Tires - Road Comfort vs Trail Performance

[Welding Goats]

Tire question for those of you who's overlanding vehicle is also your daily driver...

Would you say your tires tend more towards providing you with comfort on the road/highway or are they geared more towards performance on the trail?

Beginning the search for my next set and I'm interested in why you chose to go the way you did with your tires.

 

[Smileyshaun]

I have tried alot of tires over the years and so far have been very impressed with the Cooper at3 4s . They are just as quiet as the factory tires that came on my forester , grip the road very well , smooth riding on the road , are snow rated and work very well on ice . I don't know about their performance in mud/trail yet just general gravel road driving but guessing they should work fine . Also a big plus for me is they are not super heavy compared to some of the other AT tires on the market .

 

[Wyatt Grohler]

Tire question for those of you who's overlanding vehicle is also your daily driver...

Would you say your tires tend more towards providing you with comfort on the road/highway or are they geared more towards performance on the trail?

Beginning the search for my next set and I'm interested in why you chose to go the way you did with your tires.

I’m very impressed with my tires. I’ve got Yokohama geolandars GO15’s and they are amazing for me. They’re definitely geared more towards road driving but I’ve taken them on very gnarly trails and have little to no slippage. Good tires for the money; they’re sleeper tires!

 

[Owasco]

To me, tire choice comes down to what I may run into on the trail. My jeep came with the BFG mud terrain tires. They were a bit loud after a few thousand miles, ride quality was average I guess. I put 32k on them. 16k was from two trips coast to coast. They performed great offroad. I put winter tires on in the winter Mastercraft MSR's as I live in upstate NY and I swear the plows only come out after someone has crashed. I just bought some grabber x3's to replace my BFG's. My thought process is when I am hundreds or thousands of miles from home, and I want to explore some road or trail I know nothing about, I want to have a tire that gives me the best possible chance to not get stuck. Recovery gear is nice to have, but not getting stuck in the first place is even better. At least that is my point of view. I do know tire discussions can get very passionate, just giving my point of view on it. Oh and my JKU is also my daily driver.

 

[Welding Goats]

I have tried alot of tires over the years and so far have been very impressed with the Cooper at3 4s . They are just as quiet as the factory tires that came on my forester , grip the road very well , smooth riding on the road , are snow rated and work very well on ice . I don't know about their performance in mud/trail yet just general gravel road driving but guessing they should work fine . Also a big plus for me is they are not super heavy compared to some of the other AT tires on the market .
View attachment 86793

Thanks for your reply and feedback. They look really good on your rig.

 

[Welding Goats]

To me, tire choice comes down to what I may run into on the trail. My jeep came with the BFG mud terrain tires. They were a bit loud after a few thousand miles, ride quality was average I guess. I put 32k on them. 16k was from two trips coast to coast. They performed great offroad. I put winter tires on in the winter Mastercraft MSR's as I live in upstate NY and I swear the plows only come out after someone has crashed. I just bought some grabber x3's to replace my BFG's. My thought process is when I am hundreds or thousands of miles from home, and I want to explore some road or trail I know nothing about, I want to have a tire that gives me the best possible chance to not get stuck. Recovery gear is nice to have, but not getting stuck in the first place is even better. At least that is my point of view. I do know tire discussions can get very passionate, just giving my point of view on it. Oh and my JKU is also my daily driver.

Thanks for adding your thoughts. I'm like you in that I want to be able to go down "the road less traveled", if the opportunity presents itself, I just don't want to be jarring my fillings loose on the highway getting there. :-)

 

[Welding Goats]

I’m very impressed with my tires. I’ve got Yokohama geolandars GO15’s and they are amazing for me. They’re definitely geared more towards road driving but I’ve taken them on very gnarly trails and have little to no slippage. Good tires for the money; they’re sleeper tires!View attachment 86819View attachment 86820

Thanks for bringing these to my attention. Sounds like what I am ultimately looking for... Geared toward road driving but more than capable for a camping excursion.

They look good on your Taco and I like the placement of your badge!

 

[JungleSkunk]

I put mud terrains on my daily driver and very aggressive ones at that. Achilles Desert Hawk XMT's. Just like everyone said my truck sounds and feels like a helicopter taking off at any kind of speed above 55 mph. I drive 100 miles daily for work and it does slow me down a little but I drive on colorado back roads and dont mind.

That being said I love the tires off road and wouldnt trade the performance for ride comfort but I can see where most people would want the AT or less aggressive MT.

As far as I am concerned the Wrangler Duratrac is the best overland tire Ive come across if you are willing to sacrifice the aggressive tread style. Great on and off road performance and decent road life.

 

[KonzaLander]

My daily driver and adventure vehicle is a 1999 Land Cruiser. My tire selection is based on what I will encounter most of the time, which is paved roads. I also look at what tire features (or lack thereof) have failed me in the past and adjust accordingly for the next tire purchase. The biggest problem I've had with any tire has been punctures, usually caused by picking up old rusty nails around ghost towns.

I have grown to be a fan of Cooper tires (currently on my 5th set within my fleet). I have also learned that a tire that works well on one vehicle might not yield the same results on another. Example: I have had Cooper AT3's on a Jeep MJ for many years. The truck was my daily driver prior to buying the Land Cruiser and was my primary exploration vehicle for a few years. I only picked up a couple of nails with the AT3's on this truck and they worked well on the road surfaces I encounter so I installed them on the Land Cruiser when it was purchased. After 55k miles of use, the AT3's on the Land Cruiser had more plugs and patches in them than I care to remember. It was clear my next set of tires needed a bit more durability so I decided to try the ST Maxx. At 10k miles, I don't know enough about these tires to make a claim.

In the end I believe most tires, within the same class, are created almost equal and with a little research you cannot make a bad choice for your vehicle. Tires are not something I would get trapped in "analysis-paralysis" over.

 

[Welding Goats]

I put mud terrains on my daily driver and very aggressive ones at that. Achilles Desert Hawk XMT's. Just like everyone said my truck sounds and feels like a helicopter taking off at any kind of speed above 55 mph. I drive 100 miles daily for work and it does slow me down a little but I drive on colorado back roads and dont mind.

That being said I love the tires off road and wouldnt trade the performance for ride comfort but I can see where most people would want the AT or less aggressive MT.

As far as I am concerned the Wrangler Duratrac is the best overland tire Ive come across if you are willing to sacrifice the aggressive tread style. Great on and off road performance and decent road life.
View attachment 86872
View attachment 86871

Those are some big tires!

I don't think I ever heard anything bad about the Duratracs... Other than the road noise, which I am trying to mitigate.

 

[Welding Goats]

... Tires are not something I would get trapped in "analysis-paralysis" over.

The SO would say that you know me well with regards to "analysis-paralysis". :-)

Thanks for sharing your experiences and thoughts.

 

[MLGrace]

I have Toyo MT on my ram and the BFG muds on my JKU. I’m coming up on tire time on the jeep and am thinking the Falken Wildpeak at3 or the Toyo AT.

 

[Dakota Houligans]

I tend to go more toward a full m/t tire. My wife's Tahoe and my last 2 trucks I've run cooper at3's. they have been great all around tires. Great winter traction on snow and ice. I've yet to be disappointed in them. But, for some silly reason I always gravitate to a more aggressive m/t on the bronco. In reality a good a/t tire would serve me well 80% of the time on the bronco. I think its more the look of them and the added traction when in some sticky situations while exploring or hunting.

 

[MazeVX]

I would concentrate on trail performance, being louder on the road is one thing being stuck on the trail when the unexpected rain falls because your tires are silent on pavement is another thing...
I choose general grabber X3 for my wrangler jku, new generation mt, overall very happy with it, extremely durable inside construction.

 

[HOT-ROD]

When I first started, I was given Mastercraft mt’s. They were awesome, ran them for about 12 years. Amazing on the highway, mud, rock crawling, snow.. not a bad price either. But they were loud. I didn’t care at all but the wife wasn’t too pleased lol. But now I have the Milestar Patagonia’s they are an amazing upgrade. Did about 6 months of research on tires before I bought them.

 

[Stepsride]

SO to add to your paralyzing tire dilemma... I am Running Maxxis Razor 35’s on my Jeep JKU. I like them a lot! I am driving from Tampa FL to Moab in June with a soft top. Yes they are NOT AT quiet but they are MT quiet. They also have very little to no MT wander. My daughters Grand Cherokee WJ is running Grabber AT2. Those are quiet, passenger car ALMOST quiet. I have 20K on them and I see them going at least 50K. Great trail tire for the Florida sand and sandy mud. They clean out pretty well also. I thought this will add to your list of 10 tires to over research. I feel for you I was the same way!! I do not blame you, tires can be an expensive mistake.

 

[MazeVX]

So to put something in and showing a little bit of my evilness ;-)
General grabber atx ... Unfortunately not sold in europe would be my tire of choice.
Its relatively new tire and is a little bit of a mix between the aggressive side of the X3 and the smooth center of the AT2 more quiet than X3 better in mud than AT2.
The carcass is, as far as I know, nearly as strong as the X3's, wich is stated by general, as the strongest they ever build.
So it's more aggressive than a bfg ko2 or a nitto ridge grappler for example.

 

[Smileyshaun]

To the OP : I guess the biggest questions that should be asked is ..
What rig are you running ?
How often are you going out on trails ?
What terrain are you encountering?
If it's your daily how many miles are putting on it a month ?

Just remember not all rocks are the same
not all mud is the same
not all sand is the same
and not all snow is the same .

A tire that works for great for one area maybe partly worthless for another.

 

[TerryD]

Since I spend 90% of my time on paved or graveled roads, I went for on-road manners.

This is my 3rd set of Cooper Discoverer tires and I've been very pleased with them. I run the load E tires since they are a little tougher construction and I run a little heavy sometimes by the time you get my whole family and our gear loaded up. They are quiet on the highway so I don't have to listen to them howling going down the highway on longer trips.

I haven't had any issues with them off-road either. They are no mud terrain but I don't find myself in that much mud normally and what mud I've been in, I haven't had any issues with them.

 

[Welding Goats]

To the OP : I guess the biggest questions that should be asked is ..
What rig are you running ?
How often are you going out on trails ?
What terrain are you encountering?
If it's your daily how many miles are putting on it a month ?

Just remember not all rocks are the same
not all mud is the same
not all sand is the same
and not all snow is the same .

A tire that works for great for one area maybe partly worthless for another.

1998 4Runner SR5
On the "trails" about twice a month. More if possible.
Primarily going to the Big Bend region of West Texas. Hot, arid and dry conditions. A lot of dirt roads. Some rocks. Not doing it rock crawling.
Putting about 1,000 miles a month on the rig, about 95% of which are on pavement, including the 450+ mile round trip to get to Big Bend.
Where I live in Texas, we don't really "worry" about snow capable tires for the 2-5 days a year we get snow. Rain while camping is similarly a rarity. Both encountered much more often when going to the mountains of southeastern NM. Really, my main concern when "off the pavement" is mesquite thorns and branches.

Does any of that make sense?