Help me decide on 34" tires

[wfo9]

This is a difficult decision.

MTR - is the lightest with great traction. Questionable balance...

Toyo - has a great reputation for lasting a long time and performing fantastic in all conditions, but it is the heaviest and most expensive + hard to find local.

Nitto - is basically the cheaper version of the Toyo. Not quite as good, but close.

Checking on MTR availability locally today, that may sway me...

 

[BOVADS]

ive ran goodyears for years from 31" to 42" and always had good luck with them. ive heard the nittos do work good off road and almost bought a set, but went with what i know.
i will always buy tires from discount tire, good prices, local and if i have a tire problem in another state they still take care of me. plus i always drop my trucks off every 3-5k miles for free balance and rotates

 

[wfo9]

Still no decision.

Discount can get the the MTRs or the Nittos in a few days.

I'm just not digging the Nittos for some reason.

It is between the Toyos and the MTRs. Leaning towards the MTRs at the moment. I've had many locals try to talk me into 315/70. Also several claiming measured size is not accurate... So many interesting opinions out there about tires....

 

[cbielat]

From what I've researched, those are the only three 34" tire sizes out there. I'm in the same boat. I think the Toyo is the only true 34.1". I really like my 33" Duratracs but they are really smaller than an actual 33". The only option with the Duratrac was to bump up to 35" range because there is no 34" for the Duratrac. I like the width of them as well. Trying to keep the weight to as much of a minimum as possible. The Toyos and Nittos are 70-72 lbs alone. Also wanted to keep some room for articulation. That's why I'll stick to the 34" soon.

 

[mikey's2010SR5]

I am digging my Nittos. Have done well so far in the dirt. I was originally going to get the Toyos but the price was wicked high and were back ordered.

If the new Toyo R/T was available in the 285/75x17 I probably would go that route for the next set.

But again I am happy with my Trail Grapplers.

 

[bimrunner]

Still no decision.

Discount can get the the MTRs or the Nittos in a few days.

I'm just not digging the Nittos for some reason.

It is between the Toyos and the MTRs. Leaning towards the MTRs at the moment. I've had many locals try to talk me into 315/70. Also several claiming measured size is not accurate... So many interesting opinions out there about tires....

I'm a little leery of the width being wider than 35x12.5 tires. If you want to go bigger then the 305, I think you are better off with standard rather than metric sized 35s to shave a little off the width.

 

[wfo9]

[MENTION=89562]bimrunner[/MENTION]

How is the balance holding up on the MTRs?

What psi you running on/off road?

 

[bimrunner]

[MENTION=89562]bimrunner[/MENTION]

How is the balance holding up on the MTRs?

What psi you running on/off road?

Balance is not perfect but better than the km2s were. Very livable. On road I've been running 39 and offroad I run 15 normally. I may go up a couple psi on road to try it out but 39 isn't bad.

 

[FactoryRide]

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.

Toyo MT and Nitto Trails are currently being manufactured using the same tire compound, and the tread patterns are similar. Not worth the whole lot extra IMO, since they're gonna wear out in the same distance.

 

[wfo9]

Toyo MT and Nitto Trails are currently being manufactured using the same tire compound, and the tread patterns are similar. Not worth the whole lot extra IMO, since they're gonna wear out in the same distance.

Everything I have read says the Toyos last foever and the Nittos wear out really fast. Has something changed for sure.

 

[FactoryRide]

Everything I have read says the Toyos last foever and the Nittos wear out really fast. Has something changed for sure.

I had saw something somewhere not too long ago about it, and my guy at Discount Tire mentioned it to me the other day. I can't find it now of course.

I've heard mixed feeling of both tires as far as longevity. A lot of factors go into play with them. Driving Habits, Vehicle weight, etc...

If you're planning on buying these for a dedicated offroad set with good driving manners, why buy the most expensive? If they're only going to be on there for wheeling trips, I wouldn't even consider longevity as a factor for my choosing.

I'm planning on trying out the Trail Grapplers.

 

[rochmpr]

Just man up and get 37's!

 

[marshal]

The Nittos are wearing out fast because dumbasses in 8000lb diesel trucks are using them. You shouldn't have any issue getting 40000 miles out of them, so put that to rest.

Is there a reason why you're not considering the General Grabber or the Cooper STT?

 

[wfo9]

I say they are for dedicated, but my truck is slowly becoming more and more dedicated itself. I only drive it to work when I'm taking my MTB bike with me (maybe 1-2 days a week). I also use it to carry my dirt bikes around on the weekends. And I use it to go camping and wheeling.

I basically use it for any type of outdoor stuff and sometimes just for the fun of driving it. Any long trips that do not involve wheeling or camping are done in my car.

So, I'm predicting that these wheels and tires will end up staying on most of the time and I will sell the other set. But that all depends on how they ride, look, impact MPG, and feel....

I take a long vacation to CO each summer and usually drive the T4R and wheel it along the way. I think I put 3.5k miles on it during the trip last year and the duratracks did great. However, I'm now geared at 4.56/locked and attempting more aggressive trails.. (but I usually tame it down on trips like that anyway). Not sure if I would go back to the 33s for something like that or not.

I might just flip a coin, since each has pros and cons that seem to equal out.

 

[wfo9]

The Nittos are wearing out fast because dumbasses in 8000lb diesel trucks are using them. You shouldn't have any issue getting 40000 miles out of them, so put that to rest.

Is there a reason why you're not considering the General Grabber or the Cooper STT?

Just size. I'm looking for that true 34" (34.0 - 34.2) the metrics for this in r17 seem to be 285/75 or 305/70. 315/70 is a tad too much.

 

[wfo9]

After much, back and forth.... I landed on the MTRs. I should have them Friday or Monday... Then the fitting and cutting will start...

I was orginally set on the Toyos, but the price wieght and lack of availibility locally swayed me the other way.

The reality is that each of these tires are good and you probably can't go wrong with any of them.

The reason I chose the MTR was that I went back to my main motivation for these (over my Duratracks). Dedicated offraod trail and rock crawling... The MTRs are significantly lighter and I think have the strongest sidewalls. The trails I plan to do with these (the ones I have been avoiding becase of my current tires) are hell on the sidewalls. The downside of the MTRs is the on-road manners and potential balancing issues.... but since I plan to keep my duratracks for most of my on-road centric driving I went with MTRs.

And another factor, that was purely emotional is my underlying desire to buy american. I know, I drive a Toyota..., but I do buy made in the USA whenever a comparable product is available and in this case it was. That's just me though, I don't judge people for what they buy.

 

[wfo9]

Just noticed something a bit unexpected. MTRs are D rated. Does not really matter... Max load 3000, max pressure 50psi. I don't think it has much to do with sidewall strength in this particular application since they use kevlar.

Nittos and Toyos are E 3195 80psi. But those weigh about +6lbs more each.

 

[mikey's2010SR5]

If the MTRs came in the 285/75x17 I probably would have gone that route too. Heard good things from people running them. I just don't want a wider tire then the 285.

 

[wfo9]

If the MTRs came in the 285/75x17 I probably would have gone that route too. Heard good things from people running them. I just don't want a wider tire then the 285.

I hear ya...

The MTR is listed at 34.1x12.2, but that is based on a 9.0 rim.

On a 8" rim it should be closer to 12.0, which is .4 wider than the Toyo 285 and about .8" wider than the Nitto. Split that side to side and it is a pretty minor difference. But hard to say for sure. I also liked the idea of it being a tad taller. I'll measure as soon as I get it mounted, just waiting on pressure sensor to show up.

Hopefully it won't be a problem. I'm sure I'll figure something out if it is. I'm pretty handy with the old angle grinder....:lightsaber:

 

[wfo9]

Got them mounted and installed today. Super duper happy so far. No real road time yet, just mounted and drove around the neighborhood. It looks great and these are clearly the max tire that will fit without a body lift. Still need to do the BMC, but clearance looks good so far. I flexed to the bump stops in rear and all was good. But it only works because of the 3" bump stop extensions. I don't think it would clear with normal up travel and stock bump stops.

They measured exactly 34.2 on the 8" rim. I gained .75" of ground clearance at the rear diff now @ 11.20". My Duratracks 285/70 17 measure ~32.7". So 1.5" larger diameter. It is significant, does not sound like much, but man its bad ass.

Here is a couple of quick pics (taken with my broken phone). Not very good ones... but it will give you and idea of what they look like.

First one is with the 34s up front and 33s in the rear.

Thanks to [MENTION=89562]bimrunner[/MENTION] for the inspiration on these. I'm thrilled (and I did not copy your wheel color). I can't wait to hit the trail with it, but I'm going need to wait on my buddy to do the BMC. I should just do it myself, and get out this weekend, but he was looking for work and is a fantastic welder, so I will probably wait until he has time, since I already offered him the job.