Jump to content
Ultimate Subaru Message Board

Offroad tire write-up (Summarized)


ezapar
 Share

Recommended Posts

I've gone thru the Tire Write Up thread and compiled the tire info within. These are personal testimonies by Board Members who have bought and used the tires they write about. Since it's such a long post, I separated each write-up by color.

 

 

Cooper Discoverers are suposed to be a good dual purpose tire.

For the 15 inch rim they have the exact size and demensions of a interco super swamper SSR that i'm putting on my car. Actually that is what Qman has on his brat right now on the 15" 6 lug rim. they are radials and are ok for dual purpose.

 

depending on the type of wheeling and wether more for show or play. will determine the type of tire you get. the swampers and other mud terrains are an excellant choice for all terrain wheeling, i.e. mud, snow, pavement, rocks, hilclimbing. now the a/t tread design is better for the road more than anything else. smaller voids can't clean the mud out that well. but all terrains are supposed to be good for sand. help keep you afloat instead of digging in the sand.

 

now for the not wanting to cut the fenders. well almost anything 25" and up with a decent amount of wheeling can touch or rub. be steady and clean on the cuts. when i originally cut my fenders i cut the front so that the cut hides behind the little bumper sides. see my website.

 

Ground Hawgs/ highliner 26"/27" tires

 

excellent off road grip. they have pulled me through everything. the one thing that these do have disadvantage to the swampers is no offset lug pattern or sidewall grips. but they grip onto anything. fairly soft bias ply tire. the sidewall is very thick and strong (i sheared off a six inch strip off the bead of my rim. not damaging the tire)

on road, buy a set of ear plugs!! they are fairly loud. approximately as loud as the tsl's. if you like the constant sound of a B-52 Bomber flying down the runway. these would be an excellent choice for onroad tires. i have not noticed any under or oversteer problems with them. they handle similar to car tires. but be more careful on wet road ways. due to less contact with the road than street tires.

in the snow they like to dig if you don't air them down to 6psi. being that the highliners are only 7 inches wide. which really help to cut through the mud.

Price: approx $75 for the highliner, 4wheelparts sells the ground hawgs for i believe under a hundred dollars. (Jared)

 

------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I've used the swampers (both radial and bias ply), the Kuhmos, the Coopers (both AT and SST).

My personal ratings for them would go like this:

 

#1 Swamper SSR radials. 27/9.50/15

Off road ***** On road *** Tread life *** Price*****

The off road grip of these is superb. Whether snow, rocks, mud, gravel, dirt track, these give your Subaru an awesome feeling of confidence. They make pretty light work of most mud you could get your Soob into, and the tread is designed to allow you to claw your way out of ruts. They grab onto rocks like claws, without making you worry about puncture. Deflated, they will float on top of snow and allow your little Soob to go where bigger, heavier rigs would fall thru.

On road, they are relatively quiet and smooth. On the highway or around town, the ride is comfortable and handling isn't so bad you feel danger or unease.

The look they give a Soob is just too cool!

 

#2 Cooper Discoverer STT radials. 205/75/14 (25.5)

Off road **** On road **** Tread life **** Price***

The off road grip is awesome. The tread is sufficiently spaced for good traction in most conditions. They suffer a little in deeper mud. The limited side wall traction makes it difficult to get out of a muddy rut. Deflated a little, they go thru rocky trails like nothing doing. I don't believe we've punctured one yet. In my opinion, they are superior in the snow. The tread pattern is well designed for snow.

On road they are pretty quiet for an offroad tire. The smaller size I chose allows for much better torque, resulting in a feeling of more power. Hills are easier to climb, freeway speed is easier to keep.

White lettering is optional.

 

#3 Super Swamper TSL 28/8.50/14 bias ply

Off road **** On road ** Tread life **** Price****

Off road, they are indestructable, hard to gouge or scar. Tough stuff. Thru mud, they are unequaled. Their thin tall design digs right to the bottom and propell you. But, the thin tread works against you in deep snow, causing the tires to dig holes instead of floating on top.

On road, they are LOUD. The humming is hipnotic, causing drowsiness. The deep well spaced tread flexes and mkes the tires "walk" around corners, causing terrible understeer.

Very primitive design, but very effective off road. Comments will fly when you sport them on your Soob.

 

#4 Kumho Venture MT 27/8.50/14 radial (mine had the name Marshall on them, but were the same tire)

Off road *** On road *** Tread life ***** Price**

I got mine after my Father had used them for 2 years on his Chevy S10. Tread life is awesome. The tread is sufficiently spaced to throw mud quite well. They do well in any conditon, but do not excell in any.

On road, they are measurably louder than the Coopers, but do not compare with the drone of the bias TSLs.

Decent tire to be had at a decent price.

 

#5 Cooper AT 26/8.50/14 (mine were a Les Scwhab copy called Wild Country AT)

Off road * On road **** Tread life **** Price**

Off road should be limited to dry surfaces, stay away from sharp rocks, the sidewalls are weak. Do OK in snow, but are useless in mud.

Overall quiet and smooth on road ride.

Will give you the appearance of being an "offroader" because they are taller than the 13's your Soob came with. (Zapar)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I've been using the Kuhmos for a while now and there's only a couple times that I've really wished for Swampers instead. The Kuhmos clean themselves ok (given enough throttle) but in sticky slimey clay mud, Swampers simply rule.

So the Kuhmos aren't awesome in the mud but they do a pretty good job at everything else, last a long time and are fairly quiet on the road. In my judgement they've got to be one of the best "enduro" or do everything tires.

(MikeW)

----------------------------------------------------------

I have been running my 29x8.5x15 Wildcats for almost 4 years Now, And Have had very good luck with them in all conditions....

I had My tires Siped when New, And have never needed to chain up with them on the BEAST......Good Mud throwers, Good Sand and Snow walkers aired down, and Ok for noise on the street...

I believe the Smallest size anyore is a 215x75x15......But don't hold me to that......

(Mudrat)

 

-------------------------------------------------------------------

www.walmart.com/catalog/p...iameter=14

I have run these tires for 4 years and they still work great and have plenty of tread on them. They are only $45 a piece with 45k tread warranty. (Lostwater)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

So far the Hankooks seem fine. Not many miles on them Yet tho. Very similar to the Coopers I would say.

So far the one impression that I *have* got from them is that they are VERY quiet. For an aggressive tire I expected more noise. But in fact I noticed NO increase in noise over the 175/70r13's I had on the car before. Either the tires are just really well behaved on pavement, or they are very soft or something.

I probably have 1000 miles on them now. So far I'm happy with my purchase. (General Disorder)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

well it sounds like I am the only one running bridgestone duelar A/T on14" pugs?

they fit well on my car with some fender clearancing and the stiffer rear springs installed.

really quiet on road but a good bit of grip in the dirt.

soon to be tested in the snow :headbang: not to expensive or complicated to install.

(RallyRuss)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

I am running 185/75/r14 steel pugs on my XT4 from Dunlop there maxx trax grip excellent in the snow.

Attached Thumbnailsattachment.php?attachmentid=278&stc=1&thumb=1

 

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Wal-Mart Liberator All Terrains. 235/75 R15 (28.9"x8.5") set of 4. $215 dismount, mount, balance, disposal of old tires. Great little tires and I'm happy. McBrat is correct though; he saw first hand how they fill up quick. They also clear out easy though if you can get some wheel spin up. I've taken them up some pretty seriouse terrain and they worked great. Wear on the highway is acceptable. They are built for a pickup truck so I'm barely working them :)

(MorganM)

The Liberators rule. Pehaps not the best mud tire, but here in the desert they're awesome. They also roll very well, even at highway speed.

(Singletrack)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

As for suby rims and four 4wheeling, these are my opinions on rims. just my advice. but if you've wheeled with me you know i push my car, if it don't break under my hand then it's a worthy modification.

 

Pug alloy rims.

for the street they are great. look good, lighten the weight a little. now as for four wheeling them. i strongly reccomend to avoid any hard trails where the rim can come into contact with rocks or roots. these rims are a lot more fragile than the steels. on lake isabele trail i split a six inch strip off the bead of the rim. they lost all respect for 4x4ing from me. if you don't follow me and you stay on the easy to moderate side of life these are worthy rims.

 

Pug steel rims.

they are a little heavier. but for 4wheeling they are much more durable than the alloys. i reccomend these for any of the harder trails. do to the fact that when you wedge or bounce a rim into a rock. you can usually bend the rim enough to get off the trail and to camp. been there done that (Rooinator)

---------------------------------------------------------------------

Tire info sites

www.bfgoodrichtires.com

www.kumhousa.com

www.coopertire.com

www.4wheelparts.com

www.intercotire.com/html/interco-tires.htm

www.tirerack.com

www.tyres1.com

www.walmart.com/catalog/p...iameter=14

Link to comment
Share on other sites

ok i havent ever had a good answer on this and i know i sound stupid but will 30" by 9.5" tires on a 15" rim fit a loyale with a 3" inch lift. is it possible to cut the fenders to get them to fit i dont care about cutting im just worried about them rubbing when i turn.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

No prob, "say it once, why say it again?" (TalkingHeads)

 

There's a link to it on the FAQ sticky. From time to time, I'm gonna delete posts from the thread that don't have anything to do with the write up. Including this one. :) Saves folks having to read thru 9 million posts to get the meat.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The Walmart Liberators need a more prominent position in the write-up, the 2 sentences and non-functioning link don't do them justice.

I've never owned them or even seen them. If you own them, write it up, I'll add it.

Same goes to anyone who doesn't see their tire on the list.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...
  • 1 year later...

the link for the wal-mart liberators is odd but type in 225/70/14 and they come up. talked to them today and was quoted $217 OTD this included the road hazard warranty. very um.....cost effective.

 

 

http://www.walmart.com/catalog/product.do?product_id=4269022&year=&make=&model=&vehicle_path=false&tire_spec_selected=&tire_width=225&tire_ratio=70&tire_diameter=14&tire_type=&tire_load_index=&tire_load_range=&tire_speed_rating=&tire_equivalent_load_index=&tire_size=

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have a Mud Terrain tire that isn't on the tire list.

 

Hankook MT RT01 215/75/15

Off Road **** On Road ***** Tread Life ***** Price *****

Off Road these tires rock. I've taken them through thick mud, snow, gravel and yes even rocks. They have really good mud terrain lug pattern that will grip any condition except Ice of course. On road these tires are amazing. They are specially designed to be very quite on road. I can't even hear until I take a high speed turn. The tread life seems pretty good. Even during a hot summer I rocked them and they didn't wear very much at all. Maybe that's because they were made for a heavier truck not a light grocery wagon. They are made of a harder rubber than the swampers. They arent as wide as the swampers, but they rule on a suby. An awesome tire for the price. Also optional studs.

 

hankookRT01.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Still new and trying to learn the rim sizes but can some one do this for me

 

 

stock rims will fit thses tires (I have a 87 brat)-

(fill in the blank)

 

 

you need need pugs rims for these sizes tires-

(fill in the blank)

 

 

 

might want to add that to the sticky. I know if I did my search home work I could find out the answer to this but if you are going to make it a sticky you might as well add this info in to.

Tanks

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

the way metric tire sizes work

 

215/75R15 means:

 

the tire is 215mm wide, and the sidewall(distance between outside of the tire and outside of the rim) is 75% of the tread width, which would be 161.25mm

 

the R means radial

 

the 15 is how big a rim a tire takes in inches, which means a 15" rim

 

now a 30x9.5x15 means a tire with a 30" diameter, 9.5" wide, on a 15" rim

 

stock tires on a subaru are 13", pugs are 15"

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest
This topic is now closed to further replies.
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...