4x4 Tires for all seasons

[deminimis]

Yup, the front can be aligned.

[NRL]

Originally Posted by pjpvi

My Toyo M/T's seem to be wearing a little faster than I would have hoped. I have about 15,000 miles on them now and think I'll be lucky to get 30,000 miles out of them. I absolutely love them off road, but not a big fan of them on-road. The hum and slight right hand pull they introduced are getting a little tiring.

I really like the looks of and specs for the Goodyear DuraTrac. There's a 315/75R16 size that may have my name on it next go around.

Speaking of pulling to the right, since this pull started immediately after having the Toyo's installed I am attributing it to the tires. There really isn't an alignment adjustment possible with our SMB solid front axles that would cause pull .... is there? The only thing I can think of is that the guys at Big-O jacked up the front end under the differential (If they did and I had caught them, I would have killed someone) and bent the axle. I don't have any other issues other than a pull to the right though. I've just been figuring I'll live with it until it's time for new tires.

As far as alignment, I got a re-alignment (Toe-in adjustment was the only thing it needed) from a tire/alignment shop after I just got brand new BFG TA's.

And guess what, they started to wear in the inner sides..and it pulled to the right; it had too much toe-in..and the steering was not centered.

Since I watched how they did it (Toe-in/out Only), I "adjusted" it myself after the fact, centered the steering myself, and "fixed" the right pull.. It's now wearing evenly (fronts). I guess it all depends..



Maybe SMBDAD will give us a review on how he likes those Goodyear Duratracs and how they are wearing after a few months..

I guess some people really like their Toyo MT's.. They sure look really nice.

For the Goodyear Duratracs, I did a quick Google and a few guy's have mentioned that the rolling resistance is can be felt but then again that subjective if they went to a bigger size, etc..

I personally haven't bought a Good year tire in years, maybe these new tires are completely different but I've had a stigma that Good year tires wear faster compared to the BFG TA's..

Don't know, and can't wait to see what the general concensus is..

[pjpvi]

Not to totally hi-jack this thread, but aside from toe in/out and Caster (using wedges), what else can you adjust? I didn't think you could do camber on the solid front axle.

Maybe I need to look closer when I get home.

[Stumpalump]

Originally Posted by pjpvi

Not to totally hi-jack this thread, but aside from toe in/out and Caster (using wedges), what else can you adjust? I didn't think you could do camber on the solid front axle.

Maybe I need to look closer when I get home.

You can adjust the track bar to center the axel and adjust the drag link to center the steering wheel. All are easy home brew adjustments. Camber can be checked on an alignment rack but like you said nothing to adjust. Ball joint's with built in offset can be found but thats if you have a major problem like after a wreck or somthing.

Castor in my opinion is a personal preference. With a lot of castor the vehicle drives on the interstate nice and straight with less driver input and attention. Less castor makes it more nimble in parking lots and trails. The other benifit of as little castor as you can stand is on the steering. Less castor requires less steering effort. Especially with a locker engaged on the front. If your power steering is having a hard time when locked and off road then less castor will make it steer and turn a little easier. Trade off for sure. Throw a cheap angle finder on the top ball joints to check it and don't be suprised or worried if they are unequal by a couple of degrees.

Does anybody know what the factory castor recomendation is? Tow is typically 1/8" in but if you have that factory spec then that would be nice to have also. Just remember bigger tires affect the homebrew method of setting tow. Typically a shop measures from the rim so a bigger tire will give a greater reading. Either way your best alignment will allways come by doing it yourself.

[zugg]

Hi,

This thread is about all season tires.

For those of you that are going off topic, how about doing a PM or start a new topic, eh?
From the page 3 and on, please move your discussion to a new thread.
Thank you.

Are there any other people that can share about their tire experience--relating to a all season tires?
Any links are appreciated!

Here is one for Dunlop tires:

http://www.dunloptires.com/catalog/suv.html

Peace,

Zugg

[Stumpalump]

Improper alignment is key to using up the tires we have thus improving the abililty to talk the wife into new tires anyway. Good point.

[kcrain]

Hey guys.... I have to retract my Cooper recomendation for the 35's. When you disconnect the sway bar and go rock crawling, you run the risk of damaging your fender and certainly ripping off the fender flares... (I did both) This was my Saturday morning in the middle of the desert....



The SMB guys recommend 33's. If you are serious about driving and don't want to modify the fenders, you might head there warning. I will be cutting new fenders into the van (will start a corresponding thread soon).

[Stumpalump]

You can add length to your bumpstops to limit axel and tire movement. I have an RTI ramp for flex testing in Colorado and anybody is welcome to use it to evaluate extream suspension flex. Fender trimming is obviously best because you maintain max travel but after the trim bumpstops are still your freind and are key to maxing out any suspension system. Too bad most never notice them untill there's a problem. Nice looking rig!

[Greg In Austin]

KC,

Isn't it just the bottom rear portion of the fender flair that would need modification? We have the same cooper setup and have smacked both pieces of plastic, but it looks like it can be remedied with just a little mod or adjustment.

Greg

PS : where about were you on that trip??

[billwilson]

Gents

Putting new shoes on my newly aquired rig

'01 E250EB 4x4 Cruiser top

currently has BFG AT LT 285/75 R16

Looking for the MOST QUIET hwy tire
I will be doing limited 4x4

Looks like the Yokohama Geolander from this thread

Comments? other suggestions??

ps
i need to re-shoe ASAP, thanx