheels that
are pretty light; I have 15×10 Al, 15×8 steel and the 16×7 Ranger's to pick from.

I have spoken face to face with several drivers using the Interco TSL SX in 33×9.5 and 33×13.5 or 12.5 (I forget which) but they reported decent road manners and incomprehensible tire wear; to the tune of 12+ years daily driver use, while still having, the appearance of 80% looking tread. This is very appealing to me and while not important at all...if I selected a tire based on its appearance, it would be these.

I've read a myriad of accounts of the Buckshot Mudder being an absolute BRUTE and just not wearing, like forever and the contrary that if they see pavement and last 20,000 miles to consider myself fortunate

I'm testing a used set of Savero HT2s to draw my own conclusions. I have no doubt how the Mickey Thompsons will perform except for towing. I am head over heals with the reports/reviews on the Cooper's ability to deal with water on the street.

BRING IT, please .)

I love my BFG KO2’s, they are 3PMS rated so great snow/water performance. 50,000 mile warranty, but I see them run longer than that all the time with proper care.


Don’t go pirelli. Please. They have their place, which is on a sports car. For the cost, their SUV/truck tires do not perform well and wear out faster than you can blink an eye.

 

[sgtsandman]

My personal opinion is that BFG KO2s don’t work well around where I live. They’re really only good as a summer tire. Doesn’t matter if you have the ponies for wheel speed, the sticky mud here just turns them into chocolate doughnuts. I don’t like them. The BFG mud tires are better.

Kenda tires surprised me, my 92 had a virtually brand new set of Kenda muds when I got it. Wore like iron and took everything I threw at them with grace. For a mud tire, I was impressed and I’d consider buying another set.

Cooper makes great tires and their off-brand is Mastercraft where they use the old Cooper tread patterns. I have Mastercraft tires on three of my trucks currently. Virtually unstoppable, mud, snow, rain, they just don’t care and get the job done. I had my F-150 buried to the axles once in nasty mud. Locked in the hubs, put it in low range, gave it a rock and out it came, with a ton of dirt in the bed.

The BFG KO2s have been fine for me but now that they have some wear on them, they don't handle heavy rain as well as they did.

I'm looking at Falken Wildpeaks to replace them when the time comes. They are reviewed as being just as good as the KO2s and handle rain better. And they are cheaper.

The 2019 is in need of new rubber, so it will get to be the test mule.

As far as mud tires, I'm eyeing up the Mastercraft Courser MXTs to run in the summer. The 2019 will eventually get mud tires too. I'll have to wait and see what is available at the time.

 

[lil_Blue_Ford]

The BFG KO2s have been fine for me but now that they have some wear on them, they don't handle heavy rain as well as they did.

I'm looking at Falken Wildpeaks to replace them when the time comes. They are reviewed as being just as good as the KO2s and handle rain better. And they are cheaper.

The 2019 is in need of new rubber, so it will get to be the test mule.

As far as mud tires, I'm eyeing up the Mastercraft Courser MXTs to run in the summer. The 2019 will eventually get mud tires too. I'll have to wait and see what is available at the time.

My one contractor buddy likes the Falken Wildpeaks. I never tried them yet.

My Choptop currently has the MXTs and I’m pretty happy with them so far. F-150 is at the end of its second set of CTs (they were replaced by the CXT which is what’s currently on my green Ranger). I had BFGs on my Choptop for years until dry rot got to them and wasn’t really impressed with performance. Prior to those I had some knock-off Ground Hawgs on it and the thing would go anywhere so the BFGs were a big disappointment for me.

 

[rusty ol ranger]

Don’t go pirelli. Please. They have their place, which is on a sports car. For the cost, their SUV/truck tires do not perform well and wear out faster than you can blink an eye.

I had a set of pirelli's on my 99 crown vic. They came with the mustang wheels i bought and were about new. They made that thing handle like it was on rails.

It also would get stuck in 1/2 inch of snow

 

[superj]

my buddy had Pirellis on his rodeo. he always got stuck when we would go off roading. (lots of stuff gets stuck in the sand dunes though, my brother always got stuck in his jeep cherokee with 32s and 4 inch lift)

but my trooper with those bfg always pulled them out.

 

[CamTheHedgehog]

my buddy had Pirellis on his rodeo. he always got stuck when we would go off roading. (lots of stuff gets stuck in the sand dunes though, my brother always got stuck in his jeep cherokee with 32s and 4 inch lift)

but my trooper with those bfg always pulled them out.

BFG all terrains or mud terrains?

 

[superj]

All terrain

 

[Roert42]

Cooper Discovers AT. Best all around truck tires I’ve ever ran. Comfortable, quiet, amazing in rain and snow.

General makes some really nice mud tires, but I’ve not tried any of their other stuff

 

[gaz]

@CamTheHedgehog
I have issue with BFG, something always craps on the deal. I completely agree in regards to Pirelli's Scorpion line, I have had great experience with the Trailhandler APT rubber they made for Sears...best compound I've used in local environment.

@sgtsandman
I was helping a comrade with his ride at The Les Schwab, while in the shop I was looking over the two entries from Mastercraft (made by Cooper [Goodyear]); they look nice, they are on the table.

@lil_Blue_Ford
The Wildpeaks are not bad, definitely geared toward snow ..)

@rusty ol ranger , @superj
I had a 3rd set of P zeros, +1 to 17" on the ole 94 F chicken, mounted on 95 SS wheels really improved the ride in every manner...snow condition, stayed in the garage for the annual 13 days of snow that sticks.

@Roert42
Cooper is more than intriguing. They have special models available in The Walmart, The Pepboys and their standard lines from all the tire centers.

I have been reading about the Adventurer, Discoverer and more specific their Evolution M/T, HT2 and Tour All Season. Lots to consider ..)

 

[CamTheHedgehog]

@CamTheHedgehog
I have issue with BFG, something always craps on the deal. I completely agree in regards to Pirelli's Scorpion line, I have had great experience with the Trailhandler APT rubber they made for Sears...best compound I've used in local environment.

@sgtsandman
I was helping a comrade with his ride at The Les Schwab, while in the shop I was looking over the two entries from Mastercraft (made by Cooper [Goodyear]); they look nice, they are on the table.

@lil_Blue_Ford
The Wildpeaks are not bad, definitely geared toward snow ..)

@rusty ol ranger , @superj
I had a 3rd set of P zeros, +1 to 17" on the ole 94 F chicken, mounted on 95 SS wheels really improved the ride in every manner...snow condition, stayed in the garage for the annual 13 days of snow that sticks.

@Roert42
Cooper is more than intriguing. The have special models available in The Walmart, The Pepboys and their standard lines from all the tire centers.

I have been reading about the Adventurer, Discoverer and more specific their Evolution M/T, HT2 and Tour All Season. Lots to consider ..)

I agree with your and Roert42's opinion on the coopers, they make a good mud terrain. The highway terrains are also really popular amongst the fleet guys with 3/4 ton and 1 ton trucks.

Can't speak on their tour all season. As for their Discoverer A/T offering, meh. They aren't super great at anything really, but have good road manners.

 

[superj]

i have the cooper dicoverers on my full size titan. unfortunately, in 10 ply so i cannot comment on the lt version but they are great in light snow. i put them on two years ago right before we went to colorado for christmas and it started snowing as soon as we got to colorado springs. the truck never had a traction issue anywhere. it wasn't alot of snow, like an inch or two, but never once did we slide or spin and i never put it in 4wd.

they were quiet for a long time, too. recently, they have gotten loud at lower speeds and have started bothering me but not bad enough i am going to replace them. they still look brand new and have probably 25k on them. in rain they are super, too. towing, no problems.

the titan is our trip truck so its not used every day. it pulls the vehicles back from other states when the kids need something brought back and just does highway duty.

as far as the noise, when coming to a stop, i am getting that roaring sound that AT tires start making. they have been rotated regularly and balanced the last rotation but they still make that annoying sound when coasting to a stop coming off the highway. if i could stop that, i would have zero complaints about them.


and they were buy three get one free at pep boys so they weren't terribly priced

 

[Roert42]

The discoverer LTs I had on my brothers ranger, they came with the truck, but we’re fairly new.
Was able to drive that truck through/ over snow drifts taller than the hood. 4hi with two open diffs, drop it in first and would walk right through.

The whole time I drove it they were pretty quiet, but that was compared to a set of General grabber AT2s that were really loud.

 

[gaz]

A bunch of great input, ideas and feedback. Once I find either a type of product or specific manufacturer that suits my mission (daily commutes and cross country towing), I will continue to use it until it is no longer available or the quality diminishes.

The current front runner is a newer tire from Mickey Thompson called the "DEEGAN 38 A/T"; the reason for focus on this tire is it most closely resembles, in both tread design and performance characteristics, the former high mileage AT I've used which after 19 years have just started to dry rot. The other side of my thought is that the Mickey's I have are great, long lasting and perform very well in their designed job.

What I do not know is which version is better suited to my mission, the Lt or the SUV version:
• 33×12.5r15
• 285/75r16

Unfortunately for me, I do not fully understand how the load rating will translate to premium function while towing a modest camper (2,500-4,000 lbs).

If I understand LOAD RATING correctly, I may be better off sacrificing ride comfort for strength. For example:
- 123 load rating will be a stiffer tire with improved stiffness/strength while towing
- 107 load rating will offer more comfortable ride when not towing

Do I have that correct?

 

[Roert42]

The load rating isn’t 100% related to tire stiffness.

Tires with more cords in the sidewall are normally stiffer, so you get less sway and better tread wear with a load on.

Tires can have less sidewall cord and still have the same load rating. They’ll ride better empty but May be too soft with a load.

 

[gaz]

Oh , are the 16" Ranger wheels 7" wide or are they 7½"?

It has been brought to my attention that a 285/75r16 shouldn't be used on a 7" wide wheel; what about a 7½"?