Stir the 245/65/17 tire pot

[RM951]

OK so this is my new to me Badlands 2021. I was able to find it with less than 10k miles and new car smell and a hell of a deal. I have a theory,since I see a few 21 badlands on the market with low miles, is that people that don't usually purchase off road vehicles purchase the badlands and first editions thinking it will be a vehicle comparable a similar size Buick or Lincoln only to realize they are small off roaders and not small luxury cruisers. Apparently it was a lock down(lots more stuff to say about that, but I'll bite my tongue) purchase and was parked for almost 2 years or just used for market runs and then traded in for a Honda.

Now that you read thru that. it still has the factory Scorpions on it. The fact that they sell off road vehicles with these type of tires on them makes me want to dig up Henry Ford and punch him in the face. Off road vehicles deserve off road tires. Now these threads are full of three brands the Goodrich ko2, the toyo at3 and the Falken wild peak at3. I am leaning towards the toyos, here's the question. Why not go to America's Tire and purchase another comparably aggressive tire, but for much cheaper. My best off road tire I ever had was the ironman all country at and it handled great on my expo. It's a name I don't see on these threads, so what about the other brand names I don't see? With the same size tire does the manufacturing process make a huge difference? America's Tire sell tire sets that range from around $500/4 to close over 1k/4. So without giving me the you get what you pay for argument. Is there a reason to drop close to 1k for those Toyos? Are there better less expensive options?

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[MTBiker]

Congrats on your new ride! Tires are like footware, use what ever fits your style & needs. I did change those scorpions and got some Yokohama Geolandars AT GO15, and not particularly because of pricing.

 

[LBinWNC]

So many choices… if they work for you then go for it.
I went with KO2s for performance and look.. got them for about $700 installed so it was a good deal too

 

[CrashBend]

I will stir the pot too. I went with 255 55 R18 on my Outer Banks. Close fit but it worked.

 

[Emora30]

I’m getting a lift and putting Nitto Ridge Grappler tires on. They are supposed to be a hybrid terrain and have an aggressive off road look. The shop guy recommended those and said he has them on his F-150 and really likes them. I pick my BB in a couple of days and I’ll let you know how the tires are.

 

[wessermgm]

OK so this is my new to me Badlands 2021. I was able to find it with less than 10k miles and new car smell and a hell of a deal. I have a theory,since I see a few 21 badlands on the market with low miles, is that people that don't usually purchase off road vehicles purchase the badlands and first editions thinking it will be a vehicle comparable a similar size Buick or Lincoln only to realize they are small off roaders and not small luxury cruisers. Apparently it was a lock down(lots more stuff to say about that, but I'll bite my tongue) purchase and was parked for almost 2 years or just used for market runs and then traded in for a Honda.

Now that you read thru that. it still has the factory Scorpions on it. The fact that they sell off road vehicles with these type of tires on them makes me want to dig up Henry Ford and punch him in the face. Off road vehicles deserve off road tires. Now these threads are full of three brands the Goodrich ko2, the toyo at3 and the Falken wild peak at3. I am leaning towards the toyos, here's the question. Why not go to America's Tire and purchase another comparably aggressive tire, but for much cheaper. My best off road tire I ever had was the ironman all country at and it handled great on my expo. It's a name I don't see on these threads, so what about the other brand names I don't see? With the same size tire does the manufacturing process make a huge difference? America's Tire sell tire sets that range from around $500/4 to close over 1k/4. So without giving me the you get what you pay for argument. Is there a reason to drop close to 1k for those Toyos? Are there better less expensive options?

What Ironman tires are you considering? I go to Discount Tire's site (America's Tire for the non-west coasters) and the only Ironman tire in 245/65/17 is the Ironman RB SUV tire. That has a highway tread, certainly not an off-road tire or even a traditional AT.

Now Ironman does make an AT tire in that size: the AT2. Here is the picture:

With all due respect, this tire does not remotely compare to the three you mentioned in terms of AT capabilities. The tread depth on these is only 11/32 - all of the others are 13/32. The BFG, Toyo an Falken all have weight capacities of 300 more lbs. All three of them are greater than SL rated, which means they will have a reinforced sidewall, the Ironman AT2 at SL would not.

Most importantly, TBH, that tire doesn't look any more aggressive than the Scorpions you want to pull off. All three of the tires you mentioned (and there are sooo many more like Nitto Ridge Grapplers, Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT) will have squared shoulders, aggressive sidebiters and deeper tread lugs.

Now, if you like these. Go for it! Who cares what I or anyone else thinks. Put you did want to stir the pot. To me, these are $500 a set too much because they are no better than what the BS came with save for the size.

 

[The_Jimmer]

Landspider Wildtrac A/Ts. You won't be disappointed.

 

[Mark S.]

Off road vehicles deserve off road tires.

Sooooooo... Let's talk about definitions. The Bronco Sport isn't really an "off-road vehicle" in the way that I think of that term. Ford markets it as a crossover SUV. The Badlands trim offers improved off-road capability over the other trims, but nothing like a true off-road vehicle. For example, there's no low-range gearing, no way to lock the front axles together, and the wheel wells do not offer enough space for tire sizes required for true, hard-core off-road adventures.

The Bronco Sport is a compromise. It'll get you from here to there in safety and comfort on your daily travels, and it can take you places most of its competition can't go. Different tires can move the balance--i.e. more off-road capability, less on-road comfort and vice versa--but the performance improvement will not make the Bronco Sport match the best cars available in either regime.

 

[RM951]

What Ironman tires are you considering? I go to Discount Tire's site (America's Tire for the non-west coasters) and the only Ironman tire in 245/65/17 is the Ironman RB SUV tire. That has a highway tread, certainly not an off-road tire or even a traditional AT.

Now Ironman does make an AT tire in that size: the AT2. Here is the picture:

With all due respect, this tire does not remotely compare to the three you mentioned in terms of AT capabilities. The tread depth on these is only 11/32 - all of the others are 13/32. The BFG, Toyo an Falken all have weight capacities of 300 more lbs. All three of them are greater than SL rated, which means they will have a reinforced sidewall, the Ironman AT2 at SL would not.

Most importantly, TBH, that tire doesn't look any more aggressive than the Scorpions you want to pull off. All three of the tires you mentioned (and there are sooo many more like Nitto Ridge Grapplers, Mickey Thompson Baja Boss AT) will have squared shoulders, aggressive sidebiters and deeper tread lugs.

Now, if you like these. Go for it! Who cares what I or anyone else thinks. Put you did want to stir the pot. To me, these are $500 a set too much because they are no better than what the BS came with save for the size.

Had a set of all country at on my expo and they only come in sizes I really dont want to put on the bronco

 

[Bato001]

Sooooooo... Let's talk about definitions. The Bronco Sport isn't really an "off-road vehicle" in the way that I think of that term. Ford markets it as a crossover SUV. The Badlands trim offers improved off-road capability over the other trims, but nothing like a true off-road vehicle. For example, there's no low-range gearing, no way to lock the front axles together, and the wheel wells do not offer enough space for tire sizes required for true, hard-core off-road adventures.

The Bronco Sport is a compromise. It'll get you from here to there in safety and comfort on your daily travels, and it can take you places most of its competition can't go. Different tires can move the balance--i.e. more off-road capability, less on-road comfort and vice versa--but the performance improvement will not make the Bronco Sport match the best cars available in either regime.

Ford limiting the Sport to 31s or smaller is its biggest off road achilles heel. If we could put 33s on the Badlands Sport it would actually be better than the no lockers low end "real off roaders" because even without the low gear we have the rear "locker".

 

[RM951]

I thing we are getting a bit stuck in the semantics here. My first jeep I ran 30/9.50s with an open rear diff and I had to work to get it stuck. I never put it in low gear so I didn't miss anything even if it didn't have it. I took that thing everywhere: Hollister, Pismo, Mammoth. Does the lack of a dual gear transfer case notale this an off roader? You can say it makes it an AWD not 4WD. Does this make a difference? No one gets these to do the Rubicon. The amount of people that purchase Wranglers to do the Rubicon is minuscule compared to the number of jeeps out there. What will we say when a fully electric capable off roader comes along. Will it not be a real 4wd if the cpu controls wheel power individually with no differentials at all, or need for them? I propose that for the most part the badland/FE AWD systems negate the need for 4low. I'll let you know once I put proper tires on it if it fails to take me where I want to go, until then I'll call it a 4wd.

We are getting stuck in the weeds here though. What I was originally asking was for some hidden tire gems. Ones that aren't the normal brands we see posted. But keep stirring that pot. There's plenty of soup for everyone.

 

[NMhunter]

The only thing I wish for is a little more clearance. Even with that limitation, it has taken me everywhere I've needed to go through sand, mud, snow, and steep washes.

As for tires, I'm still looking. As much as I like KO2's, they are heavy and expensive. If you don't drive too fast on gravel roads, passenger car tires work pretty well. My Jeep came with Wrangler tires that weren't bad, but they weren't as good as the KO2's.

 

[Mausermark]

We recently put the Ironman All Country ATs on our Badlands and really like them. They ride better, are fairly quiet and handle loads very well. The tread is just heavy and aggressive enought to handle decently off road or unpaved surfaces while being acceptable on road. They come in under 600 for 4 Installed.

 

[RM951]

We recently put the Ironman All Country ATs on our Badlands and really like them. They ride better, are fairly quiet and handle loads very well. The tread is just heavy and aggressive enought to handle decently off road or unpaved surfaces while being acceptable on road. They come in under 600 for 4 Installed.

Ironman does make good tires. These are the ones I wish they made in 245/65/17

https://www.ironmantires.com/tire-details/Ironman/All-Country-AT

Closest size is 245/70/17. Those do look nice on your ride though. I wonder how they will do in snow and ice.

 

[RM951]

The only thing I wish for is a little more clearance. Even with that limitation, it has taken me everywhere I've needed to go through sand, mud, snow, and steep washes.

As for tires, I'm still looking. As much as I like KO2's, they are heavy and expensive. If you don't drive too fast on gravel roads, passenger car tires work pretty well. My Jeep came with Wrangler tires that weren't bad, but they weren't as good as the KO2's.

I did take note of all the comments regard the weight issues with the ko2. I wonder if that is because those are LT tires and the others like the Toyos are P rated? I have run on wrangler ats before and I just didn't have any luck with durability on those and they were horrible on snow or ice

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