Are family suburban has stock tires.Wondering if anyone knows how much a good set of mud tires would be?We have alot of very good places to ride but 4x4s get you stuck farther away from home,We need some good tires and that won't happen,Thanks.

 

Are you wanting true mudders or are you looking for something with good ride quality w/ the intention of off-roading from time-to-time?

There's a HUGE difference between the two. True mudders can be very loud and in my experience are ALWAYS somewhat loud. There's no way around it. Ride quality on road suffers as well with mudders. If, on the other hand, you are lookinig for part-time off roading capabilities I'd look for decent AT's. That's a very subjective subject though. Since AT's are designed to be a compromise of off-road and on-road capabilities you need to decide what's more important and buy a tire that is good in that area.

If it's full blown mudders you want I'd look at Cepek's, Interco, or Pro Comp's. Be prepared to spend though. There are also a lot of "private" labels that in my opinion are just as good (often made in the same factory by the same people as the name brands).

I just bought Nitto Terra Grapplers for our Suburban. These are AT's that seem to emphasize on-road and ice/snow qualities but I'm hopeful I'll get decent (not great) mud-ability. They also make Mud Grapplers that look like they are impressive. Some of the 4WD forums have reviewed them and they seem to get really good marks. And they are considerably less that the big boys. If you like BF there are several private labels that sell knock-offs though I don't know anything about them.

On the low side you're probably looking at about $550-600 mounted and balanced. That will get you 245's or 265's. Go bigger and the prices start to jump quickly. I don't think you can go much bigger than 285's without a lift of some sort though. I had 285's on my silverado K1500 and had only very minor rub at full lock and moderate compression. Those were BF's and they were $850 mounted and balanced.

Good luck.

 

As for brands and modle of tires, what kind of terrain do you think you wil see most?

I run Interco's TrXus STS's on my Jeep and they do geat in the desert and sand. If I was stil up in Montana, I would have gone with the TrXus MT's by Interco. They are a very capable agressive off-road tire with good street maners.

A nice mid-road tire would be a Toyo Open Country or any of the Bridgestone Deulers. BFGoodrich makes an all terrain that is an excellent tire with good road wear and grip and wil handle snow and ice wonderfuly. Off-road, they are decent to capable depending on terrain. They are most at home in dirt, sand and rock, do OK in light mud...but anything deep or gooey will clog them and leave you stuck.

I am assuming you wil be mostly trail riding and runing unimproved backroads? BFG AT's will do you well in that scenario.

If you want to venture farther into the sticks, take along a knowledgable friend with a capable truck with a winch. The friend should be able to make sure you get home.

Look for a good, reputable off-road store in your area if you can. 4Wheel Parts is a national chain (mostly out west tho), and if you happen to be in Ohio, check out 4Wheel Drive Hardware's stores. They are a Jeep supplier, but good folks who wheel as hard as they work. These folks can give you an up-close look at what you may need and help explain why some tires work beter than others for what you need then to do.

A tire guage can get you out of a lot too. Remember that the pressure guide on the tire and in your owner's manual is for STREET use. Off-road is a different set of rules. Lower pressure means a biger contact patch on your tire (more tread on the ground) and beter traction. For a big, heavy truck, think about 30 to 25 psi off road. If you are on unimproved roads, you should be fine with street pressure. In sand tho, you will want to air down.