Hey y'all! I have what might be an unusual question... I'm interested in a tire that can take a great amount of beating (for rough driving, getting air under all four etc.) I'm not sure I need the offroad grip that an A/T tire provides but would like a tire that'll handle hard landings and bumps with minimum fatigue or stress to the tire. (especially the sidewall) I heard airplane tires are designed to accomodate more than 30% deflection, (measured sidewall compression) and car tires typically 11% deflection. Airplane tires are designed for high speeds and absorbing hard landings and have a round tread pattern. (a 10.5" wide tire may have a 3" wide contact patch at rest) I noticed a lot of A/P tires like BFG Radial Long Trails have a "rounded" shape and are designed for low roll resistance and supposedly shock absorbsion. I also hear that A/T tires are designed to accomodate really low tire pressures (less than 15 psi?) and have extra plys for "puncture" protection. What tire does anyone think could handle more hard bumps and landings, an A/P or A/T tire??? I'm mainly concerned about big, blunt obstacles that can't puncture tires.  

really but holla

Any tire should surivive what you are describing on a stock truck, you will destroy suspension parts before you damage a tire.

No tire is better than any other tire at staying on the rim at low pressure. Its all in the rim design. Bead-locks are the only way to keep the tires on for the torture you are describing.

If you are planning on taking all 4 off the ground repeatedly, it doesnt matter a damn bit on what tires your riding, you better build one hell of a suspension to back that up.

I'm not talkin' about knockin' the tires off their beads. I'm talkin' about stuff like belt separation, damage to the plys, sidewall stress and stuff like that...

Read this article at MSNBC.  I think the tire you're looking for should be available in the near future.  http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4846067/

Scoutnut

Thanks Scoutnut!

No problem.  Pretty interesting though isn't it.  I hope it comes about sooner than later.

Scoutnut

99.99% of the time, the bead will blow before any sort of physical damage happens to the tire, with the hard impact on a smooth surface you are talking about.

Therefore unless you are running beadlocks, I wouldnt really worry about it.

The higher the number of plies, the stronger the carcass of the tire will be, and the rougher the ride you will get.

If you want to jump that much *** get a dirt bike. 

The actual plies of a tire don't mean *** anymore.  Look for a marking that says "Load Range".  This will be on LT tires only. If a tire says "P" before the size avoid it like the plauge.

The Load Range means "ply rating". The conversion as is follows. Load Range "C"=6 Ply Rating; LR "D"=8 pr; LR "E"=10 pr.  Most tires only have 3-4 plies anymore.  Different materials and technology have allowed for this.

I agree with guyonmob.  Any tire should take the abuse.  I'd look at Baja trucks for ideas on a good jumping suspension.  The key is a lot of wheel travel and a "softer" suspension.  You need to absorb as much downforce in the most distance possible.  The softer the landing the more less likely breakage is.

Hey y'all! Thanks for your tips. I was wondering if going with slightly shorter tires might be good for soaking up bumps by giving me longer travel? (yes, I know I might have to modify the brake lines and change the shocks and/or shock mounts) I was thinking something like a little lift and keeping the stock tire size or a tire size a bit shorter. Or would swapping for a shorter sidewall tire increase the bumpiness, if I kept the tire pressures the same? I'd like a cheap way, if possible to soak up them bumps! All thoughts are welcome to me...  

I would think that the more sidewall you have, the more your tire will soak up the shock.  Run a 15" rim with a radial tire to allow more give in the sidewall.  I also think that running slightly lower psi offroad will help soak up those bumps just a wee bit.  What are you planning to go flying over anyway that won't require a long travel suspension to keep from beating you and your truck to death?

Scoutnut

check out the baja t/a

thats what the trophy trucks run

I agree with Mr. Fred, Check out BFG...more Baja 1000's have been won on BFGs than any other tire.  As for more or less sidewall, more sidewall (ie smaller rim or larger diameter tire) will help suck up the bumps.