best off road tyre

Submitted: Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 14:08
ThreadID: 106490 Views:3783 Replies:7 FollowUps:12
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hi there I have been using BFG muddies 285/75/16s for a few years now but find they aren't that great in sand. I'm thinking of changing to mickeys t's mtz's. just wondering if anyone can compare between the two and if this would be a wise move. I do a lot of driving through sand and mud terrains so I need a tyre equally capable of conquering both.
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Reply By: Dave(NSW) - Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 14:31

Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 14:31
Muddies aren't designed for sand, I run MTZ's and just have to drop the pressures a bit lower
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Follow Up By: brendan l4 - Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 14:42

Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 14:42
yeah obviously the're not designed for sand but just wondering weather the mtz performs better in sand than bfg muddies.
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Follow Up By: brendan l4 - Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 14:47

Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 14:47
If anyone has had both bfg muddies and mickey mtz's. I would like to know your opinion on both and any noticeable differrences in performances in different terrains. Would be much appreciated. Cheers
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Follow Up By: Dave(NSW) - Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 15:10

Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 15:10
I've run STT Coopers and now on my second set of MTZ's, When it comes to sand there is no difference.
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Follow Up By: brendan l4 - Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 15:16

Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 15:16
Ok cool thanks for the advice. How do rate your mtz's compared to the stt's
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Follow Up By: Dave(NSW) - Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 15:20

Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 15:20
Like others I had a few problems with STT's losing lugs and side wall splits that I haven't had with the MTZ's, So will stick with them for a while.
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Reply By: gbc - Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 14:51

Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 14:51
By the time you get down to optimal pressure for soft sand I really don't think you are going to be able to pick a difference between the tyres you are asking about. That you are saying that km2's aren't any good in sand would tempt me to ask what how you run them in sand, but that's going to open up another can of worms.
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Follow Up By: brendan l4 - Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 15:11

Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 15:11
Yeah ok i see what you are saying..i suppose my next question would be is what is the better tyre between the two overall. I have never ran any other tyre than bfg. my first 4wd had bfg all terrains already on it, since then i have been using the muddies they have never let me down, never had a puncture but surely there is a better performing sand tyre that is as good as quality as the bfg's that's why i was thinking mtz's
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Reply By: Mick O - Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 15:09

Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 15:09
If you want the best constructed MT for serious off road work it's my considered opinion that you cannot go past the Toyo Open Country MT. Not cheap but they leave everything else for dead. Sidewall construction is a particular strength.

Toyo Open Country MT review


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Follow Up By: brendan l4 - Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 15:32

Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 15:32
I have a mate that runs a mobile mechanic business. He runs the toyo mt's on his custom dual rear axle 75 series just for their load ratings. They are an extremely aggresive looking tyre good to know they perform well and handle those tough terrains for long periods. Will def keep them in mind. Cheers.
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Follow Up By: Member - Calimero - Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 20:52

Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 20:52
Agree with Mick. Currently have Toyo OC MTs on my car. Done 30k km so far with them (nearly 10k km of road) and can say those tyres are tough. If strength is what you're after, with these you'll definitely see where your money's gone.
Had a set of Mickey Thompson STZ prior to that and performance difference in sand is negligible. Easily can be compensate with 1-2 PSI lower t.p. with Toyos.
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Follow Up By: Bob W5 - Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 21:07

Saturday, Mar 01, 2014 at 21:07
I second that ! My last set of tyres were BFG A/Ts. My Toyo open country tyres have travelled 30,000kms. In all types of terrain. Currently working my way around Oz. I think they perform better in the sand than my BFGs. I spent a couple of days driving the stretch of sand dunes between Beachport and Robe with my pressures at 10 lbs. When my pressure was at 18 lbs I bogged ! I drove everything comfortably in my 4.5 petrol cruiser with lower tyre pressures. I hope this helps..... Thanks Mick O for your excellent blogs ! For it was after reading many of them that I decided Toyo Open country tyres were definatley worth trying ! I'm very happy with them to date and they've done some pretty tough stuff exploring the Kimberly etc... Happy travels !
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Reply By: Robin Miller - Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 at 19:34

Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 at 19:34
I find it a tricky question Brendan , but I have come to the conclusion that those sorts of tyres are just not the best for sand.

Its a little harder though when you need mud as well.

Certainly sand favours smoother tyres and muddies just cut it up and bog one down.

Another factor that I need to consider is toughness of tyre (its resistance to punctures) as I like to drive in very remote and trackless country.
Here its ability to stay together is more important than ultimate traction.

I currently have 5 sets of tyres /wheels and usually change the cars wheels once a week - so get a lot of practise on seeing what works.

I'm just about to lay down the cash again for another set and expect to be getting Cooper ST Maxx again.

These tend to come out well in the various tests that are done, they are not as good in the mud though but do score ok.

In addition to excellant sand performance they have deeper tread than most other tyres and unlike the tyres with big bars - e.g. Cooper St Open Country MT , the gaps between the tread are mostly smaller which seems to translate into less opprtunity for staking.

I have more/less given up on straight muddies now as just not optimum when really serious anyway and carry a set of light chains always , between the tyres & chains I think I have got it mostly covered now for long distance serious touring and tricky 4wding.







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Follow Up By: Robin Miller - Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 at 20:28

Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 at 20:28
I meant Cooper STT not Cooper ST above.


Just for interest , some quite detailed tests were run by 4wdaction in 2 issues 146 & 167 comparing At & MT and some of the new inbetween tyres like the ST-Maxx.

the sand & mud results put BFG slightly above the MTZ, with the ST-Maxx a notch higher again.




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Follow Up By: Krooznalong - Monday, Mar 03, 2014 at 14:13

Monday, Mar 03, 2014 at 14:13
Hey Robin - do you really place any faith in the results in that mag? Advertising influenced results not out of the question!

Wow - you change tyres once a week. I'm guessing you have some serious equipment. Would get a bit tedious with a jack and wheel brace!
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Follow Up By: Robin Miller - Monday, Mar 03, 2014 at 17:33

Monday, Mar 03, 2014 at 17:33
What one puts there faith in can be a tricky question Krooznalong,
and I try not to get tocynical to quickly.

But would you put your faith in a forum post from someone who rarely uses different tyres , gets a new set fitted , and says gee Whizz these are good which probably more reflects the fact that they now have something brand new.

I'd love to be in the position of some of those testers and have team changing all those sets of tyres and measure the results and do all the work.

Imagine having others set it all up and all you have to do is drive - one day maybe !
I can change 4 wheels by hand in 30 min now so its not to demanding - do use hand tools.

I think that you have to weed thru lots of stuff actually and make sure it smells right.

I've had a lot of experience weeding thru engineering specs and looking for duds, and having different sets of tyres helps & works out cheaper in the long run I feel.

One thing you can do is to simply get the specs and check em out.

In the case of these latest tyres is easy to verify if they do have deepest tread , do they indeed have largest diameter and more rubber - I no longer get embrassed walking into a tyre shop with Luggage scales in hand.
Measure the weight , percentage of carcass vunerable to punctures , check load ratings and plies.
(I have 2 sets of BFG AT one load D, other set Load E - many get caught by this on EBAY)

When they meet there claims here then its on to road reports and here forum posts can have a helpful roll.

What you can't tell so easily is how they chip, squirm etc and reports from users help a lot here but then you need to have some idea of the type of driver , some clowns don't lower them and complain they chip to easily etc etc - you probably get the picture.

You also have to match them to your use pattern - for this latest set I'm getting its meant for surviving the harshess conditions - but I also love my classic BFG AT which are probably the best
for outback gravel work, and every week I put back on my set of D693 for surviving the local roundabouts.

Just as a side note - while I have already placed an order for a second set of these tyres I happened to pick up another mag "Overlander" today and its almost embrassing in the reports it carries for the choice I made from independant people so all is rosy at the moment.
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Reply By: Member - ironJosh - Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 at 20:33

Sunday, Mar 02, 2014 at 20:33
I have no problems with my BFG A/T's running 18 psi. Done 80,000 k's and still got 10,000k's of tread left. Good sand tyre if you ask me.
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Reply By: Rhys t - Monday, Mar 03, 2014 at 12:28

Monday, Mar 03, 2014 at 12:28
Hi. I went from gt radial savero my then then to 2 sets of mtz's and finally a set of Yokohama geolandar mt all on the same car (underpowered mk triton turbo diesel 200,000km.) When aired down the first two both had to be fairly hard on the clutch to get moving but once moving the Mtz were really good that (just don't turn with windows down or you will have a car full of sand) Yokohama geo are my pick so far as traction everywhere but they wear quick probably cos the rubber is so soft. Even though they would be my pick for a m/t that does everything....except wear well. Even towing camper trailer out of dunes at 5 psi no problems.
I now have wrangler duratrac on a heavier car with Less than 1000km on tyres so not much to tell there.
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Reply By: Rhys t - Tuesday, Mar 11, 2014 at 23:29

Tuesday, Mar 11, 2014 at 23:29
I see Carlos Saintz running km2's in Dakar they can't be too bad in sand. Had mtz's before pretty nice tyre but they wear quick I have geolandar mt now. They are even better in the sand IMO
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