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Which Tire?

2 ply vs 3 ply

17K views 14 replies 12 participants last post by  JRickW 
#1 ·
New to the jeep world. Went offroading for the first time in Pine valley! I currently have 31" tires on 15x8 dick cepek dc-2s. I was wondering if 2ply sidewalls are good enough for the trails here in southern cali. I live in the southern part of San Diego. So farthest north I'll ever go is probally Octillio Wells. My 2ply sidewalls held up fine for Pine Valley but i know that its an easy trail. I'm going to upgrade to 2" BDS lift once i get back from deployment and im still not sure if i want to upgrade to mud tires with 3ply sidewalls or stick to A/T tires with 2ply sidewalls. Which tire do you guys recommend for the trails here in california?
 
#2 ·
I have done many trails with rock crawling in Southern CA with 35x12.5 BFG ATs. I have done Holcomb Valley Trail in Big Bear, and many trails in Anza Borrego with rocks (including Pinyon mountain). I have pinched them between rocks and they hold up. The BFGs also have great road manners. They don't float all over the lane on the freeway and are not too loud. Great tires for going from trail to highway. I could be wrong, but I believe the BFG ATs are 3ply sidewalls.

Hope I helped.
 
#3 ·
yupp bfg at's are prob one of the only if not THE only all terrain tire with a 3 ply sidewall, i hate my 2 plys...next tire will be a 3 ply sidewall i work for a tire company and can get bfg's more than half off so im trying to decide between AT and KM2..if i were you id go with a 3ply sidewall
 
#4 · (Edited)
BFG's MT and AT tires are good all-around tires that do well on most trails. However, you live in the same area I do and there are a lot of trails out in our local deserts that are loaded with sharp rocks and they repeatedly cut the sidewalls of both my BFG All Terrain KOs and Mud Terrain KM tires. If you want to play in the rocks or at least not be worried about them, I would strongly consider the kevlar reinforced Goodyear MT/R that has a nearly cut-proof sidewall. I've had BFG MTs, ATs, and two sets of the first generation of non-kevlar reinforced MT/R and all suffered sidewall cuts, though my first-generation of non-kevlar MT/Rs didn't suffer from nearly as many cuts as the BFGs did. If I wanted to run a BFG in the desert rocks, it'd be the very expensive BFG Krawler which is a well proven nearly bulletproof/cutproof tire.

Then I got a set of the second generation kevlar reinforced MT/Rs and so far, no more cut sidewalls. And that's with airing them WAY down, sometimes to 4 psi, where sidewall damage is more likely.

For rocks like we have in the deserts of SOCAL, I wouldn't run BFG's AT or MT... my personal experience with them was not good.
 
#5 ·
Another vote for the MTR kevlars here. I ran probably one of the hardest trails near me just last weekend where tight turns and lots of rocks are involved. My wheels took quite a beating, but cant say the same about the tires. I have had the tires for probably...6 months? I have wheeled quite a few trails...mostly rocks, and have yet to have an issue. I think this last weekend I got a small cut...but not anything to even worry about.

Although I will say, my previous tires were BFG ATs (3 ply sidewall) and they were great tires. I have since then stepped up my game on some trails, so its hard to say how they would hold up there.
 
#6 ·
A few years ago, one of my stock BFG Mud Terrains tore a sidewall rather easily by hitting a rock apparently too fast.

I've been running the Goodyear MT/R w/Kevlar's for over a year now, and I'm very happy with them. My Jeep was in an accident a few months ago, where the tire was hit in such a way that the sidewall was pinched against the edge of the wheel. The force of the hit was hard enough to dent and crack the wheel and pull apart my trackbar by a couple of threads (among other damaged components). The sidewall suffered only a barely noticeable scratch.
 
#8 ·
I dont play much in the rocks, i'm more of a trail and mud guy. But you are right there are rocks all over here in socal. Havent been to the desert yet but thanks for the heads up. I'll take a look at the goodyear mt with kevlar. I like the Dick Cepek Mud tires a lot but guess the stronger sidewalls would be better. I did read a review about the Goodyear mt w/ kevlar tires saying that a JK with a lot of mods like bumpers, winch and armor they said they got a lot of tire sway due to how heavy the wrangler was. Is this true?
 
#9 ·
I can't imagine "tire sway" with the MT/Rs strong construction, it is a far stronger tire than most. I'd guess something else like they were underinflated, inappropriate wheel width choice, or someone's vivid imagination. Hell the US military uses the MT/R on their huge/heavy HUMVEEs.
 
#13 ·
As mentioned, you can't beat the kevlar for a trail tire.

However, an AT is better if it's primarily a daily driver. The AT will last longer and isn't as noisy. Most mud tires last around 40K miles. A good AT like the BFG will last closer to 60K or more. Sometimes up to 70K if taken care of.

I have BFG AT and love them so far. Mine are 33" though, and even though they're fairly new, I'm already considering 35" tires. I use mine most for street driving, but am also considering the kevlar for their strength because I hit the trails a few times per month.

Still might get the AT because I want them to last a long time.
 
#15 ·
I can tell you that you CAN cut a sidewall on the Kevlar MT/R's. I've done it. Now I suspect that it was somewhat unlucky and I don't think any other tire would have done any better so when I got a new set of 33's, I went with the MT/Rs. One of the things I like is they have a tighter pattern from 25 to 50% of the pattern (from the inside) which gives them a much quieter ride. Of course, that probably compromises the mud performance but since I do desert and rocks more than mud it works for me.
 
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