Mickey Thompson MTZ – LT285/75R16

Tire selection is critical to any Jeep build because knowing from past experience the wrong tire can destroy a good jeep. Trying to keep a Jeep trail and street worthy is always a difficult task.

I knew I wanted a 33×12.5×15 or LT285/75R16 (33×11.5) in either a C or D mud rating. The tire has to wear good, be affordable, be proven in the field and perform well in snow and ice. The biggest problem is that in this tire size there are dozens of options..

Note: C, D, E ratings are a rating for how much weight the sidewall can handle. Typically a C rating tire will have a weaker sidewall but the tire will flex a lot better and give a better ride without a load. A E rating will have a tuff sidewall but the tire will not flex when air down and will give a ruff ride.

My Jeep Rubicon came with 16 inch rims that I actually liked the style. This a couple of years ago would have limited my options but in 2010 16 inch rims have all the tire options of the 15s now. I did however keep my mind open to the idea of buying new rims since 16s still cost more.

The initial list:

This is only the short list of what I looked at.. Due to availability and wanted a 16 inch rim narrowed it down to:

I wasn’t sure about the KM2 but the cost from Costco was good but I really didn’t want an E rating so it was off the list. Toyo and Mickey both are not that common in East Canada but I ultimately picked the Mickey Thompson because it was much cheaper and lighter. I placed my order in March 2010 at National4wd just as I was heading to the airport for Dominican Republic and by the time I returned they had the tires waiting..

I was somewhat concerned about the LT285/75R16 tire size and it did end up being a small problem with my lift. I was running the factory track bar with 3 inches of lift so this pushed the axle to the right and caused rubbing at full turn.

The solution was to install a Rubicon Express (RE1600) track back and put 2 washers in the turn stops. Issue resolved.

On Road

These tires are amazing! I’m really glad I stayed with the factory rims because I believe the factory rims are truer than a lot of cheap aftermarket rims.

They are fairly quiet for a mud terrain but I’m also comparing these to my Iroks. They are louder than the Dunlop Radial Rover RVXT that I have on my F-150 but that is to be expected..

I currently run 26PSI when I’m running long distance on the highway and drop them to 22 when on dirt country roads.

I like the narrow tire as they don’t grab the groves in the pavement and seam very smooth. They are also a light tire so I didn’t feel any performance changes from the 31s to 33s.

The only negative is that when the Jeep sits for a long period of time (3+ days) the tires get flat spots but after a minute of driving they are round again. This is typical in an off-road tire.

Off Road

I was rather impressed off-road. They didn’t slip once on the way to turtle mtn and even did really well on the rocky sections. I was quite honestly not expecting them to do so well.

I’ve been running 10-12psi for the extra ground clearance but might try dropping them to 8 on the next run but don’t see a major reason to at this point.

I have ran them at street pressure when going in for a quick run on the way home from work. No problems with grip on rocky trails but it did make for a ruff ride..

The tires don’t mark up either which is very nice and after 5k they still look new but my rims on the other hand have taken a beaten.

Conclusion

I have no regret with these tires and if tomorrow was given my choice of any tire for free I’d pick these again.

For the cost, on-road and surprisingly off-road performance I’d recommend these tires to anyone that uses their jeep as a daily driver. I also recommend the 285/75/16 size to anyone running a Rubicon.

Here is a photo of 285/75/16s with Rough Country 2.5 coils and .75 spacer up front and 2.5 coils in rear (no spacer)

After removing hardtop and installing winch the Jeep leveled out.

I’ll update in the winter on how they are wearing and how they perform on our winter roads.

Colin

Written on July 21st, 2010 & filed under Blog, Project - 2005 Rubicon, Tires & Wheels