Arctic Offroad Forums

Ok, lets here it, what is the best. I know, opinions are like, well, ya know, but I am buying new rubber this spring and I want to get it right the first time.

Swampers

Off road only tires - boggers - we have some stingking deep goo! However, they wear fast due to the soft compound and if driven daily the tread will seemingly dissapear!

On Road + Off road - BFG AT's they do well in evrything from ice to deep snow to rocks, sand, and shallow mud. Deep mud they clog up. In evetrything else they perform outstandingly well. They also do not wear as well as some of the super soft on road made for gripping the ice tires, nor do they wear as fast as the off road super soft compound to grip rocks abnd terrain tires. Overall, these are the bomb.

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Swampers

for about 3 months a year...

for the other 9 months, I say MTR's. I geoff is gonna get on his soap box, but MTR's did reasonably well in mud, excellent in snow, rocks, sand, gravel, ice, and dont wear fast on pavement.

The only MT tire I've ran up here is the BFG MT. It has been fine. It's great in all conditions in my mind. Gina drove the XJ through a mud hole the MTR's just clogged up on. Climbing up onto rocks they have been great. Winter they have been fine, not the best. And they wear fairly well.

So whats the deal with MTR's is the mud? Is there really a difference between where they will take me compared to the MT?

MTR's aren't designed for mud. Nevertheless, their wide voids help them clear easily, and their biting edges tend to grab the bottom if you can find it. If you have to float, good luck...those biting edges turn into cutting edges and if it's deeper than your frame, you're hosed. It's most likely installation of the driver mod, but it seems that when I went to AT's from the MTR's that came on the Jeep, I did a heck of alot better offroad. I didn't do the same trails other than S. Cushman flats, but in the flats the AT's didn't seem any less worse for wear than the MTR's in the water. I won't go and do that again though....for me the Flats are winter-only, until I get some really good mud tires and have a few other rigs out there for support and safety.

I'd say BFG MT's. Siped, they can act like AT's in the winter, but are much better in the mud in the summer. They also wear pretty well, but are a bit louder.

Trxus MT's have the best of all worlds. Swamper TSL tread design (with smaller voids though....won't clear like a full TSL), AT-level siping, enough rubber on the road to reduce noise and help pavement pounding handling...and the larger sizes have the sticky compound available. It's like Interco wanted to please everyone and came through pretty nicely.

Swamper Radials...I ran some 36" TSL's in radial and they were great on my truck when it pulled double duty. Worked great offroad, better than pretty much all other MT's, plus there street mannerisms were second to none. If I had to buy another set of tires for a DD/offroader it would be the radial TSL's in whatever size...

I would stay away from anything BFG in the winter mounts up here. I love BFG Baja tires and the Krawlers, but the BFG’s are not designed for the cold. Heather and I talked to two of the BFG tire designers at the last off-road show in Vegas and we asked them what they recommended. We have seen a lot of sidewall failures (Ask Ziggy over at AT). They both said they do not recommend their use up here in the winter and that they can have catastrophic failures, which is not covered by their warrantee. There best advice was to use a Natural rubber (not synthetic) inter tube inside the tire. Just some food for thought.

All of our MTR’s have been great, but you need to understand that there are 3 or 4 different tire compounds and speed ratings. Each of these has totally different properties, so what one says about the MTR might be the same as someone else since it really isn’t the same tire. As Far as in the mud they do fine, but if you are not trying to float on top they need to be filled to there max PSI and then they clean very well. I had over 65,000 miles on my 37” MTR’s when I sold them to Rob. He drove to PA on them and still sold them to some one else.

Pure off-road tire is another story and one that will be for only one or two types of terrain.
Bogglers are the worst tires for deep snow, as they will not float at all. I have not seen any one tire that is best suited for all of our trails up here and feel that, that my be another topic all together.

I can't complain about my IROK's they do great on snow and ice because of the siping and if I overinflate them by about 5 PSI, they don't flat spot at all like the other Interco bias tires. They do great in mud too. They wander just a tiny bit because they are a big balloon tire, not as firm in the on road handling department as a radial or shorter sidewall bias. They are huge and harder to steer, especially when aired down, so I may invest in a rock ram someday. If you need a medium size tire, the 36 IROK's would be perfect.

Ron, you gotta tell us percentage of on/off road.

I actually recommended a set of MTRs to a guy last month. He wants 33s on his TJ, and probably won't ever take it off-road. :troutslap:

sevenslats Wrote:Ron, you gotta tell us percentage of on/off road.

I actually recommended a set of MTRs to a guy last month. He wants 33s on his TJ, and probably won't ever take it off-road. :troutslap:

I plan at least 2 runs a month during the summer. This is my DD as well, but I want something that isnt going to leave me high and dry on the trail.

So you'll be taking multiple trips to Anch as well? I think I heard you mention that.

Not having personal experience with them, Ryan's post sounds real good. I may listen to his advice when I but my next set.
But Kev's got some good stuff to say as well.

I guess it all depends on you. Do you want your best performance on the pavement or off?

I like the cooper STT 2s and the Toyos as well. I think they are a good all-around performer.

sevenslats Wrote:I guess it all depends on you. Do you want your best performance on the pavement or off?

Im looking at offroad capability. Personally, I thought Nates MTR's did exceptional in the snow as did Dericks Yoko's. I want something that is not going to wear out in 1 year though. I think my Anchorage driving days are over, but I will still see regualar trips arond the interior.

MTR's are the shat...

Yoko's will ware in a year. I love thm but man they ware fast for the price.

AK20 Wrote:Swamper Radials...I ran some 36" TSL's in radial and they were great on my truck when it pulled double duty. Worked great offroad, better than pretty much all other MT's, plus there street mannerisms were second to none. If I had to buy another set of tires for a DD/offroader it would be the radial TSL's in whatever size...

Thanks for expounding my sentiment Ryan. I agree and believe in these tires. The only down side that I see in this recommendation is Ronsters desire for a tire that will not wear really fast. But there is no perfect tire I dont care what anyone says and you will have to compromise somewhere, I still say Swampers.

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you will have to compromise somewhere

this is a true statement. I havent seen Swampers be able to effectively float on snow, nor get the greatest traction on ice. However, they cannot tbe beat in mud.

naturalbornmudder Wrote:I havent seen Swampers be able to effectively float on snow

Hmmm Kelly its a good thing your Sammy was light it must have made it easier to extract after sinkin in all those snow drifts.
I know this is a "exception to the rule" beings it was a Sammy but depending on how heavy your rig is, and how wide of a tire you run (Swamper or otherwise) if aired down enuff Swampers WILL float relatively decent on snow, and again this is swampers we are talking about not Boggers.

Quote:again this is swampers we are talking about not Boggers.

good point. I had boggers in mind. If you are talking TSLs, I dunno a great deal about them, so I cannot pipe up on that, other than seeing Daves TSL's.

Talking floatation with a Sammi is an unfair topic.

The best floatation mud tire I have ever seen was the mud rover. Soft sidewalls equals plenty of sidewall flex.

BFG's, MTR's, and the like do good at floatation. This was a definate necessity on trails with drifted snow like the top of Banner. It was also crucial on the great Manchu winchfest, both winter and summer episodes.

right now I am between the BFG's and MTR's. I am leaning towards the MTR's for the following reasons, so please let me know if they are not factual.

MTR has a thicker sidewall
Per Eric, MT's have a different compound which is not warrantied at our temps
MTR's seem to last longer
Air Up and down will not be a problem, so I should have the best of b oth worlds with them

thoughts???

My 38.5x16 TSL's floated fairly well on snow. The 39.5x18 boggers don't.

The boggers do ok on hardpack, but once you loose the hardpack and sink, regaining flotation on it is incredibly difficult.

Get the Good Years...think of all that went into them As you stated the BFG is NOT the tire for cold weather.

I do not regret, not for a minute, getting my MTR's. They do decent in the mud even, which is their worst area. Ask ChevyKev about Jon and Lenis going away run.

Go MTR, my experience side by side with rigs built the same my MTR's out performed BFG MT/AT, BuckShot Mudders, MT Baja Claw, Pro Comp MT/XT, Dunlop MT and Yoko MT's in Mud, Rock and sand. The only tire that did better was the MT Baja Claw in the mud. I love my MTR's but I don't think I'm going to go back to them when I buy new tires. I'm wanting to go bigger and wider, now if GY made a 37X13.5X15 or a 35X13.5X15 I'd get those but I think my new tire is going to be a 36" Irok.

Ahem Trxus.