Hey guys kinda new at the whole 4x4 thing looking for some advice on what kinda tires are good for the road and on the trail with more than moderate mud ? I have a 85 full size Jimmy with a 350 and 4" of suspension lift and 3" body lift and will be upgrading too 4.10  gears real soon.  I want to run M/T's baha claws on the beast but O heard that they weren't any good cause they wear out very quickly. 

  Whats yas opinion on this? 

I'm not a big fan of directional tires like the Baja Claws.  If you have a flat then your spare is really only good for one side of the vehicle.  The standard mud tires that work really well in the rocks and the mud are the Super Swamper Bogger or TSL line, the Goodyear MT/R, and the BFGoodrich MT/KM or Krawler TA/KM.  All these tires perform quite well in almost any terrain.  From my experience and the experience of others I know the tire that will get you the most road miles is the BFG MT/KM.  The compound isn't as soft as the others that are designed more strictly for offroad use. 

I recently bought a set of 5 35" BFG MT/KM's for my Scout cause they were cheaper than all the others and would last me longer on the pavement while still giving me superior off highway traction.  Especially when aired down.

Hope this helps.

Scoutnut

everything that Scoutnut said is true, and I'd like to add that my chevy has a four inch lift and I'm running 37-inch pro comp x-terrains.  They seem to be wearing just fine, but they are also a directional tire like the claw.  I am also running 4.56 gears in my truck, and with a 6.2 diesel it seems to be ok for highway cruising, no rocket mind you.  I did need to trim a little on the fenders, but not much.  How does your 3-inch body lift look, and affect your steering?  It seems a little excessive, but I'm not sure what size tire you are looking for.  Most people recomend a six inch lift for 37's, but with your body lift you should be fine, though the 4.10 gears may be just a tad high.     

with that lift combo you can easily run 38's.  if you only wheel ocasionaly, then get some 38 inch mudders and use them only for wheeling.  I did it for years.  when you buy a tire that big get it mounted and balanced from the factory where you are buying it from. Most auto places cant balance a tire that big correctly.  so if your buying a new tire and wheel,  just throw it on when you wheel and abuse your normal tires when on the street.  dont settle for an all terrain, or BFG mud terrain and think youll just run them all the time because when you are really wheeling those tires wont help your rig as much as a bogger or swamper TSL would. There is no street tire that performs well when your knee deep in the sh**.  its worth it cause youll save all the wear and tear on them from the street too.

I must admit that I have a tendancy to err on the side of caution when it comes to certain things.  I don't like to break parts on my Scout because it's my daily driver.  So I invest in tires that I know my axles and drivetrain can handle without being extremely stressed to the point of breakage. 

I know that your rig didn't come with 1 ton axles.  I have 3/4 tons and most people only recommend a 35 or smaller tire cause you'll start to go through u-joints and axles shafts otherwise (always the exception to the rule though).  More than likely you're running either a 10 or 12 bolt in the rear, upfront if you're lucky a Dana 44, and if not one of those POS C-clip axles I previously mentioned.  I would not recommend running anything bigger than 35's if you A. have a heavy throttle foot B. plan on doing any serious mudding or rockcrawling.  You can always get hardened shafts and u-joints, but the weak point of those axles would still exist.  It's the C-clips.  If you have a front Dana 44 then hardened shafts and CTM joints would be a good idea and cheaper than a Dana 60.  The rear could be replaced with a full floating 14-bolt or Dana 60. 

If you're like me and a lot of other wheelers, then you probably don't have money to buy 2 different sets of 5 rims and tires for your rig.  With the money blown on that you could have bought those axles shafts or a locker or something.  As far as the BFG MT being a street tire I beg to differ.  If you would look back 20-25 yrs. then you would see that the first mud terrain/offroad tire was the BFG.  Now I would agree with MUDNUTT about the All terrains.  Don't waste your money with those if you want the better traction off road.  They don't give you much more on the pavement then the mud terrains do anyway, save maybe in the rain or ice. Interco's Bogger and TSL line tires will do better offroad than BFG MT's, and Goodyear's MT/R's will be better as well.  However, Interco and Goodyear's tires are also more expensive then the time tested BFG and they're louder on the pavement, don't last as long on the pavement, and aren't as pavement friendly as far as handling characteristics go.  The BFG MT in a tire test in all kinds of terrain placed 5 out of 10 and the tires that beat it were the one's mentioned above.  So you can see that you're not losing to much when it comes to off road traction, but you gain a lot on the road.  I'm not a salesman for BFG, but I do believe that it's one of the best tires on or off the road for your money. 

Hope this helps.  If you do go big, invest in your drivetrain or put a really heavy spring on your throttle linkage.

Scoutnut 

I would have to agree that the BGF MT/Km is the best all around tire for the money.  But what kinds of 'wheeling are you into and what percent of your miles come on black top will make a huge difference in what tires I would suggest.  If you don't get into mud over 18" my 35" BFG AT/KO's hold their own pretty darn well.  They are about shot now with over 60,000 miles on them!  I have also run Boggers and they have a very short highway life and are directionals, boy do they eat up mud and rocks.  Claws, as you asked about, are great offroad and will probably last 15-25,000 miles depending on your vehicle weight and tire alignment. 

Good luck with what ever you choose.

if you want alot of mileage then go with anything from bfgoodrich. every tire ive ran from them have a hard compound and last very long, they just arent the best choice for hardcore mud or rocks. a bit more aggressive alternative would be tsl-sx's. they are exactly like a regular super swamper except they have a better sidewall, do not have a staggered size center tread, and are much harder. i had a set of 35x15.50's that outlived a jeep and 3 chevys! with a half ton running gear i would run no bigger than 35s, and go with 33's if i didnt want to really get into the danger zone for breaking parts  

Do they still make the old mickey t baja belts? If they do i would buy those for you chevy. They last a long time. Or you could get some ground hawgs.the hawgs you can run bald and they still offer good tracion(from the side walls)