OP
“Best” 31x10.5R15 tire
- Thread starter KingCarGuyZ
- Start date
OP
https://www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/wheels-tires/154-1203-the-hot-sheet-33-off-road-tires-tested/Useful Article, little old.
I have 31x10.5 Toyo Open Country A/T IIIs. I’ve put about 2000 miles on them so they’ve worn in a bit. They have a very aggressive tread, a quiet and smooth ride, and grip everything from dirt, water, snow, and ice. We had a big snow a couple weeks ago (6” which is a lot for us) and between the roads and the freshly powdered forest service roads I don’t think I lost traction once.
I was out with a group Wednesday and I aired them down to 15psi and they ate the washboards up. I’m happy with my purchase.
Treads and size on a 15” canyon wheel.
Video from our snow day. About 4” in this spot. This is basically a big open field, so a mix of snow, grass, and mud, and I had no issue making the climb and wheeling about. Probably about a 30° angle or so on the hill.
Picture of that same area when it’s dry to give you an idea of the terrain.
I was out with a group Wednesday and I aired them down to 15psi and they ate the washboards up. I’m happy with my purchase.
Treads and size on a 15” canyon wheel.
Video from our snow day. About 4” in this spot. This is basically a big open field, so a mix of snow, grass, and mud, and I had no issue making the climb and wheeling about. Probably about a 30° angle or so on the hill.
Picture of that same area when it’s dry to give you an idea of the terrain.
OP
To add to what I wrote above. The terrain here is pretty rough and I’ve torn up tires just from one outing. After 2000 miles there’s no indication of damage to these, no rubber chunks broken off etc.
I ran the old STT and they were great tires, got 40k out of them.
I also had the ST Maxx. The ST Maxx were a nightmare. I went thru several sets before I got 4 that took less than 7 ounces to balance and wouldn't pin the roadforce on the balancer.
I was constantly rebalancing them afterwards.
Being a hybrid A/T tire, they were great in the rain and snow though.
Mine were 35's, so with a smaller tire such as a 31you may not run into the balance issue.
OP
Previously owned several fj40's and 80's. hands down one of the most indestructible vehicles out there.
Although I am not a fan of the FJcruiser.
Nope. Just my Dick Cepek extreme country 33" tires next to my almost new Goodyear Wrangler stock size tires. I sold my stock tires and wheels and it almost paid for my new tires (with a $200 instant rebate).
I'm a thrifty shopper or as some call it, cheap ass.
Where are they all now? I never see any (JK).
p.s. There was a mint condition, restored FJ 40 for sale around here for $35,000. I'm guessing it's sitting in the owner's 6 car, heated garage right now. Lots of rich people around here (UVA college area) and they are the cheapest of all.
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I sold all of them. I do wish I had my 74 FJ40 back.Where are they all now? I never see any (JK).
p.s. There was a mint condition, restored FJ 40 for sale around here for $35,000. I'm guessing it's sitting in the owner's 6 car, heated garage right now. Lots of rich people around here (UVA college area) and they are the cheapest of all.
It had 8" of lift, 36" swampers, 4:88's and a 450hp small block.
I used to race street cars with it, and win. It was fast
I beat the snot out of it and never broke an axle or diff. It was bulletproof.
The price of them is thru the roof now-a-days. I see them going for 60k and up.
OP
D
As am I, that’s a hell of a deal!Nope. Just my Dick Cepek extreme country 33" tires next to my almost new Goodyear Wrangler stock size tires. I sold my stock tires and wheels and it almost paid for my new tires (with a $200 instant rebate).
Less reputable according to whom?
Cooper owns Mickey Thompson. I cannot speak for every size, but the 16" diameter Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ P3 and MTZ P3 (and I think the Baja Claw) use the same 3-ply sidewall tire carcass as the Cooper Discoverer STT Pro and ST/Maxx.* All are good tires with good reputations.
BTW, Cooper also owns Dick Cepek tires.
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* Verified by both Cooper and Mickey Thompson, although Cooper describes the tire carcass as having "Armor-Tek3" construction and the Mickey Thompson marketing department calls it "PowerPly" construction.
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If you find my money, let me know. I've been looking for it for 25 years!Damn! I want your old 74' FJ and your money.
. . . That's like saying my Porsche Cayenne can go offroad.
But it can. My friend Greg at PRG Products in NorCal designed and now markets a 5" lift for 4WD Cayennes.
https://www.prgproducts.com/product-page/cayenne-5inch-lift-kit
OP
They seem ok, but there are fewer reviews/ prevelant opinions online, they seemed to have less history than the BFG’s
Facebook Fact Checkers have verified this statement to be true.
I am currently running Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ P3's on my LJ (LT315/75R16). They are a very good tire with an aggressive tread for an AT. At one time I thought about selling them in favor of a set of Cooper Discoverer STT Pros, but decided that the ATZ's were performing well enough to keep until worn out.
My current top candidate when it comes time for replacement is the Cooper Discoverer STT Pro, which is very popular in NorCal for all season offroad use. Second choice right now is the Mickey Thompson MTZ. They are very similar tires with similar warranties made by the same manufacturer, so it will probably come down to who has the best deal when I need them.
I am running a Maxxis Bighorn MT-762 as a spare (LT255/85R16). It appears to be a well made tire at a good price point, but it has never been on the ground so I cannot offer first hand experience.
I pulled a set of worn Toyo R/T (Rugged Terrain) off my recently acquired Sprinter 4WD Class B motorhome and replaced them with BFG T/A All Terrain KO2's. I considered the Toyo Open Country ATIII which came highly recommended, but based upon the relatively short lifespan of the Rugged Terrains and poor quality ride the short time I used them, I elected to go with the BFG's for the Three Peak Mountain Snowflake rating and ready availability nearly everywhere in North America (LT265/75R16-E). I also considered the Cooper Discoverer ST/Maxx, discussed below.
Last year I replaced a set of LT265/75R16-E Cooper Discoverer ST/Maxx tires on my Xterra after 40,000 miles of trouble free service, including many trips to Moab and offroading excursions in the Sierra Nevada and Cascades. I have zero complaints about these tires, with the proviso that they really should be rotated at about 4,000 miles to keep the singing down, minor though it may be. I had no problems having them balanced. I would have purchased another set of ST/Maxx for my Sprinter, but intend to spend considerable time in Baja where BFG tires are easy to get, Coopers not quite as easy.
My Xterra currently has Cooper Discoverer AT3 tires, LT265/75R16-C. These are an excellent AT tire, but would not be my first choice for mud. Or my second. Shortly after I bought them we traveled to Guadalupe Canyon in northern Baja California en route to San Felipe for Christmas. It rained that night. Unfortunately, the only way out required us to cross Laguna Salada, a dry lake below sea level that wasn't so dry after the rain and was becoming less dry by the minute as the rainfall percolated down from the canyons. I was able to stay on top of the mud and make it the 20+ miles to the highway, but only by driving a lot faster than was safe, fishtailing one way then the other trying not to dig in and flip, with a rooster tail of mud behind. We spent most of the rest of Christmas Eve at a full service car wash in Mexicali that had the bad luck to still be open, watching them try to get that alkali muck off before it dried into cement. I tipped heavily.
Which brings me back to the ST/Maxx - more than once I have caught myself thinking that I should have purchased a second set of ST/Maxx rather than switch to the milder Discoverer AT3 with C load rating. In my opinion they would make an excellent all purpose tire for a Jeep TJ even though they are not a mud terrain. Even the sizes with E load ratings.