Treadwright vs. BF Goodrich.
 

My 2000 SR5 still has the stock 235/72/15's on. They're runnin' a little low on tread and I've also been wanting to upgrade to some bigger shoes.

•A set of BFGs, 31x10.5x15's, would run me around $900 at Discount – installed, balanced, road hazard, etc..

•A set of TWs, same size, would run me half of that – $400. That's including shipping ($100).

That size will fit stock, right? I'll eventually get a Toytec lift (either complete OME sus. or OME front/rear coils, I'm in no rush). My runner is 2WD, a daily driver, and I don't go offroading at all. Would the TWs be worth it in the long run? I'd need to get them installed and balanced. Would an alignment be necessary? Any pointers?

Thanks in advance.

I would think the bfg a/t will last you alot longer. My dads tacoma has bfg same size your looking at and he's had them for 6 years. Still look brand new. No visible wear at all

Get the treadwrights for sure.

I agree that the BFG's will last longer, they have almost twice the tread depth. With that said you can buy two sets of tread right for less than the BFG's. I vote Treadwrights

Are you sure about this? I just looked up BFG A/T's and TW Warden A/T's both in 31 X 10.5X 15. The BFG's are 16/32 and the TW's are 17/32's.

If you look up BFG mud and TW Guard Dogs they are both 19/32

This is also a question I am struggling with.

I think treadwrights would be the way to go if you can specify a carcass that is no more than x years old.

If you want to throw another wrench in the program, look up Kelly Safari TSR's. Couple hundred bucks more than the TW's.

The Treadwrights are retreads so of course they are cheaper. Some people question how well they'll hold up. I don't think they would sell them if they were unsafe, but for peace of mind I don't think I would ever run them on my vehicle. I'd rather spend the extra money and feel safe.

Are you dead set of these two companies? You haven't said which specific tires you are looking at.

You don't necessarily need an alignment, but if it's been a while it might be a good idea.

All I can say is everything is riding on the rubber, regardless of how much the tire is, i will continue to put quality tires on my vehicles, for my safety as well as my family......just my 2 cents.

let me also add that I have ZERO experience with TreadWrights, but i do know that the BFG's are top notch tires, and extremely reliable.

Been running TW's for almost 9,000 miles. Wearing great. Very happy with them. I plan on purchasing them again. I would go for the TW's, hands down. Some folks are nervous about it, which is fine. Initially, I was very skeptical too, and people can do whatever they please with their $$$. However, I did a lot of research and couldn't find any first hand failures.

Also, TW was very accommodating when I asked for a specific sidewall. All 4 turned out great.

I have run the Kelly safari's and they were a great tire. I Live in Montana so we get snow and such.

they were on a heavy Yukon XL, but ran well.

I know its a tough choice to buy tires. if you dont go off road then your choices you would consider will defantly last longer mileage wise.

As far as BFG AT tread life goes I doubt you will see more the 40,000 miles out of them. I've got about 36,000 on mine right now with about 4/32's of tread left on them. I've been super picky about rotations. I rotate every 5,000 miles giving me the most life out of my tires.

I am also considering TW for my next set of tires. I'm not concerned about them failing, just traction of the guard dogs during winter snow/ice. They are really cheap and I don't think I'll be able to afford anything else. I've only heard good things about these tires. My two cents...

michael833, I stumbled across this thread and thought you might like to check out this link. I have wheeled with 6string and trust his thoughts on equipment. This might provide a little more information for you to make your decision.

TreadWright Warden Review

I stand corrected. I went with mtz for two reasons 1. because at the time tw wasn't producing 315x75r17's. And 2. The other tires I was looking at had greater tread depth. All things being the same I would get tw's for the savings. Retreads are plenty safe and from what I've read these work great off road and on.

I don't have TWs so I can't say my opinions are 100% truth, but as far as off roading with re-treads goes, TWs own site says not to air their re-treads down. I'm sure that's because the tread can separate from the rest of the tire when it has low pressure and the rubber is being pulled, smashed, folded, etc.. against rocks and other obstacles. Re-treads also ring my common sense alarm...
Ever seen a nice, perfect strip of tire tread just laying on the freeway? Yup, that's what re-treads can do - especially on hot days. Now I don't know if that's common with TWs in particular, but I'll stick to normal tires personally.

Why does it have to be either/or? There are a ton of other brands of A/T's out there. I got Firestone Destination A/T's in 31 x 10.50 for $133 per tire mounted and balanced from a local independent shop. That was cheaper than any of the mail order dealers for the same tire once they are shipped and mounted.

If you go with the discount tire place make sure you check discounttiredirect.com It will have lower prices than the discount/america tire store and free shipping.

You can print that out and take it to the Discount tire and have them price match their own company ! I did this with my Km2's and saved over $300 from what americas tire first quoted me.

They got really irritated with price matching their own company but it saved me some serious case,



I wanted to see if this was true on your tires as well,
Error - Discount Tire Direct

This iscludes road hazzard and shipped. SHOP SMART my friend and good luck

J-Money$$ that's a great idea. One thing about internet tires is a lot of stores don't want to mount them for you. And some will not mount retreads or tires bigger than the manufacturer's plate. Walmart for instance will not mount 31's on a 4Runner.

Go to a normal tire shop if they give you mounting BS, not a mega store or a big corporation. Mom and pop will ALWAYS take your money and it's better to support the small guy anyways.

The broken tires you see on the highways are semi retreads. They are put together with a different process than what TW uses. I read a ton of reviews before purchasing and couldn't find one where someone had one come apart on them. I love my Guard Dogs. A ton of people air them down and never have had any problems with them. Even if I killed a tire TW has a warranty on them. $100 a pop for a basically brand new tire is a no brainer to me. You can even request BFG sidewalls so nobody will even know that you don't have a real BFG All Terrain tire.

I think if you're going to go through the trouble of changing tires, change to at least a 16" rim.

With all that tire, you'll want some stoppage. Tundra brake upgrade can't happen with a 15" rim.

Plus, you get better tire selection (metric, thank GOD)

:thumb3:

Sets of factory 16" wheels can be had on craigslist usually for cheap. There's a set on OC craigslist for 200 right now, with used tires.

Even cooler, some 17"s from a 4th gen.

TOYOTA 4RUNNER,SEQUOIA 17 INCH ALUM. WHEELS

For $200, that's a STEAL!

BFG A/T 265/70/17 sells for about 200 ea, so $800... or you can still get the other brand. I personally paid $640 for mine brand new, homie hookups :P

Or, since you don't wheel, 265/65/17's are even cheaper.

thanks for all the input guys. i was looking at the warden a/t by treadwright and the bfg all terrains.

as far as why i've narrowed it down to these two, they are aesthetically pleasing to me.

X2 on bigger rims and tundra brake upgrade.

I have been trying to find the same style rim but in 16's. I've also looked for the Sequoia/Tundra rims. I saw these rims on eBay and the little size thing says they won't fit. Whhhhat??? why not? i'm off tomorrow and i think i'm gonna hit up this place called Asian Auto Salvage. i called today and they said they had plenty of runners... we shall see. maybe they'll have some sequoias, tundras, rims, who knows?

also my brakes are squeaking quite badly. how often should one get the brakes changed?

Have you seen the Goodyear DuraTracs?

There's no time interval to follow for brakes because it soley depends on your driving habits. I know women that go through brakes in 4 months, but I go 4 years/50-60K on a set of pads. Downshifting when you can plays the biggest part I think.

i completely forgot about those! i do like them.

also, the folks over at the FJ Cruiser forum seem to like the Treadwrights.

I was recommended Tread Wrights as I wanted an aggressive M/T on a spare set of Tacoma 16's and have LT4's for daily driver. The TW Holwers should be in on Saturday and have a wheelin trip in 2 weeks, so I'll let you know how I like them.

michael833, Someone posted about the Firestone Destination A/T's. Those are fantastic tires and street wise I'll take them over the BFG's any day. I do like the BFG's but the Destinations seem more at home on the street, while being surprisingly capable off road as well.

I haven't read any real evidence retreads are bad and if you are on a budget I could see buying a set but you have only a 2 year/24,000 mile warranty and the one big issue is most tire places won't repair fixable holes in a retread.
I personally like a warranty for the life of the tire which I pay a little extra for through Discount.