Got new tires

[carguru]

After 20k miles, I ditched the stock Firestones for a set of BFG A/T KO last night.

 

Should have done this sooner.

[budhayes3]

Cool deal, did you stick with the stock size or go larger?

[RyanbabZ71]

The A/Ts are wussy.

 

Now the M/Ts on the other hand

[Blue-2001-Z71]

Easy, killer. Some of us like to drive our trucks on paved terrain as well without hearing the constant howl of mud claws. I had BFG A/T T/As on my Jeep and they worked like a champ in everything I tried to go through. Albeit I'm not a hard core mud hole swamper, but they've pulled me through some puddles that turned out to be ponds!

[carguru]

I admit it. I wussed out and went with stock size. I was deciding whether to get the T/A KO, Mud Terrains, Wrangler AT-S and the Wrangler MT/R. I chose to go with the T/A's since they did the least damage to my wallet.

 

Here are a couple of pics after I cleaned up the blue crud.

 

 

[carguru]

The A/Ts are wussy. 

 

Now the M/Ts on the other hand 

 

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Ryan,

 

One of the guys at work already gave me grief for not getting 34 inchers.

[budhayes3]

Lookin good!

[RyanbabZ71]

Im just joking. I went witht he mud terrains because they were $138 a tire vs $150-160 for the AT

 

Also I must say that the mud terrains are rather quiet. They arent much louder than my ATs were

[carguru]

Too funny. I picked up the the A/T's because I got them for $151 each with mount, lifetime bal, road haz, stems, and taxes (about $138 before service/taxes). I couldn't find the KM's anywhere for under $160 each plus the service/taxes. The Goodyear AT/S were $8 each higher than the BFG A/T. The Goodyear MT/R were the same as BFG KM's.

[Blue-2001-Z71]

Just as well. The last two sets of Goodyears I've had (Eagle GT-II and Eagle Ls) have both been crap. Haven't felt the need to waste the moeny on a set of their truck tires since I haven't heard a good word on these either.

[MS3DALE]

Just as well. The last two sets of Goodyears I've had (Eagle GT-II and Eagle Ls) have both been crap. Haven't felt the need to waste the moeny on a set of their truck tires since I haven't heard a good word on these either.

I run nothing but Goodyears and have great luck with them,I always got at least 50,000 miles on my P265/75R16 Wrangler RT/S's on my '97 and '99.

I ran a set of LT265/75R16 Wrangler TD's in the wintertime on a spare set of rims I had for my '97 and they went like a tank through the snow and the wear was great,they also came factory on my '93 and '94 K1500 Z71's and I got around 45,000 miles with them.

I ran a set of LT265/75R16 Wrangler AT/S's on my '99 in the winter and they too went great through the heavy/wet/deep snow.

I only have 7,200 miles on my new '04 with LT265/70R17 Wrangler AT/S's but they seem like there going to wear like iron just like all the other Goodyears I've had.

But you have to know that I'm always rotating my tires every 3,000 miles and always checking the air pressure every other week,plus I get the alignment checked about every 10-15,000 miles.

With all the trucks I've had with this style suspension I have found that the most important thing you can do is rotate the tires EVERY 3,000 MILES not 7,500 like some of the manual's say too.

Plus you got to remember the Eagle line of tires they have are more of a "softer" compound for handling around corners and curves,you will not get the wear out of them like the Wranglers.

[Halen5150]

I love my BFG A/T 265 tires. I've had them for over 35k miles, and I should get close to 50k out of them before I have to replace them. I think I'm going with the 285s next time though.

[gilliam]

I love my BFG A/T 265 tires.  I've had them for over 35k miles, and I should get close to 50k out of them before I have to replace them.  I think I'm going with the 285s next time though.

 

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How do the BFG AT's compare with the stock tires with respect to ride quality? Any difference noted?

[carguru]

I have to admit that the stock Firestones were not too bad as far as noise. As they aged, they did get louder. Around 35-40 mph I would notice a very slight tire whine with the old Firestones when the radio is off. The new BFG's have a slight hum around 40-50 mph with the radio off. Radio on, can't hear them. Noise level doesn't get worse as speed increases. Just as a comparison, my wife's Tahoe has Wrangler AT/S on it. Similar, but less agressive tread pattern than the BFG's, but they whine a little louder than the BFG's. With the radio off, you definitely hear a whine around 30-40 mph. With the radio low, you still hear just a tiny bit of whine.

 

As for ride quality, these tires outperform the stock Firestones. They are stiffer than the Firestones, but they don't really feel harsh. They grip so much better on dry pavement. I haven't tried it on wet yet, but it has got to be a vast improvement over the Firestones. One of the biggest reasons that I switch was because I got tired of getting sideways everytime it rained. Sad thing is I was pretty gentle on the throttle--the Firestones hardened with age and would not grip very well on wet pavement. I haven't tried to corner hard with the BFG's yet. As far as wear, the Firestones were worn down a little bit more than half way at 20k miles. I'll see how these wear as I get some miles on them.

 

Given the past experience with off road tires with agressive tread patterns and noise, I'm extremely pleased with the BFG's.

[carguru]

As a side note, the BFG's are a lower speed rating than the stock Firestones. The stock Firestones are a S (112 mph) speed rated, the BFG's are only a Q (99 mph)speed rating.