JeepLab Tire Review Thread

[JeepLab]

Lets Talk Tires!

You've got them on your truck tell us what you think of them.

Here are the categories

Mud
Snow
Rain
Sound
Ride
Braking
would you recommend or buy again?
pros
cons
Give us a pic!

[JeepLab]

Here is the first aftermarket tire I've installed.

I wanted to maintain the ride as best I could and wanted something good for snow.

The duratrac has the snowflake that signifies that its a serious winter tire, and it maintains the aggressive look of a Mud terrain tire.

MUD -
Ehh not great here, the type of mud makes a difference. If its not super soft, the duratrac will kind of float over the top with its wider tread. In deep wet mud that you sink in, they gum up. I never got stuck with them, but if i knew i was up against deep soft mud, I might go another way.

SNOW -
The snowflake means they are good, and they are. The compound is softer so when they are cold they arent as grabby as they are warm, but they are sure footed in the snow and ice. I once tried to climb a steep driveway that had 10 inches of untouched snow on it, and failed. It was an extreme test. Im not sure any tire would have made it up.

RAIN -
You wont even notice rain with these on. Wet traction is superb.

SOUND -
Silent. The tread pattern and the softer compound together equal complete on road silence.

RIDE -
Also superb. If your trying to maintain the best possible ride, this tread pattern and rubber compound is hard to beat.

BRAKING -
I dont remember ever really being in a dangerous situation with these tires where I jammed the brakes, but the compound and amount of rubber on the ground (small voids) lead me to think that they would stop very well.

RECOMMENDATION -
Yes, I would recommend them to anyone who was looking for a SMALLER tire. they don't come in a real 35 size. Their largest is 34.4 and they didnt measure to reach that mark. If you want a real 35 or 37 you have to look elsewhere. HOWEVER. IF goodyear did make them in larger tire sizes, they might be a force to be reckoned with.

Pros - Good at almost everything
Cons - Cant get larger tire sizes.

[JeepLab]

These are Black Betty's tires at the time of this posting.

We HAD to go to 37s to show them crammed into a 2.5 inch lift. I was terrified of losing the power we had gained with the RIPP supercharger. I searched high and low for the lightest mud terrain tire, and the second thing I was looking for was sound, followed by ride quality. These do not disappoint in any of those categories.

Here we go -

MUD - Its the KM2's natural habitat. These things fling mud all day long. Nothing seems to stick. I dont live in the mud, but when I have been in it, I've never gummed them up. AND Im not hard on the throttle.

SNOW - They are not snow tires, but I have driven to Maine in a blizzard and they never slipped. For fun I would toss the truck in deep snow, and never once was she stuck. You cant drive like a fool on any mud tire in snow and icy conditions, but if you drive it like you know your wearing mud tires, and are careful, They could be 4 season tires. We got about 50 inches of snow overall in NJ this past winter, and I never wished for snow tires. The KM2s handled the poor conditions admirably.

RAIN - Also very good. They have large voids, so hydroplaning isnt really a concert, the lugs get pressed to the pavement under the weight of the truck and the voids spill the water out the sides. Wet traction is very good.

SOUND - This is where the KM2 stands alone. So much research has gone into the development of the tread pattern that they can be one of the most aggressive mud tires available, but STILL are very quiet. They were silent up to my first tire rotation, now I hear them a little, but only when I'm trying to hear them.

RIDE - You will feel the lugs when you slow to a stop sign, but you get used to it quickly and its in no way jarring. That is a tiny downside to the incredible highway manners these Mud Terrains offer. 7 hour road trip? No problem. I did one in January (7 hours 1 way) and on the way back, I did the first 5 hours before turning the controls over to the co-pilot. I could have done the whole 7 hours at once. Its a joy to cruise on them, as at speed they behave excellently.

BRAKING - This was a surprise. I assumed with the large voids and big lugs, this would be the category that would the KM2 would fail. And if I had to guess, without experience with the tires, I would guess this would not be their strong suit. HOWEVER. I was in a situation on the 37 inch KM2s where I had to jam the brakes, and they bit the pavement like I couldn't believe. They really saved Betty's paint job. I was certain i was going to plow into a car in front of me that had been cut off and jammed his brakes. (and I was probably driving faster than I should have been.)

Recommendation-

If you want big tires, these are the tires. Yes they are a little more expensive. But tires are a mod that you feel every time you drive. On road, off road. Tires are always under scrutiny. Power? if you want to keep as much as you can, you need to keep the tires as light as possible. The lightest 37" tire available? The KM2.

PROS -
Everything Really.

CONS -
They are expensive.

[Snarf77]

I think its only fair we review the stock BFG Mud Terrains that come on a Wrangler Rubicon. Many, honestly the majority of Jeep owners don't purchase a rubicon because of their limited off road use and buy a Wrangler sport with all terrain tires. Like any jeep owner, they're probably soon considering a tire upgrade for appearance and performance.

Bottom line up front - I've been pretty satisfied with the stock 32 inch BFG Mud terrains and would highly recommend them as an upgrade to Jeep's all terrain options. They can be had on Craigslist for a fair price if you watch closely, and often with OEM Jeep Aluminum wheels and TPMS. It can be cheaper to do a driveway swap to mud terrains than to get new all terrains installed.

Mud - These tires do surprisingly well in the mud. They have pretty large voids and really impressed me with their off road abilities. I've aired them down as low as 12psi, but 15 i feel is safer. They offer really decent grip on dry rocks, and dirt, and the voids stay pretty clean in the mud. Definitely a true mud terrain.

Snow - Not so great. They do OK in the snow..but nothing to write home to mom about. They clear themselves out of packed in snow pretty quickly. I never aired dwon for snow but I would imagine it would offer better performance.

Rain - No me gusta. If you drive your jeep like a sports car, then all terrains are probably for you. These do inspire a bit of pucker factor when cornering or going through standing water in the rain. At reasonable speeds they are fine, but I'd be scared to be on a highway at 75 with these in a heavy downpour. Slow down to 60 and you're fine..but not 100% trustworthy in the rain.

Sound - Surprisingly quiet for a mud terrain. Minor drone at speed, but thats being pretty picky considering you can cruise on them at 75 without issues.

Ride - They ride fine, and corner well. I rotated mine every 5000 miles and after 20,000 miles, I still have 15/32nds worth of tread. That means I could probably get a total of about 40k miles on them before they needed to be replaced. That is great for a mud terrain. I think "wear" should be a factor in these reviews. Softer mud terrains used on road = buying new tires regularly.

Braking - A bit of wandering steering under hard braking but it is manageable.

Would you recommend or buy again? - I would recommend any Jeep owner wanting to upgrade to 32s from stock and get some pretty serious off road performance, consider buying a set of of used/new stock Jeep wheels/tires. I don't think you can do better for an initial upgrade. If anything, use them for a while and you'll have a great basis for comparison for your next purchase.

pros - can be had cheaply, great tire wear, solid off road capability
cons - rain performance isn't great, only 32"

Brand new spare:


After 20k miles:


In use @ 15PSI:

[JeepLab]

Rain - No me gusta.

This made me spit my coffee. You owe me a new keyboard. LOL

[Pznivy]

This is a thread I can sink my teeth into.

Lets get some MUD GRAPPLERS in here.

Ive found them cheaper than the BFGs. I'd love to know how you guys like them.

[JeepLab]

Grapplers coming up!

[Deola]

Grapplers coming up!

Which grapplers are you doing? I run MUDs on mine(35x12.5) and dad runs 33(ish) Terra's. I could write up the ones you don't.

[Snarf77]

Which grapplers are you doing? I run MUDs on mine(35x12.5) and dad runs 33(ish) Terra's. I could write up the ones you don't.

Deola! I say you write up any tire you have used kind of like the above. You may have a vastly different experinece using the tires than another member becuase of how or where you off road or your usual driving conditions, jeep, etc. I'm pretty interested myself in hearing about both so I say go for it.

[JeepLab]

Deola! I say you write up any tire you have used kind of like the above. You may have a vastly different experinece using the tires than another member becuase of how or where you off road or your usual driving conditions, jeep, etc. I'm pretty interested myself in hearing about both so I say go for it.

Agreed. Please give us your opinion. And you know we love PICS.