$$ Question - MTR vs MTZ vs STT vs Pro Comp XMT

[Pat Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Pat]

Apart from the tread patterns, I wonder if the rubber compounds used in the Cooper's are different from those used in the Mickey Thompson's?
I used to have Cooper ATR's (without any problems) but when the time came I changed camps to the Mickey T's for something different.
Got the all-terrain Mickey T ATZ's and they only lasted one weekend off the bitumen. They don't like rough gravel roads! The lugs chipped everywhere and it looked as though the rubber compund was too soft? I was with a guy who had Cooper STT's and he didn't get any problems at all. So I went back to the dealership and they changed the Mickey T ATZ's for Cooper STT's. I don't mean to bag out Mickey T as they were very grippy on wet roads.
I've only had the STT's for probably 2 hours so I really can't comment on how the STT's go, but seeing this is a fairly subjective topic I may as well anyway! :P So far all I can say is they look bloody awesome!
If I could run 2 sets of wheels I'd go with the Cooper ATR's on my everyday rims, and put the biggest, fattest, chunkiest, loudest, most illegal damn fuel guzzling tyres I could find for the weekend rims.
So Matt, go nuts!

[Crammy Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Crammy]

Ok what we know so far:

Goodyear Wrangler MTR

- 3 Ply side wall construction
- ? Ply tread construction
- 112 load rating = 1120kg
- P Speed rating = 150km/h
- Treadwear = ?
- Traction = ?

General comments

- Wear fairly well
- Good manners on bitumen wet/dry
- Have strong sidewalls
- Not as good as STT's & MTZs in the mud
- Don't bellow out as much at lower pressures because sidewalls so solid.
- Load rating lower than other two, could be an issue if heavily loaded (most likely rediculously loaded)

Mickey Thompson MTZ

- 3 Ply sidewall construction
- 10 Ply tread construction
- 121 load rating = 1450kg
- Q Speed rating = 160km/h
- Treadwear = ?
- Traction = ?

General Comments

- Great in the mud rocks and gravel
- Softer compound, wears quicker than MTR's
- Very high load rating
- Wear a little faster then STT
- Squirm when cornering at high speed (100kmh)
- Reasonably quiet on the HWY for mud tyre
- Perform well in the wet on bitumen
- Stiffer sidewalls don't adversely affect sand performance.

Cooper STT

- 3 Ply sidewall construction
- 10 Ply tread construction
- 121 load rating = 1450kg
- Q Speed rating = 160km/h
- Treadwear = ?
- Traction = ?

General Comments

- Great in the mud
- Reputation not so good
- Similar compound to MTZ
- Very high load rating
- Warranty issues?
- reported thin sidewalls? (seems rare, could be reputation, may have been made stronger recently?)
- Tread blocks reportedly tear off (seems to be rare)

Have been doing some research on these tyres for the last few weeks and have lifted some of the comments from other forums and mostly from guys that have run at least 2 of the above tyres.

I personally have gone the MTZs only because I'd like something a little better in the mud, they seem to have mostly positive feedback and to see how they go alongside Joey's STTs! 8)

Feel free to add to the list.

[leachy_9 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close leachy_9]

Matt asked my experiences with MTZs then propted me to post my rely here. So here it is:


I've done about 10K on them and whilst I only use them for 4WD trips, being in WA means that I quite regularly need to drive a long way on the black top before going off road. They are just starting to show signs of wear and I'd guess I'll probably get 40-50K out of them.
On the road they are not too noisy (I can hardly hear them over my roof rack), and I was pleasantly surprised by their grip in the wet. Above 100km/hr I get a fair amount of feed back and vibration through the steering wheel and you can feel them 'squirm" when cornering. This was disconcerting at first but now I'm used to it and happily sit on the speed limit.

As soon as you get off the black top the MTZs are awesome. On high speed corrugated dirt roads they are sure footed and track well.
In the mud they just keep going, I'm been through some pretty nasty mud/water crossing and the MTZs have never let me down. Unfortunately the only other WA Proadpointer with muddies is Matt White and he also has MTZs, so I haven't been able to do a direct comparison with MTRs or STTs.
I've done a few trips with quite a bit of rock climbing and the tyres haven't chipped.
I was worried how they would go in the sand, but I've had no problems. There has never been a time when I couldn't get somewhere in the sand that others could.

When I was researching I found it is commonly accepted that the MTZs are the best in mud but will probably give the least number of kms (Mickey Ts use a soft compound). I've heard and personally seen too many Coopers horror stories to ever consider buying them. So the choice was really MTZ or MTR (the Procomps were just too expensive).
Since they are just play tires for me the MTZ seemed the obvious choice.

The tyre pressures that I have been running are:
Road: 36PSI
Dirt roads >80km/hr: 32PSI
Dirt roads <80km/hr: 28PSI
Rocks: 20PSI
Sand: 15PSI
Very soft sand: 10PSI - At this pressure I avoid any hard cornering and increase pressure ASAP.

Leachy

[Chippy Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Chippy]

Sensational write-up Leachy.

You should get a job as a Mickey T press agent. :lol: :lol: :lol:

I got to borrow them for a weekend and can only echo all of Leachy's comments. Road noise wasn't an issue ... with the roof rack and snorkel already. There was a bit of tread block squirm at speed ... but nothing too alarming.

.... but out in the tracks and mud there was nothing to stop them.

... and here's Leachy, with a leg in the air, so you can all get a good look at the tread on the MTZ's :lol: :lol:



You'd swear the tyres are even trying to grip the air to keep you moving. :lol: :lol:

Cheers
Chippy

[Matt Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt]

most of the bad feedback (infact the only bad feedback really) i can see for the STT's if from the ATS crew.

TBH with all the research i did i found STTs to be the tyre for me.

MTRs wear quickly when used as an everyday tyre.

MTZs are good, but nosier than the STT

Just ask the pro ATS people what they think about BFG's.. even tho there are 1000's of 4wds out there that dont have a problem with them.

Any tyre can get damaged, or be staked.

[Matt Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt]

thank god mine were made after 2002 8)

sersiously tho. From product review in magazines, to actual first hand experiance with the tyres.. there doesnt seem to be an issue.

not only that.. but you can find class action suits for ANYTHING and EVERYTHING in the USA :roll: :lol: :lol: :lol:

1 minute of googling i found countless links for class actions suits against goodyear :wink:

[Matt Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt]

when did they update the STT with the extra side ply?

got a feeling that was very recently...

[Damien Parker Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Damien Parker]

I love my MTZ's.

They are on the car everyday of the week.

Not too noisy. (The missus drives it more than me so they cant be all that bad)

Priced competitively against the others (For me they were the cheapest by a good $50ea)

Great in the mud, dirt, sand, rocks.

Surefooted on the road, with great wet weather traction on the blacktop.

I haven't found any situation where they have not excelled.

I run 40 Psi on the Road
25 Psi on the Dirt
16 Psi in the sand - Stockton has been very VERY soft of late and i have never run into troubles with this pressure
20 - 16 Psi in the mud

I have put about 40000 km on them and have worn exceptionally well. I would say they are good for another 30000 at the least.

Look after your tyres and they will look after you.

[Matt Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt]

that 40psi on the road damo.. is that hot or cold pressure

im considering upping my pressure as my fuel consumption has gone up from running them at 36psi (up more than it should have after switching)

[joey Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close joey]

i think they up graded the tyre wall last year ...me thinks :roll:

[lc120_man Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close lc120_man]

most of the bad feedback (infact the only bad feedback really) i can see for the STT's if from the ATS crew.

Matt,

Most of this feedback comes from our experience during outback trips on the toughest outback roads/no roads at all gibber/sharp rocks outback driving...

Have a look at exploroz website and you'll see 50/50 percent happy/unhappy with STTs vs there is not a bad word about MTRs....

[Crammy Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Crammy]

Matt/leachy/lc120man,

What's the treadwear and traction classifications on your tyres?

I'll add them to the list... If no one wants the list let me know and I'll give it the flick.

[Byrnsie Member Find all posts View Profile Close Byrnsie]

Which tyres, which snorkel, which battery system, which spotties, which suspension, which bullbar, which GPS, which roof racks, which UHF, which aerial, which sidesteps, which lockers, etc etc

There are arguments for and against every single option.

One thing is for certain, it is great fun modifying your vehicle and taking it to new places off the beaten track. And just about every modification adds to the fun factor.

I never knew owning a fourby was going to be so addictive.

PS: So far I love my STT's

Cheers - Byrnsie

[Matt Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Matt]

most of the bad feedback (infact the only bad feedback really) i can see for the STT's if from the ATS crew.

Matt,

Most of this feedback comes from our experience during outback trips on the toughest outback roads/no roads at all gibber/sharp rocks outback driving...

Have a look at exploroz website and you'll see 50/50 percent happy/unhappy with STTs vs there is not a bad word about MTRs....

i have seen all the exploreroz threads on it.. also.. that pic of the shredded tyre was taken back in 06 (or so the imgtags say).. the STT has been revised since then.

its like anything.. ZD30 blow ups, 100 series front suspension, 120 series rear diffs..

Things happen on trips and in general. I have heard bad reviews of MTRs from bad wear, to chipping to bad wet weather grip.

Also, with your experiance with them on trips: was it on your vehicle? because you cant just set up a car to a specification, and expect it to perform flawlessly regardless of who is driving, and how much care and notice they put into the machine they are driving on the road at the time.

Some of my posts may have come across as cranky and pointing the finger at the ATS trips.. but i do sometimes get sick of people (be it with lots of experiance or not) bagging a product that they have seen fail, regardless of any success that that product may have had in the same conditions with different drivers. I have known people that have taken BFG AT's into extreamly remote places and NEVER had a failure.. that to me has to say something.

[Damien Parker Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close Damien Parker]

that 40psi on the road damo.. is that hot or cold pressure

im considering upping my pressure as my fuel consumption has gone up from running them at 36psi (up more than it should have after switching)

40 psi cold.