Tire selection help

[texican]

Hello fellow Bronco enthusiasts. I am new to all of this and I recently bought an 81 Bronco in pretty good shape. It has a 6 inch Superlift with 35 Swamper Boggers on it. I know these tires are mainly for off-road use, but I live in the city. And, it takes a good 30 to 50 miles one-way to get anywhere I could take it off-road. The main use of it would be to do some beach crusin' or some off-roading maybe twice a month. I like the look and size of the Swampers, but do not want to tear them up getting to my destination. Can anyone of you experts out there recommend a tire that looks good (Swamper-esk) and has all-terrain capabilities-mostly getting to-and-fro the fun? Thanks in advance for your help.

 

[Justshootme84]

Howdy & Welcome to Bronco Zone!!! Be sure to post an Intro and a pic ot two in the "Introductions" forum!!!

The TSL SUper Swampers, Boggers, and other tires in that line are great offroad, but will wear out really fast with much highway driving. THe Goodyear Wrangler MTR's are good, but the All Terrain (AT's ) do not like gravel (prone to flats due to thin sidewall). A very good tire for both highway and offroad is the BFG AT. Other good brands are Mickey Thompson, Yokohama, and the Pirelli Scorpion AT. I had 31" Pirelli's on my Bronco for 3 years, and they looked like new after 20K miles. Prices will range from $120-$250 per tire, with the BFG's being one of the most expensive. Keep the front end alignment true and these will last 40K miles or more.

 

[carcass]

BFG T/A KO would be ideal for what you are searching for. They are a nice 50/50 tire, and they also offer the rugged look that you want. They can be expensive, but if you regularly rotate and balance them, you can easily get 50k out of them. Mine have lasted for almost 60k.

 

[texican]

Thanks for the info fellas. I'll be sure to post some pics soon!!

 

[bluesman17]

Dunlop Radial Mud rovers, very well priced and I have always had good experience with Dunlops, until they discontinued my RVs (it was more aggressive than the current a/ts)

 

[White90Bronco]

I have Bridgestone Dueler A/T's and they're great on and off road. They ride great at 70mph and they always find traction off road.

 

[rubberdust]

As tires give you lots of choices one of the key decisions you'll need to make needs to be based on your NEEDS.

There are quite a few decent choices in all terrain type tires that will offer good pavement manners & various levels of traction & durability off the pavement.

The question is do you play in the mud?

I've had the chance to run a number of all terrain type tires that will work well off road, but when it comes to mud even the best traction all terrain tires will have you using your winch when the going gets tough.

Both the Goodyear Wrangler MT/R & the BFG Mud Terrain T/A KM offer decent pavement manners, 3 ply sidewalls for greater durability off the pavement & enough traction to make the winch a rarely needed accessory.

As I look at it tires are like shoes for your ride, you probably wear different shoes depending on what your going to do. Ideally swapping tires is not a bad way to go, it's costly up front but over time pays off letting you do what you want & getting the most life you can out of your tires. Attempting to explain this concept to my wives over the years while counting their shoes has cost me way more than the tires & wheels.

 

[carcass]

lol glad im not married yet, I still have closet space for my tires!

 

[TennesseeBroncBoy]

Hey, I'm new here(Just did the intro post) and I'll give ya my two cents. I have recently lived in Okinawa Japan h34r: /emoticons/[email protected] 2x" width="20" height="20" /> for the past three years before moving to Iceland. The roads there are made of ground coral, and they love to eat tires! I put a new set on when I bought my truck there and had the same set on after about 2 1/4 to 2 1/2 years of hard driving on road and off road ALL the time!. Well, they were by far better than ANY tire I have had before(Firestone/Bridgestone/Wrangler). I am sure you're wonderin' what they were. I think Justshootme84 listed the brand. They were the Yokohama Geolandar MT+ series. Make sure you get the + Series! It is a directional tire that is SUPER at self cleaning. It looks great/tough and handles even better. It has side cleats/lugs on every other **** to get that good side traction when you are in the honey holes. However, the next thing is what impressed me the most. The wear factor is INCREDIBLE and ability to handle ANY on-road condition as well. These tires never really hydroplaned due to center groove and outward running **** trenches and stopped me on a dime(almost) with little or no skidding, even on wet roads. And believe me, when it rains in Oki...IT RAINS! (Tropical Island Monsoons and Typhoons) They can also handle high speeds as well with no problem. The only thing is noise. You and the people driving near you will definitely know you have mud tires on. Check for sizes. I am not sure how big they get. I used 31x10.5x15 for my Toyota Hilux Surf. I'll include two website for your viewing pleasure. Yokohama Website AND Canadian Website review I hope this helps. I am sold until I find a better, more reliable, and better priced tire. Good luck!

 

[cowboydan]

i have a set of 35/12.5 mt general grabbers. i like them. but i want something more agressive like an iroc or a swamper. when i do get my desired set, these generals will be my off-season tire. i can put up with the change over. i do it with my wifes car. winter/ summer swaps. if you'r not willing to swap off tires then you're better of with a nice at/mtr

mtr have really good road manners but are agressive enough to get mud on them.... just ask 79bronco how he like his mtrs'