Aggressive off brand tires? Yay or nay?

Has anyone run aggressive off brand tires with good luck? I made a thread earlier with no response but I’m wondering who has ran off brand tires with good luck.

Atturo
Thunderer
Kuhmo
Calvary
Milestar
Etc

 

I don't have much info to help, but the only one of those I've heard of is Kumho. Not sure they are actually an off brand. Popular on cars.

And I hate to be that guy, but I have to ask, is it really "Calvary" like the hill, or is it "cavalry" like knights on horseback (or Soldiers in things like Bradleys if you want modern Cav.)?

 

Check out a brand called Hercules; I had a set of terratracs on my 4runner and they looked aggressive and rode really well.

https://www.directbuytire.com/product-p/04020.htm

 

I’ve heard of Hercules. I think they are even made in the US. I’m looking for something a little bit more aggressive than that though.

 

Absolutely no judgement meant by this but if it is for cost effective reasons I would just wait and save

tires are the absolute last thing you want to cheap out on, those four contact patches are the only thing planting you on the ground.

In my younger days I would cheap out on my tires figuring they are just going to get worn down anyways. After one scary blowout I no longer get whatever is cheapest

if for looks I would just keep in mind that your tires are not as proven as other brands when/if you decide to push it on Them.

Side note: my buddy runs atturos and says they are loud as hell

 

This is the truth. The only part of your vehicle that actually touches the ground is probably not the one you want to cheap out on.

Now, there is a difference between cheap and cost effective. More $$$ doesn't always mean better tires. OP, just do your research before you decide, and keep in mind that it's not just your life that can be impacted out on the road. Kids in crosswalks, other drivers, etc. are all depending on you to properly equip your rig for the conditions and your driving tendancies.

 

My father always said " never cheap out on anything you put between you and the earth. Be it work boots, tires or mattresses."

 

We own Tundras not garbage trucks. Save the garbage tires for the guys who don’t know any better.
If you haven’t bought anything yet and you’re already questioning it seems to me like you already know what we would say.

This. All of this.

 

I called a local tire shop today and he said he has been selling the crap out of the Thunderer Trac Grip M/T’s and has had really good luck with them. I’m a nerd so I asked how much weight it usually takes to balance them and he said 3oz+\-. Cheaper doesn’t always mean less quality as we all know.

 

Sorry to thread jack, but I am gonna ask the tire guru. Eventually I want to get some better than stock tires and wheels. Already know the wheels I want thanks to another member on here, but I'm still in the air on tires. Where I live and with the Tundra being my only vehicle I kind of need a tire that can do everything, but I'd like to keep from going too heavy or spendy. Tread life is pretty important as well. I realize, truck tires cost truck tire money, but you know what I mean.

I have about 1.5 miles of a county road that I live on that ranges in condition from a decent dirt road, to having enough gravel that marbles would be easier to drive on, to being wetted down to the point of soup, to drying out and being a mix of washboards and pot holes through the year. There is a lot of semi traffic on it for the gravel pit down the way. This is the road I live on, and so it has to be navigated at least twice a day. Then you add in the snow of Wyoming (every kind you can think of with depths up to a couple feet or more) with some ice on the blacktop for good measure. I'm also starting to get into more outdoor hobbies like fly fishing, kayaking, and maybe some tame mountain biking.

Looking at the 275/70R18 size range, and the listed types of conditions, where would you point me? I'm looking at the BFG KO2 (Had KOs on my ram with a cummins. Liked them quite a bit), Nitto Ridge Grappler, and one of the Goodyear Wrangler tires, but I am seeking your wisdom, @Scuba

 

I ran Atturo Trail Blade M/T’s on one of other trucks and when I went to Discount Tire in 2015, they told me that they couldn’t sell that brand of tire due to quality or something along those lines thus forcing me to order them online.

Funny now that you can order Atturo tires from them with full warranty, no questions asked.

On paper, the Falken Wildpeak AT3’s look great or even the Pathfinder AT’s I have currently, but they don’t catch the eye. They are both ‘cheap’ all terrain tires by the standard I suppose.

 

agreed as well.

If your trying to save money, grab a premium tire that is slightly used off of Craigslist.
Just got a set of 80% Cooper ST MAXX’s 295/70r18 for $400 bucks.. can’t beat that on a tire regularly priced at $289 each.

Or one of my absolute favorite tire tricks.. buy someone’s takeoffs! Depending on if your a 17” or 18” wheel you can get some great 17” Jeep Wrangler take offs.. believe they run a narrow 33”ish BFG Mud terrain that you can score for a fraction of the cost and then sell the rims afterwards... just my two cents

 

I’m not afraid to spend the coin when I need to, believe me. My ‘16 Duramax is running Nitto Ridge Grapplers in 285/50/R22 and they were far from cheap. I was merely just asking if there was an aggressive looking tire that someone has used before that did not cost an arm and a leg. Google Thunderer Trac Grip reviews and I was only able to find a few bad apples that people didn’t like them. The guys over at TacomaWorld that use them seem to love them.

Might as well post a picture of the old girl while I’m at it:


I always thought 265/75/16 was a common tire size but not as common as I thought. Unfortunately it’s getting closer to winter time now and people are snatching up any good deals right now. Just yesterday I missed out on a set of Goodyear Ultra Terrains with less than 200 miles on them for $300. Called the guy and he said they sold within five minutes of posting them.

 

That’s totally fair, I did have to wait and fight to get my tires both times... but I also legitimately did not want or have the cash to spend on brand new top shelf tires haha.

Also I remember reading about the Thunderer and I did hear good things.. believe Amazon actually had some good reviews of that tire...But with 3 kids being my regular back seat cargo decided to just wait for the right deal.

I wish you good luck on the search!

 

Completely agree. It’s my work truck while the Duramax sits at home. I work for an oil field company and sometimes the lease roads and ROW’s can be pretty damn nasty. I figured a M/T tire might suit me best since we don’t get too much snow like we used to in Colorado. Les Schwab will sipe them for $13 dollar a tire if I do decide to run a M/T style tire. With kids, that makes perfect sense. I’d be running Michelin’s in that case!

I’m cheap and spend my money wisely. I’ll do a ton of research before I buy anything. Hell, it took me a week to decide between an Instapot or Crock Pot’s version of the instapot lol.

 

Nice rig

 

the Milestar Patagonia seem to fare well within the Jeep community. Me, I'll just stick to Toyo, Nitto, BFG, Falken,etc.

 

a wise man.

 

One time I was passing a fella on the highway and his front 35x13.5x20 knock off tire was shaking so bad it was about to blow up. It was shaking like a good 3” and was smoking. I flagged him down and had a look at it with him. The outside edges of the treads were basically gone and the tire was hot af. I can’t comment on cheap tires myself because I went with nitto terra grappler g2’s and love them. But that was a pretty scary looking ride haha.

 

Research and planning are a good call. Good work.

 

Not answering your original question but when asked for a value type tire I steer people towards mastercesft. Made by cooper in the states. Various degrees of aggressive ess.

 

I was going to recommend Mastercraft like the poster above. I've run the AXT's with good results, although those aren't MT's like you want. I know one of the local offroad shops here sells ALOT of them.

 

Probley Mastercraft mt

 

Cheap out of round tires are the genesis of many suspension problems. This guy, a believer in the W. Edwards Demming (Godfather of Toyota) Philosophy, explains it well.

http://www.agcoauto.com/content/news/p2_articleid/36

 

The KO2 with the snowflake rating would be a top choice in my opinion. However because of the tighter packed tread you may end up with a lot of that gravel stuck and coming out at higher speeds.

Honestly I would run a mud terrain if that was me. I ran Goodyear Kevlar MTR’s on my Tacoma for 8 years. 3 different sets. I got 45k miles out of the first two sets.
It’s on cooper STT pros now and I think that too would be a good option for you.

My tundra is on KO2’s only because that’s what it came with. I would have come with Nitto G2’s if it was my choice. Better balancing characteristics compared to the BFG. But I have 0 complaints with my ko2’s. My tundra is 2wd but every time I’ve been on a dirt road or in a muddy parking lot I haven’t had any issues with traction.
I am however thinking about going with the Michelin Defender or the AT2 next. I don’t really need an all terrain on my tundra and I could certainly like to have a little less road noise.

 

I appreciate the info.

I guess I made the muddy road sound like the worst of it, but in truth, the snow is the bastard here. Winters are long and unpredictable, and 4x4 is an absolute must in many day to day situations. That's why I traded my car in. It had 4 foot drifts on all sides for a couple months last winter, and the little Jeep Renegade Trailhawk was the only thing I had that could get in and out of the driveway. Now all I have is the Tundra, so it has to be able to do it all.

I'll look into the Nitto G2's and others you mentioned. The KOs on my ram (years ago) seemed to do really well with the snow, but I haven't had any KO2's. And for looks the Ridge Grapplers have a nice aggressive look, but I have zero experience with them. Don't know how they handle anything, honestly. I don't know anything about Mud terrain tires either. I drive a few hours of freeway every few weeks to visit friends and family, and I wasn't sure how great the noise, ride, and wet traction on pavement would be. I also am trying to stay in the all terrain vein if I can, as I do go into some fairly unkind mountain roads, or trails/two tracks out to the lake.


TLDR: Thanks for the info! I'll look into your suggestions and keep researching.

 

I ran both Hercules and Pathfinders on my Tacoma and would not hesitate to purchase them again. Discount Tire sells the Pathfinder tire.

 

All that said, I’d vote for the G2 then.
Better life span than ridge grapplers.

 

The Michelin Defender is a very nice tire and I highly recommend! It was previously the M/S2 and then the M/S before that. Been on these models for 16 years. They are great in snow and sand and truly an excellent road/street/highway tire as they are very quiet and handle nicely.

Never had a balancing/bobbling/wobbling problem with the Michelins Series.

I did however have a few issues prior with 2 set of Off Brand Mud Terrain tires and can say they are too loud and tread wear is awful. Even worse, they also come with their balancing problems of which one can read about on many of these forum threads.

 

Haha you’re talking to a guy who pushes Michelin’s every day and has been in the tire industry for half a decade.