Mud Grip Tires for 2500

[Ben_Stadelman]

I have the optional factory Michelin LTX M/S 265/75R16Es on my 2001. 5 2500 4x4 Quad Cab Long Bed. I am very satisfied with these tires except for one small problem. I need more traction in mud.

I was looking at the new BF Goodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM tires, in 265/75/R16 D 120/116Q, 3042 lbs capacity. Also in 285/75/R16 D 122Q, 3305 lbs. www.bfgoodrichtires.com



Anybody have experience with the BFG M-T T/A KM tires? (Things like tread wear, dry/wet/icy pavement handling, picking up nails, etc)



I like the higher weight capacity and tread wear ratings of the BFG 285s, but how much trouble would the 285s cause? What will I need to get done at the dealer to compensate for different RPMile? Is it worth the trouble?



Thanks!

 

[DarrellB]

BFG's

Ben, I have a set of the new BFG MT KM's in the pole barn but haven't had to put them on yet because my old set of BFG Mt's are still doing pretty well. I have about 30,000 miles on them and still have about an 1/8" off tread left. I don't know about the 285's but my 33x12. 50x16. 5s changed my speedo about 10 to 15 mph. I don't think the dealer can calibrate the speedo to that big of tire, I'm pretty sure all's they can do is 265s. As far as the traction of these tire goes they are great, they preform great in all weather conditions that we see in these parts of the country. (I live in Southern Indiana) The last snow we had I didn't have any trouble at all getting around. Trust me you wont be sorry if you buy them, I will only buy BFG's from now on.



Later

Big D

 

[Ben_Stadelman]

Thanks Big D!



Couple of questions:



How have your bigger tires affected your fuel economy?



Do you have the 3. 55 or 4. 10 rear end?

 

[drawson]

I am running the KM and they are great traction tires. I had them siped and in all the snow and ice we have here in Utah they have been great. They are wearing great on the front but the rears are showing some wear(too much torque). With what I'm seeing right now they go 30-35K.

 

[duaneparks]

Re: BFG's

Originally posted by DarrellB

I don't know about the 285's but my 33x12. 50x16. 5s changed my speedo about 10 to 15 mph. I don't think the dealer can calibrate the speedo to that big of tire, I'm pretty sure all's they can do is 265s.

There are options. Superlift makes a "TrueSpeed" product that is basically a spliced in adjustable potentiometer that varies the signal to the speedo.



Not sure on price, but I know people who use them who are running 35"-37" tires and like the results.





I personally ran 285/75/16 BFG AT KO's for 60K miles and loved every minute of it. They were on a 2500 gasser, but did not affect anything adversely.

 

[DarrellB]

Mud Tires

Ben, my truck has 4:10s and as far as milage diffrence I didn't notice any with the bigger tire. I think it made the gear ratio a little better for long trips since it lowered the RPMs a little bit at speed. My buddy Stevie has almost the same truck (not BOMBED) and with 3:55s and he put my tires and wheels on one day and said he didn't like them because the thing wouldn't get out of it's own way. So I guess the 33s are a little much for unbombed trucks with 3:55s but they work great with the 4:10s.



Glad to help

Big D

 

[DavidD]

mud tires

Ben , Have you looked at the Goodyear MT/R's I am running the 315-75-16. The are both attactive and great in the the mud , snow and wet pavement. The are quite on the highway even more so than my old all season type. The only draw back so far(I think anyway) is that the may not wear to long but you dont get great mud/snow traction from tires that wear well. Check um out! Dave

 

[DHatfield]

A good set of Super Swamper Boggers or TSL should do the trick or at least I think so. I had the BFG Mud Terrains on my Jeep before the Swampers and they do pretty good in mud as long as you keep the RPM's up and the mud is not as tacky as sticky clay.

 

[Mtn Goat]

tires

I had some 305x70x16 goodyear mt's on my truck for about 30k miles... the milage went up a little... the bigger tires act like an extra gear... when you correct for the miles on your speedo.



now that I have 315's I see a bigger, better difference in milage, when driven properly of course. My best milage to date is 19. 3 on 315's and 300 horses on tap. but my usual milage is around 16 with the way tht I drive.



the 305's are almost the same diameter as the 285's they are just wider.





with my 315's I figure about 10% speedo correction, because my truck came with 245's on it... hope this helps





later,

Scott

 

[HeberRam]

larger tires

I've tried about everything and currently running goodyear MT's 315-75-16 and really like them so far... . got about 8000 miles on so far and have little wear. I rotate them every 4000 miles. The only complaint I have is that they hard to balance and keep balanced... That's why the guys that sold them hate to see me come in? Anyway since I bought them from them its free! I heard the BFG'S km's are good, however, they didn't have the size I wanted when I got these. I also hear they will be much more expensive.

 

[DMalone]

I replaced my factory set, with Trail Cutters KellySpringfield 285x75x16, these are very good tires, you will notice the difference. The handling is alot better, and when you take off on wet road you wont fish tail all over the place, which happened all the time for me with the factory tires. They clean good in mud,and were i use to use 4x4 when i would go feed i how dont have to. Have not seen any snow yet so cannot say but i think they will work out good. I have had alot of good comments on the truck since i got them. FYI

 

[PRout]

Dunlop Mud Rovers are an excellent mud tire.

 

[Chris Smith]

Question about Goodyear MTR's

For you guys running MTR's, I'm about to buy a set for my '01 Sport 4x4, which is totally stock. I assume the 305/70/16's will be fine with no rubbing. I noticed a couple of you are running the 315/75/16's. Anyone running these on a stock 2500 4X4? Do they rub at all? I'll be putting them on factory alloys.



I've read here that BFG AT's in 315 size rub a little, and seen a truck with BFG 315's on aftermarket rims that rubbed on the fender splashwell on driver's side, but the rims had a different offset than factory, and the truck had front levelling spacers.



Another concern of mine is my truck is an Auto with 3. 55 rear end. Anyone running 315's (any brand) with a bone stock truck with auto trans & 3. 55 gears?



I have about settled on 305/70's but if I can get away with 315/75's with no or minimal rubbing I'll do it.



I'm going for the Wrangler MT/Rs because of durability. I've torn chunks of rubber off the stock michelins and some BFG AT's on a previous truck driving on rocks (OK, more than just driving, pulling trees out of the ground and launching my boat where there is no ramp) I also get into some slick stuff where the stock michelins are useless, and need to go to 4wd when I shouldn't have to.

 

[DavidD]

Chris, i have the 315's on a truck with 3. 55 but I have a stick. When I first put 315's on about 3years ago It was a new size and the only tire avaliably was Les Scwab brand Safari all season. I have noticed side by side that the Les Scwab tires are bigger than the Mt/R's. I had to put a 1" spacer on the truck so I dont know If the MT/R's would rub without it. I does not rub at all with the Mt/R's now. They are really quite tire on the road also you wont know you have on a mud tire nothing like the BFG's.

Also the have a triple side wall. Very strong as I often tow my 4 horse trailer on rocky roads. Dave Oh the gearing for me is great as i also do a fair amount of highway traveling out here in Nevada and Utah. The truck has no problem cruising at 85 or 90. and at 65 I get about 19mpg.

 

[HeberRam]

Tires

Chris. . I'm running 315-75-16 goodyear MT's on my stock truck rims. . 2001. If you haven't already you will need a min. 2" lift in the front for proper clearence. The 315's will rub your control arms ever so slightly if you make a hard parking lot type turn. No big deal... Heber

 

[Chris Smith]

315's cont.

What clearance problems would I have without 2" front lift? Would it be only on hard bumps of off-road driving? I guess what I'm asking is could I get by getting 315's now, and adding the lift later, or do I need to get the lift done first?



How much of a pain is it to add 2" spring spacers? Are we talking an afternoon job, or all weekend? Any tricks I should know?

 

[Ben_Stadelman]

Another point to consider on the 305/70 vs 315/75 is the weight capacity of the tire.



According to www.tirerack.com Goodyear Wrangler MT/R 305/70QR16  118/115P  D has a max load of 2910 lbs the Goodyear Wrangler MT/R 315/75PR16  D has a max load of 3195 lbs.



I realize the load ratings are close, but consider that the Data Label next to driver's door says



GAWR Rear 6084 lb w/ LT245/75/R16-E at 80 psi



If my math is right, that would be 3042 lbs per tire, which just happens to be exactly the load limit of the standard Michelin 245/75/R16s.



Again, if I'm right, that would mean that putting MT/Rs 305/70 would reduce your GAWR Rear to 5820 lbs (2910 x 2), which may be fine, just as long as the awareness is there.



I took my truck to the dealership (very friendly and helpful) and they hooked up the computer to check tire size settings. The display came up with three choices:

* Michelin 265/75/R16 LTX M/S

* Michelin 265/75/R16 LTX A/S

* Michelin 246/75/R16 LTX A/S



I checked again at www.tirerack.com and found that perhaps the reason for two separate listings of 265/75s might be that the different tread patterns show different revolutions per mile.

LTX M/S 265/75R16 123/120R  E  gives 652 rev/mile

LTX A/S 265/75R16 123/120R E gives 654 rev/mile

LTX A/S 245/75R16 120/116R E gives 681 rev/mile



(Wouldn't it be great if you could simply change the rev/mile instead of being limited to three selections?)



Based mostly upon max load and rev/mile, I finally ordered the BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM 265/75QR16  120/116Q  D  RWL

which have a max load of 3042 lbs each and give 652 rev/mile.



Thanks to everyone for the helpful info in this thread, and keep the posts coming!

 

[Chris Smith]

315's

DaveD, did I understand correctly that you have no front lift, only wheel spacers? If so, Where did you get the spacers?



Ben, thanks for the info on the weight. That's another reason I want 315's over 305's. That and the fact that I usually choose tire size by finding out the biggest that will fit, and then go 1 size bigger



I'd go to a tire shop and just test fit the 315's if I could find someone with them in stock! NTB will order them and test fit, but charge a re-stocking fee if I didn't keep them to cover the extra freight, because they don't keep any MT/Rs in stock.

 

[DavidD]

Chris, so it took me so long to respond. i have a 1" spacer on the top of the spring. It replaces the facotry spacer,its just bigger. I beleive it was a trailmaster or one of those lift companies that made it possibley rancho has one too. It was put one with my ranco9000's at the same time but the tire shop guy said it was easy. You will need a spring compresor and remove the top shock mount so you can slip the spacer in and then replace the shock and spring. also be aware that you will need a front end aligment just to check as you may have screwed up the settings. My came out the same but you need to check it anyway. A good tire shop should be able to do for pretty cheap if you not up to it. If you have any ofther questions just e-mail me. Dave Ps. the tirerack.com I think is the best price.

 

[Ben_Stadelman]

Chris,



I found this article on the web a few weeks ago, and it sound like you might be interested...



http://www.nsor.com/testdrive/2001/dodge/



A canadian company called North Shore Off Road puts 315/75/16s and an Explorer ProComp Stage 2 lift system on a 2001 Dodge Ram Club cab 2500 Cummins 4x4.



Lots of cool pictures and other thought-provoking information.