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Opine: Goodyear v BF Goodrich

MarknessMonster

Amiable Jeeper
City
Western
State
CO
I've been thinking about ditching the ProComp tires on my '83, and have been looking for a better tire. I'm pretty certain that I've narrowed the search down to two brands, but welcome any and all opinions on another manufacturer, size or type. I like the aggressive appearance of a mud terrain tread pattern, even though we generally don't deal with much mud in CO.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...ngler+MT/R+with+Kevlar&partnum=325QR5WMTRKOWL

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...el=Mud-Terrain+T/A+KM2&partnum=305QR5KM2RWLV2

The two brands I've selected are Goodyear and BF Goodrich. The tire height is preferrably 33", but I've been toying with the idea of 35". I'm swayed toward the BF Goodrich for a couple of reasons. The first being that they offer a tall and narrow tire. Secondly, they offer a tall and narrow tire that will fit the stock 8" chrome wheels better than the 12.50 width tires.

Goodyear has the "Made in the U.S.A." (i.e. headquartered in the U.S.) thing in their corner, which carries a lot of weight with me. However, I'm not crazy about installing a shorter tire height than 33", and I'm not sure I would like another 12.50 width tire, as they just aren't practical on a light truck in a snow region. Plus, I think vehicles look ridiculous when the tires hang out past the fenders, not to mention the pain in the arse trying to keep the side mirrors and windows clear of road mess.

A final point in BFG's corner is that I've run the 33x9.50 MT on my '81 with great success. Unfortunately, this size is no longer available.
 
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mysunnshine

Legacy Registered User
City
Phoenix
State
AZ
I just put a new set of BFG's on my truck for the Nth time and this recent set that I got has run-out on all 4 tires. I've taken it back to the tire shop and they don't really want to help me any because of the "warranty" BFG has really screws the wholesalers. It'll probably be the last set of BFG's that I'll own. I have however heard really good things about the Goodyear kevlars-
 

Randyzzz

Blown Budget
BENEFACTOR
Gold Member
Lifetime Member
SOA Member
City
Redmond
State
OR
Just bought 4 BFG's for my build. I have always liked the way the BFG's hold up. My deciding factor was seeing a half worn set of BFG's, they looked pretty good. A half worn set of the old style Wranglers looked ready to be replaced.
 

madjp62

Legacy Registered User
City
albany
State
or
goodyear would be my first choice. i've had very good luck with them in the past.
 

scrambler81

Basic User
City
Hammonton
State
NJ
I've got 33x12.50515 BFG Mud Terrains on an 8" wheel, and they fit nicely inside my stock fender flares. I'm embarassed to say how old they are, so let's just say I've had them longer than most people keep their cars. They still look great, they've always performed well, and they are quieter than the Firestone MTs on my Wrangler. I love 'em, and I expect to switch to BFGs for my Wrangler by the end of this year.
 

kohldad

SOA Member
City
Goose Creek
State
SC
Both are great choices and you shoudn't be dissappointed with either.

But which one I would recommend is based upon what you plan on doing with the vehicle.

If you are in the mud or on pavement a lot, the BFGs have the edge. Mud because the lugs are wider. Pavement because they have a harder compound and will last longer.

Goodyear MTRs are a softer compound so they favor traction on rocks. Here on the east this is important because our rocks are polished granite, not sand paper coated like out west. Though this comes at a cost of chewing the edges of the lugs and a slightly faster wear on pavement.

I've had the MTRs for five years and 13,000 miles. No signs of wear except for the rock bites in the tread. I'll buy them again when I figure age has made the rubber compound too hard for great traction.
 

MarknessMonster

Amiable Jeeper
City
Western
State
CO
Thanks for some good responses, fellow members. I just read an interesting "disclaimer" on the tire rack website about the mud terrain tires. Both BFG and Goodyear each had a similar report about their usefulness on snow covered roads, and it makes sense when looking at the tread patterns. The "disclaimers" are as follow.

BFG
"While Off-Road Maximum Traction tires are branded with the M+S symbol and able to churn through deep snow, their typical oversize applications and the absence of snow-biting sipes in their large smooth lugs can challenge their on-road wintertime traction on packed snow and icy surfaces."

Goodyear
"While branded with the M+S symbol, their typical oversize applications, use of extra-large smooth lugs and minimal snow-biting sipes often challenges an Off-Road Maximum Traction tire's on-road wintertime traction in slush, packed snow and on ice."

I cannot remember that I've ever had any traction issues with the BFG M/T on my '81, other than the one time I did doughnuts down the west side of Vail Pass about 12 years ago. However, I doubt any other tire would have faired better, as someone pulled-out too closely in front of me in the passing lane during a snowstorm, and I under-shifted. Anyway, I see that Goodyear makes a "Duratrac" tire that has a fairly nice aggressive tread pattern, and is also well siped. There is no side-wall kevlar, though -bummer. :(

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires...eModel=Wrangler+DuraTrac&partnum=325QR5WDTOWL

I foresee my next dilemma will be tire size height. If I decide on the Goodyear brand, and am stuck with a 12.50 width, I might as well go to a 35" height. What do you guys think about that logic? Are there rub issues regarding 35" tires with only a 4" spring lift (I may have a little extra in the Confer shackles, too)? I was sticking with the 33" height to keep the tire narrow, because I couldn't find a quality tire manufacturer that builds a tall and narrow tire.
 

MarknessMonster

Amiable Jeeper
City
Western
State
CO
I've got 33x12.50515 BFG Mud Terrains on an 8" wheel, and they fit nicely inside my stock fender flares.

That's because you are running the narrow-trac axles. If you had an '82-'86 WT CJ8 model, your tires would hang out just enough to be an annoyance.

I once removed the 12.50 ProComp tires from the '83 and mounted them on the '81, and it appeared as though they were made for each other. In the same respect, the 9.50 BFG tires from the '81, but mounted on the '83, were a match made in heaven. :cool:
 

CBRogers

Perpetual Parts Collector
Lifetime Member
City
Yorktown
State
Va
I like the narrower look of the 33x10.50x15 that is what I run on the TJ in BFG.

If you think that you need siping for Ice then you can have that done or get a gun for $65 and grouve them yourself.

Those new KM2's are getting really good reviews here locallay.

If you like a slightly narrower tire, really the best option is to move up to a 16" wheel and use those 285/75/16's then you get a lot more options.

If you are worried about ice traction then get the tires studded and buy a second set for summer.

If you can go a little taller and want to go ultimate in mud/rock you can get the LTB from Interco in a 34x10.50x15. Pretty harsh on the street, but a great trail tire.

From when I used to live above Boulder, I always ran a tire with the BFG M/T style tread and had good luck in the snow. A little sketchy on ice, but great in deep stuff.


Carl
 

bigwalton

Alaskan Postal nutjob
FORUM MANAGER
SOA Member
City
Dexter
State
MI
You and I are in the same boat here in some respect because I'll be needing new tires for our LJ this year and I'm starting to look around. You picked two of my frontrunning mud tires so far.

I assume you know that the Goodyear MT/Rs are a new tread pattern this year. I have the old ones on both the Postal (35 x 12.50) and the Rubicon (came stock). The old pattern required frequent rotation to stay (somewhat) quiet and now that the LJ is down to/past 50% they howl to beat all, regardless of rotation. I haven't put enough miles on the Postals to have noticed yet, they're still at least 75% and I got them used in a trade for my old 33s anyway. I don't care as much about noise on the Postal anyway.

I don't think anyone would have had the new MT/Rs long enough to know what they're like as they wear. I will say I love the traction offroad with the MT/Rs.

Now, with that said, your point about the snow issue and their disclaimers are DEAD on, these things SUCK on-road in snow.

My wife's JK has the highly siped street tires on it and it BLOWS AWAY the LJ in the snow. I was floored by how great it does. Siping is apparently everything. Given that I now have three winters' experience with the difference between the JK and LJ, I'm almost leaning to a heavily siped A/T for the Rubicon (as much as that pains me to admit).

I'd not seen the Dura Trac that you posted, that looks VERY interesting and I'll be sure to check it out. I was going to throw out the Interco Truxxus MT, which were the 33s I had on the Postal before I traded for the MT/Rs. Those were awesome on-road and off (never had them in snow really as I was in NC when I traded them), but they were far quieter than I ever thought possible with their agressive lug pattern and they did great on the trails/rocks:

http://www.intercotire.com/tires.php?id=11&g=1

I'd never seen these, apparently they now have this new SS-M16 too:

http://www.intercotire.com/tires.php?id=2&g=1

Good news for you is that they have a 33 x 10.5 x 15 that I would think would be perfect for you. They do appear to have some extra siping and maybe it's the evolution of the Truxxus and even better? I'm going to have to look around for reviews on these now too...

I'll be interested to see other comments...
 
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bigjeepnfool

Legacy Registered User
City
Milford
State
MA
I usually buy "American" when both products are equal in quality. After owning BFG's and goodyears I would undoubtedly say BFG's are better. With that being said I think Toyo has a much better tire than both- The AT is the best all around street tire I have ever used by far in all weather and the MT ihas good road manners and is better than BFG's MT, off road. Just my $.02
 

twmattox

Legacy Registered User
City
Arcadia
State
IN
Well, BFGs are made in US...just not "owned" by a US company...

As far as snow traction, most of what causes issues are that these are floatation tires. They are designed for a wider footprint (meaning less downforce per square inch). This keeps the vehicle up on top of the snow (think hydroplaning on snow).

I always hated it when I would be driving in my Jeep in 4wd and getting passed by 2wd Hondas in a small snow storm.
 

MarknessMonster

Amiable Jeeper
City
Western
State
CO
Well, BFGs are made in US...just not "owned" by a US company...

They are designed for a wider footprint (meaning less downforce per square inch). This keeps the vehicle up on top of the snow (think hydroplaning on snow).

That's exactly correct on both points. I wish Goodyear was the "hands down" favorite, as I prefer to spend the money on U.S. products. BFG's would be second in a "line up" of prospective choices, as they are at least manufactured in the U.S.

More pounds per square inch, was precisely why I bought the 33x9.50 BFG M/T tires for the '81 Scrambler 20 years ago. I wanted a tire that would dig down into the soft snow and gain traction. Then, after driving some other vehicles with wide tires, I learned that the other reason is just as valid -throwing road mess all over the side windows and mirrors.

In 1993, I drove a new 1-ton Chevy for a lumber yard located in a small mountain town. The elevation was about 10K, so there was always a lot of precipitation. Being a lumber delivery person, one tends to rely heavily on their side mirrors, as the headache rack obscures any other option for a rear view. That newer Chevy body style was the absolute worst design I could have imagined, as it created dangerous situations due to lack of visability out that passenger side window and mirror (the driver's side was easy to roll down the window and wipe the mirror manually). By comparison, I drove an older bodied '87 Chevy for the same company prior to the '93, and I didn't have any issues with it. I think Chevy must have curved the lines on the cab body in '93, to cause such an issue -even on stock tires.
 

MarknessMonster

Amiable Jeeper
City
Western
State
CO
...Goodyear MT/Rs... ...The old pattern required frequent rotation to stay (somewhat) quiet and now that the LJ is down to/past 50% they howl to beat all, regardless of rotation.

...your point about the snow issue and their disclaimers are DEAD on, these things SUCK on-road in snow.

That's not good news for the possibility of a Goodyear MT/R selection. Thanks for the information on your personal experience with them. I saw that they are a new design, so maybe the rotation issue and howling has been corrected. However, as mentioned above, the rubber compound is soft for a specific reason, so maybe they are a more situation-specific tire for the guys that trailer their junk to the trailheads.

Oh, and I'm looking into the LA based Interco brand tires. Thanks for the suggestion.
 

MarknessMonster

Amiable Jeeper
City
Western
State
CO
...If you like a slightly narrower tire, really the best option is to move up to a 16" wheel and use those 285/75/16's then you get a lot more options.

...I used to live above Boulder...

Thanks for all the information, Carl. I do prefer a tire in a tall and narrow design. It seems as though there are an unlimited amount of options for this feature with a 16" wheel. Unfortunately, I'm "married" to the stock Jeep chrome 15" CJ wheels. If I had a lot of money, I'd have custom axles made up and find some 16" FSJ chrome Laredo wheels and "fake" the stock appearance. :D ( I think they were 16's?).

As an example of how narrow I like a tire, I run 9.00R16 Power Kings on one of my non-CJ Jeeps, and just got some 11.00R16 Michelin XZL's for the other non-CJ Jeep. One tire is 36" tall with a 10" overall width, and the latter is almost 39" with an 11" overall width. Both are good tires, and have the appeal of increasing the axle height, while also providing good weight distribution for the purpose of increased traction.

The place you lived above Boulder wouldn't have been Nederland, would it? I've spent some time in that town, but not much. It's a neat place, though.
 

CBRogers

Perpetual Parts Collector
Lifetime Member
City
Yorktown
State
Va
Not "Ned" I lived about 7000 feet.

Basically go the very north end of town and then take that road straight up into the foot hills. I lived off of the first range of hills. So my place looked up towards the divide on the west side. Only about 20 minutes to town.

Nice place to get away from everything.

If it is the look of the Chrome wagons that you want. Check out some of the rockcrawler shapes out there. Some of those can be had with a chrome finish, and then you could drill and tap the center hub to bolt on the hub cover.



Carl
 
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