Best 38-40" tire for snow

[86chevyjoe]

Originally Posted by Wilson

I want to feel the compound, the sidewall and just get an in person impression of the tire. I don't want to run two sets of tires, so I need some durability for summer rocks.

I've pretty much given up on only running one set of tires. I keep a set strictly for snow and then have a beater set for dry summer use.. 35s in the summer and probably 40" yokohamas or iroks in the winter.

A buddy just bought the new pro comp xmtII's in a 40" so I'm excited to see how those do this winter. I've heard they're a soft tire but that's kinda hard to believe with a 50K mile warranty

[YotaAtieToo]

The nittos we are talking about are the mud grappler (look like a gay spikey bogger of sorts) , not the trail grappler. I know the trail grapples and toyo Mt are supposedly the "same" tire. Not sure if the mud grapplers have anything in common with the toyo Mt.

Originally Posted by YellowRenegade

A guy up here ran the 40" Yokohama's when they first came out. They were on a 1 ton yj. The tires work really well, but the tread tends to get packed up with wet snow.

Yokohama's are good snow tires, but Iroks are better.

That's kinda what I was figuring.

[Wilson]

I think the carcasses are the same or similar. I also ran a nitto_______ grappler on my first dodge. More like the toyo AT, also lasted close to 50k.

[Claybuilt]

I have found that you can break in a stiff tire running them at crazy low psi at some speed. Me and one other guy would have to air down to 1 psi at first but after running between drifts in late spring even on blacktop once they now look flat at 4 to 5 psi. One set are radials and others that I run are bias. We are both running beadlocks though so be careful running with low psi at speeds.

[deri0953]

Originally Posted by 86chevyjoe

From only the selection of tires on this list I made, what is your guys opinion?

Out of your list:

First choice would be the 40" MT/R
40" Yokohama MT, maybe, it's light weight, and cheap enough, but no real world experience.
40" Toyo MT, hell no, stiff sidewalls, hard rubber
39.5" radial Irok, it's hard to beat, but the sidewalls are nothing special

If you are considering a 38" tire, why not the MTR/K in the 38x14.50R17? I ran some 37" Irok radials, they worked very well in stock form. After the sidewalls self destructed, I switched to 37" MTR/K, and after siping them, I would say they are dead even in performance to the Irok radial, uncut or siped. I've moved on to 38" MTR/K last winter, but the lack of snow didn't let me do much snow wheeling. A buddy that I do a lot of snow wheeling with runs the 38" MTR/K and I have been impressed so far.

As for conditions, most snow wheeling that I do is in the Blue Mountains of Eastern WA, fairly wet, but it does vary quite a bit.

[86chevyjoe]

Originally Posted by Claybuilt

I have found that you can break in a stiff tire running them at crazy low psi at some speed. Me and one other guy would have to air down to 1 psi at first but after running between drifts in late spring even on blacktop once they now look flat at 4 to 5 psi. One set are radials and others that I run are bias. We are both running beadlocks though so be careful running with low psi at speeds.

I plan on airing down (whatever new tires I purchase) until they bulge then driving up and down the road until they become warm. I have Hearst this works great for breaking snow tires in. Like you said, gotta be careful not to air them down too low or get them too warm cause you'll ruin the tire(s).

Originally Posted by deri0953

Out of your list:

First choice would be the 40" MT/R
40" Yokohama MT, maybe, it's light weight, and cheap enough, but no real world experience.
40" Toyo MT, hell no, stiff sidewalls, hard rubber
39.5" radial Irok, it's hard to beat, but the sidewalls are nothing special

If you are considering a 38" tire, why not the MTR/K in the 38x14.50R17? I ran some 37" Irok radials, they worked very well in stock form. After the sidewalls self destructed, I switched to 37" MTR/K, and after siping them, I would say they are dead even in performance to the Irok radial, uncut or siped. I've moved on to 38" MTR/K last winter, but the lack of snow didn't let me do much snow wheeling. A buddy that I do a lot of snow wheeling with runs the 38" MTR/K and I have been impressed so far.

As for conditions, most snow wheeling that I do is in the Blue Mountains of Eastern WA, fairly wet, but it does vary quite a bit.

I really like the 40" mtrk's but damn they are expensive! I don't have that kind of budget yet lol. The 38" mtrk's are expensive too and they're D load range - I'd rather have a C load range tire for my lighter jeep. A few guys run the 37x12.5R15 irok radials over here in the Yakima area but prefer the 36x13.5R15 iroks over the 37s.

I just picked up a set of super cheap 39.5 radial iroks with 60% tread (all street miles) that I'm going to groove the heck out of and try this winter. Quite a few guys around here have said they prefer a low tread tire (so it doesn't dig) with lots of biting edges. Makes me almost want to try a set of KO2s haha

I plan on making a few trips to the blues this winter if we get some good snow. We'll have to get together

[ROCK HUGGER]

How do the BFG KM2's do in the snow? I have been running the old school MTR's in a 37x12.5x15 and was very happy with then. They finally wore out and I replaced them with a set of the KM2's in a 38x14.5x17 and am hoping I'm not going to be disappointed with them in the snow, if we get any.

[Wilson]

Originally Posted by ROCK HUGGER

How do the BFG KM2's do in the snow? I have been running the old school MTR's in a 37x12.5x15 and was very happy with then. They finally wore out and I replaced them with a set of the KM2's in a 38x14.5x17 and am hoping I'm not going to be disappointed with them in the snow, if we get any.

I ran a set of 37's on my fzj80 (5000 lbs+) I felt that they worked well in the snow, but not on ice. You will need to watch your air pressures! I got a little careless with mine and ran one almost flat (under 2psi) for about 1.5 miles before I caught it. I aired it back up and carried on. After that trip I developed a wobble. I thought it was my steel allied beadlocks, so I bought new TG creeper locks. When I dismounted the tire, two handfuls of rubber came out from inside. In 1.5 miles the tire had rubbed to the cords from the inside. I bought a new tire at almost $500 and used the damaged one my spare I only mention this because after 15 years of snow wheeling, running flat happens and I have never had another tire self destruct like that.

[YotaAtieToo]

Originally Posted by Wilson

I ran a set of 37's on my fzj80 (5000 lbs+) I felt that they worked well in the snow, but not on ice. You will need to watch your air pressures! I got a little careless with mine and ran one almost flat (under 2psi) for about 1.5 miles before I caught it. I aired it back up and carried on. After that trip I developed a wobble. I thought it was my steel allied beadlocks, so I bought new TG creeper locks. When I dismounted the tire, two handfuls of rubber came out from inside. In 1.5 miles the tire had rubbed to the cords from the inside. I bought a new tire at almost $500 and used the damaged one my spare I only mention this because after 15 years of snow wheeling, running flat happens and I have never had another tire self destruct like that.

The other bummer with those tires, is they are basically a 35. I wish blue label krawlers were more available.

[ROCK HUGGER]

Thanks for that info. I usually ran in the 3psi range with the MTR's in snow. I'll keep a closer eye with these.

[Wilson]

Originally Posted by YotaAtieToo

The other bummer with those tires, is they are basically a 35. I wish blue label krawlers were more available.

Yes, the 38's are better, but more like a 37. A lot of tires don't measure out (not news to you) Iirc, the 36" irok radial is taller than the 37" flavor.

[YotaAtieToo]

Originally Posted by Wilson

Yes, the 38's are better, but more like a 37. A lot of tires don't measure out (not news to you) Iirc, the 36" irok radial is taller than the 37" flavor.

Ya, I know interco has always been bad. I remember having a set of 44 tsl's, 42 tsl's and 39 red labels, all well worn at the same house. They were all within an inch of each other.

However, for a "modern" radial tire that costs $500, the 37 km2s are a joke. A lot of people say they measure 35.5" I swear I saw a pic of a 35 mtr/k Vs a 37 km2 and the km2 was barely taller.

That being said, I do like km2s, I think they are still carrying the "weak side wall" stigma from the original bfg muds. I realize they are not the strongest out there, but I would bet they compare just fine to similar tires.

After seeing how chunked my Kevlars are from just one summer of wheelin, I am wondering if the km2s would be holding up better with their more simple thread pattern.

[107096]

I had pretty good luck with some 38" ssr's on my old one ton, it actually floated on top of everything for once.

[BLOODBANE]

I run the BFG KM2s on my Explorer. the siping that they gave the new BFGs are leaps and bounds over the original BFG MT's. They do pretty well on the street (mileage), but can get noisy (nothing like my BOGGERs though). Like has been said snow/rocks/mud they do very well, ice not so much (I will still swear by the AT's on slick roads/ice)

[mtsnowrunner]

I took a chance and bought 6ply 40" Toyo MT's. I know they have hard rubber but I'm grooving and siping them hoping they will work out. I drive to and from the trail so I wanted something that would last decent. I will drive around town at low pressure to break them in a little.

What does everyone think? This is grooved and then I'll sipe them all the way across.

[86chevyjoe]

Are they going to be your snow tire or a year round tire?

[Chilkat]

To be honest I have never had a new set of tires in the snow, but that's probably too aggressive for the small amount of horsepower I have on tap. I like my 40-50% tread with rounded lugs because they don't dig holes that bog down my squirrels.

They'll probably never work...

[86chevyjoe]

Originally Posted by Chilkat

To be honest I have never had a new set of tires in the snow, but that's probably too aggressive for the small amount of horsepower I have on tap. I like my 40-50% tread with rounded lugs because they don't dig holes that bog down my squirrels.

They'll probably never work...

My buddy runs bald ass 39.5 iroks that he grooved and swears by them... says the exact same thing you just said, that they don't dig but still have the biting edges. After the last couple trips with him I am starting to be a believer

[Technohead]

Get some Fun Countrys!!

[Wilson]

Originally Posted by Technohead

Get some Fun Countrys!!

Shoot, they'd have to be what a 15-20 yr old tire at this point? Don't get me wrong, I still consider the 38" fun country radial to be the best snow tire I've seen.

[Wilson]

Take my money!

AT405 Radial

[Pipelayer]

Those are cool almost like a Yokohama tire cut up

[86chevyjoe]

Originally Posted by Wilson

Take my money!

AT405 Radial

Man I'd love to have those. They are almost $1000 a tire shipped all said and done

[TimCubed]

I saw the 405 on Top Gear a couple of years ago and started looking on the net I found they are being made and tested by ???? I can't remember??? a big name company and were not available yet anyway. So I just bought 39.5" Irok Radials for snow and 37" Irok radials for rock. The 39.5" have a 3 ply sidewall and the 37" have a 2 ply sidewall. The two tires at 4 psi have a totally different footprint. The 39.5" just don't want to flatten out as much as the 37". I did keep the 39.5" at 40psi in between runs to stretch them out, and ran 2 psi to break down the side wall for a day. I hope with some more time on them they will soften up. They're on a 3800lb flatfender so a heavier rig will help them squat a little better. I feel for $2100.00 delivered they're a good tire for the price. I got them from JWeb07 in the vendors section.

[rotun]

I have used Toyo MT and Irok radial 37's. The Toyo's were very good when new but a year later they were the worst.

Irok's have been very good.

Just in case it has not been mentioned already ( I did read through most of the posts) the Irok's have a directional tread. I will eventually be trying the 39.5's on my heavy 8000 lb. truck since the sidewalls are a little stiffer.