What Tyres Are Recommended for Off-roading (including the trip there on the motorway)

[izzywolf]

Hi again. It's me, a beginner with lots of questions.

Thank you all for your previous answers. You guys are really the best, can't wait to meet you in person.

One thing that's bothering me is what tyres should you be using if (have in mind) you're also going to be driving on asphalt for quite a distance until you reach the trail itself?
Aren't ATTs only meant for trails? What do you do if the trails are hundreds of miles from your house?

Thanks!

 

[5280Ranger]

AT stands for All Terrain, which is a compromise between on and offroad designs. I have the BFG AT KO2 which handle like a dream on road. I haven't had this set offroad yet, but I've had them in the past and I know they do great. They aren't the best, but that's the compromise.

 

[Sparksalot]

+1 fir KO2s. I often drive anywhere from 100 to 1,000 miles to get to dirt.

 

[mamalone200]

To start, I agree with everything Brandon said. I'll just expand a little bit. For our purposes, there are 3 kinds of tires;
Highway (H/T) - Standard tires designed for use on paved road. As a general rule, you can expect the best gas mileage and the least road noise with these kinds of tires. Of course there is a tradeoff, as these tires don't have the tread or aggressive sidewall to provide much traction offroad.
Mud-Terrain (M/T) - These are designed for off-road use, specifically (as the name suggests) in mud. As a general rule, expect the worst gas mileage and the most road noise with these tires. These will often be the most expensive type as well.
All-Terrain (A/T) - These are essentially a compromise between the M/T and H/T tread patterns. You can expect good light/moderate off-road performance, and decent highway mileage/noise. You can absolutely drive A/T tires thousands of miles on paved roads. Many new vehicles come equipped with A/T tires from the factory, and the manufacturers know most of these will never see a trail.

I'm willing to bet that I am in a similar situation as you in NJ. I have to drive ~300 miles out to the National Forests in Virginia to get offroad. I went with Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac A/T tires. They were relatively affordable, and have performed really well both on-road and off-road. The highway noise isn't too bad and seem to be wearing great for having 20,000 miles on them. I've also heard great things about KO2s and Terra-grapplers.

 

[Cypress]

I used to run BFG KO2. They were decent but they didn't age well at all. Good traction, but as they aged, they got very noisy and rode like wagon wheels.

I've switched to Falken Wildpeaks. They are a good bit cheaper than the BFGs and better in every way. I now run Falken Wildpeak AT3W tires on my XJ, Suburban, and Samurai. I run the lighter Wildpeak AT Trail on my Ridgeline. Outstanding traction, wear, noise, and ride quality on all of these.

 

[izzywolf]

I used to run BFG KO2. They were decent but they didn't age well at all. Good traction, but as they aged, they got very noisy and rode like wagon wheels.

I've switched to Falken Wildpeaks. They are a good bit cheaper than the BFGs and better in every way. I now run Falken Wildpeak AT3W tires on my XJ, Suburban, and Samurai. I run the lighter Wildpeak AT Trail on my Ridgeline. Outstanding traction, wear, noise, and ride quality on all of these.

Thanks! I've begun my research about those right now.

Makes me wonder, when would anyone have a chance to use MTs? Would they have to stick to trails in their immediate backyard?

 

[izzywolf]

To start, I agree with everything Brandon said. I'll just expand a little bit. For our purposes, there are 3 kinds of tires;
Highway (H/T) - Standard tires designed for use on paved road. As a general rule, you can expect the best gas mileage and the least road noise with these kinds of tires. Of course there is a tradeoff, as these tires don't have the tread or aggressive sidewall to provide much traction offroad.
Mud-Terrain (M/T) - These are designed for off-road use, specifically (as the name suggests) in mud. As a general rule, expect the worst gas mileage and the most road noise with these tires. These will often be the most expensive type as well.
All-Terrain (A/T) - These are essentially a compromise between the M/T and H/T tread patterns. You can expect good light/moderate off-road performance, and decent highway mileage/noise. You can absolutely drive A/T tires thousands of miles on paved roads. Many new vehicles come equipped with A/T tires from the factory, and the manufacturers know most of these will never see a trail.

I'm willing to bet that I am in a similar situation as you in NJ. I have to drive ~300 miles out to the National Forests in Virginia to get offroad. I went with Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac A/T tires. They were relatively affordable, and have performed really well both on-road and off-road. The highway noise isn't too bad and seem to be wearing great for having 20,000 miles on them. I've also heard great things about KO2s and Terra-grapplers.

Thanks! That was quite helpful.

What kind of trails do you ride on? What defines "moderate" off-road performance?

 

[mamalone200]

Thanks! That was quite helpful.

What kind of trails do you ride on? What defines "moderate" off-road performance?

In my mind, "moderate" off-road performance pretty much means it will get you through anything besides the deepest/slickest of mud holes. I've driven tons of dirt/rock forest service roads, forded rivers, and even done some more technical stuff with A/T tires and tire traction has never been a problem. If you are looking to "overland" you will be absolutely fine with A/T tires, especially on the East Coast. Remember that you can always air down too to let the tire provide better traction/cushion as needed.

 

[SJ.Overland]

To start, I agree with everything Brandon said. I'll just expand a little bit. For our purposes, there are 3 kinds of tires;
Highway (H/T) - Standard tires designed for use on paved road. As a general rule, you can expect the best gas mileage and the least road noise with these kinds of tires. Of course there is a tradeoff, as these tires don't have the tread or aggressive sidewall to provide much traction offroad.
Mud-Terrain (M/T) - These are designed for off-road use, specifically (as the name suggests) in mud. As a general rule, expect the worst gas mileage and the most road noise with these tires. These will often be the most expensive type as well.
All-Terrain (A/T) - These are essentially a compromise between the M/T and H/T tread patterns. You can expect good light/moderate off-road performance, and decent highway mileage/noise. You can absolutely drive A/T tires thousands of miles on paved roads. Many new vehicles come equipped with A/T tires from the factory, and the manufacturers know most of these will never see a trail.

I'm willing to bet that I am in a similar situation as you in NJ. I have to drive ~300 miles out to the National Forests in Virginia to get offroad. I went with Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac A/T tires. They were relatively affordable, and have performed really well both on-road and off-road. The highway noise isn't too bad and seem to be wearing great for having 20,000 miles on them. I've also heard great things about KO2s and Terra-grapplers.

You Nailed it sir. I just wanted to add there is a small class in between the M/T class and A/T class named well rather confusingly also H/T. However in this instance it would be considered Hybrid Terrain. Some Manufactures call it Rugged terrain as well but all you really need to know is it sits between A/T and M/T. One of the most popular of this class would be the Nitto Ridge-Grapplers. Some aggressive A/Ts flirt this line so it's just a bit confusing where the actual line is. However this class is for those not wanting to commit to a fully soft tread compound of the M/T but wanting a more aggressive tread (or look) than the A/T.

I myself actually went to M/Ts this past winter and I actually think the road manners are quite good. My only question is tread life at this point. I have a bout 10k miles on them and i've lost about 1.5-2/32 of an inch off the tread. I guesstimate I'll get around 30 to 35k before I need to consider replacing them. They are quite soft compared to A/Ts.

Apologies on geeking out a bit on Tires, I just happened to have done quite a bit of research .

 

[mamalone200]

You Nailed it sir. I just wanted to add there is a small class in between the M/T class and A/T class named well rather confusingly also H/T. However in this instance it would be considered Hybrid Terrain. Some Manufactures call it Rugged terrain as well but all you really need to know is it sits between A/T and M/T. One of the most popular of this class would be the Nitto Ridge-Grapplers. Some aggressive A/Ts flirt this line so it's just a bit confusing where the actual line is. However this class is for those not wanting to commit to a fully soft tread compound of the M/T but wanting a more aggressive tread (or look) than the A/T.

I myself actually went to M/Ts this past winter and I actually think the road manners are quite good. My only question is tread life at this point. I have a bout 10k miles on them and i've lost about 1.5-2/32 of an inch off the tread. I guesstimate I'll get around 30 to 35k before I need to consider replacing them. They are quite soft compared to A/Ts.

Apologies on geeking out a bit on Tires, I just happened to have done quite a bit of research .

We both geeked out just a little bit, but you are correct. I was just trying to keep things simple. I can't imagine only getting 30k-35k miles on a set of (pretty expensive) tires, but if they are fun offroad miles, who cares!

 

[SJ.Overland]

We both geeked out just a little bit, but you are correct. I was just trying to keep things simple. I can't imagine only getting 30k-35k miles on a set of (pretty expensive) tires, but if they are fun offroad miles, who cares!

Understandable haha. And I decided upon it knowing I'd be getting a second set of wheels to rotate in and out of trips. The thought process was to have the M/Ts for more difficult excursions and then A/Ts (Likely KO2s since AT3ws have skyrocked in price) for long road/easier trips. And once the M/Ts were done I'd likely get rid of the stock wheels all together. However the full story is more than just this but not worth going into on a post like this.

 

[5280Ranger]

I used to run BFG KO2. They were decent but they didn't age well at all. Good traction, but as they aged, they got very noisy and rode like wagon wheels.

Having worked for Discount Tire as an Assistant Manager for ~5 years, I will tell you that the KO2 will last a long time BUT you have to keep up on the rotations. If you don't, they will start to cup. Once they start to cup, they will vibrate and bounce you all over the place and there is no reversing it. I will end up rotation mine every 3000 miles.

 

[roots66]

I run Goodyear Wrangler AT/S. I find them to be a good blend of off & on road. They were the ones from the factory and am only on my second set. After 60k miles and 8 years, they still had good tread. I ended up having to replace the originals only due to age.

 

[Alanymarce]

Tyres we have used in South America (2010-2018):

Dunlop Grandtrek AT3 - good tyre on the highway, OK offroad
Pirelli Scorpion AT - similar to the Dunlops
Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S - the best of these three - good on the highway, more capable offroad.

In 2017 we made a "big trip" through Africa and had BF Goodrich T/As on the vehicle we had there - they were a little noisier on the highway, however better than all of the previous tyres offroad.

In 2019 we made a "big trip" around Australia and at that point had the Yokohama Geolandar A/T-S kn the vehicle. When we needed to replace one we found that the nearest shop had BF Goodrich T/As and we asked them to put one on the vehicle, however they recommended a Toyo Open Country AT as being as good as the BFG at a lower price. We took their advice and when we subsequently replaced two more tyres put on two more Toyos, which we have on the vehicle now (in South America). The Toyos are excellent - quiet and capable on the highway, and good offroad. So, I'd recommend Toyos. I've seen a lot of recommendations recently for Falken Wildpeaks, however have no experience to offer.

 

[GrundleJuice]

Another thing to consider, that many overlook and then regret or just dislike the tire without understanding why it wasn't the right choice, is what you need from a tire. If you plan to do high-speed desert running on a light weight midsize truck you will want a much different tire than someone doing muddy trail crawling on a heavy full size and full armor rig. Vehicle weight has a lot to do with what load rating you should target for your tire construction. E load rated LT tires will feel like a bricks and have significant negative impact on fuel mileage when used on a midsize truck like a Tacoma or Ranger because they are built to support high inflation pressures to allow them to carry heavy loads. The sidewalls are often less compliant on e load rated tires, too. a C load rated LT tire will not be rated to carry as much weight as E or D load rated but it will also be able to be used at a lower pressure, probably have more compliant sidewalls and the result in a more comfortable, compliant and controlled ride when used on lighter trucks. One example is the Toyota Tacoma. A C load rated tire is capable of carrying far more than the max vehicle gross weight so an E load rated tire is overkill from a load carrying standpoint.

 

[North40overland]

I have found that running a good all terrain tire works the best for "overlanding". You spend most of your time on pavement and, in truth, the off pavement is primarily dirt or gravel trails/roads. If you are like us you are hauling a lot of gear and so you are not looking to do much rock crawling. I have found that an all terrain tire with good sidewall lugs is key. I like the sidewall lugs because we air down every time we get off pavement (much more comfortable and less vibration is easier on the gear and truck) and when aired down the sidewall lugs protect the tire and provide more traction if you need it. I am a big fan of the Goodyear Duratrax because they also do GREAT in the snow and have an aggressive sidewall lug pattern.

 

[Chuckem12]

Great examples and writeups here for the new and old. I agree with all the KO2 mentions. I used them for years for daily driving and camping and when I started with overlanding. I use Toyo OC3's now and they've held up well and are good on the highway. Might go back to KO2's when these wear out...not sure

 

[Visiontrd]

I'm on my 2nd set of bfg ko2 . There were some kind of Bridgestone on the truck when I got it and they would grip with a rainy day

 

[Downs]

Hi again. It's me, a beginner with lots of questions.

Thank you all for your previous answers. You guys are really the best, can't wait to meet you in person.

One thing that's bothering me is what tyres should you be using if (have in mind) you're also going to be driving on asphalt for quite a distance until you reach the trail itself?
Aren't ATTs only meant for trails? What do you do if the trails are hundreds of miles from your house?

Thanks!

ATs are typically what I run daily but I keep a spare set of MTs on base model steel wheels for trips I know I'll be off pavement for. Since I'm not driving on the MTs daily they will last me probably till they need to be changed due to age instead of wear.

I know keeping a whole extra set of tires around isn't something everyone can do but it's an option.

For daily driving or short overnight trips I'll just leave the ATs on.

 

[06LJoverlander]

There are plenty of good Offroad tires out there, I am currently using a set of Cooper 35x12.50x15 on my jeep. I am very happy with the on road and Offroad performance. my suggestion is stick with a all terrain tire versus a mud terrain. I end up doing a lot of highway driving to get to where I want to explore so tire noise is important to me. I am happy with my choice.