What tire is a good off road tire but quiet? I don't go mud bogging or rock climbing but I do occasionally find myself in mud or off road. The tires I have now are very quiet at 50 mph. I can't hear my engine so I honestly don't know when to shift (no tact) any help?

 

Almost all AT"s are quiet. Had the Toyo Open Country, BFG KO and Terra Grappler, and I can say that they are smooth and quiet on the highway.

 

BFG just came out with new version of their A/T. Read online about how they have improved road noise. But haven't tested myself.

I have the old style, they are quiet enough, in the sense that they don't make that "rowrowrowr" sound like the old M/Ts do.

If you do want a MUD tire, they have the newer M/Ts, I can't report if they are quieter than the previous version, sorry.

The quietest would be the Long Trails. But not a MUD tire, just a solid LT tire.

 

What tires do you have now? I'm not understanding you not being able to hear the engine to know when to change gears, or how it affects tire choice. I can clearly hear/feel the engine getting past 3000rpms even with MTs and my stereo blasting in my 22re pickup.

As for quiet offroad tires, whether MT of AT - the key factor seems to be spacing between the tread lugs. MT tires usually have wide gaps for grip, thus the noise increases as each section hits the pavement. AT tires typically have tighter tread and LT/road tires have even tighter tread pattern for pure street and dirt road driving. Not only will this influence noise level, but it will have a lot to do with traction capability and sometimes tire wear.

To me it sounds like you could do with just a good AT tire or even a LT would work everywhere but the mud. Most traditional AT tires will not be good in real mud because you need wide lugs/paddles and horsepower to push through mud holes -- but modern AT tires are sort of a "hybrid" featuring tread pattern of both AT/MT. Some good examples of what I call hybrid ATs are the GY Duratrac and Cooper ST Maxx. A really good comparison of old and new ATs is to compare the old BFG AT to the newly released version. There are about a dozen quality AT tires out there right now and I think you'd be happy with any one of them.

The quietest most long lasting LT tire I had on multiple vehicles were Michelins. Wore excellent, quiet on road, didn't do that bad offroad either, not good in mud. I currently have GY Duratracs on my Cruiser, great tire, but will need tires maybe next year and I'm looking toward something like a Toyo AT, Cooper AT3, Falken Wildpeak AT, and possibly the new BFG AT.

 

I really liked yokohama geolander AT/s tires when I had them years ago on my truck. They were quiet, good wear, good in rain/snow, good in the dirt/sand, and had a good ride to them. I'd have them now if they made in the a 33x10.50.

 

You would probably like those Goodyear wrangler authority that Walmart has. It's not as aggressive as a real MT but more aggressive than an AT. They're really affordable too. Now if you got cake, those Duratracs are sick and get great reviews.

 

i have Falken WildPeak A/T tires on my 2005 Tundra and 1983 Pickup. I absolutely love them!! They have a fairly aggressive look for an A/T, the deepest A/T tread pattern available and a rubber compound that wears very well. I have driven mine in moderate mud, sand and snow with no problms. They have very good road manners and are very quiet. Price point is right if you are on a budget - I paid $636 for 31x10.5 R15's for my Pickup and $745 for whatever size converts to a 33x12.5 R16 (I don't recall the actual metric size) on my Tundra. I would highly recommend them to anybody looking for a A/T tire.

Also Discount Tire Direct exclusively sells the Rocky Mountain A/T which is exactly the same as the WildPeak, just a bit cheaper

 

Get some Boggers, best tire to run in the mud and they are as quiet as kittens, you wont be disappointed, you will surely be able to make your shift. Come to think of it, any bias ply tire should meet your needs............Seriously though, I think you need to rethink your choices.

 

Thornbirds for life

 

Terra grappler are quiet and pull quite good.

 

Toyo open country mt's

 

Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs

With rotating every 5,000 miles, making sure alignment is in spec, and monitoring air pressure, I have 55,000 miles on mine on my 2001 4Runner (265/75R16 LRC) and they have been fantastic. Super soft when air down, great wet weather traction, not terribly loud, good road manners, and great longevity.

I think I am going to get about 65,000 out of them.

 

Hankook dynapro m/t or mickey Thompson mtz. Run both love em. Dynapro mt won mud tire shootout few years back

 

I have BF Goodrich all terrain KO'd on three vehicles. I really like the ride on a 96 Tacoma, very nice ride. I put Hankook tires on my 82 for a little Varity.

 

Install a tach run any tires you want!!!

Seems to be much easier choice.

Over the years I have found as tires wear down most all tend to get louder!!

The more aggressive the tread the louder they seem to get.

Then road surfaces can also effect the road noise

 

I personally thing the KM2 is quite for a mud tire. But I prefer Offroad performance over quiet. Any choice you make for better performance in one area is going sacrifice performance in another. An example: Duratrac have good tread pattern and great road manners but weak sidewalls. BFG Old A/T great road manners, heavier sidewalls, weak Offroad performance.

Most tire reviews are very subjective. After all one it's an opinion based from the person experiencing them. I saw tons of reviews that the KM2s were loud on road. To which I seriously wonder what the ppl saying that had to compare them against. Some guys definition of offroading is a gravel road with mud puddles that I personally would feel comfortable driving my VW Passat on.

Mickey Thompson has some cool looking tires that may hit the mark your looking for like the extreme country. They look BA but not for my application. After reading specs and tire description of design it's plain to see it is intended for occasional Offroad like a hunter or fisherman might need. Not an off-roader. If you can find someone to mount them there is great deals on line. 4wd.com has about the best prices I've found with free shipping on most. Just ignore all the jeep jargon.

As for hearing motor to shift. Before I had tack I knew that curtain speeds need curtain gears so I looked at speedo. And could tell by feel, terrain, and speed if I need to down shift.