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Member
Join Date: Feb 2017
Location: California
Posts: 107
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Such a loaded question.....
So much of this comes down to personal preferences. The stock tires are honestly probably (magic word) fine for the purposes you're describing. They CAN handle some light off-roading just fine. You have to ask yourself:
1) What kind of off-roading? Dirt roads? Light trails (as in, well marked and clear of rocks, debris, vegetation)? Mud? Snow? All of these things are factors.
Myself I went with Cooper ST Maxx for a couple reasons. Tread is an AT tread design that is similar to other tires I've had good experiences with. It will perform reasonably well in sand, dirt, gravel, rocks. It will not be as good in mud. It is a Mountain/Snow tire, and is rated for adverse/mountain winter conditions. For my purposes, this hits on my main needs for off-road use. I don't plan to go mudding or intentionally looking for deep mud.
There are trade-offs though.
2) Highway use? How much MPG and highway friendliness are you willing to sacrifice for off-road utility? How much road noise is too much? Does the highway ride and handling matter significantly?
In my case, I was willing to trade off. I have no spouse or SO to worry about whining about road noise, and after 3 Jeep Wranglers with soft tops, the road noise from the Coopers, to me, is laughable. It might not be to some though. Also, the handling is a bit different. They're E-Rated tires, and heavier. That's a lot of rolling momentum.
Look at it this way, wheels/tires are a little bit like gyros. They're spinning and going in one particular direction. The faster they're spinning, the more they want to stay on that same track. Nice heavy tires like mine, will WANT to stay on a certain course, especially at higher speeds. So, I have traded off some high-speed maneuverability. Could this be a problem in SoCal? Yeah. I also don't drive that fast (I push 70 at tops.... if I want to go fast, I'll buy another motorcycle).
Now, the tread pattern for the ST Maxx has a center section that is similar to a "street tire", and that will make it a little more friendly on the highway than a pure mud tire. It will improve economy and road handling, as that center patch is going to be in contact with the road in almost all maneuvering (long physics discussion I'm not going to get into).
3) Durability. How tough do you need the tire? Street tires can get away with less durability (to an extent) since the roadways are relatively debris free. There's no roots, rocks, or other hidden goodies for the most part that can/will damage a tire or seriously hurt the tire's integrity. Off-road though, is a different story. Some trails (like Skyline Trail up near Big Bear) are damn near unpaved roads and offer a fairly risk-free surface. I, personally, feel just fine driving that with P-rated. Now, going off-road out near Superstition Mountain in the OHV area there (near El Centro)..... no. There's simply too much crap on the ground out there, and a P-rated tire simply won't have the thickness or plies for the sidewalls that I'd be comfortable with there. And even then, there's no guarantee.
Side note: P and LT rated tires have more to do with the load ratings. HOWEVER, there are differences in the construction of these tires, necessary to achieve these load ratings, that make the various types more appealing to certain tasks.
So, for my purposes, I went with MTN4RNR's choice, the Cooper ST Maxx in E-load rating. Yes. They are heavier. Yes, they affect my road handling. On the same coin, I'm far more comfortable wheeling off-road with them. I feel (key word) more reassured by them in regards to sidewall punctures (which, reading up, were an issue with the Goodyear Duratracs, the other option I considered). They're the tire that I felt best met my own needs in on and off-road drivability, and durability.
Long story short: There is no perfect tire. There's only the tire that you feel best suits your needs. The best thing to do is educate yourself thoroughly, read up, and educate yourself on wheel/tire care/service, so you know what to do when things don't go as planned.
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