Help me decide on 34" tires

[wfo9]

Just looking for input. I figured someone might have an experience to swing me one way or the other (although my mind is pretty much made up).

First off. I have 33s now. Duratrack D rated (32.8 x 11.5)... I really like these tires and they perform great overall. I've been on wheeling trips with many different rigs on 33s and I tend to have much better traction than others with any type of AT tire. They have done very well for me off-road and i push them pretty hard. However, I want a dedicated set of wheels and tires for off-road use. I'm tired of trying to be careful with the side walls... and I also just want bigger tires. I'm also just a bit obsessed with changing things up and have some money to blow on toys at the moment.

So, I've been wanting 34s. 35s just seem like too much trouble to clear. I'm doing the body mount chop, but I don't want to remove fender flares.... the wheels will be 17x8 - 10 offset. I'm running LT in the rear with 3" bump stop extensions, so I think clearance will be pretty easy, but won't know for sure until I try it. Some may say, why bother with 34s go to 35s. I keep going back to the fact that a 34.1 is not that different than a 34.6 (a 315/70). And there is quite a bit of evidence supporting the concept that a narrower section width actually provides better traction in common off-road scenarios (except mud sand and snow). And I feel it will be a noticeable jump in diameter from what I have 32.8 -> 34.1.

Anyway, 3 Tires landed on my final list.
1. Toyo Open Country MT 285/75 34.1x11.6 $370
2. Goodyear MTR 305/70 34.1 x 12.2 $305
3. Nitto Trail Grappler MT 285/75 34.09 x 11.2 $305


The Toyos are my first choice, but the price is crazy high and I have to order them and have them shipped vs a local dealer since they are very hard to find.

The MTRs are nice and available local, but I'm worried about the width and clearance.. plus I know they are loud, but perform great off-road.

The Nittos would work, are available local, and are the best price, but I hear they are not that fantastic off-road. Good, just not like the MTR or Toyo. Since this is a dedicated tire that I will mainly put on for wheeling trips....

I may end up just running one set of tires... Just need to see how the alignment.. works out when I switch... I think it will be fine for short trips to the trails. Might be a harder decision when I head up to CO... this summer.

Anyway, thoughts?

 

[bimrunner]

Loving the MTRs on mine. Happy with my choice. Also running on a 8" wheel will make it slightly taller. Chop the body mount and trim a bunch and they fit perfectly. I like the Toyo as well but not worth the little extra imho. I paid $307 for mine and got the rebate from Goodyear for $65 (visa gift card). Actually, BFG pauf for 2/3 the price due to defect on their tires... Still, I like them a lot.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

Are you deadset on MT tires? I would give the Toyo RT series a look, from everything I read they are a great intermediate tire just under a full blown MT that has a bit better winter/non-mud terrain ratings.

OPEN COUNTRY R/T | Toyo Tires

 

[ManhstuhT4R]

I like the toyos but they are so pricey! Another one you can look into is bfgoodrich ko2s

 

[wfo9]

Loving the MTRs on mine. Happy with my choice. Also running on a 8" wheel will make it slightly taller. Chop the body mount and trim a bunch and they fit perfectly. I like the Toyo as well but not worth the little extra imho. I paid $307 for mine and got the rebate from Goodyear for $65 (visa gift card). Actually, BFG pauf for 2/3 the price due to defect on their tires... Still, I like them a lot.

Dang it, You are making this decision harder. LOL.

 

[1engineer]

Mtr.

 

[wfo9]

Are you deadset on MT tires? I would give the Toyo RT series a look, from everything I read they are a great intermediate tire just under a full blown MT that has a bit better winter/non-mud terrain ratings.

OPEN COUNTRY R/T | Toyo Tires

I'm pretty much set on a MT tire. Like I said, this if for almost pure off-road (just getting there on the road) although I plan on a few hauls to some of the wheeling spots. For dual purpose... I'm very happy with the duratracks and might even run them when I go to Ouray this summer.

 

[wfo9]

Loving the MTRs on mine. Happy with my choice. Also running on a 8" wheel will make it slightly taller. Chop the body mount and trim a bunch and they fit perfectly. I like the Toyo as well but not worth the little extra imho. I paid $307 for mine and got the rebate from Goodyear for $65 (visa gift card). Actually, BFG pauf for 2/3 the price due to defect on their tires... Still, I like them a lot.

[MENTION=89562]bimrunner[/MENTION]
I just noticed I can get the MTRs for $305. It says special order so I would need to call them tomorrow and see if they can get them.

A few questions for you.
1. If you measured diameter on the rim with no weight... any idea what the diameter would be?
2. Any rubbing at all for you? Fully articulated.....?
3. Taken them on any long hauls yet? I have a 800 mi round trip planned next month and then a 2k mi round trip this summer. Both with plenty of wheeling at the destination.

 

[Shaolin]

FYI. Cheapest website for tires are online tires.com and tires-easy.com.

Goodyear MTRS are $295shipped onlinetires.com

All 3 of your tires listed are cheaper at onlinetires.com

 

[wfo9]

FYI. Cheapest website for tires are online tires.com and tires-easy.com.

Goodyear MTRS are $295shipped onlinetires.com

All 3 of your tires listed are cheaper at onlinetires.com

Yea, good info, but I much prefer to buy local. That way I can go back with issues... like a balancing problem or whatever. The decent shop here is Discount Tire

If I get the Toyos, I will have to go the online route as nobody can seem to get them here. I refuse to deal with 4wheel parts (horrible customer service).

 

[marshal]

You know, toyo owns Nitto and uses their same awesome manufacturing techniques on them as well.

Love my grabber red letters

My advise, don't get true 35s (35x12.50 actual) unless you are willing to take a die grinder to your physical fenders because that's what it's going to come down to to make them work Offroad without LT

 

[wfo9]

You know, toyo owns Nitto and uses their same awesome manufacturing techniques on them as well.

Love my grabber red letters

My advise, don't get true 35s (35x12.50 actual) unless you are willing to take a die grinder to your physical fenders because that's what it's going to come down to to make them work Offroad without LT

Was that a sarcastic "awesome" or a legit "awesome". I think the nittos are a much harder compound.

:decision:

yea, I want to keep it simple. I'll do 35s if the glass fenders become a reality.

 

[bimrunner]

[MENTION=89562]bimrunner[/MENTION]
I just noticed I can get the MTRs for $305. It says special order so I would need to call them tomorrow and see if they can get them.

A few questions for you.
1. If you measured diameter on the rim with no weight... any idea what the diameter would be?
2. Any rubbing at all for you? Fully articulated.....?
3. Taken them on any long hauls yet? I have a 800 mi round trip planned next month and then a 2k mi round trip this summer. Both with plenty of wheeling at the destination.

1. Didn't measure unloaded but probably 34.2 or so.
2. No rubbing for me even articulated but I've done lots of cutting and trimming etc...
3. No long hauls yet. However, I did a few multilpe thousand mile trips on the km2 and these are smoother and quieter so I think you'd be fine.

 

[wfo9]

1. Didn't measure unloaded but probably 34.2 or so.
2. No rubbing for me even articulated but I've done lots of cutting and trimming etc...
3. No long hauls yet. However, I did a few multilpe thousand mile trips on the km2 and these are smoother and quieter so I think you'd be fine.

I came on this thread almost locked on the Toyos, but now I'm leaning towards the MTRs. I will check availability tomorrow. They look pretty bad ass on your truck also.

I'm trying not to copy you, but I'll have basically the same tires and wheels, (just maybe a different color) although I may actually end up with black for the ease of touch ups.. Then my truck is the same color... Oh well. I guess there is room for 2.

 

[Land_Shark]

My brother is wearing the Nittos (in that same exact size) on his Jeep and they are amazing off road. I've seen him climb hills that an FJ with front and rear lockers and MTs could not climb. My bro's Jeep has 0 lockers, just a similar system to atrac. I don't think you'll be disappointed with their performance off road one bit.

 

[Greenamphibious]

can't go wrong with Toyo or Nitto (Same company as mentioned), my Old trail Grapplers wore down pretty fast though. GY MTRs are a great tire so I would make my decision based on price and weight per tire.

 

[regamaro]

My opinion... The Toyos are a fantastic tire and do work well everywhere. A very similar tire is the Mickey Thomas MTZ which has always been a personal favorite. I've also run 33x12.5x15 Procomp Xtreme M/T's on a daily driven Rubi and they are very similar to the above 2 but cheaper.

If i was getting dedicated offroad wheels/tires for rock I would be looking at the more extreme tires like...

BFG Krawlers in red? compound(not sure on sizing under 35's tho)
Pit Bull Rocker Extremes
Maxxis Creepy Crawlers
Interco IROKs

They're definately another level offroad but you lose the onroad manners of the tires you first listed.

 

[marshal]

Was that a sarcastic "awesome" or a legit "awesome". I think the nittos are a much harder compound.

:decision:

yea, I want to keep it simple. I'll do 35s if the glass fenders become a reality.

legit awesome.

normal tire manufacturing processis to build the carcass and then injection mold the rubber around it. Toyo uses a technique where they spin the carcass and wrap it with rubber in a weave similar to respooling a winch drum - back and forth back and forth. makes a super even and very round tire. people balance out 40" Open Country MT's with like 2-3 oz of weight total

the downside to Toyos manufacturing process is that it results in a heavy tire. the OCMT is the heaviest tire i have ever seen, but it will last for forever. the rubber compound they use in the OCMT was forged in the heart of dying stars. they would regularly last people on JeepForum 55-60k miles with still a margin of safety on remaining tread.

this manufacturing process carries over to Nitto, but they don't make those tires near as heavily built or with the same rubber compound. the Trail Grappler is a super solid tire, but it has been known to wear faster than others.

the main thing i like to point out though, is that racing teams who use the OCMT OCRT and the Nitto Trail Grappler, regularly report that they never experienced a single flat the entire race. it doesnt hold true all of the time, but it happens pretty commonly.

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I had the very first set of 37" MTR's ever distributed to the public on my Jeep. i loved them. they are by far one of the best MT tires available, and they are super super light. in some cases they are the lightest MT style tire available. that said though, they were difficult to balance and wore unevenly in some cases which are common complaints from the MTRK. i would definitely buy them again

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don't buy BFG. they suck and are undersized. i have never seen so many blown or gashed sidewalls in my life than from shitty KM2s. **** BFG.

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this is the second time i have had these General Grabber Red's. they are a super solid tire. they are quiet, middle of the road on weight, wear like iron, okay to balance but nothing to write home about, are tough and have a super durable sidewall and deliver excellent road, wet and offroad traction. they are one of my favorite tires, and if they would make them in a 37" DOT i probably would have put them on my Jeep too after those shitty KM2s were worn out. they are reasonably priced and General is having a 70$ rebate right now if you buy 4. i bought mine from discount tire direct (35x12.50R17E) and they price matched and beat walmart, who had the lowest price i could find of $273 a tire. i ended up paying about $265 a tire out the door.

the red letter is General's race spec tire, its won or placed high without blowouts in many races. Camburg exclusively uses them and was one of the Mint400 champions last year.

 

[rochmpr]

I picked up my Toyo's for $320, thanks to a sale. Currently, they are $353 at TiresDirect.net with free shipping if that helps to make things harder.

 

[wfo9]

My opinion... The Toyos are a fantastic tire and do work well everywhere. A very similar tire is the Mickey Thomas MTZ which has always been a personal favorite. I've also run 33x12.5x15 Procomp Xtreme M/T's on a daily driven Rubi and they are very similar to the above 2 but cheaper.

If i was getting dedicated offroad wheels/tires for rock I would be looking at the more extreme tires like...

BFG Krawlers in red? compound(not sure on sizing under 35's tho)
Pit Bull Rocker Extremes
Maxxis Creepy Crawlers
Interco IROKs

They're definately another level offroad but you lose the onroad manners of the tires you first listed.

Yea, the IROKs are amazing. I've seen them in action, but I would like the option of making some long road trips with these. Plus they don't really make the right size... So I guess I'm looking for the wimpy version of dedicated off-road.