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Best mud tires for on road/ wet conditions!!!

15K views 21 replies 6 participants last post by  consumedbywater 
#1 · (Edited)
Hi guys, so I’ve been doing research into some new 265/ 70s or maybe 265/75 tires (if they can fit) that I want to put on my Commander (once I’ve done my OME lift). I had done all this research so thought I might as well share it to help others in the future..

Before I get into it though, a couple of things I’ve noticed along the way and looking at other trucks and SUVs are how short sighted Jeep were when they built the Commander when it comes to the wheel well shape and the calliper size. Especially the front wheel well the shape doesn’t follow the line of the wheel or give enough space around meaning that it squeezes the amount of tire you can fit in (unlike the Land Rover wheel arch for example). Instead you have to spend a ****e load of money to lift it over 2”s to get on some halfway decent size tires! Which I can't afford.

The issue with the calliper is that you can’t fit 16s on it so you can get that classic Jeep look with the larger sidewall tires on the cheap instead of having to lift further…if you want it!

Why Jeep did you not think of these two simple things??!!


Anyway, moan over, onto the good stuff. I’m currently running Falken Wild Peak ATs which although I thought at the time had a cool side wall and aggressive tread, I hadn’t even touched the surface! So basically as with most people I am after as aggressive a tread as possible but still being quiet on road, with good handling in the wet (it rains a fair bit over here) and also good handling when changing lanes and cornering…..not much to ask!! Even though id say 90% of my use is on road an All Terrain at this stage wasn’t really going to satisfy me unfortunately. Longevity also isn’t a massive thing for me either and with rotation most of these tires will do at least 40/ 50km.

With that in mind these are all the tires I’ve been considering and researching. What is written next to each tire is taken from loads of different sources including commercial and private reviews and from the tire company websites themselves. Just to note, these are not my personal views or opinions. I also know that this isn't super scientific or anything but it's helped me get a good basic understanding of what options are out there.

So, I started off obsessed with the classic BFG Mud Terrains KM2s as a friend of mine has them on his Land Rover and they looked badass! However aside from wanting something different from him and wanting a tire not seen so much of on the roads over here (as BFGs are super popular), I read that they may not deal with the wet and road noise quite as well as I hoped. This spurred me on to hundreds of websites and youtube review channels to get the list below; obviously there were many contradicting statements about all these tires but the below, in my opinion, is a fairly basic but accurate description.

Personally, I’m thinking of getting one of the top 3 on the list…. Toyo Open Country Mts, Cooper STT Pros or the Nitro Trail Grapplers. I think they all have the aggressive look I want, plus from all the reviews I’ve seen they all seem to come out at the top of the list for noise and on road and wet condition driving.

There are a few others in contention but none seem to tick the boxes like the first 3. The one tire that always seemed to come out on top which surprised a lot of people are the Falken Wild Peak AT3s which seemed to nail every are but unfortunately for me, they just aren’t quite mean looking enough.

I would like to hear if anyone has any experience with any these tires and feel free to tell me I’m wrong, it’s just my findings….

MTS:
- Toyo Open Country MT - Load C - They’re as quiet as a set of aggressive all-terrain tires and they roll smooth, round, and true. Tread is computer optimised to minimise road noise and is one of the quietest ones out there. After a few thousand miles the noise level increased slightly. Wet weather performance was very good, as predictable and grippy as the Toyo Open Country A/T, but with better standing-water performance. The treads have a lot of siping that opens up the blocks and really helps the tires pull without breaking loose and spinning. Balance really well

- Cooper STT Pro - Looks incredible. has all the traction you need on and off the road, but still provides a quiet and comfortable ride on the street. smooth it rides on the highway. Balance well. inner tread ribs are in an alternating 3-2 pattern of scalloped blocks, which provides reduced road noise, and increased stability and handling on wet and dry roads.

- Nitto Trail Grappler - On the road these tires are much quieter than we expected and thanks to the two separate sidewall designs. The real beauty of this tread is its mild on-road manners and well-rounded performance across the board. Advanced sound analysis equipment was used to systematically reduce the noises normally heard when driving on off-road tires

- Goodyear Wrangler MT R - on-road manners are pleasant and relatively quiet, with none of the vibration or harshness we expect from tires with high void ratios. Not the best at balancing. uses an advanced Silica Rubber compound that gives the tough mud terrain tire a sure-footed feel on any terrain, wet or dry

- Kumho Road Venture MT - has surprisingly good on-road manners. The massive tread voids help channel standing water away. they offered a surprisingly low level of noise on the street and rolled smoothly without major lug slap

- Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ - great handling on-road and off-road, the siping helps in the wet. The advanced radial construction means the tire should last for many miles and give a smooth ride. a little noisy on road

- Maxxis Bighorn 764 - a little noisy. High-grip edges, deep grooves and an improved pattern offers improved traction and braking on all surfaces, both wet and dry. could be better in the wet. wear quicker than some

- BFG Mud KM2- this is a much more streetable version that is significantly lighter.. This addition makes the BFG KM2 even more of a jack-of-all-trades that is perfectly happy in mud, sand, heavy rock, snow and street (wet and dry

- Yokohama Geolander MT - good in rain, quiet ride on road

- Hankook Dynapro MT - lack of noise on highway, but no sipes reducing control in the wet

- Federal Courage M/T - equipped with fairly bigger shoulder lugs that make sure the tires perform perfectly on the road. lots of people who call them the best all terrain tire for highway due to its unique features. Some complaints about its noise on the highway

- Firestone Destination MT - advanced braking while wet, in addition to improved handling. Tough and durable, the re-engineered compound of the tire helps improve wear and handling. Cant see any siping on these though. Few complaints of on road noise


ATS:

- BFG ATs - It’s works well almost everywhere, people love this tire. delivering a quiet, smooth ride on the street. The tiny sipes on the tread blocks help grip on wet pavement, ice, snow

- Goodyear Wrangler duratec - aggressive all-terrain, stood up to heavy rains and ice-covered asphalt and returned a quite road noise when the tread was new, but as the tires wear they quickly get fairly loud. A lot of good reports on this tire

- General Grabber - On the street, the Grabber is heavy and robs power, but inspires confidence on rain-slick pavement thanks to the long, angled grooves that channel water to the outside of the pattern. a bit more noisy than most

- General Grabber AT2 -With virtually no road noise and great all-around performance, the AT2 is a good choice for daily drivers that need added traction for weekend adventures, no matter sand, rock, rain, snow, or ice.

- Falken Wildpeak AT3 - right light truck tire aesthetic but with very good on-road manners. *For all-terrain tires, these work exceptionally well in bad weather on paved surfaces. The traction in snow, ice and other winter conditions is due to the 3D Canyon Sipe technology and the longer tread edges of the center blocks. These features do not hurt the performance of the tire in off-road conditions, but make a huge difference on rain soaked or winter roads. Cannot fault these tires in performance.

- Nitto Ridge Grappler - good balance of looks and on-road performance. densely packed and heavily siped tread features in the middle of the tread. Block density and siping in this area of the tread means more edges for grip on wet roads, or snow and ice covered roads

- Pro Comp Extreme A/T - expected of an all-terrain tire with generously siped treads, noise levels and performance on the street, whether wet or dry were outstanding. The tires ride smoothly and quietly with no drawbacks. abysmal performance in the mud.
 
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#2 ·
Thanks for this comprehensive review, I'm sure that took a ton of work and research! I am in the same situation as I plan to lift my rig in the coming month or two and I will be in the market for some aggressive tires. I actually bought a set of brand new Toyo Open Country MTs in stock Commander tire size (P245/65R17) about a year ago. I was happy with them because of the aggressive look and zero road noise. However now, after only a year, they are dry rotting in the tread grooves and even into the sidewall. This was quite dissatisfying after only 1 year, maybe 15,000 miles, and how expensive they were $$$. I also had a set of Nitto Trail Grappler M/Ts on my F-150 (p285/65r18). They looked amazing and received MANY compliments but on the highway they were pretty loud (worth it in my opinion because they looked killer haha). The Nittos actually held up really well and are still on the truck after I sold it (4 total years). Keep researching just figured I'd share!
 
#3 ·
Thanks for your insight XKTank, with all my hours spent looking at this stuff, it's the first I've heard of dry rot!

Looking into it, it seems that a lot of tires can be susceptible to dry rot but for you to experience that in a year isn't good. Did you experience any of the following for it to happen: inactivity, low tire pressure and excessive heat?

Re the Nittos, you found them loud? That's really interesting as they're supposed to be one of the quietest with their technology. I know none are going to be silent but thought they would be on the lesser end. And so the Toyo's for you were super quiet? I'm almost leaning towards the Coopers at the moment but I swing between the three about 10 times a day!!
 
#4 ·
My commander sat outside for about 6 months of that year span, the rest it was garage kept when I wasn't driving it. It's my daily driver so it doesn't sit around much and I always kept an eye on the tire pressure everytime I cleaned it. I might've gotten an older manufactured set or something, it's weird because I have only heard good things about Toyo which is why I bought them!

The tread pattern on the Nitto tires were very wide which makes for a better off-road tire but I think is where the road noise comes from whereas the tread on the Toyo is tighter and noise is unnoticeable in the cabin. For my next set I'm kind of leaning towards the BFGs myself, I have a few friends who have them on their daily drivers and have gotten good life out of them.
 
#5 ·
I had a 1 inch lift (as not to void my warranty) and put on BFG's. They wore out in about 18 months on the edges, and I religiously rotated so that would not happen. Went to the Nittro's and very little wear after the first year. Just saying, BFG's over priced.
 
#6 ·
I think the Nitto is a better looking tire (and would probably perform better out on the trail) but it seems like everywhere I look they're $215+ per tire which is a tough pill to swallow. I suppose you get what you pay for.
 
#9 ·
I have been using general grabber at2 on both my commander and wife's liberty for last 5 years. Great tire. Was previously using bfg at KO and don't see a difference except better price and just as good or better wear.
 
#10 ·
I have been using general grabber at2 on both my commander and wife's liberty for last 5 years. Great tire. Was previously using bfg at KO and don't see a difference except better price and just as good or better wear.
What size and how much did a set run you?
 
#13 · (Edited)
I am probably getting new tires when I get back in November; Same size that I have now 265/70/17's but I want to upgrade to "LT" Light Truck tires for the thicker sidewalls instead of "P" Passenger tires - just contemplating which brand I want to go with. I'll look at the ones you mentioned and TOYO which is what I have now and I'll probably look at BF Goodrich's 265/70/17 LT tires and see what they have - and at what price.

$169 a tire is pretty reasonable - is that for P's or LT's?
 
#14 ·
With the one inch lift I put the Nitto AT Terra Grappler 265/70R17 on. That is probably the largest as I did have to cut away a portion of the plastic cowling in the front wheel well as when I turned sharp the tire would rub but only on the right side for some reason. Probably due to deformity with age, maybe?


Anyway hope that helps.

RBrink
 
#19 ·
So, continuing my research, I think I'm dropping the Nittos as they are generally much harder to get over here and think they will be louder than the Toyos, the STT PROs and a new entry (well a jump from League 1 to the Premiership)...the Goodyear Duratracs. Not sure why i missed them first time round as they seem to be a good hybrid between the AT/ MT, pretty aggressive tread and sidewall, great siping and lower noise levels than both the Toyo MTs and Cooper STT PROs..just!

Anyone had experience with the Duratracs? Comparison between all three of the above?
 
#20 ·
I ran Duratracs for awhile. In my opinion, they're one of the best tires you can get without going for a full mud tire. They wear well, handle all terrains excellently, and they look aggressive too. They don't have great road manners; they're worse than pretty much every AT tire I've run in both ride and noise, but they aren't as bad as MTs. They can also handle rain and snow better than most MTs, and sand/mud much better than most ATs.



I will say that you should buy LT Duratracs. The sidewall on the passenger rated tires is simply too weak; I split one on a branch on the trail that shouldn't have been a problem. Others have had similar problems.
 
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