Desert tire recommendations

7182 Views 152 Replies 28 Participants Last post by 2020RR, 2 d ago

McCarthy

Discussion Starter · 18 d ago

Hey guys,

Been a while! Haven't really been on the forum since I got back from the grand canyon trip this fall, we had a brutal and early winter so all the good riding was snowed in by Nov 1. Rode some of the lower stuff later in the winter with chains on all 4. Pic below, fun, but different tire for winter.

Anyways, I currently run (in the the summer) 32x10x14 BFG KM3's, and while they are a good tire, looking for some improvements. The KM3's have had 2 catastrophic sidewall punctures, which I should note is the only 2 i've ever had, but in theory that could be really bad luck.

Needs:

-Tough tire that can handle sharp rock, shale, desert scrub etc,
-Good on rock. (KM3's were fine here)
-Tire that has good high speed stability, and can handle high load transitions at speed. (KM3's are okay here, looking for improvement. For comparison something like the ITP Terrahook (great tire elsewhere) is horrible here.
-Competent on the streets up to highway speeds (KM3 was great here)
-Acceptable in light mud/snow (KM3 was fine here)
-32x10x14 or 32x11x14 (wish there were options in an 11 width- KM3's only measure out at 9" wide, would like more width for more traction)

What I really want is a KM3 that is better in higher speed stuff, especially with cornering and lateral traction.

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Scott F

· #141 · 3 d ago

2020RR said:
another way would be to take the shock off... Measure the collapsed shock height (no shaft showing) with the rubber bumper taken out of the equation.. Get that measurement.. now lower the car (no shock) and measure from upper and lower mounts to the same length as the compressed shock. This should get you really close.

That would get you really close, BUT, it would be very hard to compress the shock due to the N2 charge and the bump zone.
Of course letting the nitrogen out would help.
Another easy way is to measure eye to eye, then subtract the amount of shaft showing, and maybe half a bumper.
You could possibly do this on the car, with the springs, by disconnecting the lower shock mount and swing the shock out of the way.

It would be very accurate to just put the shocks back on, minus springs, lower the car, and compress them fully.
The weight of the car should compress the bumpers a little, but a hard bottom out could compress them 50%, more or less.

Just don't lower the car to the floor and then try to figure out how you will get it off the floor.
If you put blocks under your tires, that would allow room for your jack.

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2020RR

· #142 · 3 d ago

Scott F said:
That would get you really close, BUT, it would be very hard to compress the shock due to the N2 charge and the bump zone.
Of course letting the nitrogen out would help.
Another easy way is to measure eye to eye, then subtract the amount of shaft showing, and maybe half a bumper.
You could possibly do this on the car, with the springs, by disconnecting the lower shock mount and swing the shock out of the way.

It would be very accurate to just put the shocks back on, minus springs, lower the car, and compress them fully.
The weight of the car should compress the bumpers a little, but a hard bottom out could compress them 50%, more or less.

Just don't lower the car to the floor and then try to figure out how you will get it off the floor.
If you put blocks under your tires, that would allow room for your jack.

This is what I said.. at least I think i did.. lol

Good point about getting the car down and back up.. that would be an issue!

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Scott F

· #143 · 3 d ago

2020RR said:
Measure the collapsed shock height (no shaft showing)

I assumed you meant to collapse the shock. I was only pointing out that it would be difficult to do. ✌

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2020RR

· #144 · 3 d ago

Uhhh.. I said "Measure the collapsed shock height (no shaft showing) with the rubber bumper taken out of the equation. " I never said compress the shocks with springs... How would you even do that?

to me that would mean take total height of shock, measure shock shaft and bumper subtract the difference and there is your measurement.

I can see what you are saying but I dont think there would be ANY way possible to fully compress a shock with the springs installed with correct adjustments (unless you had a shock dyno or similar).

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2020RR

· #145 · 2 d ago

Scott F said:
I assumed you meant to collapse the shock. I was only pointing out that it would be difficult to do. ✌

I see you edited this post. Fair enough.. I think the @lelando42 understood what I was saying (at least I hope he did).

No harm No foul... lol

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Megadesertdiesel

· #146 · 2 d ago

Like this

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2020RR

· #147 · 2 d ago

Would you mind sharing the numbers?

Like the Bumps in the back...

soon I hope!

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Megadesertdiesel

· #148 · 2 d ago

2020RR said:
Would you mind sharing the numbers? Like the Bumps in the back... soon I hope!

been top secret for years, cant say chit. I was only showing how you get fully compressed numbers by using wood.

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2020RR

· #149 · 2 d ago

I was talking about how much room there is under the skids and full bump.. Or is that what you are saying is TS?

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Scott F

· #150 · 2 d ago

2020RR said:
Uhhh.. I said "Measure the collapsed shock height (no shaft showing) with the rubber bumper taken out of the equation. " I never said compress the shocks with springs... How would you even do that?
to me that would mean take total height of shock, measure shock shaft and bumper subtract the difference and there is your measurement.
I can see what you are saying but I dont think there would be ANY way possible to fully compress a shock with the springs installed with correct adjustments (unless you had a shock dyno or similar).

Are we having an argument here? If so, I need to get up to speed.

I also never said compress the shocks with springs.
I meant it would be difficult even without springs.

When you said "Measure the collapsed shock height (no shaft showing) with the rubber bumper taken out of the equation", it implies that first you fully compress the shock until no shaft is showing, then measure eye to eye. I now assume you meant to calculate the collapsed length, which may be adequate for this purpose.

Now I will contribute a tiny bit of data to this thread.
According to my notes, ST provided the following dimensions:

XRS Shocks

Front extended 31.750
Front collapsed 20.250

Rear extended 41.750
Rear collapsed 28.000

I don't know how accurate that is, or if that includes any bumper compression or not.

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Megadesertdiesel

· #151 · 2 d ago

2020RR said:
I was talking about how much room there is under the skids and full bump.. Or is that what you are saying is TS?

i found 7/8" clear at full bump on 31" tires

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2020RR

· #152 · 2 d ago

Megadesertdiesel said:
i found 7/8" clear at full bump on 31" tires

It looks like you still have the rubber/foam snubbers/bumps on the shocks shafts.. So i bet there would be nothing left or even negative once you really smash them.. Good info, thank you!

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2020RR

· #153 · 2 d ago

Scott F said:
Are we having an argument here? If so, I need to get up to speed.

I also never said compress the shocks with springs.
I meant it would be difficult even without springs.

When you said "Measure the collapsed shock height (no shaft showing) with the rubber bumper taken out of the equation", it implies that first you fully compress the shock until no shaft is showing, then measure eye to eye. I now assume you meant to calculate the collapsed length, which may be adequate for this purpose.

Now I will contribute a tiny bit of data to this thread.
According to my notes, ST provided the following dimensions:

XRS Shocks

Front extended 31.750
Front collapsed 20.250

Rear extended 41.750
Rear collapsed 28.000

I don't know how accurate that is, or if that includes any bumper compression or not.

No argument here.. We are saying the same thing.. My wording was poor and rushed. We are on the same page

Thanks for the measurements, good info right here!

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