• Steel Soldiers now has a few new forums, read more about it at: New Munitions Forums!

  • Microsoft MSN, Live, Hotmail, Outlook email users may not be receiving emails. We are working to resolve this issue. Please add support@steelsoldiers.com to your trusted contacts.

Tire talk

juanprado

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
5,614
2,922
113
Location
Metairie/La (N'awlins)
that is expressed in the ratings.
the higher the number, the harder the rubber and lasts longer hence more mileage.
Tires are rated for example 500/A/A
The letter grades are temperature and traction.
 

thoner7

Active member
313
196
43
Location
NE TN
that is expressed in the ratings.
the higher the number, the harder the rubber and lasts longer hence more mileage.
Tires are rated for example 500/A/A
The letter grades are temperature and traction.
Interesting. I’ve never heard of such a thing and researching it, I can’t find any info on the tires I was considering at all
 

vmaxmike

Member
65
35
18
Location
WI
Interesting. I’ve never heard of such a thing and researching it, I can’t find any info on the tires I was considering at all

Google UTQG

you'll get an explanation

Tread wear is mainly about the tires durometer measurement ( hardness of the compound )

This measurement also changes with heat cycles.

M.
 

vmaxmike

Member
65
35
18
Location
WI
It short the lower the UTQG number the softer the rubber ( think sticky good for high speed cornering ) but they don't last.

The Higher the number the harder the rubber ( They wear much slower ) but they don't stick.


M.
 

87cr250r

Well-known member
1,267
1,988
113
Location
Rodeo, Ca
I think the rating requirements only apply to P series tires, P315/85R17 and not LT series, LT12.5/37R17 for example.
 

GTUnit

Active member
123
153
43
Location
CA
Just a PSA on tires with old date codes. On the trail in the dirt you can get away with almost whatever as long as its stays together and holds air.

On pavement is when things really change and it gets serious.
Old date tires on pavement at moderate to highway speeds are Dangerous. (speaking from research AND experience.. bad ones)
Rubber is always drying and breaking down (at different rates in different environments but this basic fact does not change)
In most cases it becomes Harder and less pliable/stiffer with age.
So in older tires all the factory engineered tire dynamics and performance change to where they the tire no longer performs as intended.
This may be a mild change (depending on age and chemical composition) like tire that used to grip from a standing start that now breaks loose and spins on acceleration. It may also be a more serious performance degradation where all the tires will break loose on a basic lane change or change in road elevtion that unsettles the vehicle and you will go spinning across the road into oncoming traffic at 50mph.

This will be worse on road cars. I haven't experienced it in a truck with offroad tires but the rubber issue is the same. Maybe a light rain or snow and you get wrapped around a tree.

Bottom line is if you plan on travelling on paved roads at speeds above say 40 mph I would not use old tires. It creates a pretty significant risk to you, family, other valued occupants. Truck is replicable but still not worth rolling those dice after all the effort that went into it.
 

gringeltaube

Staff Member
Super Moderator
Moderator
Steel Soldiers Supporter
6,986
2,523
113
Location
Montevideo/Uruguay
interesting.. What has happened that makes them universally "garbage"? ..........
HMMWV MT/R tires: Some go, some blow....

From my own experience: out of about 50 tires sold (all are LR "E" and dated 2008/2009) only ~10% of them have failed, so far.
They all start to develop cracks right here, just like this one:
IMG-20190203-WA0008.jpg IMG-20190204-WA0006.jpg

I'm convinced that this happens mainly with the LR E tires (which have a stiffer carcass than LR D), when people put them on heavy vehicles, run them at highway speeds, at relatively low TP's. Plus the fact that old rubber just doesn't flex like when fresh out of the mold.

Besides that we don't know the history of these surplus tires. At the time when GL still used to sell these (by the hundreds of lots, each week) most of them came from HMMWVs which were cut up in pieces. Who knows for how long (maybe years) these vehicles had been standing stationary awaiting their fate, possibly even deflated some.
 

fuzzytoaster

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
4,300
3,132
113
Location
Fort Worth, Texas
HMMWV MT/R tires: Some go, some blow....

From my own experience: out of about 50 tires sold (all are LR "E" and dated 2008/2009) only ~10% of them have failed, so far.
They all start to develop cracks right here, just like this one:
View attachment 890299 View attachment 890300

I'm convinced that this happens mainly with the LR E tires (which have a stiffer carcass than LR D), when people put them on heavy vehicles, run them at highway speeds, at relatively low TP's. Plus the fact that old rubber just doesn't flex like when fresh out of the mold.

Besides that we don't know the history of these surplus tires. At the time when GL still used to sell these (by the hundreds of lots, each week) most of them came from HMMWVs which were cut up in pieces. Who knows for how long (maybe years) these vehicles had been standing stationary awaiting their fate, possibly even deflated some.
Agreed. It helps that we don't carry around all the armor package weight and etc too. I have several hundred of the MT/Rs on rim dated 2016/2017 that are NOS. About half have never seen the ground until I rolled them around for inspection. I'm not afraid to use them and tire on rim with run flat is hard to beat for the buy.
 
Last edited:

mgFray

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
712
983
93
Location
Southern Minnesota
So where is the best place to get a full set of tires and wheels?
Can't help you with the wheels, but if you want _NEW_ original Goodyear Wrangler MT (not R), any commercial goodyear dealer can now request them. My understanding is they are not directly orderable, but their rep can get them. (I ordered mine through my local Discount Tire. They would NOT mount them, but ordering was no problem. Took about 3 weeks for them to arrive. They were manufactured about a month before I ordered them.)

I don't know if the MT/R are available or not. They have a new 'enforcer' tire, it might be the replacement for the MT/R.

I wasn't able to find any place for the BFG Baja's new, only surplus.
 

Gcelevator

Well-known member
Steel Soldiers Supporter
495
709
93
Location
Fort Lauderdale, Florida USA
Can't help you with the wheels, but if you want _NEW_ original Goodyear Wrangler MT (not R), any commercial goodyear dealer can now request them. My understanding is they are not directly orderable, but their rep can get them. (I ordered mine through my local Discount Tire. They would NOT mount them, but ordering was no problem. Took about 3 weeks for them to arrive. They were manufactured about a month before I ordered them.)

I don't know if the MT/R are available or not. They have a new 'enforcer' tire, it might be the replacement for the MT/R.

I wasn't able to find any place for the BFG Baja's new, only surplus.
I asked my tire place/friend that takes care of all my commercial trucks to check them for me. He called me 3 days later and said they are not available from the manufacturer or any place. Supply is dry, i ended up ordering new aftermarket rims and tires. I wanted to keep the original look but to no available.
 
Top
AdBlock Detected

We get it, advertisements are annoying!

Sure, ad-blocking software does a great job at blocking ads, but it also blocks useful features of our website like our supporting vendors. Their ads help keep Steel Soldiers going. Please consider disabling your ad blockers for the site. Thanks!

I've Disabled AdBlock
No Thanks