BajaNomad - Coopers or BFGs?

Coopers or BFGs?

Ateo - 7-20-2012 at 09:12 PM

BFG's.

But I have no evidence.

At least I'm honest.

David K - 7-20-2012 at 09:46 PM

Cooper Discoverer ATRs were just fine on my '05 Tacoma. Toyo Open Country ATs also good tires...

Sunman - 7-20-2012 at 10:21 PM

I sense the beginning of a 5 page thread...BFG, worth every penny IMO, they've never let me down in over 20 years, others have different stories and opinions. Mine won't change.

bajamedic - 7-20-2012 at 10:57 PM

I am currently running Falkens on my Dodge Ram PU, they are worn out with 15k miles, I am going back to BFG at the end of summer. JH

Sunman - 7-21-2012 at 12:05 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by soulpatch

Quote:

Originally posted by Sunman
I sense the beginning of a 5 page thread...BFG, worth every penny IMO, they've never let me down in over 20 years, others have different stories and opinions. Mine won't change.

I have had 3 consecutive sets on but I have been reading about the Cooper's performance in sand and clay type mud and people seem to think they are a bit better in those environments.
I don't know yet... moving to Nayarit so the tire needs may be a bit different.

Low tire pressure on most any tire will cover sand environment...clay type mud=Nasty for just about any tire. Would think you would need mud terrains which I've never owned.

dizzyspots - 7-21-2012 at 06:21 AM

Check out the new Hankook DynaPro AT GREAT reviews from almost every test..great dollar value...

thebajarunner - 7-21-2012 at 07:20 AM

My Cooper Discoverers are excellent,
run some pretty hard miles off the pavement
and they stand up well.

BFG is good, by over-hyped in my opinion

woody with a view - 7-21-2012 at 09:28 AM

Toyo Open Country AT's gave me 23k to the wear bar. :barf:

i just put on Michelin LTX A/T 2 for $860 out the door. rated for 60k and others are getting 80k out of them.

edit: 265/70/16 for the Tundy.

[Edited on 7-21-2012 by woody with a view]

dizzyspots - 7-21-2012 at 10:58 AM

the 75v sereis will actually give you a little bit better flotation than a 70..the taller sidewall helps provide a longer footrpint went you air down...

J.P. - 7-21-2012 at 11:30 AM

I have been running Cooper's since 1985 rember the Cooper Tiger Paw. I have a set of Cooper A T Radials on my 4x4 Suburban and ny Nissan 4x4 had a set of YOKOHAMA GEOLANDERS on it when I bought it used 4 years ago. I have been watching them closely and they show very little signs of wear. I want to put a more agressive tire on it but I am not into tossins good tires Either.

Coopers or BFG's

fish101 - 7-21-2012 at 11:48 AM

I had Kumho P235/70R16 on my Liberty but were worn out less than 30k miles..Switched to BFG two weeks ago and love them so far..Jeep even rides different.

Price was right at $165. ea for P235-70R16 T/A's plus tx, but included balancing and getting rid of those old Kumho's that were supposed to be so good....

[Edited on 7-22-2012 by fish101]

[Edited on 7-22-2012 by fish101]

woody with a view - 7-21-2012 at 12:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by woody with a view
Toyo Open Country AT's gave me 23k to the wear bar. :barf:

i just put on Michelin LTX A/T 2 for $860 out the door. rated for 60k and others are getting 80k out of them.

edit: 265/70/16 for the Tundy.

[Edited on 7-21-2012 by woody with a view]

Got mine at the Discount Tire on Plaza and you just reminded me about my $70 Visa card that is in the mail. Total price under $800. :light:

Sunman - 7-21-2012 at 03:12 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by soulpatch
I have never been unhappy with my BFGs and with the total price after rebate of $800.58 I am content.

Smokin deal!

Curt63 - 7-21-2012 at 03:37 PM

BFG's for me.

Good tires are a good investment if you get off the beaten track

bajacalifornian - 7-21-2012 at 03:42 PM

BFG only

Udo - 7-21-2012 at 03:50 PM

Having owned both, Coopers got about 18k more miles that same size BFG's.
But this was a Toyota...another vehicle may have a different experience.

David K - 7-21-2012 at 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by soulpatch

Quote:

Originally posted by dizzyspots
the 75v sereis will actually give you a little bit better flotation than a 70..the taller sidewall helps provide a longer footrpint went you air down...

I've been dwelling on that.
I am thinking that would work fine, especially if I have a tread pattern that extends into the sidewall a bit like the better tires do.
That would put me into a LT tire, I believe with a higher speed and load rating, with the Hankooks so that might be an advantage
I have about 3 weeks before I purchase so I have a little time to negotiate and finalize.
Time for more homework!

The Tacoma Off Road TRD comes with 265/70-16 BFGs... I got rid of those pieces at 20,000 miles and went with 265/75-16 Hankook Dynapro ATMs and already have over 20,000 miles on them, and they look almost new... Anyway, the point of this reply was to say if you go to a 75 series tire, you gain 1/2" in clearance (1" taller tire), and for the Tacoma, made the speedometer read correctly... It was slighty fast with the stock tires. No rubbing either, even off road, with the 265/75-16 tires.

landyacht318 - 7-21-2012 at 09:35 PM

Many of you probably know this, but find the tires you want from the cheapest online retailer. Print out the shipped cost, show DT the printout and Discount tire will match that shipped cost.

They even ordered the tires I wanted as they did not carry the specific model in stock.

bigboy - 7-21-2012 at 09:49 PM

I had 40,000 miles on BFG AT KO's on my Bronco. At the time they had at least 40% tread left and I installed them on my Scout II. I probably put another 10,000 miles on them and they still have a lot of life left!

I run BFG AT KO's on two Broncos, my Scout II and a V10 4X4 Excursion. Great tires for me!

My first set of BFG were the All Terrain. Had problems with them but one I switched over to the AT KO's, problems solved!

My vote is for COOPERS!

Ken Cooke - 7-22-2012 at 12:10 AM

I blew 3 BFG tires in two years. Better got with the Coopers!

bonanza bucko - 7-22-2012 at 07:08 AM

Nobody here said anything about three ply side walls which is the main reason I run BFG TAs. Now that THAT ROAD south of Puertecitos has been paved there is less need for the 3 ply side walls but I still feel better having them for running around the "roads" near Gonzaga Bay. I am not aware...maybe you are....of other brands that have such side walls.

I am on my 6th set of TAs, first on a Toyota Tundra 4X4 and now on an F150 Crew Cab 4X4. I normally get 35,000 miles on a set....sometimes I get new ones when the old ones get stiff and noisy. I think the TAs would easily go 45K on my trucks.

I don't see much need to experiment with other tires since experimenting involves finding out too late on some back Baja road that I really should have just kept the TAs.

BTW...I discovered that a "road pressure" balance job lasts pretty much the life of the tire whereas the Discount Tire dynamic balance I had been getting didn't. Do you have any experience with this?

BB:-)

BFG wear issue

John M - 7-22-2012 at 12:07 PM

2006 Tacoma - original tires replaced at 23,000 with BFG 265/75/16 KOs - they gave great service, no flats, and I got 63,000 miles from them. So I replace them, 86,000 on the odometer. Now, second set of BFG T/A KO are about worn out and only 35,000 miles, they might go to 40,000. I was peeed - went back to Discount Tire and they shrugged their collective shoulders and the huge mileage difference, "Oh well" they said, "too bad." Over $900 for a new set of four, with no consideration for the poor tire life of my second set.

I talked to BFG customer service and got a nice email assuring me that BFG had not changed the compound or anything to explain the horrid mileage. But, they did tell me to have Discount Tire call them when I'm there to buy my third set and they would "help" me out. Didn't explain to me what the help might be....$50 off, maybe $75 less ?????

Now, after many years of praising and owning BFGs on two Jeeps plus this Tacoma I'm just not sure.

Looking at General Grabbers - they won't get good mileage but my wife likes the red lettered sidewall, the color nearly matches our "Toy."

John M

[Edited on 7-22-2012 by John M]

TMW - 7-22-2012 at 01:17 PM

John, I wonder if the milage thing has to do with the ply rating on the BFGs. I've been running 10 ply rating on my GMC with good milage 50,000+. But when I needed new tires on my 07 Tacoma at work I got the 8 ply rating and they didn't last that long maybe 30,000. I had new BFGs put on my 04 Tacoma in Jan and they are 8 ply rated. When I asked the difference they said the 10 ply was for hauling heavy loads, but I'm wondering if the rubber compound is different. I'll see how my Tacoma holds up.

Tire rating

John M - 7-22-2012 at 01:42 PM

I had a similar thought TW so I checked both the first set invoice and the sidewall on the current set, both Load Range E -

Maybe there is another rated sidewall?

John

TMW - 7-22-2012 at 01:54 PM

I just looked at my Tacoma and GMC and they both say Load Range E too.
Maybe I should have another talk with the Big Brand tire guy.

Ken Cooke - 7-22-2012 at 02:03 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by TW
But when I needed new tires on my 07 Tacoma at work I got the 8 ply rating and they didn't last that long maybe 30,000.

I would say that you were jipped on two fronts.

Traction - The BFGoodrich AT KO has marginal traction at best. They can't be trusted when you need traction the most.

Value - Only 30,000 miles and they went bald? What good is that?? My Interco TrXus MTs have about 35,000 miles with another 5,000 miles to go. Plus, I have a mud-terrain tire offering smooth, quiet ride on the street.

...and you're going to buy another set??? I don't get it.

tire mileage

John M - 7-22-2012 at 02:19 PM

I would agree Ken, except that I now have 35,000 and think I can expect another 5,000 with a dependable amount of tread remaining; but that is nothing like the first set on my Tacoma. Again, the first BFG T/A KOs got me 63,000 and I was really happy about that.

As for traction, for the style of off-highway driving we do I have not had "traction" issues.

What is the cost of the tires you like, and I wonder if they make 'em in 265/75/16

John

Ken Cooke - 7-22-2012 at 02:29 PM

I am reviewing information on the following tires:

Mickey Thompson Baja MTZ (a mild Mud-Terrain Tire)
Goodyear MTR w/Kevlar (a mild Mud-Terrain tire)
Interco TrXus MT (a split Mud-Terrain/All-Terrain tire)

Mileage is an important consideration, as is a smooth, quiet ride with plenty of off-road traction for the desert and occasional snow runs. I have a friend who will only run the Baja MTZ tire, and has told me for several years about the benefits of this tire. At the Off Road Expo, I walked up to the Mickey Thompson booth and spoke with the reps about the MTZ, etc. It continues to get high marks from consumers, and of the three tires mentioned above, might be my next pick.

But, I have run BFGs enough in the past that I know they make a tire with a vulnerable sidewall that has failed on the Pole Line Road, in Joshua Tree, and nearly helped me slide off the shelf road behind Mike's Sky Rancho. No bueno.

Interco TrXus MT:
http://www.intercotire.com/tires.php?id=11&g=1

Goodyear MTR w/Kevlar:
http://www.fjcruiserforums.com/forums/wheels-tires/104633-bi...

David A. - 7-25-2012 at 05:37 AM

I have Mickey Thompson Baja tires on my 05 Dodge diesel 4X4 and they have been flawless. 40,000 miles and still plenty of tread. The BFG's lasted 34,000 (35's) and they were done. The BFG's were D rated and the Mickey Thompsons are E rated.

[Edited on 7-25-2012 by David A.]

Mickey Thompson

John M - 7-25-2012 at 01:30 PM

I see where they advertise "some sizes" with 3 ply sidewalls.

Which MT tire do you have?

John M

Cypress - 7-25-2012 at 01:46 PM

All this tire BS is tiresome. Tires? You get what you pay for and you pay for what you get. If you run thru a rock pile and get a hole punched in your side wall, you're gonna blame it on the tire? Maybe you should be running a track vehicle? :lol:

Cypress - why oh why?

John M - 7-25-2012 at 03:14 PM

Cypress, with the thread title obvious that this was to be a tire thread "Coopers or BFG" I have to wonder why you even took the time and effort to read through two pages of posts, and even more effort to reply?

My two cents worth was to the effect that I did pay a good price for my tires and didn't feel I got my money's worth - a valid discussion of "you get what you pay for."

John M

siping at discount tire

willardguy - 7-25-2012 at 04:51 PM

Im curious how many of you have your new tires siped. I swear my first set of bfg ko's ( siped at discount tire) way outlasted my second set (non siped) on the same vehicle. the story was reduced heat and better traction. now these were mostly dry highway miles so I cant really speak of the traction issue but my next set (of whatever) will go thru the siper. anyone?

Ken Cooke - 7-25-2012 at 05:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by John M
I see where they advertise "some sizes" with 3 ply sidewalls.

Which MT tire do you have?

John M

I now have the Interco TrXus MT. I went to a 4WD Club meeting at Riverside Brew n' Chew yesterday, and talked with a guy that runs the BFG MT/KM2s. These tires run small and narrow for their size, but are lighter than comparable mud terrain tires. My Interco TrXus MT tires run true to size, but are lighter, 2-ply tires with thick plies that are cut and puncture resistant (made in Louisiana). In 9 years, I had 1 tire lose air, but not go flat - a sharp stick puncture on the beach in Gonzaga Bay caused the problem. The tire held air, and needed a plug (at America's Tire) when I returned NOB. That was in 2008. I still run the tire.

Jeep Rubicon LJ (yellow), Rubicon TJ (silver - mine), Rubicon LJ (tan - Mikes), and Rubicon JK!

[Edited on 7-26-2012 by Ken Cooke]

Bob H - 7-26-2012 at 01:16 AM

OMG, another tire thread!

:yes: