Long term MT/R test report

[crawler#976]

First off, truck specs:

SAS'd 1987, 2 stock t'cases, 5.29:1 r/p, full spool rear locked, Detroit front locker. I rotate tires every 2000 miles due to the accelerated wear caused by a spool.

I finished building the truck in August of 2001 and purchased 5 new 35" BFG M/T's- a tire I'd used for years with good results for general 4x4'n. For severe use, they didn't hold up very well. Of the 5, I had 2 sidewall failures, and one tread failure (tore two whole lugs off down to the cords). The rubber compound was very stiff and not very flexible. After 14,000 miles of daily driving and up to 4.5 rated trail use, they were totally shot. Large chucks of rubber had been torn out of all 5 tires.

In August of 2002 I bought 4 new 35" Goodyear MT/R's. The rubber compound was very soft and flexible compared w/ the BFG- I was skeptical of how long they’d last, but had heard good reports from other wheelers who run the same type of trails I do. One guy who has F/R ARB's had over 30,000 on a set!

I was immediately impressed with the traction of the MT/R's- not just in rocks, but also in all the conditions I drive in. They were better in mud, snow and sand, and MUCH better in rocky conditions than the BFG's. They flexed better at low pressure, seemed to be almost immune to sidewall damage, and I had very little tread chunking for the first 15,000 miles or so. Up until a little over half the tread was gone (at about 12,000 miles) they performed outstanding, but after that, the wear accelerated pretty quickly. I've not been driving it on a daily basis since Sept of last year, so the miles I've put on them since have been all hard miles.

I've run all the moderate trails off Table Mesa Rd. in Arizona at least 2 times on this set of tires, that includes Lower and Upper Raw Deal, Lower and Upper Terminator (probably been thru the Terminators 4 times), Judgment Day, and Predator 3 times. I driven 1000's of miles of dirt roads/trails, been in heavy snow, deep mud, sand, I ran Claw Hammer at last years Jambo @ the Hammer's, all with out even a minor problem (other than losing a bead). Up until the 20th of March- no problems at all!

After we decided to do a marathon run on Table Mesa- we did 4 trails in 5 hours- I finally punched a hole thru a sidewall. By then, the tires only had about a 1/4" of tread left, and to get good traction, I aired down to 8 PSI. The tread blocks were short and stiff, and they were getting pretty torn up- but, I had 19,100 miles of hard use on'm.

19,100 miles vs. 14,000. Not bad at all for a much better tire. They are a bit more expensive- the BFG's are $156.00 each; I paid $174.00 apiece for the MT/R's in 2002.

I bought a fresh set yesterday- at the same price, $174.00, and now that I trailer the truck to anything more than 60 miles away, they "should" last me several years. The spool on asphalt caused probably 80% of the wear- so I really do expect them to last a lot longer. I really do think a rig w/ a selectable locker could get 40,000 out of a set- the spool literally eats tires.

Later

Mark

[wetnsloppy4x]

Nice write up.

But....you have a 1987 what?

[generalee7]

I'm gonna guess he has a 1987 Toyota pickup SAS'd.

[GJC]

Great info, think thats what I'll be getting next

[crawler#976]

yup- it's a Toy. I was gonna post over in the Toy section, but thought it might be more usefull here.

Swampers are prolly better for wheelin', but they sure won't last anywhere close to 19,000 miles of hi-way driving. I had planned on getting some 36 TSL-SX's, but w/ the price of gas going up, up, up, I will be driving the Toy at least once a week instead of the 7.4L GMC 2500.

[T1]

My 33s are at 12k miles and have about 65% tread. I was skeptical at first, but am pleased with my MT/Rs. First time out I broke a valve stem off and drove the passenger front off the rim. I replaced the stem, wiped it down, aired it up, and drove it home. It has marks on it from that, but hasn't caused me any trouble since. They're worth the extra cash.

[MikeW]

I must have somewhere between 5,000 to 10,000 on my 33" MT/Rs, the thread is still good. I actually run two sets of tires in order to preserve the thread of the MT/Rs, when I need them for wheeling, they go on. But when Im mall crusing, the street tires go on.

[Red Monkey]

MT/R's work great when it is dry but here on "the other coast" they SUCK when it's wet and muddy.
I'll keep my IROK's for off road use thank you.
And use my 37 MT/R's for hunting season, I drive 250 miles every weekend from Oct. to Jan. They are the best "all-terrain" tires I have ever used.

[ABN82MP]

I had 25k on my last set and am locked f/r with Detroits in a TJ.

Anyone looking for 35" MT/Rs might want to check out www.onlinetires.com They have the new black serrated letter MT/Rs for $147 (no white letters). I had my local wally world price match to avoid shipping.

[xcntrk75]

"on the other coast" they SUCK

I couldn’t agree more… I run 35x12.5 MT/R’s and they’re terrible if you encounter any water on the trail. They don’t clear worth a damn and once wet have very little bite on the rocks.

They are however very decent on road. Surprisingly low road noise and seem to stay balanced pretty well. It’s a compromise between road manners and off-road performance, depending on what’s more important to you..

$.02

[SAsafari]

Originally posted by ABN82MP
I had 25k on my last set and am locked f/r with Detroits in a TJ.

Anyone looking for 35" MT/Rs might want to check out www.onlinetires.com They have the new black serrated letter MT/Rs for $147 (no white letters). I had my local wally world price match to avoid shipping.

Good info. i am looking to get some new MT/R's here soon.

[4x4 Pete]

Where did you find new MTR's?