Need tire advice.....more aggressive, but good road manners

[dougg01]

So my firestones worked great when we took them wheeling in the super dry last fall. Great tire on the road and in snow. Won't clean any mud out at all.

So, I am about to put N90s on the blazer and have decided to stay with 31s though I am planning a body lift. I do not want to mess with gearing and such right now and the 31s I have now need a bit more clearance anyway.

Been looking at:

Master Craft Courser C/T
Good year Dura track
Pro Comp Xtreme All-terrain

You get the idea. Not a true mud tire, but not on a closed/lug all-terrain either.

The General Grabber AT/2 might be okay and is more aggressive than the BFG, but still isn't much good in mud. I'm talking about bogging here, but being able to handle a hill side with it being a little sloppy. I'm not a 'mudder' loking for some big puddle to throw the truck into...

If I have to, I'll get the BFG KO, but it is my last choice at the moment....but it is a known and will perform most of what I want to do.

thanks.

[roadrunner]

The BFG KO's I have been running for several years (2nd set) will clean in mud but require wheel speed to do so. You won't be able to ease into it and get them to clean adequately if serious mud and low wheel speed is your desire. They do suit me for my all around usage but perhaps not for those who want to run in heavy/deep mud without spinning the wheels quite a bit to keep em clean. BFG does make a mud terrain radial if that's your desire.

[rlrnr53]

I just put 4 Goodyear Wranglers on my truck, but I rarely go off the pavement. Getting to work and back is my main concern, as I'm expected to be there no matter what the weather. I only live a mile and a half from work, and there have been days when they have had to send a snow plow to pick me up.

[dougg01]

So the KOs will clean okay in mild stuff with some wheel speed...? I've not known anyone running them in much mud and I am not looking for much either, but I figure on the trails its going to be there in some quantity I can't avoid and will need to climb through it. deep stuff....I'm turning around.

Hmmmm.

Our drive is ~100ft above the shared drive and we're a bit more than 1/4 mile from the road. the road is a 1.5 lane thing with no shoulder and there is always a reason to get off the side to let someone else by. My <40mi commute can take 50min on a good day or hours when it floods.

[Horsehammerr]

My Hankook Dynapro ATm's never stop amazing me. Unbelievable wet, dry, snow and ice grip. I have not had a reason to hit the mud yet but , when all this ice and snow melt down, mud is on the way.

[roadrunner]

Yes the KO's will negotiate some mud and they are excellent in snow. I ran them from 3 days before Christmas till April 9th a few years ago in a severe mud winter situation on roads ranging from no gravel to poorly sanded on my mail route 100 miles per day 6 days a week with good results. Many times they drug me through deep water filled mud ruts while dragging bottom with the CC. Several times they saved me from real trouble as well including driving in ditches because you could not keep the truck on the road no matter what you tried. I might add I found out what lo4 is for in my truck the hard way. Got stuck and powered out in 4hi stopped dead went to 4lo and tried to back a bit to get a moving start. Wouldn't move. Dropped it in drive and stood on it as I was a long way from any kind of help. Tach read 6000 speedo read 30mph. Looking out the window actual ground speed was somewhere around 5mph or less. Truck kept moving slowly and drug me out. I didn't go there the following weeks till the road improved considerably. In my case I discovered I was better off getting a bit of wheel spin to keep them cleaned so they would bite better. I have run the Wranglers rlnr speaks of and they were not nearly the all around tire the KO's are. I have no experience with the Hankooks hammerr mentions.

[dougg01]

Wow - on the KO's performance in your CC.

I asked one of the guys who service our Early Warning System equipment at towers across the state. Most use a dodge 2500 4wd CC with wrangler duratracs. He told me they wear great and he loves them. The roads these towers are on are often laughable when you try to consider them roads. Most of the trucks are equipped with 12,500lb Warn winches because of this. He told me the only times they get stuck is when its either sheer ice or the weight of the truck gets over an edge and works against them.

At tirerack the price is a wash for 31x10.50-15s between the duratracs and the KOs. Hmmmm.

[HenryJ]

I am a BFG TAKO believer. Ten time Baja Champion. Snow rated traction DOT "Snowflake" on many sizes. 50k miles in a 25k mile category. Aggressive looks and tame road performance.
I am on my third set for personal vehicles and I have run ten sets through the fleet.

Are they going to be for everyone and every terrain? No. They do darn well on most terrains though.

If you need heavier lugs and a more aggressive tire, the Firestone Destination M/T has been working well in the fleet. It needs some consideration.

[green02crew]

HJ, The Firestone Destination M/T is on my list for next tire to try. I have the Destination A/T and like the performance. I also have Goodyear Wrangler MT/R and the Firestone Destinations seem to be similar in style to those and I love them! The benefit of the Firestones over Goodyears, predrilled for studs. The only part of the Goodyear that's lacking, ice traction. Sounds like a win win.

[HenryJ]

Mileage has been pretty good. Maybe slightly better than the MTR and twice that of the STT. The guys like them as well as the MTR. Availability and price are better. Ice traction is maybe slightly worse than the MTR with the harder compound, but no complaints. They have a closer tread pattern than some other M/T tires and can grab some pretty big rocks to toss.
I don't think that I need a set, but in the fleet they are my current top choice. The government must like them too as the 235/85-16 size has been backordered since October of last year.

[dougg01]

I am a BFG TAKO believer. Ten time Baja Champion. Snow rated traction DOT "Snowflake" on many sizes. 50k miles in a 25k mile category. Aggressive looks and tame road performance.
I am on my third set for personal vehicles and I have run ten sets through the fleet.

say no more. I believe. We aren't going 'mudding'. If we hit a mud hole it's not going to be 3ft deep and if it is - I have recovery points. They are a good-looking tire and should serve my weekend play time well and do the DD stuff without skipping a beat.

the Firestone Destination M/T has been working well in the fleet. It needs some consideration.

Plan to put a pair on the rear of the 2wd S-10 ext-cab that is getting 3" spindles, springs, and shackles for 31s. It's got the lock-rite I slapped in it back around 1995 for autocrossing. Headers, edelbrock intake, turbo-city TBI stuff, transGo shift-kit, etc. No horsepower, but tons of torque. Big cleat on the rear and that thing will move it along. Need to get started on it when the weather breaks. Not to be a wheeler, but a backup for the blazer and general farm truck. My 10yr-old likes to drive it around our place. Needs a lot of TLC from the time it sat and wasn't mine. I bought it new in 1993 and sold it in the summer of 1998 and got it back last year.

[HenryJ]

say no more. I believe...

You will spend a little more on the BFG TAKO , but I don't think they are priced out of the market like some others. In the end their value is better than some for the longer lifespan.

...Plan to put a pair on the rear of the 2wd S-10 ext-cab

The Firestone Destination M/T on the back of a 2wd would be a good choice. Many of the guys in my fleet say they go places in 2wd that they needed 4x4 before. I have four 2wd running those on the rear and a couple with them on both ends. They steer very well in the slick stuff. You might consider putting them on all four corners of your prerunner.

[dougg01]

[quote="HenryJ]The Firestone Destination M/T on the back of a 2wd would be a good choice. Many of the guys in my fleet say they go places in 2wd that they needed 4x4 before. I have four 2wd running those on the rear and a couple with them on both ends. They steer very well in the slick stuff. You might consider putting them on all four corners of your prerunner.[/quote]

I have the four Destination ATs on the Blazer now that were new on the Jimmy last year. We really like these tires and have run several sets on the Suburban. Snow, the driveway, ice, etc they are great. They just don't do much for mud. The burb has only been stuck once and that was when it slipped off the side of the driveway (very steep) into the ditch. The LF tire was off the ground. The ditch is rock, clay, and some vegitation. It took me over an hour to free it - digging, moving rocks, breaking ice, and shoveling snow. The problem - the little bit of soil-ish stuff had clogged the tires. I got it on the drive and backed it down (there's a curve at the bottom and a drop-off if you slide over). Somewhere I have a picture or two. I was recovering from bladder cancer surgery and did this..... yeah, that hurt a LOT later. I think I took a few pictures from the house when I went inside to warm up and rest. No, it wouldn't back down and straddle the ditch either. That thing has a BIG, 7,000lb butt.

Anyway, two of the destination ATs will go on the front of the 2wd and two left over for each to get a really good spare. works out. Initially the 2wd will run all 4 ATs.

[Walt]

+1 for bfg at ko's. Had a tick over 60k on mine when I had the wreck. I choice could've gotten another 20k out of them easily... Excellent all around tire with a good, aggressive look.

...sent from my android mobile.

[rlrnr53]

We have the Goodyear Dura Trac on our K3500 shop truck at work. They have been on for abot ayear and a half, and so far have shown good wear and excellent traction. We have went places in 2wd that on the older set we had to use 4wd. We keep the truck loaded probably close to or slightly over the rated GVW, and the truck handles quite well. So far, everyone that has driven the truck in snow, has been very pleased. I considered them when I put tires on my truck a few weeks ago, but decided that I didn't need the extra expense since I don't have to go off paved surfaces very often, and couldn't see the added expense.

[sonomadude4x4]

ive got the bfg km2's really quiet on the road and good manners for a mud tire and the ll get u through anything