Wide vs. Not-so-Wide Tires

[timmirvin]

OK, what are the pro's and con's of wide versus not-so-wide vs narrow tires........

ie....rocks, mud, snow.....

[Stuka]

A wide tire has better floatation. This is good on sand, mud, and if your offroading in DEEP snow.

A narrow tire can give better traction in loose stuff, as the weight is more concentrated. For around here I saw a skinny tire is better. I loved using my 30x7 deep lugs before the lift and such. They dug into anything. Skinny tires are also much better for snow/rain on the street. In snow, they sink down to pavement to get better traction (have proved this MANY times up here on steep roads with bunches of snow) In the rain you wont hydroplane so easily. I was never able to get my cherokee to hydroplane with the 30x7's. I have sorta been able to with the 31x10.50's on it now.

[timmirvin]

The reason I ask, is I have heard discussions both ways and have experienced it several ways. And as I am beginning to put my plan together for Sherman...and I drive by the Interco (Swamper) plant all the time....I was wondering if the Swamper LTBs or Co-Op Grip Spurs would be a good investment.

Both come in a 34 x 10ish size. And both are very affordable. Seems like the going thing is big wide tires. Was just wondering what a Wag would look like with 34x10s and would that thin size degrade offroad (well mudding in LA) capability???

[joe]

If you're in DEEP bottomless mud(mud boggin etc) go with wide and deep lug. If you're in the kind of mud where it's ideal to dig through it down to hard pack go narrow and deep lug. I live in rain/mud/logging country and the 33x9.5's on my J-truck work well for my use.

[rockjeep44]

My wide 38.5x16s do awesome on rock and mud. I built my rig for rockcrawling and thats what I got the tires for as well but I do live on the east coast so I see a lot of mud whether I like it or not. And, I can say my tires do great in both situations. For rock I like the big contact patch.
-Andrew

[robselina]

As a general rule of thumb, I say wider is better for rocks and sand. Sand you want the flotation, and rocks you've got a larger contact patch to pull you up. Mud is a real toss up. Like joe said, if the mudd is only really mudd for less than a foot, those 34x10ish tires will kick a lot of butt. If it's really deep though you want a wide tire like Andrew's to let you float over the stuff.
P.S. I'm running 31x11.50 Baja Claws and 35x13.50 baja claws on my jeeps. I LOVE these tires. If the mudd is really deep I can deflate the 35s so that they have a 21" tread! You don't sink a CJ with that wide of a tire!

[timmirvin]

I am just going to have to stop by and see how good a deal I can get buying direct at the Interco factory...those LTBs look freakin' awesome...

And I haven't seen a pic of a Wag with tall (34") narrow (9 or 10") tires yet.

Anybody got any pix??????

[robselina]

seen them in person with 35x10.50, no pics yet though. It actually looks really cool, very tall. Also looks unstable though...

[Serious Johnson]

I'm thinking that 9.5x32-33s would be decent for a mildly modified Wag on good old Colorado rock and snow that makes up my summer 1-hour 4W-Lo driveway. I run 30x9.5 highway Michelins now with stock suspension, and get quite a lot of frame/terrain interaction, but no substantial lack of grip. I wonder what sort of lift/cut is needed to accomodate tall, skinny tars?

If I lived in LoosyAnna, I'd sure use the widest tire that I could fit.

:-

[Stuka]

With my 4" I think I could fit 33x9.50's pretty easily. But a 33x12.50 would never clear without some major trimming in back.

[timmirvin]

Yep, probably going wide......just have to see what kinda deal I can swing at Interco......