It really all depends on one thing, how much money do you want to spend on tires. I air down always off road and that leaves the sidewalls more open to damage but a lot better traction and ride.


Looks like the areas around here where I wheel at mixed for sure.

 

I think the Cooper SST Pro is my winner, I have yet to hear a bad thing about them anywhere, they are highly recommended and the price is right for me. My budget is small but I don't buy cheap quality anything and never will. If it takes longer to build a good capable rig then it takes longer but a cheap rig isn't in my future. Well, I guess XJs are cheap, just not the junky kind of cheap I'm referring to. I like everything about the Cooper including aesthetics. I would most certainly air down on the trail, so the 3ply feature is awesome as well. Are there really people who don't air down? Out of sheer ignorance or do they offer some poor reason for this? Anyway, I don't think I could go wrong with it.

 

3 plies? Hope you're not wheeling rocks. In my experience 3 plies likely will make you regret your choice on the rocks. I know, I know, Swampers TSL have not appeared on this list and I can understand why. But I swear by them. Yes, they're noisy, heavy & expensive. And prolly not suitable for the OP's purpose. But those tires are hard to beat for offroad performance & sheer toughness - 10 plies say a lot about a tire. A 6 ply sidewall is also great for my peace of mind.

That being said, I am currently in the market for Goodyear Kevlars for that reason & to replace my Swampers .... Peace of mind. Add to the mix pretty good on-road manners & proven offroad prowess which negates the need for me to swap tires for on/offroad duty, and this is my new favorite tire. My experience has repeatedly been that I get what I pay for.

 

Some don't air down because they don't know better or scared to pop a bead maybe.Stationwagon yeah swampers and pitbull rockers are amazing off road but on road can are loud and depending size can handle funny dry and be white knuckle in the rain.

 

I had the original BFG Mud Terrains (KM) and they were excellent. Unfortunately, they don't make them anymore except in 32" on 17s for the JK Rubi's.

I also had 1 (one) Mutli-Mile Wild Country MTX tire on the back of my Jeep and I was actually very impressed with it. It balanced well, it wasn't too loud, it cleared mud very well and it had great traction and road manners. Some have said that Cooper owns TDC (the parent company of Cordovan and multi-mile) but I haven't found any evidence to back that up.

I'm currently running Nankang Mudstars. The tread is identical to the Maxxis Buckshot Mudders. Off road, I love these tires. They grip well, clear mud well, float on sand well enough, and contour to rocks without getting ripped up by them (knock on wood). On-road.... I HATE them. They don't wear evenly and they don't balance well. I had these tires balanced about 6 months ago, and they're severely out of balance again. They have decent wet traction though, and when they're balanced, they ride soft. I got these tires used so thankfully, I didn't waste my money on buying them new.... but I certainly never would either.

My current choices are narrowed down to:

Cooper Discoverer MTP, STT, and STT PRO
Firestone Destination MT
and
Falken Wildpeak MT

 

Basslicks have you tried balancing beads in them ?

 

My recommendation would be the mickey Thompson baja claws. I have them and love them, no shortage of traction and they clean amazingly. The are not very loud on the road and the sidewall tread is a good benefit when you air your tires down on trails. Over all a very good performing tire. I got them a couple of years ago for under $1000 shipped to the front door through summit for some 35x12.50x15r

 

Regardless of having one of the most badass manche's out there, I'd neverrrrrrr buy baja claws. Or even a directional tire for that matter. Have fun rotating them!

 

Yeah directional tires suck. The Baja claws aren't a very good tire as well.

 

What is your reasoning? Yea directional tires dont make sense to run on a DD cause you can only rotate them front to back, but the OP said he wouldn't really be doing any DD with it.

 

everybody can say something sucks, but the statement holds no value with out a reason that you have that opinion...

 

OK the op said it's not a dedicated DD but he still drives on road frequently. Rotating directional tires is a hassle. The Baja claws are a mud tire and not really great ones. My brother had them cuz he thought they looked cool but were garbage in mud. Customer testimonials at the shop I worked at echoed the same thing. Plus the op said he doesn't want a noisy on road performer and I'll be damned if the Baja claws aren't one of the loudest tires I've heard besides the grapplers haha.

 

I know you said they have lots of traction and not very loud, but from first hand experience and from customers I have to disagree.

 

http://www.fourwheeler.com/product-r...aw-ttc-review/

As a owner, and not as a person who knows a person that owns them, They do perform very well in the mud and clean out excellent. As far as noise is concerned, I am comparing to a set of nangking mud stars that I had before, they are not as loud as those were... which is a very common tread pattern that bfg,maxxis,pro comp and nitto use. I use my rig the same as how the OP says he uses his, trips of up 100+ miles sometimes with not problems and heavy wheeling. Everyone is entitled to state their opinion as they have the right too. I am stating a review however.

 

Haha I basically owned them I was in my brothers jeep practically every weekend. Also let's just ignore this bias right here.

"The TTC part of the Claw stands for Top Truck Challenge. This is our sister magazine Four Wheeler’s annual ultimate 4x4 competition, which Mickey Thompson has been a longtime supporter."

But yeah dude all opinions. I just wouldn't recommend them. Mickey Thompsons mtz is a much better choice.