Recommendations on best 'expedition' tire?

[dieselcruiserhead]

Did a brief search and couldn't find anything on it. I have run MTR's before and they are great and have incredible traction but their soft compound ie road wear and high road noise leave little to be desired IMO... I am thinking of going back to a BFG MT.. I like AT's and think these would be a great tire too but am wondering what people's thoughts are for off road, at the MT's really that much more superior? I guess they probably are after being stuck in the mud several times and having a heck of a time getting even the MTRs to self clean... But I rarely do mud, mostly southwest desert and rock? Also load carrying ability? I have been a 15" guy mostly in the past but will now be using 17" rims for this new rig to get ideal backspacing and width. I will be running a 7.5" wide rim which is a tad narrow but the best I can do looks like with my approx budget for wheels (less than $300 shipped and I prefer steel). Beauty of the 35 x 17 is load carring ability, it goes upto D from C and can be inflated to 50 psi. Also weight goes from 2300 to 3000 lbs per wheel. But that said even my 35 x 15's still carried a load very very well, surprizingly well... But 32 psi on my 35's was dangerous, it wanted to slip out particularly in bad weather. I wonder if it will have the same effect with the 17" rims...

I am also considering Cooper discovery which is also a harder compound for better wear and significantly quieter as well than the MTR's....

[Scott Brady]

The BFGoodrich AT KO might be your best overall choice. 315/70 R17

The Toyo Open Country is a nice tire as well, and is available in the size you are looking for.

I am also looking at a more highway / Ice / Snow friendly tire too.

[durango_60]

I have been really impressed with the Nitto Terra Grapplers that I put on my 80. I'm sure that I'll take that statement back the first time I end up in any mud, but on snow, sand, moab rocks, and loose dirt they have been amazing, I might say even better than the BFG MT's on my 60. Time will tell if the sidewalls are up to the task but I have pinched them pretty well with no problems yet.

I was pretty nervous putting on tires that are more frequently seen rolling on chrome 20's as opposed to a trail truck but I have not regretted the decision.

BTW, I'm running 295/75 16's

[dieselcruiserhead]

yes same here, with both the Nittos and the Toyos, most guys around here that have Toyos on big retard jacked pickups, sort of the cool it thing to have or something like that. Puts a bad taste in my mouth about them a little bit. But they do make a 35 x 17. Same with cooper who actually makes a small 315 75 R 17 which measures to about 34" then there is BFG and MTR again...

[cruiseroutfit]

I love my AT's, my Tacoma is on the 3rd set, and I will put another set on it in a heartbeat. That thing has been in every corner of the state on trails up to a 4+ without a single problem (knock on wood). I have also been known to carry alot of weight (8 axles from Cali )

But, I love the MTR's too... tire noise is a downfall, but you'll get the same out of just about any aggressive MT. The MTR's in my Cruiser have also been all over the state, and they have lasted surprisingly well for a rig that really only sees the street to and from the trails and ~5000 miles a year. You would probably be better of with an AT unless you actually plan to more dedicated wheeling in your next Cruiser than the last... DD'ing will kill MTR's in a hurry on a heavy rig. I bet I only get 15k out of my MTR's... but they get beat on pretty good. Still wouldn't second guess buying them again.

[60seriesguy]

I'm not sure I can make a good recommendation for an expedition tire because it all depends on the overall conditions expected during the trip. Overall, I do agree that you want a strong tire with a relatively hard compound, very strong sidewalls and good load rating. There are several Michelin tires that fit that bill, but they're relatively hard to find in the US and expensive when you can.

I will tell you one thing; if you're building a dedicated expedition rig and plan to cross borders with it, 17" rims is *NOT* a good size. Yes, you'll get better handling on the road, but finding a 17" tire in remote areas will NOT be easy and in other countries, you can forget about it. They may be all the rage these days and come OEM with many different vehicles, but they're still very rare elsewhere. I'd stick to 15" or 16", the latter for a better load rating and better handling.

[gjackson]

Gotta say the 760R16 Michelin XZL is one heck of an expedition tire. But expensive and hard to find these days.

cheers

[Scott Brady]

Graham,

What were your overall impressions of the tire? You are one of the few that has actually spent time with them.

I noticed that you ran split rims with them too. Are they not a radial tire?

[gjackson]

Scott,

The tire is pretty awesome. Not loud on the road, works great in sand and mud and is really tough! Little crazy on wet asphalt though! It is a radial tire and I didn't run it on split rims. Those are Wolf wheels, 1/4" steel and *heavy*! We had a lot of flats on the trip, but that was not due to the XZLs. I went with tubes, and unfortunately the tubes that Big O sold me were really crap! A guy in England tried to warn me off them, but I was feeling poor and off we went to Africa. At low tire pressures the tubes would rupture from the heat, and this is driving at no more than 35mph! Once we got a few flats, it was just a matter of the tubes continually coming apart. We never got a true puncture in the tire, but lots and lots of holes in the tubes. In Gabon I was able to source some Michelin tubes, and those worked much better. It is pretty cool that you can run the XZLs tubless or with tubes, but if you run tubes, get Michelin ones. Nothing else will do!

cheers

[Scott Brady]

This is a good education for me.

What are the benefits of running tubes with a radial/tubless tire?