It's time to replace the tires on my '06 F150. At the moment, the truck rides on a 6" Pro Comp suspension lift and turns 17x9" (4.75" BS and -6mm offset) rims. I'd like to replace my 35x12.50/17 Pro Comp mud terrains with a better tire. Don't get me wrong, the PC mud terrains got me in and out of a lot of places, and really weren't too bad on the highway, but I would like to try a new tire to see if it is any better.

Time for the question:
What is a good all-around mud tire? I'd like a tire that is asthetically pleasing, reasonably comfortable on the highway, tough enough to handle some trails and obviously a tire with good traction.

I might stick with the 35x12.50/17 size, or perhaps I will lift the truck an additional 2 inches and mount a set of 36 or 37" tires. What tire does F150online recommend if i keep 35s on it? What tires do you recommend in the 36 or 37" size?

 

If you lift the truck a little more you can probably fit 37x12.50-17's.
As for tires, your Pro Comps are a good MT. Other good choices would be the updated Pro Comp Extreme MT, BFG MT KM's, Toyo MT's, Mickey Thompson MTZ's or **** Cepek Mud Country's.

 

Thank-you sir. I asked some local tire shops and they all seem to like the BFG KM2 and Toyo MT.

 

I have had a good experience with my Kumho Road Venture MT's. My tire shop recommended I try them. He give me 30 days to try them and if I didn't like them I could switch to the Toyo MT's but I have had no complaints with the Kumho tire and they are very unique looking.

 

How is the on-road ride with the Kumho? Let's face it, no matter how agressive our tires 90% of their life will be spent on the road. I liked the look of the Kumho a lot, but I don't want anything too crazy, otherwise I'd just buy a set of Mud Grapplers or Swamper IROK radials and call it a day.

 

I had the regular ProComp MT's on my Bronco about 4 years ago and was a little less than impressed with them. Too noisy, not enough tread life, and on road feel was just not too great. They worked great off road and for things like that, but seemed to be too much of an off road tire for me.

I was a little apprehensive about putting the new Extreme MT's on my truck a few months ago, but have been damn happy from day one with them. Much quieter than the original MT's that I had previously and they handle great on the road. I think that is what has impressed me most. With the tread pattern being as agressive as it is, I was figuring I would sacrifice a little maneuverability with them, but it is quite the opposite. I've got probably 3-5k miles on them already and they still look great so far. I just hope I can get 30-40k out of them. That would be ideal.

Best of luck in your search.

 

Thanks for the input! My Pro Comp MTs (original design) were pretty good off road, and I didn't think they were terrible on road, but I know there are better tires out there. These were basically impossible to keep in balance, and did not wear very well. Overall, they were an everage tire... nothing spectacular.

 

The Kumho's are excellent on the road, very smooth and pretty quiet. They are better on wet roads than the crappy ones that come on the truck. I have Flowmaster 40Series SI/DO exhaust and I can't hear the tires over the exhaust. The only time you can really feel you have mud tires on is when you first start rolling and when you stop rolling but it's not bad.

 

Haha, the first time my friend rode in the truck she asked me what was wrong with it. She felt the tread starting to roll and thought something was loose or broken.

 

Haha, my fiancee done the same thing the first time she rode in the truck after they were put on. She said, "Are you sure they tightened everything up?" It smooths out around 5mph though so it's not really noticeable unless you pull out slowly or if you're rolling through a drive thru or something.

 

I'm still not 100% set on a tire, but at the moment I am leaning towards a 37x12.5-R17 BFGoodrich Mud Terrain KM2. I wanted to lift my truck an additional 2 inches anyhow, I'd hate to buy new 35s, lift it a few weeks later and then be stuck with smaller tires than it needs to look right.

The KM2 looks every bit as capable as the Pro Comp mud terrains that I have now, but fro what I hear is a much higher quality tire that should be nicer on the road. The shoulders have a nice aggressive tread, but it doesn't stick out as far as some tires (like the Nitto Mud Grappler) and probably won't rub as bad in a 12.5" width verses the more popular 37x13.5-RXX tires I see so much of.

What other good tires exist in the 37x12.5-R17 size? I don't want the 13.5" wide tires, as my rims are only 9" wide and would look funny to me.

 

I should mention that I am planning to re-gear with 4.88 Yukon or Precision gears, add a Detroit Truetrac differential and enjoy my capable, all-around nice truck.