Best 35" Street Tire: But MT Look, terraincontact?

[RustysBronco]

I swapped my Goodyears for BFG KO2's because the MT's on my rig rode like absolute shit. BFG's are a good tire, with a smooth ride. No complaints.

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[raymondcielo]

Well......

So the problem is what you are asking is basically what the Goodyear Territory tires were designed to be. They are a tire designed for manufacturers that has the MT look but still gets decent fuel economy and is relatively quiet/smooth on the road for an off-road tire. If you read Goodyear's marketing materials, they are not actually Mud Terrain tires... Goodyear themselves claims "MT" stands for "Maximum Traction", not Mud Terrain. Those tires are actually much more similar to All-Terrain tires than they are to Mud-Terrain tires.

SO... you'll probably be looking at other All-Terrain tires.

The quietest/smoothest All-Terrain tire I've personally used is probably the Cooper Discoverer AT3, but that may not be aggressive enough looking for your liking, and I don't know if they come in 315/70r17.

My favorite All-Terrain tire is the BFG KO2, which is the standard tire on the Badlands and Raptor trim. It's a little quieter than the Goodyear Territory tires, but my hunch is your family won't really notice a difference in ride quality or noise level.

The Nitto Recon Grappler is another solid choice. It's a quieter All-Terrain and absolutely keeps the aggressive look. Nitto Terra Grappler (the old Terra Grappler, not the G2) is also fairly quiet for an All-Terrain tire, although the ride quality isn't quite as good as the Recon Grappler.

And as @Dads_bronze_bronco (and others) have mentioned, also check your tire pressure. If you lower the tire pressure the ride will become smoother, but the noise will also increase (slightly) and the fuel economy will suffer a bit.

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Either way, keep in mind the Bronco is an off-road SUV designed to go off-pavement. So if the family is expecting a smooth/quiet ride like what you'd expect on other modern body-on-frame SUVs, the Bronco is very much not that.

My parents have the Ford Explorer Timberline, which is Explorer's off-road oriented trim. And it is MUCH quieter and smoother on the road compared to my non-Sas Bronco.

I have to agree with RagnarKon. I have a '21 non SAS Badlands and had the 33" BF Goodrich KO2's. I switched out to 35" Nitto Recon Grapplers. w/ Rousch wheels. While I like the Nittos the KO2's were quieter in my opinion and probably the best all around tire for the Bronco.

 

[Bronco56]

I am going with the Cooper AT3 XLT's in 305/70r17 or 315/70r17.

My wife has them on her tahoe in 285/60r20 and they have very little noise and still have a good look but better for street than the ko2 or ridge grapplet. I had Toyo AT3 on my f150 in 295/55r20 and they SUCKED in the rain with low miles on them

 

[khill007]

MY23 Wildtrak HOSS 3.0 here and I’ve used every tire mentioned above (Recon, Ridge, KO2, Duratrac, and now GY Territory). The comments about the Recon are spot on, great tires! I’ve also heard that new MT Trail Boss is exceptional but I don’t think anything is available less than E rated. Personally I think the Territory MT on my SAS with HOSS is incredible. A lot of people waste a lot of money on this forum on different tires when what they have are pretty damn spectacular. Unless you wheel, leave them alone and wear em out, then try something like a Recon. Hell, I may try the Toyo RT Trail when these wear down. Not a KO2 fanboy because they SUCK in rain. Great dry….SUCK rain! That is alll.

 

[FlyingScot]

I'm in the K02 replacement camp as well, by 11k mi the stock GYs had started to howl like worn down mud tires on the highway and one needed half a pound of weight to balance. It was a remarkable difference with the K02s, my only regret so far is that I didn't get them sooner.

 

[Austin Bronco]

If I lower tire pressure from the recommended 40 psi (Sas) will the rigidness of the ride be reduced? If so, what do I drop it to maybe 38 psi 37?

 

[HoosierDaddy]

. I had Toyo AT3 on my f150 in 295/55r20 and they SUCKED in the rain with low miles on them

You too?

I have the C rated toyo at3 on my Bronco now, 35 x 11.5 - 17.
Worst fucking tire I have ever had in the rain and even worse in the snow/ cold.
Lowered air pressures, etc , they just suck.

ZERO traction in those conditions.

The BFG'S that are on the new Badlands were fine in the rain, I've only had it a few weeks now.
I've had other sets of BFGs years ago and they were great back then as well.

 

[Bronco56]

I’m talking maybe 15,000 miles and at a stoplight, when the light turned green I’d give it gas, not floor it, and the back tires would just spin for a second before they caught, also hydroplaning through puddles

 

[prospectfour]

 

[Pressurized]

If I lower tire pressure from the recommended 40 psi (Sas) will the rigidness of the ride be reduced? If so, what do I drop it to maybe 38 psi 37?

I went straight to the max sidewall PSI of 35. We are over inflated at 39-40 according to Goodyear.

 

[prospectfour]

I was going to say the same. You can get 60,000+ out of Toyo ATIII’s and they are quiet, good-looking tires.
BTW—Toyo makes Nitto, right?

Yeah I learned there’s only a handful of tire companies with a bunch of sub brands or divisions. Nitto is Toyo, General is Continental, BFG is Michelin, Cooper is Goodyear.

 

[Hossfire]

A lot of variables and opinions on what constitutes the 'best' tire. When I put 18-20K miles per year on tires, I loved Michelins. When I started to put 3-5K per year, the sidewalls alligatored far earlier than the treads wore out. I've always been happy with Bridgestone AT Revos.

 

[Hossfire]

Yeah I learned there’s only a handful of tire companies with a bunch of sub brands or divisions. Nitto is Toyo, General is Continental, BFG is Michelin, Cooper is Goodyear.

Interesting. I wondered why the Michelin brand no longer carries aggressive truck tires.

 

[DKG]

fascinating info! I'm looking at an OBX w/SAS..and mostly for the look/lift. I'd certainly want a much more 'street' tire to deal with the rain/pavement in the PNW.. The Terrain Contact AT is what I was looking at too. Plenty capable for the minimal forest service/off-road play time I'll do. I don't expect it to be an Explorer for comfort, but I do want the best wet/dry street traction I can get. To me, the 35's look badass no matter what rubber is on them

 

[Arrowbear Rider]

If you budget allows. I like having two sets of wheels and tires. One for on road and one off road. This allows me to have a very aggressive of road tire and a very street friendly on road set up.

Your idea may cost some up front investment in a second set of wheels and tires, get TOs to save cash, but in the long run you'll save more money. Better fuel economy, longer tread life, less un-sprung weight when running the smaller set, so less wear & tear on suspension and brakes.

If one has a garage and tools to do the job quickly and store the second set AND will take the time to swap out you'll save $$. Depending on your weekend warrior v. commuter miles, at 60K miles you're still only about half way through your tires.

I don't have a garage and I currently only drive 1 mile to work so I've been riding my motorcycle, so it's not worth the effort for me to swap out, but it's a good plan for others.

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