Tire talk

[thoner7]

I search the forums and surprisingly didn’t find much discussion on aftermarket tires.

I’d love some input on brands, tread wear, weight ratings, on/off road performance etc.

I am looking for a 38-40” tire. Preferably something with a higher load rating and something that will wear like iron.

Searching online, Milestar Patagonia mickey Thompson bajas, Yokohamas etc.

Some off the wall options I’ve found areContinental MPT 81 335/80R20 andMichelin 335/80R20 from CSM Army Tires. These have huge weight ratings but are likely too heavy/heavy duty??

 

[Maxjeep1]

I’m a big fan of the Toyo MT. I have the 38/15/20 on my H2 and they ride and wear great… I think that’s the best big tire made and they come in 40”. If I was going away from the 16.5 wheel I would buy the Toyo’s for my M1165

 

[thoner7]

I just got off the phone with CSM army tires, they have lots of stock options but older date codes. Does that really matter tho? If they were mounted on a truck maybe, but NOS and stored in a warehouse??

 

[Coug]

I just got off the phone with CSM army tires, they have lots of stock options but older date codes. Does that really matter tho? If they were mounted on a truck maybe, but NOS and stored in a warehouse??

IF they were properly stored their entire life in a warehouse, then no, age doesn't matter as much.
They have no control over how they were stored before they received them as surplus, so you don't really know if they've been properly stored their whole life.

If age is important to you, Feltz tire has some 2018+ 100% tread tires they sell. I have a set of BFG tires on order right now that should be here in a week or so.

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

Tires Are a shelf life item, in fact…anything in the US Govt with any sort of rubber or petroleum products have a shelf life and surplused out after the expiration of the shelf life, you will notice that almost every item in the supply line that is bagged and tagged has a Shelf life date and born on date…many items are also batch tested and recertified that extends the shelf life an additional time period.
In California, many major tire shops will not work on tires older than 5hrs old…new or not, Goodyear says 6yrs old regardless of if tire was placed into service or not. I’ve been turned away several times for just seating a bead on tires I’ve mounted on 24 bolt Rims.

 

[MattNC]

I've switched to Nitto Ridge Grapplers and have been happy with them a few thousand miles in. Much better on-road performance, lower noise and much less vibration than the stock wheels and tires. I did have to do an aftermarket wheel.

 

[juanprado]

YMMV, I would use an older BFG Baja with confidence over any flavor of goodyears.

The vast majority of auction trucks with flat tires or blow outs are goodyears. I just previewed over 100 m1097's of all flavors yesterday in Mobile ( all trucked in from Red River BTW ) and did not see one flat BFG......
fwiw

 

[Thumper580]

I had Yokohama Geolanders on my Black Rhino wheels and liked them alot. Drove great and very minor tire noise, if that makes any difference on a hmmwv

 

[williamh]

if your using the original rims 12 or 24 bolt. Those are 16.5 rims. Almost NOBODY sells 16.5. 16 or 17 , easy going , and finding nice rims either the correct offset. Not as easy without spending $$$$

 

[thoner7]

What about load rating? Any brand have harder rubber that lasts longer?

 

[ExtremeTruckMT]

I just got off the phone with CSM army tires, they have lots of stock options but older date codes. Does that really matter tho? If they were mounted on a truck maybe, but NOS and stored in a warehouse??

Had a good experience with CSM Army Tires. Bought 4 Goodyear 395/85R20's. Talked to Phillip and asked for newest tires with no cracks in sidewalls. He understood what I was concerned about. Very happy with what was delivered.

 

[juanprado]

What about load rating? Any brand have harder rubber that lasts longer?

I don't think the majority of us need to be concerned with load ratings as D is plenty adequate. We do not have the weight of armour and loaded to the gills with gear & occupants to contend with. If you have a shelter, ambo, or maint body, then yes that can be a reason to stick with E.

Another consideration on the weight rating is which rim you have. 12 bolt, 24 even or staggered as the weight ratings differ.

 

[Coug]

What about load rating? Any brand have harder rubber that lasts longer?

The Goodyear MT last the best, but have the worst traction.
The BFG Baja have the best traction, but wear down the fastest.

You will only see a benefit to LR-E tires compared to LR-D if you're loaded heavy... very heavy.
A set of LR-D tires is good for over 7k lbs per axle, so 14k for the truck. It's only the 15,500 gvw trucks that actually benefit from the LR-E tires.
Most of the unarmored trucks call for 25-30psi in the tires. With BEOD on my truck (M1123) at around 9500 lbs I was only bumping the rears up around 40ish.

 

[mgFray]

IF they were properly stored their entire life in a warehouse, then no, age doesn't matter as much.
They have no control over how they were stored before they received them as surplus, so you don't really know if they've been properly stored their whole life.

If age is important to you, Feltz tire has some 2018+ 100% tread tires they sell. I have a set of BFG tires on order right now that should be here in a week or so.

My HMMWV had "new" 10-14 year old tires, "brand new" surplus, they lasted 18 months on the HMMWV before they started cracking, one on the sidewall to the point it was unsafe to drive. (Great for the person who sold me the HMMWV, expensive for me since I thought it had "new" tires. I never checked the date codes.) Go buy new tires, they cost more -- but buying surplus older then 5 years can be sketchy, older then 10 years you've already bought warn out tires.

 

[Coug]

My HMMWV had "new" 10-14 year old tires, "brand new" surplus, they lasted 18 months on the HMMWV before they started cracking, one on the sidewall to the point it was unsafe to drive. (Great for the person who sold me the HMMWV, expensive for me since I thought it had "new" tires. I never checked the date codes.) Go buy new tires, they cost more -- but buying surplus older then 5 years can be sketchy, older then 10 years you've already bought warn out tires.

the set I have on order right now from Feltz tire are sold as "2018+" for date code, so less than 5 years old.

I haven't seen anyone posting issues about the BFG Baja tires having cracking issues due to age, compared to Goodyear having to send out bulletins about their tires having catastrophic failures and sidewall issues (which is part of why no HMMWV in active service is supposed to have tires more than 5 years old regardless of condition/appearance)

I've had tires (MT/R) in like new surplus condition having massive cracking at 6 months of use. I've also had MT tires that sat in a trailer for 15 years that have now been on my truck for a couple of years before they started showing any signs of cracking (20 year old date codes)

It's kind of a crap shoot for older tires. I know Jeep owners still running original tires from the 50's on their vehicles. I've also seen tires fail that looked brand new and less than a decade old. It's all about how much risk you are willing to take with your truck, your life, and the lives of everyone else on the road.

 

[Retiredwarhorses]

MT/R’s are garbage….love the look, the tire sucks….we only use BFG Baja

 

[Gastrap]

IF they were properly stored their entire life in a warehouse, then no, age doesn't matter as much.
They have no control over how they were stored before they received them as surplus, so you don't really know if they've been properly stored their whole life.

If age is important to you, Feltz tire has some 2018+ 100% tread tires they sell. I have a set of BFG tires on order right now that should be here in a week or so.

I just received a set of the 2018+ MT's from Feltz. They were all 2020 date codes and the lube was cleaned out already. The MT's on my 1097 are all 2005 dates with decent tread and hold air, but I don't trust the cracked sidewalls.

 

[Coug]

MT/R’s are garbage….love the look, the tire sucks….we only use BFG Baja

unfortunately I fell for the look, as I wanted some more aggressive tires for snow and off road.
Ended up with a pile of junk tires (11 from one source due to order screw ups, being shipped tires with multiple holes drilled in the sides, and finally the ones that failed in short order)


Do you have any opinion on Treadwright tires?

 

[dhaumann69166]

Dick Cepek Fun Country tires are great! Not loud and they do excellent in snow, mud and sand.
Nitto Mud Grapplers are excellent for anything you put in front of them. They don’t wear very fast but they are LOUD!!!!!!

 

[thoner7]

I’m failing to see any mention of how hard or soft the rubber is on a particular tire. You’d think that would get some kind of rating