Mud terrains or All terrains....?

H

High Center

Adventurer
Recently got back into a D1 after a long (soulless) sojourn into "mechanical reliability". I've come to the conclusion that you either ARE a LR person or you are not. I've tried to explain the fizz to my brother in law. He rolls his eyes, raises the (perfectly operational) window of his 100 series and drives away laughing.

I most unabashedly AM a Land Rover person.

To the question: I am the beneficiary of my D1 having an excellent former owner/architect/builder. I can't thank him enough for the things he did to this cool little truck. One of those things is mounting 215/85 16 Cooper STT Pro Mud terrains. They are trending toward the end of their useful life and I was wondering a few things having always used All Terrains:

How well do they travel on the highway? (the tires mounted on the truck are softened by their miles)
Is their off road performance limited to mud? (how do they do on rocks? etc.)
How well would they compare AT's as a generalist? (what I'm asking is whether the AT/MT thing is 50% marketing or 80% marketing?)

I've been a BFG KO convert for a while so I know painfully little about anything else. Any help would be sincerely appreciated.

Thanks so much,
DB
 
Explorerinil

Explorerinil

Observer
Are you in muddy stuff often? Do you need a tire that will clean out in heavy mud? Here in Illinois durning hunting season stuff gets really muddy, with thick clay mud, so a mud terrain works for me, but for the other 90% a good all terrain will work.

Decide what you are doing and what you need or want for your type of driving.
 
Ray_G

Ray_G

Explorer
I think you are going to find precious little difference between a KM2 or KM3 and a KO2 for your application.

We could talk other tire brands I suppose, but I tend to find BFG suits the Rovers best and thus, once having found the right choice, I don't deviate.

To your specific questions, and based off my experience:

-There is a pretty stark difference offroad between good MTs and good ATs, mostly as it relates to clearing mud but even in rocks the traction difference is noticeable.
-There is a difference, less stark, in on-road performance between a good AT (KO2) and a good MT (KM2). Particularly in rain.

This is not marketing, it's tangible. That said, if you wanted to invest in KM3's, for example, you likely wouldn't lose too much performance on road given the limitations of the D1 already. But if you're doing mostly highway miles, they may well wear down sooner than a set of good ATs would.

Does any of that help, there are reams of discussion on this forum about MT vs AT, I figured hitting the wavetops and focusing on it in the real world of your D1 was for the best.
r-
Ray
 
H

High Center

Adventurer
Explorerinil said:
Are you in muddy stuff often? Do you need a tire that will clean out in heavy mud? Here in Illinois durning hunting season stuff gets really muddy, with thick clay mud, so a mud terrain works for me, but for the other 90% a good all terrain will work.

Decide what you are doing and what you need or want for your type of driving.
Click to expand...

I'm in mud while hunting (as you said).... SE Georgia is a partially filled in swamp. I don't go looking for it though.
Usage: Good advice. I plan on traveling in this Disco in addition to getting stuck in black mud occasionally.
 
H

High Center

Adventurer
Ray_G said:
I think you are going to find precious little difference between a KM2 or KM3 and a KO2 for your application.

We could talk other tire brands I suppose, but I tend to find BFG suits the Rovers best and thus, once having found the right choice, I don't deviate.

To your specific questions, and based off my experience:

-There is a pretty stark difference offroad between good MTs and good ATs, mostly as it relates to clearing mud but even in rocks the traction difference is noticeable.
-There is a difference, less stark, in on-road performance between a good AT (KO2) and a good MT (KM2). Particularly in rain.

This is not marketing, it's tangible. That said, if you wanted to invest in KM3's, for example, you likely wouldn't lose too much performance on road given the limitations of the D1 already. But if you're doing mostly highway miles, they may well wear down sooner than a set of good ATs would.

Does any of that help, there are reams of discussion on this forum about MT vs AT, I figured hitting the wavetops and focusing on it in the real world of your D1 was for the best.
r-
Ray
Click to expand...

Great, insightful answers. Thanks.

I have KO2's on my Chevy 2500 and my wife has KO's (soon to be 2's) on her 100 series. I've been nothing but impressed. The previous owner was a regular at Uwharrie and thought well of these MT's. He is an incredibly well thought guy and researches everything to the nth degree. It had me wondering if the more aggressive design was the hidden gem or something.

If I do go with the KO2, I don't think they make it in a 215/85 16. I really do like the pairing.
 
Ray_G

Ray_G

Explorer
Concur on the tire size, if you can't find 215/85/16 I'd suggest 245/75/16's. I ran VOT in my D1 on that size, it is actually probably a more elegant size on a mild build than then normal 235/85. I haven't checked, but that size in KM3's would be a tight package. That size in KO2's would be solid too. If you are hitting URE the ability to clean the mud is nice, and if all things were equal I'd think hard about the KM3, I was very impressed with how they performed on contestant vehicles at 36hrs last year.
r-
Ray
 
luckyjoe

luckyjoe

Adventurer
Tire branding is usually a personal choice, and there are a few that I stay away from, but to your main question I say go with an aggressive AT. Case in point, something like the Cooper ST/Maxx:
513462


I have not driven this particular tire, yet, but just ordered a set for my RRC. The ST/Maxx has deep, wider-spaced center AT tread, MT-sized shoulder blocks and Cooper's Armor Tek3 casing. It's very similar to the old Dunlop RT (RIP) which was my favorite on-/off-road tire on both my 109 and D1. For general off-road driving on the East Coast - normal AT's are useless in mud.
 
jadmt

jadmt

ignore button user
I have had both KO2's and the ST Maxx's and Toyo R/T's and ST Maxx is hard to beat. (I have run all 3 in a years time on a JK rubicon)
 
LR Max

LR Max

Local Oaf
BFG fanboy here. Can't help with other brands but here is my take:

For Georgia Red clay, you need mud tires. BFG ATs will slick up quickly and get about 1/4" of mud OVER the tread...as well as in the tread. This brings misery.

That said, you hunting in the wet a lot? Basically if its raining, I don't go out, but you might be different. Also if your access roads are flat and well taken care of and/or partially gravel, then ATs will be just fine.

Guess it just depends on what you expect. If you want maximum capability under any circumstances, BFG MT or similar is what you need. If you play it smart and don't put yourself into bad situations, then the AT is just fine.

I've got ATs on my LR3. They work fine on anything except muddy hillclimbs. I just don't take it out into such places. My 109 has MTs and they perform quite well, especially in the mud. Ride quality is good, can't comment on noise, because 109.
 
Buliwyf

Buliwyf

Viking with a Hammer
Since an LR is never going to be a car, and has so many bad foibles already,.....MT's should just be a nice bit of character. "You're either an MT guy, or you're not."

Cooper Stt's are pretty street friendly. Only real downside to them is that they require frequent rotations. Every 5000, at least. Mine were excellent in snow. I was careful in icy rain, but had no issues. They'll be better in rocks than an LR. So you should be safe there.

Bfg Ko At's are useless around here. Snow/street tires at best. Location matters. Mud Terrains fail in our mud. Only chains or claws help.
 
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