Oversized Spare Tire mod

[blackforestham]

I've been thinking about this since I had my sidewall blow-out on the trail this summer. I literally had to use some WD and my prybar to get the spare out. It's just too tight in there with the deep DuraTrac tread - even at 2psi. I finally got around to some strategic notching to allow more space. The tread had to deform against this bracket at least 1" to fit. Not good. My son was the Fire Marshall with the extinguisher ready as I started the spark shower. First I used a cutting wheel then finished it with a 40 grit flap wheel. Primed and sprayed with some high temp that I had laying around. Spare fits 100% better now. Still snug, but there is no longer any deformation in the tire - it even sits a little bit higher in the pocket.

 

[Trynian]

Good work, thought about doing something similar.

 

[Johnson Rods]

Nice work! You are running 32 inch I believe?

 

[blackforestham]

Thanks Greg. 32 is correct. Just be careful - I nearly burned my goatee off from all the sparks!

 

[MilehighLR3]

Blackforestham,

Was curious why you selected the DuraTrac over the MTR. . . . I'm in the market for new treads, live in CO, and was leaning towards the MTR's . . . . . .

Appreciate any feedback.

 

[blackforestham]

50% personal preference, 50% ratings swayed me to the DuraTrac. The MTR Kevlar just looks weird to me. I reeks of marketing IMO. Is it a MT or an AT - just looks confused to me. GoodYear's website also provided me with THEIR rankings between the two.


- Dry Wet Snow OffRoad Quiet
DuraTrac - 8 - 8 - 10 - 9 - 6
MTR K - 8 - 7 - 7 - 10 - 5

My folks live up in Reno and I frequently visit them over the winter. Having a top shelf snow tire was a big win for me. A couple of other guys started running them and they performed awesome in the mud as well. Saved a few bucks going the DuraTrac road too. I think if they made the DT with the Kevlar sidewall, they'd have a hit. Time will tell. The ******** forums embraced the MTR K at first, but it seems to have dropped off the map after some time. If it goes away, we may be in luck for the upgraded sidewall.

 

[MilehighLR3]

My folks live up in Reno and I frequently visit them over the winter. Having a top shelf snow tire was a big win for me.

Snow has been one of my concerns. I ran Bridgestone Dueler AT's on my last Jeep SUV and they were marginal in the cold wet stuff (especially hard pack by the ski resorts). I had the first gen MTR's on a Wrangler and they were horrible when it got wet and cold, especially below freezing, bomb proof, but horrible on anything other than rocks (not a whole lot of mud out here in CO).

Appreciate your comments, real world opinion is hard to get some times.

You're running 32's (or the metric equiv) . .. I assume you're running some sort of lift?

 

[Houm_WA]

I have the original MT/Rs. They are great off-road on rocks, roots, mud, dirt. I have yet to run them on snow. I anticipate they'll be better than my old Coopers just because of the deeper tread pattern, but not as sticky as a pure snow tire.

 

[blackforestham]

Yeah. The 275/65/18's. You'll need a lift to run that size. I make my own kit - Sasquatch Rods. Check out Johnson Rods and see which one suits your needs. Greg and I both sell direct.
These are by far the best Snow Tire that I have ever used. BFG MT's, BFG AT's, Nitto Terra Grapplers - all pale in comparison to this tire. It is a "soft" sidewall though. I was used to airing down do 18psi for trail work. This is too low for the DT's - 24 to 28psi is about as low as you want to go. Combined with the Terrain Response Snow program, it's a solid combo.

 

[MilehighLR3]

I have the original MT/Rs. They are great off-road on rocks, roots, mud, dirt. I have yet to run them on snow. I anticipate they'll be better than my old Coopers just because of the deeper tread pattern, but not as sticky as a pure snow tire.

Houm,

In deep, untracked, snow the MTR's are really pretty good. They float well. On the hard packed stuff they mine-as-well be on ice . . .because the lugs lack siping there is almost zero grip. However, to be fair, I suspect one would see similar results on all Mud tires.