Tires for everything?

[bajabound]

I guess I should've been more specific. I'm actually going to be driving this thing in baja where there's zero mud. It's mostly gravel, beach sand, or super-fine dust(polvo they call it). I'll be doing some river crossings and lots of freeway miles too, especially just getting it there. So I need something that'll last on pavement. Also I don't want anything too big for noise and gas mileage reasons. This website is CRAZY informative, nice work!

[3eyedwagon]

BFG All Terrains, probably one of the best tires of all time. I'm not sure that they make them down as small as 27", but, I know they make them in 235/75/15s.

 

They are a great all around tire that wears excellent on the road, and they are amazing on light rigs in the snow. A good "floating" tire. Plus, they look killer on almost anything.

[NoahDL88]

Why are you heading to Baja? Ratty2Austin will probably be going down in November for the 1000, you should look him up.

[bajabound]

This Subaru lives in southern baja. It's up here right now to get suped up a bit. I've seen some great Subaru rigs down there. It's the perfect car for baja. I get the thumbs up from fishermen and ranchers in their toyota 4x4's while out in the middle of nowhere. I did some serious exploring with stock 13's. I can't wait to see what it can do with the bigger wheels, a lift and some decent tires.

[subiemech85]

firestone FR380

 

 

they worked well on the SVX when I went driving on not so nice level B enter at your own risk roads!

 

people were amazed and wondered how I got through some of the stuf I did

[Qman]

BFG A/T's, hands down. They are a truck tire and have better sidewall protection. The Firestones are car tires designed for the street. Zero sidewall protection. And, why would someone take an SVX off road?

[Uberoo]

BFG A/T's, hands down. They are a truck tire and have better sidewall protection. The Firestones are car tires designed for the street. Zero sidewall protection. And, why would someone take an SVX off road?

 

why do people take cars offroad?

 

BFG A/T's for sure and make sure the cooling system is tip top shape.

[Qman]

why do people take cars offroad?

 

 

Right ... don't be stupid about it.

[WoodsWagon]

I used BFG a/t's on my wagon, and honestly, they kind of sucked at everything. Zilch for grip when wet, instantly packed up with mud or snow and became slicks, and not very grippy on rocks. I also didn't get much life out of them. They wore evenly, just fast.

 

Snow was really a joke with them, I'd be trying to go up inclines without having the belly of the car near touching the snow, so just tires touching snow, and it couldn't make it. A guy with a jeep commanche pickup, who had his front bumper plowing snow and his axles dragging was cruising up the same hill. He had cheapo snow tires. There was lots of times in the winter when the tires just couldn't keep traction and let me down. Which really sucks when you're in the bottom of a valley and are trying to get out.

 

Now, for sand and gravel, pretty much any tire will work. You actually don't want much of an agressive tread pattern because that will dig you into the sand.

 

Get the widest tire you can fit, and find one with a lot of sidewall ply's. Wide tread aired down is what you need for running the soft powder sand.

 

Get a couple small air compressors, the one's that plug into the cigar lighter. Cut the cigar lighter end off, and put on alligator clamps that you can hook directly to the battery. Make sure you have enough reach between the battery and the rear right wheel to be able to fill it. A portable jump pack might be a good investment too.

 

Gas milage with big tires doesn't go down as much as people think. The bigger the tire, the larger the distance it covers per rotation. So, your odometer indicates less miles than you've actually traveled. You need to figure out the percentage difference between the stock tire and new tire, and multiply the odometer reading by that before using it to figure out MPG.

 

Oh, and I'd recommend an EJ22. Even set up with a carb and distributor, it will be miles better than the EA. Sometimes having more power can keep you up on top of the sand, and get you through the really sifty spots where you would otherwise bog down and sink.

[renob123]

I have a different take on this. I bought some General Altimax Arctics from tirerack.com for cheap. They're snow tires that I use year-round on the Brat. With the width I'm running, they do a good job in the dry, rain, snow, and dirt, even with the EJ22 swap.

 

If you're running that many freeway miles with occasional limited-traction use, you should look into them. I'm happy with the treadwear, but if they wear out too fast for you, at least they're cheap. If you're more serious than that about offroading, then listen to everyone else here:)

 

Jacob

[Numbchux]

the BFGs are decent. "Jack of all trades, master of none", for sure.

 

You're asking a lot of a tire to be great offroad, and still be used a lot on the freeway. those 2 things require entirely different tread compound and pattern. by asking both, you're getting a compromise.

 

the BFGs are probably your best bet, if you're ready for that compromise. But they are expensive. you could probably spend a lot less on each set of tires (a bit more total...), and get 2 sets. one smaller, highway all-season tire that will allow better mileage and driveability on the street, and then switch to a larger mud-terrain when you get there.