hey guys, im thinking of dropping in a rough country 3" lift and putting 33x12.50's on my truck. I'd like to stick with 20's, but all the mudtires i've seen in 20" are friggin expensive. I really like the mickey thompson atz radials but they're over $300/tire. I don't need anything real knobby, and i'd like a little more mileage than most mud tires. any suggestions?

 

id like to know the same. i wanna keep it as low as possible too. im dealin with 20's and theyre not cheap. you said 33's so that'll help a little on cash but im getting 35's and this is what ive found for a set of 4.

Nitto Mud Grapplers: $299 and no shipping, since its local. most internet are $285 but $200 to ship em'
Mickey ATZ's: $332
Pro Comp Xtreme A/T: $291 and $90 shipping with $75 rebate
Dick Cepek FC-II's: $340 and free shipping

ive googled a lot of random places, made phone calls to locals and a pretty good site is performanceplustire.com

 

First of all, Mud tires on a 20" wheel is ridiculous from a performance stand point, might look cool, but useless as hell, unless you're talking like 38" or larger mud tires on a 20" wheel.

To perform in the mud the tire must have flex & floatation, which means there must be a decent amount of tire between the rim and the ground. A 33" tire on a 20" wheel offers almost nothing, hell a 35" tire on a 20" is a poor off-road performer!

If you are serious about an aggressive A/T or an M/T tire then save over a hundred per tire by getting 33x12.5x17's and put the difference into some nice 17" wheels.
If you are not serious, and you are doing this for just looks, then find you a nice inexpensive all season radial about that size for your 20's and enjoy a little smoother ride, better mpg's and a longer interval between replacement...

 

and hammer says it all. IMO hes the dude to talk to about tires. if your off roading you want more side wall. however mines a pavement queen and i go for the look and could give a sh*t about side wall. im just looking for a nice set of good looking tires for 20" rims. already got my rims now i just need my 35's just saving now

 

I have a set of 35" Cooper Discoverer STTs but mine are on 17" wheels, I don't even know if they make them for 20" but if they do they are probably around $300 too(mine only cost $230). Still I have 16k on them and they still look great, I haven't even rotated them. But the only towing I do is with a 3500-4000lb decoy trailer 3 months out of the year. I have to say they look really good IMO and I would definitely buy another set.

 

well I've got 36's on 20's...it's got just as much sidewall as a 33" tall tire on a 17inch wheel would...personally...I cant stand it when PEOPLE think that in order to play in the mud u have to have all this stuff....here's my 2 cents....suspension lifts...unless ur rock climbing...are useless IMO......but who in here climbs rocks for a living??? not me sorry. I play in a mud hole from time to time and I like to come out of it and go to work the next morning....I know this is going to start a storm of people whining now...but hey guess what.....i dont care, it's an ego issue...when u spend thousands of dollars on somethikng u expect it to be king right??? lol...sorry Im just blabbing so Im going to let people respond to this....personally....do what u want...I did....and people are luving it...y? cuz it's different.

 

33's on a 20" rim don't look that big, beleive me I have seen them, you see mostly just the rim and if you are set on staying with 20's I would do a 35" tire it would look a lot more proportionate to the rim and vehicle. Plus I gotta agree with Hammer that a 33" tire on a 20" rim for off roading isn't a good idea in the long term because sooner or later you are going to make contact with something hard and there just isn't much sidewall there to absorb anything. I will be the first one to admit that I love the way 20's look, but that is usually with a 35 or 37" tire on them in a aggresive tread pattern. If I was doing a fair amount of off roading I wouldn't go with 20's as they aren't cost effective and they aren't performance effective either unless you go to the bigger sizes and that makes them even heavier and more expensive. Just my opinion. If it is just looks your after go for it!

 

Actually Romeo, unlike you I don't care what others think of why I bought 17's vice the junk 20's that came stock on my truck. I will respond to the lift comment though. If you truly believe that lifts are for rock crawling only, you haven't been 4 wheeling, mud bogging, stream crossing or just all around playing like many with a lift have. I gurantee if you went with alot of people on here muddin or 4 wheelin you would change your opinion.

Scott

 

I have 37" Nitto Mud Grapplers on 20" KMC Rockstars! They are a bog enough tire I don't lose too much sidewall putting them on a 20" wheel!

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dodgenitto, how much lift did you need to clear the 37" Nitto's? Just curious.