BFG MT vs AT

Hi all, here at the southern Ontario X Club we have been having heated discussions over the merits of the BFG Mud terrain tire vs the AT (and the SSR). I would be very interested in anyone's experience with either the MT or AT especially in the areas of thread wear, noise, comfort and capability on (including rain and light snow) and off-road. This would be a huge help in helping me and perhaps others pick up the right tire. Please note that I like wheeling a lot but live in downtown Toronto and need a tire that offers acceptable performance on road as well. Cheers.

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[This message has been edited by fabien (edited 03-02-2001).]

I have the A/T's and I really like them. I do some 4 wheelin but about 2/3 of my time is spent on regular road to and from work. The A/T's produce little to no road/tire noise and thats why I opted for them. As for off the road? They perform great. Im sure the M/T's will outperform in certain situations, but that factor didnt weigh heavy enough in my decision of which tire to upgrade to......blah blah blah blah blah blah blah....like the A/Ts

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Blenderheads Xterra Homepage

Greg Moultrie
00 Aztec Red XE 3-pak
4x4 Auto

I'm wondering the same thing Fabien. So guys, keep those testimonials comin'. Thanks!!!

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Hank
2000 Yellow SE 4x4 5 Spd.
"Asian Persuasion"

No question about it...the MT's are better in the woods. They tend not to get mucked up like the AT's will do because of their larger tread void. Yes the MT's are a little noisy on the highway, and they get louder as the tread wears down. I travel 100 miles each day back and forth to work and I just turn the radio up to drown out the "hummmmmmmm" from the MT's.

The AT's also perform well in the woods (had a set on my previous toyota pickup)...but I would say to spend the money on the MT's. At least I think it is worth it

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www.ec4x4e.com

The MT's are crap on the road in the snow. For snowy mornings that have slush, mixed with hardpack snow (like this morning in Albany NY) the wide lug spacing, high flotation, and non-siped treads just slide around. Braking is poor under these conditions.

But other then that, BFG MT's F'n rock.


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Gary
2000 Trek 5500 - Campy Chorus 10 Speed
1999 Klein Attitude Race

I've got the Mud King MT's (BFG off brand) and I love them. I've kept my grabbers to put back on when the rainy season is over here in Texas. If you can, do what I did and keep you stockies and fork out the $39 or so for some cheap xtra rims. Something else to consider is that I don't think Discount Tire and others have a mileage warrantee on MT's. No question about mud and sloppy stuff--the muds rock (interesting combo of words there). Road noise isn't an issue with the radio on at any volume and you can carry a conversation without having to raise your voice.

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blueghost
'01 Xterra SE 4x4

I just saw the BFG MT's kick some ass this weekend. Mehdi had new 31x10.50 MTs on his X, and he clawed along a rutted path with his diff dragging in the mud the whole way. I know I wouldn't have had a snowball's chance in hell making it through the same area with my 32" AT KOs. I took a picture of the rut, but I can't find the damn floppy...

Brent


[This message has been edited by OffroadX (edited 03-05-2001).]

I have to disagree. I have just been out driving around for hours in the stuff that is coming down here in the northeast:snow, sleet hard pack and those tires are just fine . they are not a dedicated snow tire but they do way better that the BFG Long Trails that came on the truck.
Not trying to step on any toes just sharing from my experience.

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Kevin
00' Super Black SE 5 speed
31" BFG M/T's, ARB, Rancho RSX's
superblackxterra.tripod.com

Stepping on Toes!!! LOL!!

I haven't ridden on the Long Trails so I can't really compare them (me gots the Grabber AW's).

In my experience, if you compare the MT's to the AT's under the same snowy, slushy, road conditions, the AT's outperform the MT's. I've never been stuck in the MT's, granted, but I also had to use 4WD more often.

Don't get me wrong, I love the MT's ("They F'n Rock"), but in snowy cities like Toronto, the slush performance should be considered when making an expensive tire purchase.

Anyway, I'm not trying to start a fight, I'm just expressing my opinion. (And we know how dangerous that is ).

Happy Trails.


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Gary
2001 Alpine Green XE 3pk 4x4
Trek 5500 - Campy Chorus 10 Speed
Klein Attitude Race

BFG's AT-KO's work awesome off-road, city, and in the snow.
BFG's MT's - Don't know, because I don't have them. No body runs them in our club, but that doesn't mean they're not a great tire. $.02

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00 Bronze 4x4 XE 3pac AT
SWXC Memeber #29

I'm in the same situation as many others. I want a more capable tire for off roading, yet do not want to sacrifice on road safety. I'm considering 32x11.50x15 BFG MT's, but it is my understanding that these tires do not perform well on wet roads. My solution is to manually sipe the tires. Any comments or past experience with this method would be greatly appreciated.

One more thing. Snow is not an issue because I have winter duelers. Also I'm not to concerned with road noise or tire wear.
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XXXTERRA
http://www.members.home.net/linossiy/front.htm
Visit our club
http://www.soxc.org

[This message has been edited by XXXTERRA (edited 03-06-2001).]

XXXTerra,

There are some siped Mud's out there. BFG has a siped MT coming out (I don't know when). Also, Interco has SSR's, which Craisy Daisy runs, and the new trXus, which I haven't heard much about. Also, there's Pro Comp Mud Terrain which are siped also, there are some good reviews of these (see http://www.procomptires.com/ ).


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Gary
2001 Alpine Green XE 3pk 4x4
Trek 5500 - Campy Chorus 10 Speed
Klein Attitude Race

If you like BFG MT's...You would love the new Goodyear MT/R's! These are much better than the BFG's...on and off road...plus, they have a new thicker side wall that resists sidewall damage better than the BFG.

I had the BFG AT/KO's up to a few days ago...they are a great tire...they only fall short in deep mud (Shallow mud they clean the tread well) compared to a dedicated MT.

They grip rocks well, and did not dig in and die in sand either....all in all, I loved them.

Mileage wise...MT's in general wear much faster, and hydroplane more easily...big tread blocks...can't help it. Siping helps.



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- TJ

2001 Xterra SE 5 Speed Gold Rush

Umm...while I've heard good things about the MT/R's in the rocks, I've yet to hear anyone say anything good about them in mud...looking at the tread pattern I can see why, I don't think they'll clear any better than the BFG AT/KO's do. That having been said, I do like the sidewall tread they've got.

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gothamist -- MAXC member
http://www.beatdriven.com/xterra.html ---> moving to http://www.4x4LO.com

Don't like Goodyear. I have hated every set of goodyear tires I have had. I have never owned a GY LT tire though. They are pretty damned expensive too...



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:wq!
wqbang@southeastxterraclub.org

Thanks for the heads up about the siped BFG MT's. From the research I've done, I think I'll stick with the BFG's. Now I will run stock until I can find out about the siped version.


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XXXTERRA
Visit our club http://www.soxc.org
No,no, no. Danger is my middle name.

wqbang

The old GY's WERE terrible! (Had'm too...switched to BFG's, etc...)

The people with MT/R's had no prob in the mud, but yes...most experience for me is with rocks lately....

If you are inbetween BFG AT/KO's (I had - Really liked) and a GY MT/R - the GY MT/R is a better all araound tire! Wears great...great traction...and you don't tear the side walls as easily as the BFG MT...which WAS good in its time, better than the OLD GY MT.

If you want good mudders that do a good job on other terrain...for less $...the Dunlop mud rovers are really popular around here too.



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- TJ

2001 Xterra SE 5 Speed Gold Rush

quite... The MT/R is still an underground tire, still living off the rep of the MT. If you keep bragging about the MT/R we might lose our secret weapon.

Michael

(Sorry) I'll be more quiet...

I don't have MT/R's now...OEM Grabbers, which, as I got the X on Wed., have yet to to anything but pavement. (So, it ain't braggin if you ain't got'm?)

Are the Grabbers (255/65/16) useless off road? Looks like a tame Allseason type tread.

A second set, MT's, maybe on 15" rims, for froading worth it?

Or do they work well enough?

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- TJ

2001 Xterra SE 5 Speed Gold Rush

The Grabbers are good for light offroading. They were my stock tire and did fine on dry washerboard roads and were solid on wet snow. In any mud, they would be "bald" within several rotations.

Save the cash on the rims and spend a lot on 16" BFG's. The AT's have a solid and smooth on-road ride and perform very well in moderate mud -- I haven't seen any thick stuff yet. If you go this route, you will have to remove the bottom portion of the front mudflaps and trim about one half of the lower lip of the upper flap.

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Dan.
2001 Solar Yellow
SE 4 x 4.

Exploring the Rockies
"The world's gone to the mall in a hellbasket."

I had Goodyear MT/Rs on my 2000 XE. I only had them on for 11 days when my wife totalled the X!!! I did get to try them out offroad on two occasions. Incredible traction. Road noise is less than ANY mud tire I've ever experienced. We should be picking our new X this Saturday. The dealer agreed to swap the tires out for me. So I will be driving off the lot with another set of Goodyear MT/Rs. Cheers, Noel
One thing to remember is this: buy tires that will do their job in THE WORST driving scenario you might be in! You will not be reflecting fondly on the slightly more quiet highway ride when you are stuck in the mud, snow, sand, etc...... Cheers, Noel

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Fabien I have had BFG MT and AT on my last vehicle. The AT I would recommend over the MT because less noise and better handling characteristics on and off the road.More important than tires, are offroad driving skills and of course a warn winch for back up.I also had Firestone Atx tires that took me through the same mudholes that BFG MT and AT took me through.
http://albums.photopoint.com/j/AlbumIndex?u=1535031&a=12119502



[This message has been edited by rg (edited 03-16-2001).]

Dang RG, how long did it take to get out of the mud in pic #1?



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Dan.
2001 Solar Yellow
SE 4 x 4.

Exploring the Rockies
"The world's gone to the mall in a hellbasket."

I'm guessing he just left it there and paddled the canoe home

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Eric Konarske & Lara, my X
'01 Solar Yellow XE 3 Pk. 4x4

rg, that's some serious mud you went through! Can't wait for the snow to melt. I need a mud fix!



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Superblack 01 XE
5 Speed

so, what's a good price on the bgf a/t's? there was an ad in the local sunday paper for 31s for $115 each. is that good?

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Yeah, that's about right. Sometimes you can get 'em on sale @ Sears for $99 each. I paid $130 each for my 32s at a regional store last year.

Brent

MT vs AT?

Pretty simple discussion if you ask me. Since one tire is specificaly designed for a specific driving condition. If you plan to drive in mud, and you want the best chance of getting through that mud without getting out of your vehicle, then pick up the MT's. I prefer the AT type tire, but I don't go in the mud very often at all.

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-Carl
Silver XE 4x4
5-Speed

Succinct summary, Carl. Great for a rookie!

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Dan.
2001 Solar Yellow
SE 4 x 4.

Exploring the Rockies
"The world's gone to the mall in a hellbasket."