All-Terrain versus Mud-Terrain tires for daily use

cstubbsZ71 · January 23, 2005

I currently drive a 2001 GMC Sierra with the Z71 off-road package. It is a very good truck and it has Cooper Discoverer A/T tires currently. In about a year, I will need new tires, and I was thinking about those Bridgestone Dueler A/Ts or the BFGoodrich All-Terrains. Are radial tires better for all-around use compared to bias-belted tires, like Super Swampers? I plan to reuse the factory aluminum wheels.

Jacqson · January 23, 2005

I currently drive a 2001 GMC Sierra with the Z71 off-road package. It is a very good truck and it has Cooper Discoverer A/T tires currently. In about a year, I will need new tires, and I was thinking about those Bridgestone Dueler A/Ts or the BFGoodrich All-Terrains. Are radial tires better for all-around use compared to bias-belted tires, like Super Swampers? I plan to reuse the factory aluminum wheels.

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Radials are a lot more flexible than Bias-Ply which will give you a much better ride, although Bias-Ply has a little stronger sidewall than radials. I guess it depends on how and where you drive your truck. IMHO, I would stick with radials.

As far as choosing Bridgestone or BFG, I have used both and I think either tire would be a good choice.

Truckman031 · January 23, 2005

All-Terrains will last longer and give you a better ride.

budhayes3 · January 23, 2005

For a daily driver that's gonna see alot of street use you'd definitely want the radials. I'm very happy with my BFG AT's, just aggressive enough for mud and snow, but not so bad that the noise will drive you crazy on the highway. Some of my friends have had the Mud Terrains, and they can get kinda noisy at highway speeds.

tmf6902 · January 24, 2005

I have driven a daily driver with swampers, MT's and AT's....the swampers are the coolest looking, but they are very loud, and give you a very bumpy ride as they wear. The MT's look tougher than the AT's but not at tough as swampers. They were pretty loud at first, and have just gotten louder as they wear.....plus they are a PITA to keep balanced (wangler MT's with 30K now).....the AT's by far gave the best ride and they still worked in the snow and sand( they were BFG AT's)

I have the Wrangler MT's on my HD now. With 30K miles they are wearing funny, and I am sick of them....two years of noise has just about gotten on my last nerve. I am now in the market for some new wheel and tire, I am gonna go with the Nitto Terra grapler AT's I beleive.....but I know the next set I get will be All terrain.....The farthest off road I go is on the beach, and I know they will be good enough.

Sorry for the book

TMF

99-2door · January 24, 2005

I have driven a daily driver with swampers, MT's and AT's....the swampers are the coolest looking, but they are very loud, and give you a very bumpy ride as they wear. The MT's look tougher than the AT's but not at tough as swampers. They were pretty loud at first, and have just gotten louder as they wear.....plus they are a PITA to keep balanced (wangler MT's with 30K now).....the AT's by far gave the best ride and they still worked in the snow and sand( they were BFG AT's)

I have the Wrangler MT's on my HD now. With 30K miles they are wearing funny, and I am sick of them....two years of noise has just about gotten on my last nerve. I am now in the market for some new wheel and tire, I am gonna go with the Nitto Terra grapler AT's I beleive.....but I know the next set I get will be All terrain.....The farthest off road I go is on the beach, and I know they will be good enough.

Sorry for the book

TMF

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I agree MTs are too aggressive for daily driving. They are best suited for very frequent offroading only.

Mighty HD · January 24, 2005

I have BFG MT on the Hd. It's not exactly a daily driver since I dont drive it every day, but 98% of the time it's driven is on the pavement. I'm very happy with them. I had the BFG AT on my last truck and was happy with the on-road performance. I was hell bent to get the MT...cant beat the looks, rides good, and not THAT loud but you know it's there.

txpkup · January 24, 2005

Absolutely loved my BFG ATs. Kind of beside the point but I think I remember a post on here over the summer sometime about how the beach patrol always put ATs on their 4wd Rangers, because the design in the MTs would allow sand to slip through, but the ATs would encase the sand; others probably know more about beach driving than me. So this guy in a Ranger pulled out this lifted z71 with MTs. Embarrassing.

Back to the point though, my BFG ATs lasted me 50K without even rotating them! Never let me down off-roading either.

tmf6902 · January 24, 2005

Absolutely loved my BFG ATs. Kind of beside the point but I think I remember a post on here over the summer sometime about how the beach patrol always put ATs on their 4wd Rangers, because the design in the MTs would allow sand to slip through, but the ATs would encase the sand; others probably know more about beach driving than me. So this guy in a Ranger pulled out this lifted z71 with MTs. Embarrassing.

Back to the point though, my BFG ATs lasted me 50K without even rotating them! Never let me down off-roading either.

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As with any off roading, I would say that 90% of beach driving is experience, and about 10% is equipment.

Bgdsub72 · January 24, 2005

I had 33" BFG A/T's on my old silverado. They are great tires on the street and light dirt. They are practically useless in mud, snow and loose dirt. Depending on where you drive you should choose the tire that best fits your needs. Mud terrains would be a better choice if you see more off road driving.

ness5575 · January 24, 2005

I had 33" BFG A/T's on my old silverado. They are great tires on the street and light dirt. They are practically useless in mud, snow and loose dirt.

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i totally disagree on the snow part. i am on my second set of bfg-a/t ko's and just put them thru 4 days and 1000 miles on a ski trip. much of this was done on snow covered roads as we got a pretty good blizzard (10-12") and the BFG's were awesome in it. absolutley no trouble at all with them in the snow...

Valsport · January 24, 2005

i agree that AT's even BFG's are useless in mud, I've had two sets. my next set will be Kumho Venture Mud Terrains, only $114 a tire

Roostman · January 24, 2005

My experience with BFG All Terrains have been great (two sets). They last longer than anything out there and are quiet with excellent grip on the road as well as in the deserts of SoCal. Not bad in the rain either but I have no idea about mud cause there usually isnt any here! . Several of my friends have run MTs cause they "look cool". They dont make much noise at first but after some miles get on them, they SUCK. Loud as hell and hard to balance properly.

willfxp · January 25, 2005

i agree that AT's even BFG's are useless in mud, I've had two sets. my next set will be Kumho Venture Mud Terrains, only $114 a tire

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Well, isn't that why they make MT's????

BRZ71 · January 25, 2005

I have the Cooper Discoverer AST II all terrains on mine, and the perform pretty good in sand and mud, but they have a tendency to let the rear locker work on wet streets.

My last truck I put the Discover AT on it and they lasted me three years. The also had much better traction in all three situations. These ride better on the highway being P metric tires, but the LT tires lasted longer and performed better.