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Best off-road wheel size and mud tire type (i keep puncturing sidewalls)

hodges81

Well-Known Member
Messages
60
Location
BECKLEY, WV
what is the best off-road wheel size and mud tire type (i keep puncturing sidewalls on hidden tree stumps) i was thinking about 18'' wheels with a good mud and trail tire. Something good in/on mud, rocks, and steep wooded terrain. Need to know asap because i have two tires that is flat and i'm tired of replacing the same tires. fierce attitude 315/75-16

also i am having a loud noise coming from drive shaft when going into 4low. Crawled under when parked but the shaft seemed to be tight.

Thanks in advance,
 

Razor Steel

Well-Known Member
Messages
119
Location
FT Hood TX
Tire size can't help u but I have been running BF Goodrich mud terrains for a while and never had any issues

Sent from my DROID BIONIC using Tapatalk
 

alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,677
Location
Scottsdale
Punctures are first about driver, second about tires. I say that as I've been the cause of many of my punctures that could have and should have been avoided. I have had good luck with BFG KM2s - never punctured one. I punctured 4 sidewalls on the BFG ATs.
 

Zach

Mall Crawler
Messages
4,812
Location
So Cal
On my second set of BFG KM2's. Have never punctured a sidewall, but have some pretty good gouges in the sidewalls. Tires are almost out of tread. And we have a lot of sharp rocky trails out here.
 

hodges81

Well-Known Member
Messages
60
Location
BECKLEY, WV
Wheel size was a concern for tire roll on steep side grades. bigger the wheel the less side wall there is to roll.

Yeah i agree that side punctures are mostly operator error but the trails i'm going through are grown up and are mostly 4 wheeler trails and some stumps are hiding from me. lol

My friend was under the 3 and said when I shifted into 4lo the drive-shaft turned and it sounded like it was gonna snap and I just replaced the shift fork

[video=youtube_share;DFGpdUcKzUM]http://youtu.be/DFGpdUcKzUM[/video]
 
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Chocflip201

In the Rocky Mountains
Messages
585
Location
Utah
I am completely in love with my 325/75r16 (35"x12.5"x16") Goodyear Wrangler MTRK's. They have a Kevlar sidewall, oodles of traction, not too loud, and by far my best dual-purpose tire I've had.

I had 35"x17" km2's before, and they were great off-road, but I didn't love them on-road. Super noisy, wore down fast.
 

alrock

El Diablo
Staff member
Messages
10,677
Location
Scottsdale
Trees can be evil.

Maybe you can get a video of the sound. If it's the driveshaft, it's the u-joint on the end but that doesn't really have a snapping sound (until it snaps) and the CV on the rear end. When mine was failing it was progressive and sounded like rocks in a can.

But if the noise is only 4 low and not in 4 high then I'd suspect the issue is transfer case and not driveshaft. There's really no reason for the driveshaft to suddenly start making noise in 4 low. It only knows to turn or not turn and it doesn't care about gearing.

If you just took apart the transfer case it's like the issue is in there. Wouldn't be the first time a repair led to a second repair.
 

persius1

Well-Known Member
Messages
103
Location
Phoenix, AZ
BFG KM2s 35x17! Ran them for 4 years, two different sets and I must say they are a beast of a tire. I recently switched to Toyos because I wanted a better overall road/off-road tire.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 

Panzer07

Well-Known Member
Messages
2,548
Location
Ontario, CA
I been running the wranglers MTR with Kevlar...and I haven't had any issues...they have performed good on rocks, mud and road, even on loose sand, and they aren't suppose to be that great on sand according to some of the 4x4 magazine's tire surface performance rating,(I had my way for a little bit in the amphibious training area down at Camp Pendleton) , I love this tire over all. as well knowing that the sidewall has Kevlar it is a great piece of mind factor for me...since I experienced and seen Kevlar at work first hand while over seas...as well I know they tested this tire pretty well and they perform outstanding(you can look some of the vid on YouTube)...only problem people seem to have is uneven wear...but these are mainly issues that people with big heavy rigs experience...everyone else seem to enjoy them just fine as I do...I don't really know about sizes but in sure someone here would pitch in on that...I'm currently running 315/75/16. One last thing they do take a lot of weight to get balance as well time, make sure u have your tire place check for balancing and rotate then often 3-4k miles...go get them balance check after u wheel...specially if I suspect your tire weight balances moved....mine did die to wheel spin against rocks in my last run...I knew this because I re-paint my rim and tire weights so I know if they move....that's all I can think off.


Sent From Someone Else's iPhone 'Cause I'm Too Broke To Own One.
 
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Zach

Mall Crawler
Messages
4,812
Location
So Cal
If you wanna puncture more sidewalls get the goodyear duratracs.

My vote is the goodyear MT/R or the BFG KM2. 315/75/16

Yeah, you're one was pretty surprising. In the flat spot of the creek bed at LCC.
 

06 H3

a.k.a. "The Jackal"
Messages
9,505
Location
Meridian, ID
hmmm...The flat spot at LCC, the flat spot up in big bear, The other flat spot in big bear by holcomb creek, I think theres one more too. My next set will hopefully be 365/75/16 KM2s (38x14.5x16) but after my front end is done.

I think KM2s and MT/Rs are the only way to go. Overall anyone who has either of the 2 love them. The biggest complaints I have seen is uneven wear on the MT/Rs and road noise on the KM2 towards the end of its life and when they are worn but even then most dont have complaints I personally think your good to go with either one of those 2. Great do it all tires.
 

Zach

Mall Crawler
Messages
4,812
Location
So Cal
The KM2's tend to get quite noisy, but isn't that what they made radios for? I've got about 50k on them. Although at the end of their life, but have made a ton of runs on them.
 

3Hummers

Super Moderator
Staff member
Messages
10,533
Location
Central Texas
Actually my KM2s were considerably quieter than the Kevlar MTRs. At 5000 miles my MTRs were singing to the heavens. My KM2s were relatively quiet for 40 of their 50K life.
 

SuperBuickGuy

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,403
Location
Woodinville, WA
I'm running Toyo M/Ts, they have a thicker side-wall than most (E load range tires). With that said, I'm going with a load range D next time, probably the Kumhos. I do a lot of snow wheeling, so the wider the sidewall and the more flexible the sidewall the better.
 

RamRod

Well-Known Member
Messages
3,914
Location
AB, Canada
I'm running Toyo M/Ts, they have a thicker side-wall than most (E load range tires). With that said, I'm going with a load range D next time, probably the Kumhos. I do a lot of snow wheeling, so the wider the sidewall and the more flexible the sidewall the better.

I go with load range D for that very reason!

The problem with the km2's is that if you drive on any road with ice... your going to be slipping and a slidin'.... in the snow they are terrific, its just the ice that they don't perform on, so keep that in mind if you live in the North like me haha
 

Chocflip201

In the Rocky Mountains
Messages
585
Location
Utah
X2 in KM2's and ice. They are horrible! Worst tire I've had when it comes to ice.

But I haven't had my MTRK's long enough to test them in the snow/ice yet.
 

Spectre

Active Member
Messages
44
Location
Chicago, IL
I've had a few friends swear by Mickey Thompson MTZs. Just be sure you get the "E" rated 315.

They are great in snow, sand, mud, whatever. He even used them to plow straight through the unkept jungle that is the median between the highway in Florida to make a U-turn.
 
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