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AT vs. MT

24K views 46 replies 27 participants last post by  Halas 
#1 ·
Can somebody give me the pros and cons of 33/35 inch MT's vs AT's.. I'm mainly wanting to know how long each one lasts, and the offroad performance of each. Please include the name of the tire. I'm currently looking to upgrade my tires but have I want to get some idea of what I'm getting into first. Thank you all :)
 
#6 ·
This is a very broad question.

But generally, the more agressive the tire, the more you will hate it on the pavement.

Your gonna have to ask yourself how much pavement time, vs how much trail time your rig is gonna see. In my opinion it should go like this:

100% pavement = highway tire
75% pavement = AT
50% pavement = Mild MT
25% pavement or less = agressive MT.

Now this is just my rough opinion. There are a lot of variables you need to consider.

1: do you have deep pockets?
2: is this vehicle a DD?
3: are you concerned with mileage at all?
4: what kind of off road performance are you expecting?
5: what kind of on road performance are you expecting?



If you are on a budget, and never see the trail, and have a DD, then I would suggest regular old highway tires.

If you want maximal offroad performance and don't care about anything else, and have deep pockets, then you want an agressive MT.

Reality will probably fall somewhere between those two scenarios.
 
#7 ·
Geography matters too. If you are out west and hitting the rocks instead of deep mud, you might want something like the AT KO, a tough all terrain that holds up offroad, is reasonable on the road, but does not throw mud very well. Or if you are really serious, MTR's with kevlar.

If you are mudding through the corn fields, you want something like the KM or STT, a real mud tire.

If you don't know what you are going to do and want to be adequately prepared for anything (but also not optimized for anything), get Duratracs or ST Maxx.
 
#16 ·
AT's generally cost less, last longer, ride better, ride quieter, grip wet or dry pavement, ice, and packed snow better.

MT's give better traction in mud or loose snow.

There are very, very few places or times when a MT will get you through and an AT won't
 
#17 ·
There are very, very few places or times when a MT will get you through and an AT won't
While mostly true, i would have to say that the MT's have a MUCH easier time, especially on steep inclines. The AT guys we off-road with make it through everything us MT's guys do, however while we crawl right up most mountain trails, i see the AT guys spinning tires and relying on speed to get them through most of the harder stuff. If they get stuck their basically dead in the water and have to go back down and try again... many places we had to wait while guys attempted 5 or 6 times to get up some stuff, while MT's literally crawled right up at snails pace 1st try.. Other then that unless your in MUD both should get you through the typical intermediate trail.. just expect to work harder with AT's.


I drive my jeep like a jeep, so having MT's on pavement really doesn't bother me wet or dry... i have never said gee i need better handling tires, and i used to drive a lowered car with summer performance tires/winter tires. and who doesn't love the noise they make... IMO it's part of the experience. I have gotten the rear wheels to spin in wet conditions, but it took effort and required dropping the clutch... The only thing i worry about is snow, as i have not driven in any yet, but the snow around here doesn't get packed down to much.. it usually melts before it has a chance. The worst time is probably going to be the first thin layer of snow during a storm. Although not all MT's are treated equally. In comparison to the stock rubicon tires i replaced with Goodyear MTr kevlars it is apparent that there are tread features not on the rubicons for better grip on slick surfaces. You can also add siping to MT's if you desire.
 
#18 ·
Quadratec lists this for the Rubicon MTs:
"Rubicon's standard 32-inch BFGoodrich off-road tires have a custom or "Different Tread" pattern that is exclusive to the Jeep brand. The meaty tires have more tread blocks with biting edges for foul weather (including ice and snow)"

Note the "ice and snow" comment. Truth or advertising? Still waiting for my Rubicon to get built but plan on driving smart and feeling them out this winter.
 
#20 ·
I had my JKUR last winter with the stock BFG MTs and had no problem.
 
#28 ·
I kept the stock Mt and rims for off roading and bad weather and just put on Duratracs for everyday use. The duratracs are smoother and track better on the road. They are not any quieter than the stock Mts. Mileage is the same but I went to 285/70/17 from stock. Difference in off road so far is not noticeable, but the Mt absolutely tore up the local roads and my driveway, which are dirt. Not to mention that they covered the entire sides with slinging mud. Even with the additional width the Duratracs sling less mud and I haven't need to regrade my road to fix the ruts.

Can't speak to how long they last, my JKUR has 2500 total miles on it, tomorrow is it's 4 week birthday. It has been places that I would not have driven to before already once with Mts and once with Duratracs. Archery season... And it has been power washed 14 times already for the mud, only 2x since the duratracs...
 
#30 ·
I didn't see it in here and maybe for most people it is not a big deal....I ran BFG A/Ts for many miles (I have had 3 sets on my TJ) however I never went to any MT because I can not get "Lifetime Rotation/ Balance and Road Hazard"on a MT. I was never thrilled with the BFGs in the snow though....and than I heard about Duratracs here on the Forum and the Siping. When it was time to go to my 33"s I went Duratracs. Still got the Free road hazard/ rotation balancing, but the difference in the rain and on snow and ice is amazing IMO.

My whole point? If I puncture a tire off road, I can argue about road hazard, I don't think I will need to though, they gave me no issues when it happened with one of the BFGs. Secondly when I am dropping that kinda cash to purchase something I want it to last as long as possible. My tires get rotated every 5K...just like when I change my oil. :) I averaged between 55 and 65K miles on the BFGs, and always ended up selling them to someone for trail rig tires. So it wasn't a total loss.

Bottom line Duratracs for the Warranty (Purchased from the tire store) and performance.....IMO.
 
#31 ·
IMHO, AT tires are good all around tires. Many folks complain about their off road performance, especially in extreme terrain like rocks or mud, but that's relative to MT tires. I promise, a good AT will give great performance compared to a highway tire off road with similar on road perfromance.

I didn't see it mentioned but AT tires are much lighter than most MT tires. Significantly lighter in some cases. If your Jeep is intended for heavy and frequent off road use, get a MT. If it's significantly used on road, get an AT. If you want the best of both, including the lightest 35x17 inch tires I've found, get the Duratrac.
 
#34 ·
Duratracs are a good all around tire, I ran them on my jk for about 1.5 years and loved them. Then I made the switch to a set of Hankook MT's and the difference was incredible, I can crawl up things that I previously would have struggled to do. Mud performance is vastly improved as is climbing ability on loose surfaces, I'll be running studded duratracs for winter use though
 
#38 ·
I have a fgeeling more of these "hybrid" type tires will be coming out in the next year or two due to the success of Goodyears Duratrac. That Toyo RT doesn't look as though it would do very well in winter conditions, very minimal siping there
 
#39 ·
I got the Certs from Americas tire on my 35 KM2's ,10k miles and one had a problem. No questions asked. Here ya go sir and thank you for your business. 14K now and they are a bit noisy but work pretty good off road. We have pretty much rocks here. But my buds who run some of the AT's do ok too. We just drop to 12/13 psi and pretty much enjoy our jeeps. Yes they are noiser than my KTRK's were. I think I will be going back to those when the KM2's wear out.
 
#41 ·
BFG AT/KO vs KM2 - both 35s

Mud - both after the same mud pit





Mild looks



Better looks





I got rid of the ATs because I just didn't know how long they would last with all of the chipping happening to the tread. The new BFG ATs addressed this problem with a tread that is more chip-resistant.
 
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