another tire recommendation request

[brkdncr]

I'm preparing to replace my stock territory MTs and have been reading a lot but haven't seen a rec for something that doesn't weigh much more than stock and is more resistant to sharp rocks. The KO2s are close but seem to have traction concerns. The Toyos are all heavier. Mickey Thomson baja legend EXPs were at the top of my list but are also not as light.

Every time i leave the house i do about 3 miles of sand/sharp rock. I go full off roading maybe 2-3x a year. low road noise is preferred.

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[SeptuagenerianSasquatch]

Have the OEM Goodyears served you well? How many miles did you get out of them?

I think they're superb all-around tires. You can find better off-road rock climbers, sure, but they'll be heavier and noisier. You can find better wet and snow tires, sure, but they may not serve you well off-road, or maybe the mileage will suffer, or your gas mileage, or something. You can't get a 10/10 in every category of tire performance. What I think the Goodyears give you is a solid 8.5/10 all-around.

Every tire has its strengths and weaknesses. I was very satisfied with my Goodyear Territory/Wranglers for 55,000 miles.

That said, since you're in southern California, you can drop "wet handling" from your list of criteria. But considering your 3 rocky miles, be sure you've got mudflaps, because they will chuck rocks for the first 5K-10K. Mudflaps, and full-length steps will also keep rocks from hitting your door panels--and the guy behind you.

 

[brkdncr]

I’ve replaced 2 of them already due to rock punctures that couldn’t be fixed. Around 20k miles. I haven’t had a puncture in a while so im getting ready to buy replacements when it happens.

 

[Butzy]

Low road noise, better traction, more resistant to sharp rocks and lighter weight? I'm assuming money is no object here because we're already likely impossible.

 

[brkdncr]

I would be fine with only improving durability

 

[zuke]

Maxxis Razr AT-811 in a 35x11.5r17 Comes close to meeting what you want. I Ran them in a 37x12.5 , They have a very strong sidewall, which is a big factor to me.

You're going to find it almost impossible to match the weight of the Bronco Spec'd Territorys at 52lbs without a pretty weak sidewall. The Maxxis is light for what it is, at 64lbs But it's till significantly heavier than those Territory MTs

 

[Champale]

Like a lot of people, I went through the mental gymnastics of which tires to replace the Goodyears with earlier this year. I ended up with the OE Raptor K02 Load C 315/70/17s and am very pleasantly surprised by them. I'm in South Texas so don't deal with snow/ice normally but all of the concerns about wet traction have been overblown in my opinion. I run in Sport/4A and the car accelerates just fine without wheelspin (even at WOT) and they haven't hydroplaned at all. Maybe as they wear down all of this will get worse? But that happens to any tire.

I paired the tires with the much lighter SCS wheels so the overall weight of the wheels/tires was nearly identical and haven't noticed much, if any, mpg hit.

Oh, and I have only taken them offroad once but they performed really well, even in some uphill muddy stretches.

 

[aermtr]

I’ve heard some people don’t like the factory Goodyears that come on the SAS and have friends who’ve had numerous punctures. I’ve had a great experience thus far with mine, at 16K miles thus far on my current Badlands. A lot of my miles are tow miles and/or off-road. Mudflaps are critical with these tires though so I run the long Bro-Flaps (I’m biased!). I did the Rocky Gap trail into Red Rock NV a few weekends ago (with 14 PSI) and have used them in ice and snow too. Mine seem to be performing and holding up well.

 

[23OBX2.7]

I don't think there is any solution to sharp rocks, based on my didert bike experience and trying many different compounds.

I'd say just buy what's on sale and decent reviews for daily. In my experience all Pirellis are extremely tough and good prices with faster wear.

Simply expect off road damages. We use a foam insert or balls in dirt bikes because punctures are nearly unavoidable in the sharp rocks.

 

[dh57]

Maxxis Razr AT-811 in a 35x11.5r17 Comes close to meeting what you want. I Ran them in a 37x12.5 , They have a very strong sidewall, which is a big factor to me.

You're going to find it almost impossible to match the weight of the Bronco Spec'd Territorys at 52lbs without a pretty weak sidewall. The Maxxis is light for what it is, at 64lbs But it's till significantly heavier than those Territory MTs

Maxxis Razr's have served me well. I ran the stock GY, KO2, and Nitto Ridge Grapplers before (between my jeeps and Broncos), all had sidewall punctions. Nitto were definitely more durable out of those three. The Razr's sidewalls are gnarly, but do weigh a lot more than the GY and KO2s. Also, they do seem to wear a lot quicker on the pavement than the others. But for the trails, they have been my best tires yet.

 

[Bellime]

My K03’s have worked well for me. Low noise and no traction issues in heavy rain and snow. Almost 50k miles with about another 10k left.

 

[SeptuagenerianSasquatch]

I’ve replaced 2 of them already due to rock punctures that couldn’t be fixed. Around 20k miles. I haven’t had a puncture in a while so im getting ready to buy replacements when it happens.

My 2022 Badlands/4DR/SAS was my first off-road rig since I drove Scouts in the Sonora Desert in 1965 (summer job). So it was a learning experience.
My maiden trip was Moab and other Utah points, notably the Pony Express Historic Byway, a well-maintained BLM road (worth the trip!). Lots of small rocks.
Three flats in about a week. Here's what I learned by difficult experience.
1) they are rock grabbers, which means:
1-A) They chuck rocks. This is commonly discussed on numerous threads, but to reiterate, a) you need mudflaps, and b) a full-length running board (with or without sliding capability, your call) is also advisable.
1-B) Some of those rocks won't get chucked, they will work their way up through the ply and puncture the tire.
2) Airing down will probably alleviate the rock grabbing-throwing-puncturing.
3) I'm told this problem self-corrects as the tires wear down a little, but I don't know the details from experience. 5,000 miles? 10,000 miles? Anybody have personal experience here?

Thus, the rock-caused punctures as @aermtr @23OBX2.7 (are dirt bikes a fair comparison?) and the OP @brkdncr have discussed is a problem that can be addressed and remedied. For some, this may be a deal-breaker, but I still maintain that the OEM Territory/Wrangler is a excellent all-around tire, a solid 8.5+/10 or better on every category of longevity, wet/snow, daily drive, off-road/unpaved, rock crawling, cost, etc. Can you get a better, tougher rock-crawler tire? Sure--but you'll pay for it by sacrificing some other performance metrics.

 

[aermtr]

My 2022 Badlands/4DR/SAS was my first off-road rig since I drove Scouts in the Sonora Desert in 1965 (summer job). So it was a learning experience.
My maiden trip was Moab and other Utah points, notably the Pony Express Historic Byway, a well-maintained BLM road (worth the trip!). Lots of small rocks.
Three flats in about a week. Here's what I learned by difficult experience.
1) they are rock grabbers, which means:
1-A) They chuck rocks. This is commonly discussed on numerous threads, but to reiterate, a) you need mudflaps, and b) a full-length running board (with or without sliding capability, your call) is also advisable.
1-B) Some of those rocks won't get chucked, they will work their way up through the ply and puncture the tire.
2) Airing down will probably alleviate the rock grabbing-throwing-puncturing.
3) I'm told this problem self-corrects as the tires wear down a little, but I don't know the details from experience. 5,000 miles? 10,000 miles? Anybody have personal experience here?

Thus, the rock-caused punctures as @aermtr @23OBX2.7 (are dirt bikes a fair comparison?) and the OP @brkdncr have discussed is a problem that can be addressed and remedied. For some, this may be a deal-breaker, but I still maintain that the OEM Territory/Wrangler is a excellent all-around tire, a solid 8.5+/10 or better on every category of longevity, wet/snow, daily drive, off-road/unpaved, rock crawling, cost, etc. Can you get a better, tougher rock-crawler tire? Sure--but you'll pay for it by sacrificing some other performance metrics.

Yeah, well said. I can’t tell the difference at 16K miles as to whether mine are self-correcting or not, but that’s because my mudflaps mute the rock flinging. I have some sports cars and do occasional amateur track stuff and have experienced how much lighter weight rotating mass can affect track and street performance. So, even with my Bronco, which obviously isn’t a track car, I’d still bias towards lightweight Goodyears. I’ll likely change my mind though if I end up doing trail repairs. My friend @swooshdave with a Badlands has K03’s (I think) and he does really well with his and he wasn’t impressed with his Goodyears.

 

[EasternSierra]

That said, since you're in southern California, you can drop "wet handling" from your list of criteria.

Absolutely not. While southern California is on the average a lot drier than the eastern U.S., sometimes it can get a lot of rain like during the past week. In particular, the mountains can get a surprising amount of rain and even snow. Did you see the news about the heavy rains and floods there the last few days?

I've lived in southern California twice for a total of 7 years, so I'm going off both official weather records and personal experience.

 

[crenca]

I'm preparing to replace my stock territory MTs and have been reading a lot but haven't seen a rec for something that doesn't weigh much more than stock and is more resistant to sharp rocks. The KO2s are close but seem to have traction concerns. The Toyos are all heavier. Mickey Thomson baja legend EXPs were at the top of my list but are also not as light....

There really is nothing out there. All current tires that are heavier duty/more sidewall & off road durable are a minimum of 10lbs heavier, and go up from there.

I went with the MT Legend EXP's (my GYT lasted to about 20k before I no longer trusted them off road and in the rocks), and so far (10k miles) they have been more durable off road, though I probably will go with MT Boss next time...

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