Anyone running Mickey Thompson ATZ P3s?

[redraif]

I am seriously considering these for the Montero Sport in a 285/75r16. Its an 2001, 3.0L, 4x4, Auto trans with a 2 inch body lift.

I want a tire that is capable off road and on road. I want it to look aggressive, like a mud tire, but still wear well and have good road manners. From what I have read this foots the bill.



www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/1309-mickey-thompsons-make-it-happen/

Anyone running these all-terrain/mud tire Hybrid?

[ES_97Sport]

Jan 12, 2015 12:31:42 GMT -5 redraif said:

I am seriously considering these for the Montero Sport in a 285/75r16. Its an 2001, 3.0L, 4x4, Auto trans with a 2 inch body lift.

I want a tire that is capable off road and on road. I want it to look aggressive, like a mud tire, but still wear well and have good road manners. From what I have read this foots the bill.

....

Downsides:

1) Heavy. Which means it'll suck gas.

2) Six ply on the ground. Which means it will suck gas and not for any particularly good reason. I might also point out that this is not where you need or even want six or eight plies.

3) Three ply on the sides. Unfortunately, this is where you need an extra ply or two off road as this is the most vulnerable part of the tire.

4) Doesn't self-evacuate very well. As demonstrated in the links pics, that's gritty sand mud and shouldn't be packing in the tread the way they are showing. That is a good indicator that more sticky mud/slush won't clear out and you'll effectively end up with bald tires.

Upsides:

1) Reasonably decent carcass flex. For a 6/3 ply tire. Its hard to tell as these are nearly new and not well broken in but that generally improves over use; it doesn't ever get worse with use.

2) Reasonably conservative tread with sipes. Both are good for a primarily street driven tire. Also good on the sand.

3) Lots of contact area. Good on the street which cuts down on the noise but also good on rock - especially slick rock.

4) Reasonably decent flotation. To be expected with a conservative tread. Kind of hard to tell from the pic as that is really coarse sand and obviously not very deep.

5) Softer rubber compound. Bad for overall longevity, but good for off road. Also good for driving on hard packed snow and ice.


These are NOT M/Ts. They're not even close to good M/Ts. More aggressive than a Yokohama Geolandar A/T, probably a little better off road under some conditions, not quite as good on the street. My Geolandar M/Ts would waffle stomp the crud out of these on the trail and on the street as well except in longevity and maybe ice/hard packed snow.

What would be nice is to see some actual tests in actual mud and snow and slush. That's where A/Ts fall down and on what you can actually judge a tire. One siped A/T is much the same as any other siped A/T on rock, grit and gravel and there is little difference between noise and longevity and as long as you're comparing the same ply carcasses, flex is pretty much the same.

"The P3 may well set the new standard of the industry in all-terrain style, as it truly works great in all terrain."

Uh, huh. And they would know that because they drove it in CA? I don't think so.

Edward

[redraif]

Originally we were discussing the stz with a local tire distributor friend. Price was great but still a touch over budget, so we kept looking for used. Plus they seem a bit too street tire. I wanted some off road abilities.

Then i found a great deal on some cordovan mt tires (only 3000 miles on them & $650 for 4) Well the seller is a flake and stood me up over and over for a week. Now he won't call me back. So I gave up.

I asked my tire guy tonight to see what options he had in a more aggressive tread but still in budget. He is a Mickey Thompson distributor btw. I wanted something a bit more capable and aggressive looking. Well sadly the Atz turned out to be significantly over our budget. So now I'm back to the stz. He also mentioned the dick cepek trail country. I gave him our budget price and he is check some more options. I have to see if he carries the geolanders

[ES_97Sport]

Jan 12, 2015 19:24:21 GMT -5 redraif said:

Originally we were discussing the stz with a local tire distributor friend. Price was great but still a touch over budget, so we kept looking for used. Plus they seem a bit too street tire. I wanted some off road abilities.

Then i found a great deal on some cordovan mt tires (only 3000 miles on them & $650 for 4) Well the seller is a flake and stood me up over and over for a week. Now he won't call me back. So I gave up.

I asked my tire guy tonight to see what options he had in a more aggressive tread but still in budget. He is a Mickey Thompson distributor btw. I wanted something a bit more capable and aggressive looking. Well sadly the Atz turned out to be significantly over our budget. So now I'm back to the stz. He also mentioned the dick cepek trail country. I gave him our budget price and he is check some more options. I have to see if he carries the geolanders

Ouch. Yea, been there, got the tee shirt.

That's too bad. The ATZ looks like a reasonably decent tire. But, yea, MTs usually aren't cheap.

I don't know about the STZ. That tread design kinda turns me off. I have some very specific tire requirements and one of them is to not get me killed when it rains. Like the BFG A/T, that kind of tread doesn't evacuate well so they have the tendency to hydroplane much easier than something like the ATZ or my Geolander M/T. I also question their effectiveness in mud, snow and slush. So, IMHO not really a wet environment tire. On the other hand, I bet flotation is great and that kind of tread would work great on slick rock. If the compound is soft enough, on any kind of solid rock.

That's the thing about A/Ts and M/Ts. Unless you're dealing with deep, loose stuff most A/Ts will kick the crap out of M/Ts on and off road. Unfortunately, too many people buy based on looks and not capability. Which probably explains how they still manage to sell Thornbirds. LOL!!

What is your per-tire budget?

Some to maybe look at:

Goodyear Wrangler DuraTrac
(reviews sound good; I like the tread - lots of edges. pretty hard core for an A/T and reasonably sticky. stud capable for ice)

Toyo Open Country A/T

Sigma Wild Spirit Radial RVT

Cooper Discoverer S/T
(I've heard reasonably good things about this tire)

Maxxis BigHorn Radial LT Tire
(Peerless sells something like this. Not an A/T and not good on ice, but cheap)

Yokohama Geolandar M/T Plus
(not an A/T, but cheap(ish) and the best road manners for an M/T - comparable to a aggressive A/T. have it siped if you're worried about ice. short lifespan)


I'd look at the Goodyear myself. Too bad they don't make that in a 35"x15.

Edward

[redraif]

Ok circling back around. We did some hard looking and came up empty on the used front, but managed to budget enough to pull off the ATZ P3's. I asked but eh did not have access to any of the above except the Toyo Open Country. Said it was a toss up between them and Mickey Thompson.

I admit I could not get past the good looks for it being an AT. Best I could find in a AT that had the more aggressive MT look. The reviews I read gave it great marks in snow, ice and rain. The longevity seems very good based on reviews, comparable to the STZ. The STZ is what my buddy has on his work van and he loves them. Also good with Ice. I hate to say in GA if we have a snow event... its always ice. This and rain is one reason I could not justify the MTs, plus the lack of longevity on the HWY.

So I'm taking the plunge! Should get them tonight and have them installed tomorrow.

[redraif]

So thanks to my transmission leak rearing it's ugly head again.... the sport went with the tires packed in it to the shop. Not sure when it will be fixed and the tires installed... ugh. Hoping b4 the weekend.

Lol.... check this out! You can totally fit four 285/76 r16s in the back of a sport... lol!

[redraif]

So he got them installed on the factory rims at the end of the day today. Too bad the rig is still being held hostage by the tranny leak. I want to see how it looks so bad!

[colted]

excited to see the outcome with the new shoes....

[jkdv8]

Nice rubbers

[redraif]

The shop felt bad that they are still tinkering with the trans and I can't see my new tires on the rig, so the girl at the front desk sent these:

[redraif]

I got to take the fellow home tonight.





I took some pics of my contact patch. I assume that I need to air down a bit to get the entire tread hitting. Do I go down by 5 psi at a time?

[colted]

Looks really nice on Mickeys....how much each tire?


btw....are you from GA?....Vinings maybe?

[redraif]

GA yes.... Vinings no. We are 20 miles south of Atlanta near Atlanta Motor Speedway.

I got them for $242 ea. including taxes and home delivery. (Friends and Family discount) I have been showing cars with this guy since 2000. My mechanic mounted them for $36. Just have to get them balanced. His cone would not work with the mitsubishi hub size.

[colted]

If we get that much snow today, I'd be excited how your monty with those shoes would perform?.....wished mine has 4WD....

[redraif]

Sadly no snow.... took him out in the rain on a donut run