Another.........Tire question!

[Footofgod]

I don't want to know what will fit, I want to know what your opinion is of this plan.

I have 4.56 gears, 2"lift (have parts, but not on yet) and 15x7 rims. I think my plan is to put 34x11.5x15 BFG KM2 or another set of the BFG AT/KO.

Is there really much a difference between 34 and 35 at my gearing?

Will I run a greater risk of breaking a bead with 11.5 vs 10.5 on 7" rims?

The AT tires have been great. I have nothing bad to say about them and they always get me where I need to go. What advantages will I gain with the KM2?

Thanks for your opinions.

 

[CAN-03runner]

Why the move to taller tires? You needed more clearance on the trails you hit, you want to hit bigger badder trails etc.... If not a technical reason then you would gain only lots of cool factor. So if the AT got you where you wanted to go, unless you want to go to bigger badder trails, then no advantages gained.

KM2 advantage, strong side wall, soft and grippy for rocks, nice lugs to pull through mud, and lots of void to empty the mud.

Probably the biggest advantage over the AT is the KM2 ability in mud. The AT fills up and becomes a slick. Everywhere else I have seen BFG AT and BFG KM2 work similar. The AT struggles in slipery mud and gets stuck.

 

[92-SR5]

I am not a tire expert but I would imagine that the km2s would have better traction off road, however, you will sacrifice longevity on the road. The AT/KO is a great all around tire though. Many people I know only run that tire on their rigs.

 

[KidVermicious]

The BFG AT doesn't like mud, but it'll perform much better in sand. And I dunno how much you're going to like an 11.5 tire on a 7 inch rim if you like to air down at all. It's been done, but I think you'd be pricing DIY beadlocks in short order.

I've got a set of 15x11 wheels you can have, but you'd have to come get 'em...

 

[Footofgod]

Definitely want more clearance over rocks! Don't really need to do bigger and badder trails.

As for the AT bogging down in mud, what mud are you taking about? I have ran mine through all sorts of mud and not had an issue. We do see sand here and not a ton of mud, which makes me lean towards the AT. Keeping an eye out for rims.

Kid-send me some pics of the rims. Are they alloy or steel? If I like them, I would pay the shipping.

 

[Hyde802]

Youll have to do some fender trimming to get the 34s to work without rubbing, but its do-able.

I dont think youll notice a power difference between a 34 and a 35.

The lift you have is bj spacers right? You might need different rims anyway due to wider tires and upper A arm clearance.

Check out AxleIkes build and what he had to do to make 35s work with his stock stuff.

http://www.yotatech.com/f199/morph-187544/

The whole thread is sweet, but front end stuff starts at post 97.

 

[BucknutBob]

The difference between 34's and 35's with respect to gearing would be negligible, but you should be running 5.29's with either of them, not 4.56's. Like CAN-03 mentioned, the Mud T/A gains in deep mud, and is a better climber on rocks (just check out any video with hardcore crawlers--they're usually always on mud tires). The BFG's wear exceptionally well--I've had Mud T/A's on a couple of my rigs, with great results. It's one of the quieter mud tires, too. They won't be as good in snow or sand as the A/T's. You will definitely need more lift or more cutting/bending to make them fit with only 2" of lift.

p.s. The KM2's don't work well with rebar stuck in them, either. (Sorry--couldn't resist!)

 

[Footofgod]

Kills me. I can see myself re-gearing next year, but not this summer. May revert to the original idea of 33".

 

[fourwd1]

Will I run a greater risk of breaking a bead with 11.5 vs 10.5 on 7" rims?
.

Actually, a wider tire on a narrow rim (with a JJ code) is kinda like a poor mans bead-lock when aired down. Although when aired up it's going to create a bad wear pattern with on road use. You don't want to run on road aired down.
I run 12.50's on 8" rims at 12 psi or so in the rocks.

 

[KidVermicious]

Actually, a wider tire on a narrow rim (with a JJ code) is kinda like a poor mans bead-lock when aired down. Although when aired up it's going to create a bad wear pattern with on road use. You don't want to run on road aired down.
I run 12.50's on 8" rims at 12 psi or so in the rocks.

What's a JJ rim? And do you mean "when aired down it's going to create a bad wear pattern with on road use"?

 

[BucknutBob]

If there's too big of a discrepancy between the rim and tire's width, it will distort the footprint while aired up, similar to being over-inflated (although not as drastically). You don't want to run on pavement aired down EVER (unless for short distances, at slow speeds, to reach the next trailhead, etc.), regardless of the rim width.