Goodyear Wrangler MT/R 275/70R17 Kevlar experiences

I got these 3 days ago and I couldn't be happier with them for my daily driver so far in comparison to my Nitto's. I haven't taken the Wrangers off road yet as I had a fairly busy weekend. I've put about 300 highway/city/dallas road miles on them already. To those reading not familiar with this, Dallas roads means lots of pot holes and lots of crappy pot hole patch work. Combined with low posted MPH, this always makes for a very bumpy ride in any vehicle/tire.

Old tires: Nitto terra grappler LT285/70R17D
New tires: Goodyear Wranger MT/R Kevlar LT275/70R17E
Body mods: Pinch weld shaved, body mount plated, allpro plate bumper, ARE shell, 1/4" skid

Rubber
Only got 28K out of the Nitto's but I wasn't the best owner to them either. Nitto's rubber is VERY soft, so soft I can push on it with my fingers to make it give. Not so much so with the Wranglers, these suckers are hard as a rock which I believe is what I need to not super wear my tires in the heat. I hope to get at least 50-60K out of them with both on and off road usage. These things feel pretty hardy.

VSC Issues
First thing I noticed was the VSC hardly kicks in when I roll over a curb or drop off into a pot hole in the rear. It also doesn't kick in off steep drive ways (entrance or exit). I believe this is due to the reduced tire size, but could also be less rubbing. This small bit of clearance seems to make all the difference for me as the VSC might have been kicking on due to small bits of contact.

from the online tire size calculator

Braking/On road Handling
I do have extended braided steel brake lines, but I had them on both sets of shoes so this is just a comparison between them. Stopping I have much less "dip" than I did before in just normal braking. I don't know if the kevlar adds stiffness at all, but the D to E load rating added two extra ply is certianly a welcome addition. More "small" bumps in the road are felt, but larger items such as patches, dips, pot holes are actually a tad more comfortable. Taking on/off ramps of the freeway feel nicer too as my tires aren't bubbling under the lean anymore.

Noise
Mega dB difference from the Nittos. The wranglers are about 2x as loud, but they are no swampers. The noise is actually tolerable compared to the mud grappler or TSX. I don't mind it but I also haven't had the skirts for a while either which probably increases the dB slightly. They do help make mindless drivers notice you though, suprisingly I didn't have a single person attempt to merge into the side of my vehicle!

Summary

I had to buy these because my nitto's were at 5/32 already and needed tires within a month. After much searching on this forum, these seem to have really good on/off road wear due to the harder rubber and sand is not a concern for my area. I hear these are horrible in the sand. $1551 (installed) and 300 miles later I couldn't feel more justified in my purchase. Now to save up for sliders and hit up bridgeport!

Of course, pictures
I forgot to get a "long body" shot... oh well.






Link to my picasa album for comparison picks

 

Man that's a good lookin tire!

 

x2, they look beefy. I pass a Wrangler on my walk to work that has them and I always end up staring at the tires. They just look plain mean!

 

I got a set of those about 6 months ago and have been pleased. I was going to get km 2 for my other truck but might get another set of the mtr's.

 

How did these Wrangler MT/R with Kevlar tires perform since this was posted 4 years ago?

 

2 years But they worked for about 30K. But I'm an idiot, didn't get an alignment and they cambered out in about 300 miles. But they did awesome on the trail, those side walls made airing down a breeze and they stuck to everything.