BFG Krawlers. . .anyone running these?

[canders7]

I am planning the lift-tire-wheel combo for my Cherokee.

Is anyone running the BFG Krawlers (35x13.5x15 on 15x10 rims) with a 6" BJ's lift?

Was thinking about running the 4" lift and doing a little trimming but my rig is pretty straight and rust free.

Any pics of this combo on a 2dr Cherokee or other Wag? Would love to see them.

If anyone knows true negative input on these tires, please share that as well.

thanks

[Stuka]

If you drive your truck on the street a lot, dont get the krawlers. They have a very soft compound designed for offroad use. And will wear down much faster than most other tires.

As for grip, they are pretty awesome tires. I am not a fan of BFG, but they are great tires for offroad use. But they are also a lot more costly than some other tires.

[FSJ-Earl]

One of the guys in my Jeep club runs them on his rock buggy. They are REALLY soft and do a great job on the rocks. I would not run them on the road, they will wear VERY quickly.

[HotRodYJ]

We have a guy who runs them on a TJ. They seem to pack with mud pretty easy compared to my Swampers. I'm sure they do great in the rocks though and they do look very soft.

[Kris]

There are two different Crawlers.

The "Red Label" for competition use, and the DOT approved version for the street.

The red lable wont last 5,000 miles on the street in a heavy rig, they are the gummy-soft tire. The DOT version is getting mixed reviews from 10-20,000 miles.

They are expensive, and designed for rock.

If you are going to spend time on the street, go with a different tire. MT/R's and the BFG Mud's get pretty good wear and do decent off-road.
Theres definately a tradeoff between mileage and performance.

kris.

[Dmntxn77]

I agree with what the others have said about the tires. As far as your lift goes... If you plan to take if off-road, you are going to need at least a 6" lift. I get real close to rubbing at full flex with my SOA. You said that you are considering a 4" and some triming... What do you plan to trim? The fenders are already trimmed to the top of the wheel-well, all you could do is cut off your fender flares. I would hope you are not actually considering that, unless they are already trashed.

[Dmntxn77]

Oh yeah, I am wrong to say that you will need "at least" a 6" lift. You will probably be fine with a 6" because you wont flex as good as I do, so you probably wont need to stuff as much tire.

[canders7]

Dmntxn - I really don't want to cut the fender flares because they are in really good shape. I would really like to go with 35" tires which would obviously require a 6" lift, 4" with good amounts of trimming or as you havec done an SOA conversion.

I have read in several places that the SOA will allow for a lot more flex than using 6" lift springs. Considering cost, how does the SOA compare to the cost of a BJ's 6" lift?

Considering easy of conversion, how difficult is it to pull of the SOA on these rigs?

I have heard a lot of negatives about the BFG Krawlers concerning the fact that I will be using them on the road about 50% of the time. I will look into other tires. Thanks

[vegasfsj]

ive seen the krawlers on the street the block height on the tires and the soft compound makes the a lil "loose" on the street for as much as you would spend on the set of krawlers you could get a set of super swampers in either an tsl or irok and have better street manners. from my own personal experience on the lifts im running the bjs 6"in compared to the soa the 6in is cheaper you dont have to change over to high steer or a crossover steering plus the cost of flattop knuckles etc. the bjs kit is pretty complete. yes the flex is dimminished at the start but if you take it out and flex the suspension that helps with the stiffness. currently in the process of seperating my spring packs to put in the plastic strips to help prevent the springs from binding up on compression. just a few of my .02$

[Stuka]

vegas: you are the first person I have seen say "buy super swampers for better road manners" [img]tongue.gif[/img]

NO bias ply is going to have better road manners than a radial. The soft compound on a tire makes them grip the road BETTER, not worse. Not the lug depth may make them squishy on hard stops, but I doubt it.

The 6" lift is quite a bit cheaper than an SOA. When you do an SOA, you have to address steering, drive shaft angles and length, etc. The 6" is also more stable on the street do to the springs being stiffer. But for lots of street use, you should run a front sway bar with either setup (especialy an SOA).

[Dmntxn77]

Originally posted by canders7:
Dmntxn - I really don't want to cut the fender flares because they are in really good shape. I would really like to go with 35" tires which would obviously require a 6" lift, 4" with good amounts of trimming or as you havec done an SOA conversion.

I have read in several places that the SOA will allow for a lot more flex than using 6" lift springs. Considering cost, how does the SOA compare to the cost of a BJ's 6" lift?

Considering easy of conversion, how difficult is it to pull of the SOA on these rigs?

I have never had the opportunity to ride in a FSJ equiped with BJ's 6" spring lift. From what I have heard in the past though the ride quailty sucks. Not to the fault of BJ's, but with springs with that much bend, and that many leafs, it is bound to be VERY stiff. As far as flex goes, I would put money on my flex over any 4" spring pack, and a 6" pack would not even compare.

The cost is not that much more for an SOA if you do the work yourself, and shop around for the good deals. Having a friend with a welder is also a big help. I dont know if you weld, but you are in luck, because I do (not pretty, but it holds) and I would be more than happy to help you out. If you pre-purchased all the parts, we could have your SOA done in a short weekend. It took me 2 long days, but it was my first SOA, and I had to run to town for parts 4 or 5 times.

I have a good supplier for the steering parts. A full SOA only cost me about $350 IIRC and that includes the flat-tops. You could do it for even less if you went with a X-over set-up, and found your own pass side flat-top.

And.. The cost difference would even out if you went with some Swampers instead of Krawlers.

BTW.. What gears does your Cherokee have? Because I have the D44 front that is already SOA and matching rear from my Chief with 3.54's. Of course, with an auto tranny, I assume you plan to regear to at least 4.10s if you go with 35"s right?

[canders7]

Dmntxn- I would definitely have to regear. As for whats in there now, I don't know. I picked up the rig about 3 weeks ago. As you well know, we have been seeing a lot of rain in these parts. I don't have a garage to work out of currently. i am working on that and would have to have that situation straightened out within the next couple of months.

I do have a welder and wouldn't find that to be too much of an issue. I wasn't sure with the SOA if you would have to change your drive shafts, but assumed you would. I kind of made the same assumption of the 6" BJ's kit as well.

I will have to give this more thought and research. Perhaps we shall get together in the nicer weather to hit a few trails.

Project one is to collect parts for the various projects as I can afford them and begin the install when I get the garage worked out.

[vegasfsj]

stuka: what i was referring to was that the block height of the tread compared to some other bias ply tires was taller and with the softness of the tread (krawlers grip like krazyglue on slickrock) that during driving and breaking the treadblocks will tend to rollover and flex.

I have ridden in an xj with 37" krawlers on it on pavement and it felt like to whole truck was sliding on marbles during cornering and stopping, driver hit a pothole at 35mph and took out to tread blocks..oops glad i didnt payfor them. but what it all leads back to is what type of driving will you be doing the most, and what are your needs. get what works for you and what you can afford.

[canders7]

So, change the tire consideration to say MT BAJA Claws.

What do you all think about those for 50/50 road/off-highway use?

[Dmntxn77]

I dont have any experiance with them, but judging from the looks, they dont look like they have a lot of laterial traction. For wheeling around here, I would reccomend some swampers. I drive mine on pavement A LOT, and I love my SSR's. They have great traction on and off road, and very little highway noise...

Where do you wheel around here? I have not ventured far, and hope to hit the Elbe trails soon, but all I find around here is mud...

[Stuka]

The krawlers arent bias ply though, they are radials. I can understand corners feeling bad, with a lot of sidewall, the tires tuck under in corners, especially with a 37" radial. Bias plys wont so much because the sidewalls are so much thicker. The tread depth is the same as a Super Swamper TSL also.

A radial will handle the road better than a bias ply. Ride ina truck with the krawlers, then do the same with a bias TSL or bogger. You will notice the road manner difference imediately.

As for the baja claw, they are a fine tire, not the best mud tire, and they dont clean as well as some others. The radials wear pretty decent fromw hat I hear, but no first hand experience. No clue how the bias ply ones handle or wear on the street.