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wet weather at's or mt's

2K views 29 replies 15 participants last post by  mbshooter 
#1 ·
i am starting to look for a set of tires for the truck and need something that will have good traction in the rain. i would like a tire that works great and also looks good. the truck mainly sees alot of highway/roads and some trails.
 
#2 ·
My opinion is the mt's were great at first because they have a big area to displace the water. Now with about an 1/8" of tread left I already did a 360 down the road in the rain and always spin. They are as good as slicks with the big tread blocks when they wear down. I say get rid of them at about 1/2 tread or get something with better siping.
 
#4 ·
I have got BFG all terrains and they have worked really well for me thusfar. I drive mostly on road and some off highway driving...mostly rocky roads and i got a chance to test them in the snow this winter. I have been really impressed with them. They seem to be wearing nicely and dont slip much at all in the rain...if any. I will say that they cake up easily in the mud so probaly not the best for that. Alot of off road magazines I've read say that all terrains might be better for what you say you want to do with them. Sorry for the long post but I hope this helps.
 
#6 ·
When I use to run 305/55-20 BFG AT's I would hydroplane in the rain where ever the was a low spot on the highway in the ruts where the water collected. Not fun. I haven't been any any hardcore rain with my mud grapplers but they should be slightly better because of the large voids that the water can escape from.
 
#7 ·
I Have have had a lot better luck with the At's in the rain the Mt's I had on before. They were always breaking loose on the road. Thats is mainly why I switched to the At's
 
#9 ·
man i had some super swamper trxus m/ts on my old 96 ford psd and those damn things would just spin spin spin on wet roads and break loose around corners no fun but im runnin nitto terras on my 2000 24v and they do good in rain and mud and are quiet BUT they wear so freakin fast its pissin me off! id stick with some bfg a/ts if i were you
 
#10 ·
so which at's will work better in the rain bfg's , yokohama geolannder, trxus sts, mt atz, kumho, nitto, cooper? any other suggestions?
 
#11 ·
I like my toyo M/T's. This is the third set on this truck. Don't notice any spinning on the wet roads, Do get a little hydro planing if it is real deep and running pretty fast. Other than that I think they are better than the the BFG a/ts I had on the ford, and much better than the ssr's on my second gen, the traxxus M/ts were pretty good on the second gen too. oh and I get about 30k on them and only rotate them once.
 
#12 ·
Get yourself some Micky Thompson Baja ATZ AT's Nuff Said!
 
#16 ·
well i had a blow out at 6am the other morning on the way to work. so time to start looking for tires very soon.

i am just curious which will work better in the fl rains
 
#18 · (Edited)
It has been raining in Maine for 30 days straight.....
Great time to test my new Mickey Thompson ATZ
These are by far the best tire I have ever owned!

And trust me I have been through some tires... :headbang:
 
#17 ·
Toyo ATs. Best tire I have ever had. Great traction in every condidtion and wear pretty well. The only downside is they dont look nearly as aggresive as most other ATs or MTs. But Ill take functionality over looks
 
#20 ·
mine are brand spanking new. First set of them but so far I like them more than any other tire I have run.... :headbang:
 
#23 ·
both the atz and mtz in 35's are load range d. would i get less miles out of them?
 
#25 ·
I have Nitto Terra Grapplers right now. Last one's were Perrelli ATR. Perrelli's worked great in all weather but as they wear down they start to slip. The Nitto's so far have been good but I've had them a month. The size is 305/70/17 and they look great. Hope this helps:thumbsup:
 
#26 ·
do at's get better mpg than mt's. also why would the atz's last longer than mtz's?
 
#28 ·
what about the yokohama's and cooper stt's? seems like everyone has been raving about them recently?


if it makes a difference i need a quiet tire. drive alot between 70-80mph and need to be able to hear.
 
#29 ·
Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ Tire Test
One of the latest "new-generation" MTs
By Jimmy Nylund
Photography by Jimmy Nylund

At first we were a bit concerned when Mickey Thompson Performance Tires & Wheels became part of the far larger Cooper Tires, the eighth largest (in sales) tire company in the U.S. for the past few years. So much for seeing any more small-volume enthusiast tires, we thought. Luckily, we were completely wrong, and Mickey Thompson keeps cranking out specialty tires-except of much better quality.

In the case of the Baja ATZ, small volume only refers to the relatively small numbers of tires made (compared to the enormous amounts of passenger-car tires sold in the U.S.), as the smallest ATZ at this writing was a 33x15.50R15. That may not sound all that large, but this was the first 33-incher that rubbed the fenders of our test Blazer-which normally allows 35s to fit comfortably.

With a section width of 15.7 inches and a tread 12.1 inches wide, the 15x10-inch Classic Lock II wheels we used are technically too narrow for the tire, but handling was still very good, and the tracking we had anticipated was practically nonexistent. Besides, with 12-inch rims the tires would've really rubbed. There was more tire noise than expected, but the ATZ is by no means a loud tire. It's just that with four patches over a foot wide each, there are a lot of tread blocks hitting the ground at once, and it's enough to be audible. Yet the rolling resistance was relatively low.

With a high load-carrying capability (2,405 pounds at 35 psi) and a nylon cap over two steel belts, the tire still soaks up irregularities in the road pretty well, and made in a 12-segment mold, it runs very true and smooth. On the Hunter GSP 9700 balancer, we saw very low Road Force Variation numbers (8, 15, 12, and 14 pounds), which is especially impressive on a wide tire weighing 83 pounds. This says a lot about the build quality of the tire, and the trueness of the Classic Lock II wheels. Those 'locks, by the way, are a purely cosmetic add-on, but since they're available separately, they can be used as sacrificial rim edges. The wheels themselves are guaranteed against structural defects and have steel inserts for the lug nuts to spread the clamping load through.

We expected the 12.1-inch-wide tread to do pretty well in sand, and it did. However, airing down to a conservative 10 psi apparently made the stiff-treaded radial push so much sand ahead of itself that we aired back up again-the price you sometimes pay for running a radial with good road manners. In harder dirt, a lower pressure allows the Sidebiter lugs on the sidewall to help with traction, and conformability improved to the point that fist-sized rocks were barely noticeable.

Great for traversing ruts, the width of the ATZ works for or against you, depending on the situation on hand, and the vehicle. Our portly test vehicle put enough contact pressure on the relatively mild tread to make it work in the dirt, but on a lighter rig, the more aggressive MTZ would be a better choice. The same would hold true for mud, of course, but we didn't have any to try the ATZs in.

We feel that the Mickey Thompson ATZ is a tire primarily for the street that works well on the trail under a heavier vehicle, but between the stiff tread area (which makes it perform on pavement) and it being a radial, it's not something we'd put on a trail-only vehicle. Now, if you'll excuse us, we'll go cut some more sheetmetal off the fenders on our mostly-street four-by so that these tires won't rub as often.

Tire: Mickey Thompson Baja ATZ
Size: 33x15.50R15LT
Type: Radial
Load range: C
Max load (lb. @ psi): 2,405 @ 35
Sidewall: Three-ply polyester
Tread: Three-ply polyester, two-ply steel, one-ply nylon
Approved rim (in.): 11-13
Tread depth (in.): 20.5/32
Tread width (in.): 12.1
Section width (in.): 15.7
Overall diameter (in.): 32.9
Static loaded radius (in.): N/A
Revs per mile: N/A
Weight (lb.): 83
Test vehicle/weight (lb.): K-5 Blazer/6,300
 
#30 ·
good read. in one of the recent 8 lug magazines there was an artcle on the mtz. they really praised that tire as well. mickey thompson has always done really well. i am just more curious how many miles people are getting out of them with our heavy trucks.
 
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