Tires, Tires, Tires

[Joe P]

Thinking about some new rubber for the D-90. Not right away but definitely in the next 6 months. Wondering what people's opinions are.

Everyone uses their D-90 a little different so here are my requirements:

I am leaning toward a 2-3" lift via a SG Stage II w/3rd link. I think I would like to keep the stock alloys. I don't want to do any trimming. The truck is my DD, but I want it to be fairly capable off-road. Don't mind a little noise - Hoping the Dynamat will make up for the additional tire noise, but don't want too much noise either.

I really like the tires on Martin Podgorski's rig. Wondering how they perform. Any recommendations appreciated.

JOE

[TwisteD90]

I personally like the MT/R's. A lot of people here in CO run those tires. Very good in sand and rocks but they suck in mud. They are very good on road. Get 33X12.5X16 or 305/70/16 and if you keep your wheels I don't think you have to trim but your turning radius will suffer.

P.S. I had to edit since I wrote the wrong tire size :)

[ronward]

Hey Yousef, my kids have the same Peg Perigo "Goucho" open top rock buster as in your avatar. I put Land Rover ovals in the back and front though....

[Art Vigil]

Here's the tires I've run over the past nine years:

Stock BFG AT's - 265/75/16
What can I say? They were stock.

Old-style BFG MT's - 285/75/16
Better off-road than stock AT's, but loud on road and terrible on snowy/icy roads.

New-style BFG AT/KO's - 285/75/16
Excellent on road, good off-road. Great tire to run if you're using your rig as a daily driver.

Pro-Comp AT's - 305/70/16
Too wide (turning radius sucked), not nearly as good on snow/ice as "severe weather" rating implies. Nice highway ride and cornering, long wearing. Never used off-road, but doubt they'd perform nearly as well as the BFG AT's.

Currently: New-style BFG MT/KM's - 255/85/16
Best tire I've owned! Much better than it's predecessor in all conditions I've experienced. Excellent off-road tire with great on-road manners.
I had mine siped and was very impressed this winter.
These are perfect for my current needs which include light almost-daily driving and moderate to difficult (not extreme) wheeling, although that's not to imply that I wouldn't use them on the toughest trails out there.

My .02

[Billakris]

Yousef,
can 33/12.5/16's fit on the factory alloys? I thought they were too big, maybe im wrong...

[TwisteD90]

I've seen few of them and they looked fine. I know Art had that size but were too fat......

I know they will even better with 1" wheel spacer. I saw a guy in Moab with 35x12.5X16 (315/75/16) with 1" wheel spacers and they looked awesome.

[Doug]

Gotta go with Art. I run the same tire, and it is just about the best solution. I'm running 2" lift and 1" offset black nuggets -- had to take a wee bit off the back corner of the eyebrows....

Doug

[wicks]

Are you going to go boulder crawling with the j@@pers? ;) That's a big lift for a 90. Some guys like that, e.g. John Lee wish they hadn't gone that far.

Get some of the G90s from George! Badest of the bestest tires. I wish I needed new ones when I found out he had some.

[TwisteD90]

I really like Art's truck, it's looks balanced. However, the kind of wheelin I do requires a wider tires, and skinny tires will not do for me.
It's your choice and how you want you D90 to look like, plus it all depends on the terrian you use them for.

[januconn92]

You guys see many more Defenders than I, so if I was to go with the Wolf wheel, what width would give the effect of the tire coming right out to the edge of the flare? I am planning on the OME kit and want to go 34" min. on the height, do you guys think the 10.5 inch Swamper will get me to the edge? I have heard it is not a good idea to put the 12.5" on the Wolf rim plus I really don't want to much of a ballon effect.

Also, by going with a 34" tire, will it wear anything in the gears or xfer case??

[snuffer]

Joe, the Super Swamper Radial's will be quieter than the tires Martin is running. The SSR's are more offroad and not so much a street tire though.

I had BFG MT/Ko's previously and they seemed to be a pretty good compromise between street and trail.

I am not sure but a 34x10.50 with SafariGard Stage II lift and 1" spacer would be right on the border of trimming and not trimming your fender flares.

I would also consider availability in whatever tire I bought.

Also do you like the fat Jeep look or the pizza cutter look? I personally think the 34x10.50 is somewhere in between.

[TwisteD90]

Is Martin running the LTB's?

Jan, I wouldn't go over 10.5" width with the wolf wheels. Also the only think you'll wear out is the spider gears in diff but it'll take a while before you break'em.

255/85/16 will look to small with SGII suspension as it's provide 2.5-3" lift.

[TwisteD90]

hey Ron, how is your kids FJ (LR) Peg Perigo is holding up? I had to replace the motor in my daughter Peg Perigo twice, and one time she was having fun in front of the house and the front right tire came off, amazingly she kept it under control... Hmmm I wonder where she her skills from :)

[wicks]

The WOLF wheels are offset about 1/2 inch, which looks a lot more significant than it is. Nonetheless track is improved by an inch and it allows proper size tires to match bead and tread evenly giving the correct sidewall curvature, etc.

[Mike Hippert]

Joe, modifying your Rover is like upgrading your PC, as soon as you do something, someone else comes out with something better, so if you only go with 2-3" of lift you will some day find yourself wishing for more lift, save yourself the pain and agony and just go with 4-6" of lift and throw some 39x10.5" Boggers under it and you will be happy longer right. :uhoh

Anyway you say DD, how many miles a day? I have the 35" MTRs they are a little noisy but the ride is great compared to most interco tires on road. Most of the guys that drive the truck to the trail and use it every day run MTRs or BFG MTs and are very happy. The guys with interco's either trailer it or wished they had MTRs when I pass them on the highway doing 80 mph and they are at 65 mph.

[Joe P]

:grin

That's too funny. I've only had the D-90 for two months, and I've already added:

SG sliders
SG bumper
w/ SG skid plate
Troy's Lock boxes
Rover Biz diff guards
A/C kit
MB Quart Speakers
Checker Plate wing tops
GeoGear quick nuts and studs
etc, etc, etc,

I can see that this D-90 is a project that will never quite be finished.

My wife is starting to get pissed that I spend more time and money on my D-90 than her. Maybe i should bring her some :roses and ask for forgiveness.

Then again - maybe not

[Joe P]

Sorry Chris, this was supposed to go under the tires, tires, tires post.

Joe

[ChelseaTractor]

My Ho got pissed that I spent so much money on my LR's once. She then nursed her black eye and didn't say anymore.:ncomment

[Joe P]

:rofl

[redrover]

Gollie Jon you are a little hard on the Beaver!

[scoloco]

Originally posted by Mike Hippert
I have the 35" MTRs they are a little noisy but the ride is great compared to most interco tires on road.

What rims do you have? How wide and what offset?

[Mike Hippert]

I have the American racing rims, I think they are 16x8 but I don't know the offset. They came with it when I bought it.

[rover4x4]

that was funny

[ronward]

Yousef,

My daughter's Peg Perigo FJ (LR) Goucho is a pretty stout piece of kid gear. She's had it about 3 years now and we are still on the original battery! We charge it overnight when she runs flat and power back up. Other than losing all the tools in the little tool box, and most of the rubber low tension leads in the engine compartment I have no complaints. The switch under the accelerater pedal died last summer, but I was able to find the parts list with the instructions and ordered a replacement.

I think every kid in the neighborhood has learned to drive it this thing!

[cbass]

so, sorry if this is steerig the discussion in a different direction, but what's the widest tire that you can go with on a 7" wide wheel? Not that I am necessarily looking for the WIDEST tire I can get my hands on, I just want to get a figure for reference. For example, the 35x12.5x15 BFG MT's say that they need a 8.5" rim or wider, but many people put them on 8" rims. What's a similar situation with the 7" wheels? Judging from the above, 11.5" tires on a 7" rim should have about the same bulge as a 12.5" tire on an 8" rim, right?

[Mike Hippert]

I have seen 12.5's on 7" rims with not much problem. I think a tire 2" wider then the rims works out good to, I think it works out well when airing down and keeping the tire on the bead.

[TDI Guy]

I am running the 35x12.5x15 MTR's on a 15x8 trek outfitters rim. Thy have 4" backspacing. I highly recomend the tire. They are very quiet and I don't hear them at all with the TDI clacking away...... THe 35 fits great with a 3" lift too. I think a 2" lift would be better with the 33's though. Like Mike said, the higher the better. If I didn't have to trim metal, I would go with 37's. Also, I would get away from the stock alloy wheel if you are going to wheel the truck. You don't want to bash the shit out of them. Steel wheels are only about $55 each.

[xmod]

Art,
What vehicles were you using those tires you listed? If any were Defenders, did you have a lift to run the 285's? Were you running 255's on a Defender?
Thx,
jeremy

[Buckon37s]

MTR is a good road tire. Ask SG if they have the size you are after. They have a lot of MT/R's for sale. The 7in factory rim will work fine, you will just wear the crown of the tire faster. 33's are the biggest you can go without any trimming.