Aggressive AT vs mt vs 15" vs 17"

So the new ute needs a new set of shoes.
In the past I have always run mts at 15" (31x10.5)
The new ute came with 17" rims.
Im wondering wether to stick with the 17 or switch back to 15" steelies for the cheaper tyres
Also I do most of my kms on road but am a farmer so it does see off road use from time to time if the farm hack isnt available plus the usual with hunting and fishing duck shooting and I would also like to do a little beach running for Kontiki fishing also. I would like to have decent traction as I figure there is no point having a 4x4 ute that gets stuck in wet grass.
What are your thoughts and recommendations cheers.

most modern utes want take a 15" rim, maxxi have a aggressive AT that will do the job.

From a 4WD club point of view there is a big difference in performance capability between an AT and an MT. We don't allow ATs on many trips - simply not good enough traction. If you're driving a 4x4 and do some offroading then I'd go with the MTs. There is nothing more frustrating than a 4x4 that won't!! These days there are MT brands that perform well on road - a little more hum than an AT - but handling quite well and giving very good mileage. For just occasional an dry condition hunting/fishing trip then its an open choice.

You can spend heavily on name brands like Cooper or BFG for MTs, but you may not get better performance on or of road for the considerable extra cost. There are some less expensive makes that will give very good service. Have tried many sets of muds over decades with 4wds and club offroading. One surprising MT is the Korean Nankang N889 Mudstar - I sold one of my 4x4s with these muds at 66,000ks and they still had 7mm tread left = 100k plus run out. That's good - half the price of some brands and good offroad. Running them again on my present truck. Mudstar have introduced a new upgraded MT - the MT1 Conqueror. This has 3 ply sidewall, side lugs for added grip/protection, and is said to be improved for on road driving. I'll certainly try them when next MT tyres needed - well worth a try and good prices:

https://www.yhiautomotive.co.nz/View...N/MT1?Id=13341

Re rim size - 17" tyres will cost more and there will be less selection than 15s. A set of replacement 15" white/black spoke (get your offset right) steel rims will cost about $100-120 each. Be good to check your running tyre diameter now with your 17s, see what size rubber you'd have to run to replicate that with 15s - then do the $$ sums. 15 or 17 ok but if you have to run very big 15s to match rolling diameter and retain gearing, you might find you need to fit flares to truck as the big 15s could end up wider than say a stock 265x70x17.

For just occasional offroading but in varied conditions a set of 17" MTs at stock size will be fine..

15s over 17s all day. The extra sidewall height allows you to air down and the tyre to "bag" which makes a huge difference off road and can be the difference between driving or walking home, where most 17" tyres will come off the bead before you get any benefit from running low pressures off road. Better selection of tyres available at better prices also.

15 or 16 inch rims if they fit, better tyre selection and better pricing as already stated. 16 inch you can go for tall and skinny tyres easier than with 15 inch rims. Eg 33/12.50/15 vs 33/10.5/16.
Package deal of steely rims and tyres may get rims for $50+

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Tyre conversion chart says 265x70x17 equates roughly with a 32x11.5x 15", and the 265x75x17 roughly matches a 33x12.5x15. These 15 tyres should be fine - they will be a little wider as the 265x75x17 will be more like a 10.5 width. Just a matter of checking one on truck for projection out past guards.

ATs fine until you hit wet mud, clay, snow, grass - then its all over rover! Narrow void AT treads fill up quickly losing all traction, and narrow treads don't self clear with spinning as do MTs. ATs can be fine if you pick your conditions for offroad use.

Yes a good idea to deflate tyres esp for travelling rocks or sand...more comfortable and bigger footprint. Dropping tyres down to 20-25lbs quite normal, and sometimes as low as 12lbs in loose sand - though then you have to watch for beads coming off rims.

How big are your discs and calipers, may only fit a 16

Some good stuff above.
What is the vehicle as this will effect what rims you can run.
I personally wouldn't go with any high end brands unless money is no object. I highly recommend the Goodride Sl386 as a great Mt that's quite on road handles well in both wet and dry, and has good wear life. They can be had usually around 1000 a set in 33s.
As for rims size 15s give more rubber and more sidewall to bulge when aired down that helps grip hugely. It will however in large diameters 35+ give poorer on road handling(I doubt this is an issue for modern 4wds as they won't fit these sizes).
Also I doubt you will be able to fit 15s on many
2010 on utes.

Most 16 inch and 17 inch tires come in metric an tend to be slightly narrower for there diameter. This can help with fitment.

Offset of the rims is very important as too much negative offset will mean the tires are outside you guards. It also means the swing radius when you turn is larger so they will rub more (you don't want any rub). For example a 33x11.5r16 won't rub on my ute at +15 offset but will rip my fenders off at -12. So talking to someone that knows your vehicle it important not just a sales person.

Also finally kind of related lift in an IFS vehicle will not help you fit bigger tires no matter what people tell you as they compress to the same point Offroad.

So I guess let us know what you drive and maybe some recommendations can be made.

Im going the other way because for what i use mine for its way better

17" and aggressive AT

Im running a BF ko2 275/65/17 on steel wheels they fit mint on my colorado,

I have found they hold there own on the 4x4 tracks around here exception being when im stuck on the diff because so many are running 35" tires these days, most are muddy / gravelly tracks
I don't play in the big mud holes but found them great on grass and clay and they kick ass ( had maxis bighorn before ) in the rivers and on the sand.

The 17" is way nicer to drive with on the road especially when your cornering a little hard and towing ( stockcar ) and don't feel like they roll over like 15"
I had maxis bravo 980 AT before this and they were not aggressive enough but very nice on the black top.

they sure ant cheap tho think this set was about $1900

ive also had a good run out of nangkangs

https://tyreshoponline.co.nz/shop/ca...4aAnrNEALw_wcB

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Originally Posted by mimms2

Where??? I was quoted $410/tyre the other day, found them on trademe for about $370...

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https://tyreshoponline.co.nz/shop/ca...4aAnrNEALw_wcB

Tireshoponline price includes shipping I think 30 a tire fitted at any of the locals they deal with.

Have just bought 2 of these from tyreshoponline for 6hundred hawksbys delivered.
Normally run Achilles on my swb safari which have been good. I don't like getting stuck as it gets expensive beer wise to get unstuck again, the hill tracks round here can get a bit dodgy at times, so will see how these go I guess
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Originally Posted by mimms2

To be fair, I'm not sure what pixie dust goes into the BFGs but they're stickier than a stick insect covered in glue. The k-o are not a "normal" A/T.

That would be about right for 4...
I generally buy 5 or 6 at a time.

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they make lots of smoke too

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Originally Posted by mimms2

To be fair, I'm not sure what pixie dust goes into the BFGs but they're stickier than a stick insect covered in glue. The k-o are not a "normal" A/T.

That would be about right for 4...
I generally buy 5 or 6 at a time.

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the BFG KM2 MT's on my Pajero have nearly 70k on them and still only half worn. My arse puckered when I brought them but ....well seem good value now ecen at $500 each. If I could get there AT's to fit 20 inch rims on the missuses Colorado I might be tempted to "pony up" for them

Vehicle is a 2018 Hilux.
I think it's probably just easier to stick with the current rims as I know they fit and have the right offset.
Current tyres are a 265/65 417 so want something similar.
Am leaning towards an at but definitely open to a mt but it needs to have decent on road performance. Have had some death traps in the past that are lethal in the wet on tar seal

Also consider MT's in the context of towing, with a loaded trailer even the best MT's don't go that well stopping when its wet . . . .

If you are doing more than 75-80% road driving, buy an aggressive decent A/T. About a third of my driving is on gravel roads, forestry tracks and off road. I do 70-80,000km a year.

I used to run only M/T's, new set every year, just before winter. Used to swear by decent M/T's, would get 60km out of them before they were buggered for off road then maybe 80km before they were dangerous on the road.

M/T's may as well be a A/T once they're third to a half worn. For beach driving, an aired down A/T is better than a M/T - check out some 4wd tests in Aussie.

I went to Mickey Thompson A/T's and I've run two sets in 36 months, nearly got 100k out of the last set, done 60k on the latest and not half worn, and I still drive the most of the same places as I did with my M/T's.

Decent AT's have come a long way. Road manners are way better and they last longer in my opinion.

I do carry a set of icebreaker chains in winter just in case I need them.

I’ve just ditched a set of half worn Cooper STT Pro MTs for new AT3. Make no mistake about it, MTs are awesome for NZ mud, especially papa mud, but for the day-to-day? Fucking pain in the arse once half worn.

Drove 1,560km on the new tyres last week - several deep sand E Cape beach fishing trips, up hill and down dale on the farm tracks, couple of hundred kays on the gravel, and of course normal shitty NZ “highways”.

Just compared the last week’s fuel consumption to the log book when the MTs were new. The AT3s give a 12% improvement in fuel consumption, the handling is massively improved and there’s no penalty at all in anything other than the cloying sticky semi-dry papa mud conditions that I’d rather use a quad in anyway. My truck is recreational use only and always loaded the same, with a 160L fuel tank, so the comparison between tyres is reasonable as the usage was very similar.

I have diff locks front and rear and an onboard compressor, so that’s worth a bit when it comes to traction. I always air down when off road and tend to engage the locker(s) as a precaution before realising I might suddenly need it...

Currently 225 75R16 LTs (always LT), 50 psi rear / 40 psi front for loaded bitumen, down to 15 psi all round if needs be. Have run ATs of various varieties through pretty much everything all over Africa / Aus / US / NZ and have learnt that pressures are the determining factor, more so than tread pattern. Just my experience, YMMV. No more MTs for me.

Stick with the 17's in a nice A/T pattern , for what you are doing I can see no benefit in going to a 15 inch M/T combo. There is some good advice on here but I don't think some of the suggestions suit the driving that you are doing ,
Cheers

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Originally Posted by madmaori

Stick with the 17's in a nice A/T pattern , for what you are doing I can see no benefit in going to a 15 inch M/T combo. There is some good advice on here but I don't think some of the suggestions suit the driving that you are doing ,
Cheers

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This man has never failed to give me good advice about ute tyres. Well worth talking to and sharp deals/good service. Worth me driving up to Napier for tyres and to have them fitted.

I put 265/70R17 TOYO Open Country AT on my Ranger 10k ago. Very pleased. Up hill and down dale. No mud but a lot of rock and gravel. Good on wet tarmac.

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Originally Posted by Tahr

This man has never failed to give me good advice about ute tyres. Well worth talking to and sharp deals/good service. Worth me driving up to Napier for tyres and to have them fitted.

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Yup, Brad has given me good advice on here too. Really pleased with his recommendation for the new tyres I bought recently. Too far away for me though!

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Originally Posted by mikee

the BFG KM2 MT's on my Pajero have nearly 70k on them and still only half worn. My arse puckered when I brought them but ....well seem good value now ecen at $500 each. If I could get there AT's to fit 20 inch rims on the missuses Colorado I might be tempted to "pony up" for them

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I thought the same when I brought mine the sl386s are well worth a try as they are a copy of the KM2s tread pattern.

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Originally Posted by Remmodel7

Vehicle is a 2018 Hilux.
I think it's probably just easier to stick with the current rims as I know they fit and have the right offset.
Current tyres are a 265/65 417 so want something similar.
Am leaning towards an at but definitely open to a mt but it needs to have decent on road performance. Have had some death traps in the past that are lethal in the wet on tar seal

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OK this is in my wheelhouse as I've built up quite a few of these. I drive a Shagger but front end is almost identical bar the brakes. I just built a 2017 and 2018 one for my brother and old man one running 35s with regear and one just running as good a factory setup as possible. There's a few nuances to getting tires to clear lots of people miss feel free to PM me. My old mans a no fluff type of guy. I've done everything in between the more hectic and not so hectic setups for these utes. He's probably 70% Offroad but when we are lucky even to have a good thick layer of green grass ATs are pretty much useless as they are the clay tracks for about a week after rain.

To be fair I swing way more the more modern designed MT but part of that is I now run the Goodride SL386s which are far cheaper than any good quality Aggressive AT that I have found yet.

If money was no object I'd have probably looked at the M/T ATZ or Maxxis Razr At on a set of tires for road and general trips and buy a set of overly aggressive Muds for really intense trips.

I second @madmaori has been blood y good to deal with, well worth a drive to get sorted at his place as his team are awesome

@Tahr , @Flyblown , @Fat ninja.
Thanks for the feedback , really do appreciate the support and kind words......Good Bastards!

Ive heard some seriously good stuff about the wildpeak at3s as a very good AT tyre that does a reasonable job off road and brillant on road.Guy i talked to had a set on
his ranger and done 60000km, lots off road kms and swears by them and reckens he get 90000 out of them before needs replacing and been in some serious mud etc and didnt have a problem.
When i bought my isuzui Mu they had bridgestone AT desert duelers on them.
Was always looking around for replacements, was thinking a MT but they have been good on the road and ive been in some dodgy places where i really should not of been with ATs and they
performed pretty good and havnt been struck as yet.
Im a novice to the 4wd scene really but if doing 70 pcent on road and 30 off a good AT tyre is prob all you need.
Im going run these to the next wof and prob get the wildpeaks, seen too many good reviews on them, number one AT in Aussie and the people that have them recken they abit more tan a basic At
that has good miles and are good price.
Been quoted 245 ea(same as the duelers) so that do me i think.

Just got these fitted today... haven't even driven them yet so cant comment other than they were quite cheap.
Gone to AT from HT (2wd ute) for just a bit more grip on gravel and grass.
Got 33km from the factory HT Bridgestone duelers but I am typically hard on tires. They were nice and quiet on road and stuck well in the wet but started squeeling badly when pushed at about a third to half worn.
Hopefully these arnt to noisy or slippery on wet seal....im sure they will do everything I need off seal.

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Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Just got these fitted today... haven't even driven them yet so cant comment other than they were quite cheap.
Gone to AT from HT (2wd ute) for just a bit more grip on gravel and grass.
Got 33km from the factory HT Bridgestone duelers but I am typically hard on tires. They were nice and quiet on road and stuck well in the wet but started squeeling badly when pushed at about a third to half worn.
Hopefully these arnt to noisy or slippery on wet seal....im sure they will do everything I need off seal.

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Ouch x 4, you done 33k already in your bestie?

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Originally Posted by mikee

Ouch x 4, you done 33k already in your bestie?

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Yep....also went up a size from 245/65 to 265/65 to correct factory installed speedo error.

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