ground hawg tires

[jeeping1974]

any here run ground hawg bias tires on their rig? i'm just wondering how they are off road. the good, the bad, anything really.

[BRUTUS]

From what I can tell... if you groove the tread it is much better offroad. The continuous tread design doesn't hold onto rocks very well in stock form.

[Hammer]

They are square, they are stiff, and they are hard (rubber that is).

Grooving them helps them quite a bit.
Offset grooves, like a tractor tire, seem to work well for simple grooving.

I wouldn't buy them new.
But if you can get great deal on used ones, they are not too bad.

Just don't expect them to keep up with Swampers.

[jeeping1974]

thats what i thought from the look of them. how hard is it to grove tires? i can't image it being too hard. as long as you don't go too deep.

[Hammer]

How hard it is depends on the grooving iron you get.
I got a cheap version, and when I was working over my XMLs, it was always cooling the blade down.
The big $ ones cut it like butter though, cause they dump a LOT of heat into the blades.

Of course people have used everything from skill saws, chain saws, routers, etc. to groove their tires.

Search pirate on this one. TONS of info, and even decent pictures of hawgs that have been cut up.

[baja]

They are a pretty good mud tire.
They seem to work better on heavier vehicles.
You need a lot of tire speed for backing up in the mud.
They are fairly tough tires.
They were the best grooved mud tire around until Interco came out with the bogger.
baja

[Hammer]

Haha, yeah, they work better on heavier vehicles because they are so stiff that they won't flex on medium and light vehicles.

They are tough though. That hard rubber does a good job of pretotecting the tires from chunking, etc.

Depends on your usage, and the cost.

[scotty]

i have had them on my jeep,wich is currently still 258 powered,and i have them currently on my scout(same tires).

i personally have never had trouble with them flexing(i usually run them at 6-8 lbs),although ive never had a newer set. i run the 'hawgs cause i keep finding them cheap to free at swap meets,flea markets and garage sales :p

i was never terribly impressed with them on the jeep. on the scout,however, they do very well. both my rigs are pretty stripped down and run gm 3/4 ton axles,so they are pretty compareable in weight. the difference is the 345 in the scout has plenty of power to spin them. i run 4.56s in the jeep with a wide ratio t18,4.10s in the scout with a close ratio t18. places where forward progress would come to a hault in the jeep and i need to get puleed out of are now passable in the scout if i put the trans in higher gear and press the skinny pedal down alittle further :drivin: some places i have been know to put it in 3rd gear and my foot on the floor-keeps them cleaned out pretty well. the 258 just cant spin them fast enuff to make them work well.

in short-agree,id never buy a set new. the TSL SX is my favorite all-asound trail tire. they are not a terrible tire if you get a used set cheap. run them at low pressure,and make sure you have plenty of power available to spin them.

[jeeping1974]

scotty - nice scout on that link you have. :thumbsup:

[Hammer]

For cheap to free, I would run a set.
Like I said, for the right price, they are good.

My only thing, I have been spoiled by running Boggers. And I have NEVER seen, owned, driven, any other tire that came close to those for pure traction!
Of course I have PLENTY of power and a light CJ5. Those tires were crazy in the mud, dirt, sand. They just sucked bad on loose sidehills. They get a little 'puckering' at times !!
Still, the ground hawgs and gumbo mudders were decent tires (about the best until Swampers really hit the market). And are still an ok tire. The thing is, they never evolved with the sport.
So if you like them, use em. Just don't spend too much.

[incommando]

About 30 years ago ( when 38" tires were "huge"), your choices were the ground hawg or the gumbo monster mudder. Tires have come a long way since then, but I don't think either of those tires ever got updated.

[Elliott]

I can honestly say that since I put Ground Hawgs on my JTruck that it's never been stuck.;)

http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10016/GladiatorShop3.JPG

http://www.fullsizejeeps.com/gallery/albums/userpics/10016/GladiatorShop4.JPG

[JeepsAndGuns]

So.........., you ever gonna paint your doors to match?:p I have OCD and its been about to drive me nuts for the past few years.:rolleyes: :D


Did you "shave" or weld over the vent holes on the grille? Or are the holes still there and you just havent put them on? IN the pic it kinda looks like they are not there. And it actually looks pretty good.

[Hammer]

Hard to get stuck on cememt ;)
I noticed your metal building, what a PITA those are to put together. Work great though.

I only got stuck ONCE in my CJ with boggers, and I was litterally TRYING to get stuck.
What a MESS that was, I thought I was going to start floating before I finally got stuck!

Still, Hawgs have a decent pattern. But the rubber is so darn hard. And with the thread being unbroken, doesn't flex as well.

[Elliott]

So.........., you ever gonna paint your doors to match?:p I have OCD and its been about to drive me nuts for the past few years.:rolleyes: :D


Did you "shave" or weld over the vent holes on the grille? Or are the holes still there and you just havent put them on? IN the pic it kinda looks like they are not there. And it actually looks pretty good.


Ahhh, maybe when I get done with school next spring I can actually get back to work on the rig/s. This'n is going to be all '80 dark green metallic by the time it's done, had a Laredo Chero in that color and is was sweet. The valence is off a '76 and the holes aren't filled in but I still have the original valence to put back on there when I've widened the radiator support for the V8 radiator and replace a few broken bolts.
It's never been stuck on cement, although as long it's sat there you might think it was stuck.:D Now that the NP435/doubler is together and temporarily intstalled I'm acutually close to figuring driveline length and ordering the shafts, but I still may lift it more first and I want that all sorted first. As far as the Ground Hawgs not flexing, at least that is an advantage side hilling but I don't expect them to be much for a rock tire. At 17"s wide they'll do ok in the mud with Detroits and 4.88s.:thumbsup: