I shod my Jeep in Bridgestone light truck/SUV all-season tires - now wondering whether I should have used A/T tires - 99 percent of my driving is on paved roads and the new tires are much better wet/dry performance than the tires they replaced - but for that one-percent off-roading on light trails (1-4 rating, no rock crawling) . . . any thoughts on how the plain highway tires will perform if aired-down?
When I had my Bronco, I always went for a milder off-road tire, as I felt it was good compromise. The Bridgestone Dueler A/T Revo was one of my go to’s. As was the venerable BFG AT KO. Both are very street friendly but do fine in the snow/mud/sand. The thing that would worry me about typical all-season tires is the construction, they may not be as robustly constructed as well an all terrain or mud tire…
I think your biggest problem might be mud, try a 4 and get back to us. I have a different 4wd with michelin defender m/s mud snow, looks and performs well, but appears to be pretty much an all season tire. Is your tire m/s rated?
I always used plain-old highway tires on my 4wd truck on summer camping excursions in Colorado high country and desert country, gravel & dirt roads, some of them pretty steep, narrow, and rocky. In 2WD I’d sometimes reach a point where I couldn’t prevent spinning the rear wheels, but as soon as I switched to 4WD, away I’d go, no problem. One time I got into a difficult situation on a sand covered road where wider tires would have helped. More aggressive tires might be required for in extreme situations, and in muddy situations, like where crossing a creek. My remedy was to avoid those situations.
During the winter I’d have to switch to snow tires on all four of course. For summer offroad driving, I think you are good to go.
If you mean letting air out of the tires while off road I think that is a bad idea. You will just be asking for trouble when you get back on the hard surface .
Remember, the more aggressive the tire, the more gas it uses and the quicker they usually wear out. They also cost more from the start.
I think a less-aggressive AT tire is a good way to go. You might look for a 10 ply model as that will be more durable in rougher situations. Some HT tires are pretty much pavement only tires. Look at delivery truck tires and you will see what I mean. Others are a little more like an AT tire. Talk to a tire shop and/or read the ratings online based on what you tell them.
I have some ATKO’s on my farm truck and am pretty happy with them. I got it stuck the other day but it pulled right out as soon as I put in in 4WD.
Well same here mostly street but my street tires blew on a trail lol so I use AT now. Firestone has great ones for the same price as street tires
Ouch. How rough was the trail - what did you in?
A couple of thoughts:
First is that All Season tires can have a wide range of performances, so without specifics, no one can judge how well a tire is going to perform in a specific set of conditions. Even if there was a specific tire mentioned, unless you actually test the tire under the conditions being asked about, you aren’t going to know.
In this case, the OP is more or less committed to a set of tires, so he is going to find out.
Plus, the lettering MS (plus all those variants such as M/S, M-S, M+S, etc) indicate a tire is an All Season. All All Season tires will have that symbol.
There is a Mountain peak/Snowflake symbol that indicates the tire has been tested for winter conditions, but the symbol MS (etc) doesn’t indicate that the tires was tested at all (It’s a pattern measurement!)
How about a second set of rims?
Each fall for the past half-dozen years I’ve spent a half day on a Land Rover-designed off-road course in NY state. There are all types of vehicles on hand from Mercedes G-wagons, to Range Rovers, to Tacomas, to Subaru Crosstreks. Last fall, I asked the instructor that does the pre-qualification rides if the standard all-season (street) performance tires on the Range Rovers are swapped out for the extreme Land Rover course they also offer. “No, they do just fine in the worst conditions” was his response. I have driven Subarus with standard street tires on the mid-level course and they do fine in mud and sand and over wooded wet terrain. Here’s a peek at the Subaru doing some tricks at the end of the course.
Must say that I really appreciate this site and the collective knowledge that everyone shares - I’ve posted periodically over the years, usually after I do a little research of my own, and find the comments and experi
ence that everyone shares to be extraordinarily helpful.
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