If you're thinkin about Swampers... read this

[River Beast]

This is a thread from POR board which MANY have chimed in on that run Swampers... a good insight to the DEATH WOBBLE syndrome known to Swampers

http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=81890

[Bob Davis '80 Chero]

The thread is talking about bias Swampers in pretty big sizes. I am (was?) thinking about the new radial Swampers (more for street than others) in a 33X12.5. Anyone have a reaction to the TRXUS radial Swamper? I certainly don't need the DEATH WOBBLE.
Bob

[Stuka]

hrm interesting. My deep lugs only have death wobble while cold...and its BAD then. But once they warm up it really goes away for the most part.

[blt2krl]

That is one of the trade offs for running a bias ply with very aggresive mud pattern. I have no problem with my SSR's and I know a few fellows with SX's and have no complants. I guess with SX's it is a roll of the dice.

[Tony Rio]

No complaints with my 33x12.5 Swamper TSL radials on my "lil Jeep". I run balancing powder in 'em, and they run smoother and truer than my comperable sized BFG ATs ever did.

[mr.drive]

I had great success with bias swamper tsl's 16/38's as well as 42's .The Jeep CJ-5 with 38's was driven 50 miles each way to work 5 days a week on a hwy that demanded 70 MPH plus .(sad 2 lane hwy going to casino's) anyway proper balancing and not accepting a bad tire is key .I worked at a 4 wheel drive shop that sold swampers ,every now and then you would get a crappy tire . But for the most part they zeroed out or very close. I would say suspension and steering design are usually to blame for bad road manners .I never had any luck with ground hawgs though.

[mark]

except for the cold flat spots in the winter ive never had problems with my swampers.ive only experienced the death wobble you talk about with an old set of unbalanced hawgs.we run 44 boggers on our f-350 and the ride is great.i also just bought a set of 39.5 boggers for my new rig.i just cant see myself running anything else.i drive my rig everyday and i would be lying if i said my rig was mostly off road.i actually rarely go offroad.
just my 02.

i will say this though
i had 2 of the 39.5s mounted and spin balanced
today.both took very little weight.one actually barely needed any but you could see on the balancer that neither one of them ran very true.

[ September 19, 2002, 07:54 PM: Message edited by: mark ]

[WillyPete]

how do the bigger swampers wear on road?

[River Beast]

I had a TERRIBLE DW wtih my 39.5's but they were used when I got them and took alot of weight to balance them... I did the internal patch weights and cost me $118!!! It did help some but not much...Our FSJ's are much heavier than the SWB jeeps and the beefier 3/4T axles help the wieght issue....

I will never run ANY bias ply tire again.... only for off-road use if it ever comes to pure dirt duty.

[FSJeeper]

I did a lot of research and have friends with super swampers. Bottom line, they are not optimum for the street, but awsome offroad. My FSJ is basically an offroad toy and I finally ended up 38.5 SX's. No exeperience yet, but I will let you know what I think about them.

[FSJ Thing]

I'll run the worst set of Interco tires before I ever run a set of Mickey Thomsons again.

[Sambo]

i love my micky claws and they are bias ply...i NEVER had them balanced!!!and dont plan too!!!
i owned a set of kelly dtr's that shock like crazy from being out of round never could balance the darn thing...and it was a radial :-0 also had bfg at's sling rubber off at 10k miles...every brand has their lemons(like ford,chevy,dodge,jeep,toyota),but depends if you get stuck with them or not!!!

[River Beast]

very true... Interco rated that 10% of their tires were out of round... so if you get lucky... you are blessed

[trickc]

I run 36x 12.50 bias tsl's on my choptop and found that air pressure has alot to do with the ride. The tire store had em pumped up to like 32 but after playing with em I find the best setting for mine is about 22 all around.

[Stuka]

My Deep lugs have a max PSI of like 47 or something. In which case withthat much air they dont vipe (except when cold from flat spots) then they smooth out. Only thing is that the ride is VERY hard...as no shock is absorbed by the tire. So I generally run 32psi or so and they are a tad softer. I dont have any complains about them really...except they rival boggers for road noise ;p

[like2wheel]

I have the LTB33X13.50 on my Toyota truck. I had the BFG33X12.5 and they would drive super down the road. With the Swampers I had to cancel the insurance and license. I have to trailer it now. It has the DW at 25, 35,45 and who knows after that. I fear they would shake the poor Toyota to pieces. The wheel AWESOME though. BFGs could do 80+ (That is FAST in a old Toyota)

[shredby4]

It seems like a lot of people need to come to NC and get their Swampers balanced. There is a place in Statesville that balances everything including 50" plus tractor tires for use on the road. They use the weight packs that glue inside the tire, no on the wheel. Secondly, they do it the way Interco says to in the paperwork that used to come with the tire. You run it a balance machine, find the heavy or out of round side, this is easy to do win it's spinning slowly. Then they use a disk sander to sand off the tread block in a given area. Therefore removing, not adding weight. I have an old Fourwheel and Offroad with an article on this method too. It is far superior to adding weights. I can't remember the name of the shop..but I was there when my buddy got his 44" Boggers done and we ran highway 90 from Staesville into Taylorsville then 16 from Taylorsville to Hickory at speeds as high as 75 mph. No wobble. He had the "death wobble" prior to visiting that shop though. We limped on the highway at 40mph all the way to Statesville. He's never had a problem since. Oh yea, they were on a yellow Bronco called Tonka Toy 2. It has 14" of lift. He's never run anything but swampers on his 4X4's. Everything from little Mazda trucks to an Expedition.
I also have a freind with TSL's on a Samurai, he's never had a single complaint.
I just have a feeling that too many of these problems come from incompetent people and tire shops. If all else fails, go to a place that balance tires for 18 wheelers. If they can balance those gaint retreads the can balance a swamper. No retread can truly be round. The grinding process is too inconsistant.

[blt2krl]

any chance you can upload that article to the tech section? Sounds like a great article to read.

[gwinn]

I was told by my friend that sold me my SSR's that when someone pulls in for balancing Super Swampers, all the techs try to hide. He's the manager of the store, so he knows where to find them. I have mine re-balanced every month if not more often (incl in warranty). I don't see it as a problem as long as it is maintained. Now the wear these tires are getting is another story. I hope I can get 10K miles out of them.

[Ralph]

The tire shop that mounted my 325/60/15 BFG's balanced them with a liquid that is used on semi-truck tires, so there are no weights on the rims.

[CowKiller]

i never had problems with my swampers. they were balanced perfectally, but since i changed rims, i been running unballanced. run smoth up to 50 mph.

[Bombadier]

anybody ever run Armstrongs? how much would a set of 31-33" run? (i should know, but my local 4x4 shop doesn't carry anything other than BFGs and Swampers, i don't think they even own a catalogue for any other tire companies)
i have a set of Armstrong 31" Baja ATs on the front, good tread still, but my rear tires are generic, crappy AT radials....
I'm prolly gonna be needing a new set of meats soon, and i'm torn between Cooper tires, or staying with Armstrongs....i don't have the $$$ for BFGs, MTs, etc....i know Cooper makes decent tires, but i still like the tread pattern on those Armstrong ATs.....
........
WagoMonkey- why didn't you like the MickeyT's? just curious.....

[redwilly]

I drive mine on 36x12.50 sx's and its only bad around 30 to 40 then it goes away. Its just something you deal with on a wheelin rig. If ya can't take the heat get get your a$@ out the kitchen!!!