Tires ?

THIS issue comes about from the wrong tires to begin with. The set of BFG Baja M/T will be going up for sale soon. So next question what should I get to replace them with.All suggestions are welcome. A little insight I am running Mickey Thomson Outlaw 2s with Champion Beadlocks 15x8. I am looking for something with good traction in rock and desert of southern Calif.
Right now the clearance I have allows me 33 inch tires so that is where I'll probably stay. The gearing is 4.88 and I,m running the SM420. This is mostly a trail rig with the occasional trip to the store. I will be changing a few other things like the MC and frontend when money allows. BUT I figure if I sell these now I should be able to recoup a decent amount of money towards something more suited to the purpose at hand.
All help and responses are welcome.
Jim Coleman

 

Jim,

What don't you like about the ones you have now? Do you think they were a contributing factor in the incident?

 

I’ve been very pleased with my 33” Trxus M/T’s.
Good tire for the price for Midwest mud and occasional rocks. Not bad on the street either, comparatively quiet and wearing pretty well for an M/T.
Don’t know what they’d do in desert sand, though by the way they dig in the mud I would assume they would suck for the sand.

 

Traction I think is the issue these were designed for baja racing I believe not trail running and crawling. To hard a rubber compound. My son who gave me this set, told me I should sell them and get something else. So who is gonna argue. And yea I should have been able to climb that area no problem I just kept slippin then after multiple stalls and loss of brakes that was all she wrote. And one thing for sure that DOG GONE Hill has not seen the last of me.

 

I ran a set of Baja T/As on my flattie in Johnson Valley for a few trips and really liked them. What pressure you running in the rocks? With beadlocks you should be down around 3psi on a CJ.

That's the thing with beadlocks - most guys still run upwards of 8-10psi and don't get all the performance possible out of their tires.

Try them again at extreme-low pressure and I think your opinion will change. The only area in which I found the Baja T/As deficient was in sidewall traction when trying to scale a rock wall with the side of the tire. No side-biters like on a Krawler.

That said, if you could squeeze a 35 in there, I've never found a tire I like better for work in the rocks than the Krawler T/A. Swamper LTB is also good, but the sizes you're looking at are bordering on too wide for your 15x8s.

 

Chtristain I was around 5-7 psi maybe a little lower will do it I know my sons yota walked right up that stuff fairly, easily runnin some swampers. Spooled rear and open front, Then he installed an aussie in the front and well it awesome watching him wheel that 4Walker around. He almost made the mistake of askin when we gonna paint the Jeep pink and put a Barbie Doll in the drivers seat. I just reminded him about a rent free room he now resides in and asked what color was cardboard condo going to painted. If he wishes to continue on the path of this conversation.

 

I like my BFG Mud KM2's. I am not running beadlocks but I still take them down to about 8 psi on the trail. I run mostly rocks in N. Ca.

 

I run 33 MTR's aired down to 9-10 on 15x12's . love them .I just hope when these tires are no good any more ,I can still afford to get new MTR's ,I like 'm, I agree with dummy on the baja's the sidewall construction is so stiff you need to air down with b-locks to like 4.

 

I'm reading good reviews on the Maxxis Bighorns.
I'm considering some Maxxis Trepadors myself.

 

JP magazine did a tire review about 2 issues ago. I based that article on my new tire purchase--or vice versa. I orderd BFG Mud Terrains from Sam's, but haven't got em yet.

 

I would go with pitbull rockers or swamper iroks. They are the two best offroad tires I've ever run. I have rockers on my rig right now because they don't make 33" iroks for a 15" wheel. I don't have beadlocks, but take them down to 6psi in the rocks and I never slip a tire. I also run them in sand and snow, and they do amazing. Everyone in my 4wheel drive club is very very impressed with these tires, and one guy is actually looking to sell a set of his krawlers now so he can pick up a set of 37" pitbull rockers. These are doing better than bfg mts I've tried, g/y mtr's Ive tried, regular swampers, toyo mt's, and are right there with krawlers depending on the day, and do better than krawlers in sand. They are also 4 ply tread and 4 ply sidewall, so they are super super tough. With beadlocks I'd take them down to 4psi and expect AMAZING results in sand, rock and snow. Anyway, that's my 2cents.