Yokohama Geolandar M/T+ Discontinued

[ES_97Sport]

My Stockton Wheel series 22 rims with the custom rock rings for the '99 Limited SAS are done finally. Time to order the other 4 37" tires since the truck is going into the shop here shortly. No biggie.

Uh, yea, so I thought ... the tires that showed up were definitely NOT Geolandar M/T+'s. Tire guy and I figured they shipped the wrong tires by accident. Nope. Yoko discontinued the M/T+ July of 2017. I will not repeat the words that went though my head when I found that out.

This might not sound like a big deal but its a big deal. The M/T G003 that replaces the M/T+ nowhere even vaguely resembles the M/T+. The tread width is narrower on the G003 even though they're both 12.5" tires. Obviously the G003 is NOT directional. The tread shape is obviously completely different as well.

While I had a 37x12.5x17 Geolandar M/T+ handy I put it side by side with the M/T G003. Totally different. The tread width is at least 2" narrower on the G003. How this is going to ultimately affect flotation is unknown.

In the end I ended up keeping the five G003's and trading my only 37" M/T+ for one of the G003's. No time to start shopping tires even if I had a vehicle that will take 37"s right now to test on. So, I guess I'll find out how they do this summer when we head back out to Moab.









Edward

[nugget]

Those rings look sick as hell.

I got wrangler mtr but need to sipe them since there dog s..t on ice.
Do you recommend any specific type of siping tool?


Curious on what you will go with for tires.

[ES_97Sport]

Mar 8, 2018 16:44:04 GMT -5 nugget said:

Those rings look sick as hell.

I got wrangler mtr but need to sipe them since there dog s..t on ice.
Do you recommend any specific type of siping tool?


Curious on what you will go with for tires.

Yea, they came out even better than I expected. I THINK I'm glad I went with 3/16" instead of the usual 1/4" plate. I'll see how I feel after a year of wheeling. You wouldn't think it, but even the 3/16" rings are HEAVY.

You're sipeing the MT/r's?? Has the compound changed over the years? cosport ran those on his '98 until he sold it and I don't remember him every saying anything bad about them on the ice. Just wondering 'cause that was about 2002-2003.

'fraid I'm not much help there. I don't sipe tires. I've thought about it for years on the M/T+ but they were so soft and did so well normally I just couldn't work up enough 'give a dang' to try. I was also somewhat concerned, given the really soft compound, how they'd hold up in CO and UT. Sipeing and some tires don't play well.

I ended up going with the Yoko Geolandar M/T G003's they sent me. I don't have time to re-think tires at this point. My Atlas 4-speed t-case showed up Wed, the AW3 is at the shop being rebuilt with the AW4 parts and shift kit and the Dynatrac axles are supposed to be here any time (end of month latest). AND I'm in the middle of swapping transmissions on the black Sport for Moab in three weeks.

I thought of MT/r's 'cause Eric was always so happy with them and I've seen their trail performance, but the price ... EEAK!

Otherwise, I have absolutely no idea. 37+ somewhat limits my choices. I didn't expect to be needing to find different tires to run so I've pretty much just been lurking on the fringes of the off road tire scene and at that its been the hard core stuff you can't run on the street.

I'll see how the G003's work. They may work find here in CO but the more I look at them, the more concerned I get with flotation. I'll cross that bridge when I get to it, though. Right now I'm rushing to get all the misc stuff ready to go to the shop and a few things finished for the '99 build.

Edward

[nugget]

Correction

The tires I bought are BFGoodrich Krawlers T/A KX. 33x10.5r15. No siping at all. So suck on ice.

Got them second hand, like most of my stuff. Rocking on a budget. 👍🏼

I am running a A/T Firestone 265x75r16 tire for the winter currently, which are my prelift set. The Krawlers were going to be for off-road almost exclusively.

Ps disregard siping question in front diff thread. 😁

[ES_97Sport]

Mar 15, 2018 4:48:21 GMT -5 nugget said:

... The tires I bought are BFGoodrich Krawlers T/A KX. 33x10.5r15. No siping at all. So suck on ice. ....

Ok, yea, THAT makes sense. The few people I've talked to say the same thing. Have you had a chance to take the Krawlers off road? I keep hearing mixed results with these. I've seen them several times on the trails in UT but its almost impossible to judge traction performance there. Almost anything works on the slick rock and I haven't seen anyone with these in the sand.

I was also looking at "Kumho Tire - Road Venture MT KL71". They don't make them in a 37", but they do make them in 35"s.

Edward

[nugget]

I still have to get them mounted, so will keep you posted. I got the set for $200 with 2/3 tread left, so figured it was worth a shot, as my build slowly weaves its way into place.
But I do at least want to sipe them some. On the sand they should be decent because they seem to handle airing down really well and the lug size is on the large side.

This tire review article was one of my favorites, because of how thorough it was and the number of people who contributed to it. Hope it helps.
www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/wheels-tires/129-1204-4x4-tire-guide/

[ES_97Sport]

Mar 17, 2018 4:50:39 GMT -5 nugget said:

I still have to get them mounted, so will keep you posted. I got the set for $200 with 2/3 tread left, so figured it was worth a shot, as my build slowly weaves its way into place.
But I do at least want to sipe them some. On the sand they should be decent because they seem to handle airing down really well and the lug size is on the large side.

This tire review article was one of my favorites, because of how thorough it was and the number of people who contributed to it. Hope it helps.
www.fourwheeler.com/how-to/wheels-tires/129-1204-4x4-tire-guide/

Not a bad deal considering how much they cost new.

Those are way too aggressive for me. Given the highway distances we drive, I want something a little more highway friendly. Most of the terrain we're in in southern UT wouldn't benefit from a tire like this anyway. Almost all slick rock and sand. The rocky stuff isn't busted up jumbled, loose stuff like CO, it's individual boulders. Super sticky with a very flexible tread patch and reasonably flexible sidewall to wrap around stuff work best for me there.

I'm looking forward to seeing how they do for you, though. I know a few people that runs those here in larger sizes. They're supposed to be reasonably sticky but not the most flexible. The last part might come more from the sizes, though.

Edward