I am going to be lifting my 05 4x4 QCSB ram 4in and am going to put 35x12.5x17 tires on it. The problem is that I don't know which ones to choose. So far I have narrowed it down to 4 tires. I am looking at the Toyo Mt's, Mick Thomp MTZ's, Mick Thomp Radial-Claw's, and the Cooper STT's. Keep in mind that I am more or less a daily commuter that likes the occasional off-road adventure and am looking for an aggressive tire that's going to last pretty long (over 40k), perform well (dry pavement/mud), and not make me def from highway noise. All information or help is greatly appreciated.

 

Don't know much about the Cooper's. It's not found at all around the hunting & ATV clubs I frequent. The Toyo's and MTZ's would both fit the bill for what you are looking for quite nicely. Both have solid reputations as decent mud terrain tires with very good highway characteristics and long life. Both are louder than almost any A/T tire, but not bad. Dick Cepek Mud Country's would also bea strong contender. Not quite as aggressive as the MTZ (also not quite as noisy on the pavement) they are rapidly gaining a reputation as a very long lived M/T tire due to the new technology of the tread blocks.
The Claws are a very aggressive tire! They are also VERY loud and are not the best handling tire on wet pavement (no siping). They are however one of the top off-road tires made. The bias version dominates the rock crawling circuits and are probably second only to Boggers in the slop.

 

I'd steer clear of the toyo MT. They are not quiet and they have a been know to pull in that 35x12.5x17 size especially. I had a set and had nothing but problems. They pulled to the right reallyhard and the guys at the tirestore I go to said that happens on about 90% of the dodges that they install them on. As for the rest I can't say I have not owned them. I do see alot of people running those Cooper STT, I have no frist hand knowledge but they seem to hold up on the gravel logging road around here. I'm running the new BFG KM2 MTs and they are working good not too noisyand they seem to hook up good. I sipped the center lugs and they are great in the snow. Just my .02 cents.

B

 

Well I think I am down to 2 tires right now. I am looking for sure at the Mick Thomps MTZ's and the BFG AT KO's at 315x70x17. What do you think would work best on a 17x9 rim (4.5in backspacing) on a 2.5in ready lift leveling kit? I am still looking at the MTZ's but have a friend with 33x12.5 BFG on his F150 and they are pretty quite for that big of a tire. How long will the MTZ's last compared to the BFG's and what is the difference of sound inside the cab?

 

About half a dozen guys who are in a large group that leases a big hunting tract did a "group buy" on the Toyo's in Nov. of 06. All sets were 35x12.5's with wheel sizes varying from 15" to 18". Three are on Dodge trucks and NOBODY has talked of any "pull" issues. They all love them and would all do it again, despite my advice at the time to look at Mickey Thompson/Dick Cepek tires.

About the longevity, it's a Mickey's strong suite. Every time I read a review on a Thompson tire it always lists the tires amazing longevity. Had a set of MTX's (33x12.5x17) on my truck before I started moddin' it and pulled them at 29k in favor of my current 35's. They still could almost pass for new, and I sold them for well over 50% of my original purchase price. The guy who bought them put them on his '06 QCSB Hemi 4x2 and currently has over 50k miles on them and they still have a strong 3/4 tread on them...

 

Well the MTZ's do come out a little short at 34.6x11.9, but that is not much of a difference from the 35x12.5'sbecause it looks like a really amazing tire. If it's going to last 50k with proper rotation then it is more than worth it to go with that mud tire over anything esle. You said they are pretty quite and I don't mind a little hum; however I am putting DOR 40series Flowmaster's in on sat so I probably wouldn't hear it thatmuch anyways. Hammer... would your advise be to go with the MTZ's over the AT KO's then?

 

Almost all MTs will be annoying on the highway. I have the Coopers, they do hum, but that never bothered me. If I wanted a quiet drive I would have a Caddy. As for wear can not tell you, I have less that 1K on them.

 

Of course I do, but I'm biased, I've not purchased a tire for a truck of mine made by anybody other than Mickey Thompson/Dick Cepek in over 15 years...

BTW: It's apples to oranges, but the BFG A/T's on my Grand Cherokee are looking like they are gonna be 20-25k tires at best, and that's with the built in air gauge keeping an eye on them (I keep them at a constant 36 lbs.) and rotate every 6k. At 12k I'm already wearing them to below the siping of the center blocks.

 

Wow I have heard that the KO's are usually at least a 50K tire. Perhaps you got a bad set. I am stongly thinking about the MTZ's though. How much should I expect out of them if I rotate every time I change the oil? They look like a real nice tire and I am sure that they will last about 50k if well taken care of.

 

hammer looking for the good ol argument?? lol.... sounds to me like the perfect tire for this case is the Pro Comp Xtreme at's!!