Mud Terrains
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Senior User
Joined: Apr 2004
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From: Homer, Alaska
Mud Terrains
Hey, I just got in my tires, finally. I have 35x12.50x16 BFG Mud Terrains. I'm curious on the pressure you would recommend to run for daily driving and what pressure you would run for muddin'.
50lbs seems to be BFGoodrich's recommend max tire pressure, and I've always ran my tires at about 5 lbs under max, so I figure I'll run about 40-45 on the streets. But if someone else has better experience with extending tread life, I'd appreciate hearing it.
I've heard that these tires do well in mud/rucks aired down to about 20 psi. That true? Is it necessary really? I dont do anything major, I drive through about 6 inches to a foot of mud on most of the off roading I do, or else it is through river beds with about a foot of water and maybe 2" to 3" of soft mud before the gravel bed. Would I be better off leaving in the 45lbs of pressure or probably better to air down a little?
Opinions wanted!
50lbs seems to be BFGoodrich's recommend max tire pressure, and I've always ran my tires at about 5 lbs under max, so I figure I'll run about 40-45 on the streets. But if someone else has better experience with extending tread life, I'd appreciate hearing it.
I've heard that these tires do well in mud/rucks aired down to about 20 psi. That true? Is it necessary really? I dont do anything major, I drive through about 6 inches to a foot of mud on most of the off roading I do, or else it is through river beds with about a foot of water and maybe 2" to 3" of soft mud before the gravel bed. Would I be better off leaving in the 45lbs of pressure or probably better to air down a little?
Opinions wanted!
Lead Driver
Joined: May 2000
Posts: 9,236
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From: Senoia, GA
airing down helps more then anyone thinks....it creates a larger contact patch without switching out tires/wheels all day long. the lower you go the better but be very careful b/c w/o much air your beads are in danger of popping off. a good ruke of thumb is to not air down below about 13-15 psi. in my bronco club when we hit the trails most of the guys running beadlocks will remove the valve stems and then wait till it is flat then put'em back in and off we go!
you would prolly do just fine running hwy pressures but you will have to experiment and prolly get stuck a few times!
-cutts-
you would prolly do just fine running hwy pressures but you will have to experiment and prolly get stuck a few times!
-cutts-
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From: Homer, Alaska
Cool, thanks for the replies.
I've heard both sides of the cleaning issues with BFG Mud Terrains. Some people say they clean out well, some say they dont at all. I guess the problem is they aren't huge wide tread like some of the mud bogger type tires, so they obviously wont clean as well as the wider tread tires will. Hopefully they do decent though, I cant imagine BFG making a mud tire that doesn't do good in mud. I dont really drive in DEEEEEEEEEP mud, so I figured these would be a good tire for on-road during the week and offroading on the weekend.
I'm going to try running at 35psi for a while and see how the tires look and how they do in the mud at the same time. If I am wearing evenly with 35psi, I think I'll leave it at that for the life of the tire. And if the tire dies in 15000 miles, I'll know that was probably too low
I've heard both sides of the cleaning issues with BFG Mud Terrains. Some people say they clean out well, some say they dont at all. I guess the problem is they aren't huge wide tread like some of the mud bogger type tires, so they obviously wont clean as well as the wider tread tires will. Hopefully they do decent though, I cant imagine BFG making a mud tire that doesn't do good in mud. I dont really drive in DEEEEEEEEEP mud, so I figured these would be a good tire for on-road during the week and offroading on the weekend.
I'm going to try running at 35psi for a while and see how the tires look and how they do in the mud at the same time. If I am wearing evenly with 35psi, I think I'll leave it at that for the life of the tire. And if the tire dies in 15000 miles, I'll know that was probably too low
Last edited by Rambo; May 17, 2004 at 06:07 PM.
Senior User
Joined: Mar 2004
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From: Temecula, CA
Also, while I know it's not much of an issue for mud, be careful around sharp rocks...BFG MT sidewalls are WEAK. Here's a shot of BFG carnage from this last weekend..My Goodyear MT/R's did great, my buddy's BFGs didn't fare as well...
He did that on a graded road, aired down to 11 PSI. There are 7 plugs in that tire, and it held for the rest of the day.
He did that on a graded road, aired down to 11 PSI. There are 7 plugs in that tire, and it held for the rest of the day.
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From: Homer, Alaska
That is odd, because that is supposed to be the mud terrains claim to fame, supposedly, that it has extra stout sidewalls. What did he hit that ripped a hole into that sidewall so badly?
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Joined: Oct 2003
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From: Metamora
I would suggest that you try the inflation pressure listed on the vehicle placard with the stock tires. What kind of truck is it? Granted, the stockers were probably much smaller than the 35's, so the load carrying capability at the same pressure as stock tires with the 35's would probably be greater, but it is where I would recommend to start.
I'm not sure of the exact construction of the BFG MT, I know that they have three sidewall plies, but the Goodyears also have 3 plies but instead of the outermost ply running radially, it runs on a bias (similar to bias ply tires, but not as extreme of an angle) which helps for sidewall penetration. Also, the sidewall compound is supposed to be designed specifically for abrasion resistance, but I'm sure that most of the durability has to do with the ply design.
I'd replace that BFG in the pic ASAP.
I'm not sure of the exact construction of the BFG MT, I know that they have three sidewall plies, but the Goodyears also have 3 plies but instead of the outermost ply running radially, it runs on a bias (similar to bias ply tires, but not as extreme of an angle) which helps for sidewall penetration. Also, the sidewall compound is supposed to be designed specifically for abrasion resistance, but I'm sure that most of the durability has to do with the ply design.
I'd replace that BFG in the pic ASAP.
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From: Temecula, CA
Just a rock. and a small one at that. Ask any rock crawler about BFG's...NOBODY who's serious about playing in the rocks will run them. I have sliced 3 BFG's just like that. I have seen more cut BFG's than any other brand of tire. The three BFG's that I cut happened in the same weekend, two of them within 20 feet of each other on the same trail.
They claim to have superior sidewall strength, but that just ain't so. The new Krawlers do, but not the T/A tires. Weak, weak, weak. If you were ever trying to decide between MT/R's and BFG MT's, the choice is clear. I have taken my MT/R's places that no BFG can survive, and in two years have only cut one of them (and that was on a stick, of all things). I cut so many BFG's that Discount Tire blacklisted me after the last road hazard replacement. The manager actually came out and told me never to come back. They revoked my warranty.
They claim to have superior sidewall strength, but that just ain't so. The new Krawlers do, but not the T/A tires. Weak, weak, weak. If you were ever trying to decide between MT/R's and BFG MT's, the choice is clear. I have taken my MT/R's places that no BFG can survive, and in two years have only cut one of them (and that was on a stick, of all things). I cut so many BFG's that Discount Tire blacklisted me after the last road hazard replacement. The manager actually came out and told me never to come back. They revoked my warranty.
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Joined: Apr 2004
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From: Washington
"I'm curious on the pressure you would recommend to run for daily driving "
The correct way is to draw a line across the tire (chaulk or whatever works) and drive it down the street. After driving down the street, look to see what part of the line has worn off. If the center is gone, then the tire is over inflated. If the edges are gone then the tire is under inflated. Do this until the tire is evenly worn across.
Tire pressure will be different front to rear and from truck to truck depending on what is over the axles. For more mileage, put some more air in the tire but this will wear the center out sooner. Don't for get to add air if you put a load in the truck too.
For Offroad and the front weight of a truck 12-15 if probably good but the back could go down to 10 without a problem. If you have an on-board air compressor (AC pump, search OBA) on your engine, then airing up isn't a problem.
James
The correct way is to draw a line across the tire (chaulk or whatever works) and drive it down the street. After driving down the street, look to see what part of the line has worn off. If the center is gone, then the tire is over inflated. If the edges are gone then the tire is under inflated. Do this until the tire is evenly worn across.
Tire pressure will be different front to rear and from truck to truck depending on what is over the axles. For more mileage, put some more air in the tire but this will wear the center out sooner. Don't for get to add air if you put a load in the truck too.
For Offroad and the front weight of a truck 12-15 if probably good but the back could go down to 10 without a problem. If you have an on-board air compressor (AC pump, search OBA) on your engine, then airing up isn't a problem.
James
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From: Homer, Alaska
I've been reading reviews and also other forums for the tire pressure question, I think I'm going to stick with running 40 lbs on the highway and see how it does. I will definitely try the chalk thing and see how it wears off, that is interesting and I hadn't thought of it before. I might air down for muddin' but since I'm not an extreme mudder, I'm not sure I really need to. I'll check it out and see, it will be good to test anyway.
As far as strength of the sidewall, that isn't a real big issue with me because I dont rock crawl at all. I mainly go down muddy trails or open muddy fields. Rocks VERY rarely enter the picture, and if they do, I'll be careful I dont ram my sideways into sharp pokey ones
As far as strength of the sidewall, that isn't a real big issue with me because I dont rock crawl at all. I mainly go down muddy trails or open muddy fields. Rocks VERY rarely enter the picture, and if they do, I'll be careful I dont ram my sideways into sharp pokey ones
Post Fiend
Joined: Sep 2000
Posts: 8,238
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From: Oregon
Yea, I wouldn't sweat it. For what you do those bfg's will be fine. You probably don't need to worry about airing down, even. The chalk method that Bob mentioned is hands down the best method to determine the best pressures for the tires front and rear. I think when I did that with the bfg's on my '72 I ended up @ 36 in the front tires and 34 in the rears. Or close to there.
