Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T Load Range

Hello All,

I've been researching tires as I'm planning on getting some all-terrains in 265/70R17. Seems the main contenders are the good ol' BF Goodrich K02, Toyo Open Country, Falken Wildpeaks, Cooper Discoverer, and Nitto (Terra Grappler or Ridge Grappler). There are obviously other options but these are the most talked about. Well, all of those look great, but there's one that doesn't get mentioned often - Mickey Thompson Baja Boss A/T. I understand that there's no tire that can truly do it all, but from what I'm seeing, this one gets pretty damn close. Low road noise, snow rated, good on all sorts of terrain, even mud, looks good, and Mickey Thompson has a tried and true reputation. So, is there some reason I don't know about that people aren't running these? And does anyone have experience with them?

They come in the two load ratings shown below.....



I did some reading on here and elsewhere before deciding to post this and the only info I can find about load rating is people complaining about the harsh ride on the road from an E rated tire, and also people debating what psi to run. So I want to know what you guys think for my specific needs. I live in Arizona, probably moving to southern California next year, and occasionally wheel around Vegas where I once lived. All of these places have extremely rocky terrain, sometimes rather sharp rocks, and I want a tire with which I can have full confidence in these situations. I also get up in the mountains of Utah and Colorado in the winter to snowboard so snow capability is a must. I want to be able to air down to 15-20 psi off road and stay at the standard 30-35 on road. I don't want to have to run higher pressure than that. As for on-road ride quality, I guess I don't exactly know what people mean by the "harsh ride" from an E, but off-road performance is more important to me, so I'm willing to compromise on-road driving comfort (as long it still performs decently well on the road). With this in mind, what are your thoughts for which load rating I should go for?

 

Another option that’s a dark horse and flys under the radar is the Maxxis RAZR AT’s. Good looking sidewalls, good tread life warranty (60,000 miles), and super lightweight for a 285/70/17 (43#). Check them out.

 

Well you probably missed (IMO) the most well rounded and best in snow. Goodyear Duratracs, but I have also been eyeing the Baja Boss since they have a very similar tread pattern as the Duratracs. Just not sure if they will be as good since they seem like a fairly new tire. I run my C load Q speed rating Duratracs at 38psi and they have been relatively quiet and awesome in the snow/mud.

 

Ever ridden in a regular car or truck that someone put custom, upsized rims & low profile tires on? Thats "harsh." Tires provide a good bit of suspension on vehicles unless the suspension is designed to compensate for the lack of "squish." If your's came with Duellers or other All Seasons then you should be able to feel this squish very easily. Especially at highway speeds and cornering. Load E's will have very little squish and you will feel a more jarring ride. The "Load" of a tire has to do with the weight it can support without failure. Load Es are not necessarily designed for extra sidewall puncture protection, its that the extra load bearing capacity is achieved by increasing sidewall thickness & rigidity. Only you can decide if you're really in need of such a Load. I run the XL Bajas in 265. Mickey Thompson used an unconventional design on the Baja ATs sidewall(internally) so the XL "should" have the sidewall durability of a Load C. The tire construction was specifically designed for sidewall protection. I know you say you're not really concerned with street use. I can attest though, that for on road comfort they sound different than Duellers, but not really louder. Just a different kind of hum. They also feel very firm without being harsh. Highway drift is almost nonexistent in comparison to the All Seasons. My local environ is mostly pine barrens, devoid of rocks. So can't help you there, but have seen people in vids and there are many people on this site that run Load C's in your locales no problem. Load E's will not guarantee you don't slash your tire. They give you an advantage, but so will better line choices. They'll also slightly reduce your acceleration due to the weight increase. Which also increases the risk of cv & axel failure. Torque plus resistance equals breaking shit. Also, with your "Off Road" rim width you shouldn't have a problem airing down. There's plenty of peeps here running SEMA or Pro wheels that upsize to 285 and still air down to 15psi without issue. Some even go to a lower psi.

 

This is exactly the information, or rather reassurance I was looking for. Being an engineer, I love your equation Torque + Resistance = Breaking Shit . If I can get away with the XL, I'd rather do so, mainly due to the weight issue that you brought up, and I've heard they flex easier off road than a load E does. I love that feeling like you're floating when you air down off road. Just wanted to make sure it would work since I've heard the load C tires are less puncture resistant and someone said you technically aren't supposed to run load C on a 4Runner (that didn't make sense to me... can't believe everything you see on the internet). I ran load C 33x12.5R15 cooper discoverers on my jeep when I lived in vegas and aired down to 15 psi all the time and it was more than fine. And any tire will be more puncture resistant than these dueller H/T's.

So getting off the load rating thing for a second, how do you like this tire in general?

And sort of related, sort of not... and this may be kind of a dumb question... but do people air down all the way to 15 psi on the 265/70R17 and 7.5 in wide rims? I don't really see a reason not to, but I've always associated airing down that low with bigger tires.

 

Pardon my ignorance. Where does XL fit on the scale? In fact I’m a little fuzzy on the scale altogether. There are separate scales for p-metric and LT tires? But the weights overlap? Can someone clarify? It’s confusing and frustrating.

I have a 4WD vehicle. I drive it off road. I want AT tires. But no manufacturer makes a proper off-road tire for my size and weight of vehicle? Because all the properly sized tires for my vehicle weight have sidewalls of insufficient strength to preclude sidewall cuts? And if I want to avoid sidewall cuts I need to have a much heavier and stiffer E load tire which is meant for a much heavier vehicle and will compromise every aspect of my vehicle’s performance in the name of increased sidewall protection? Am I missing something? Can’t tire manufacturers make tires with both a proper weight rating and adequate sidewall protection? Or do they do that already, and we just mechanically buy Load E tires out of insecurity because they are bigger better more? I honestly don’t know.

ETA: I read somewhere that with new methods of tire construction the ply rating isn’t the only determinant of sidewall strength. If true, what’s needed is an empirical measure and rating of sidewall cut resistance.

 

I have the MT Baja Boss A/T's and love them, great ride quality and very quiet on the highway. I'm running 285's though but I go wheeling about every other weekend and have had no issues at all and air down all the time with the standard load tire.

 

Great to hear. By “standard load” I’m guessing you mean the “XL”?

 

Yes the XL's also listed as 116T and a max PSI of 44 pounds.

 

To clarify, The XL is not a Load C. I saw a Mickey Ts promo video about the Baja Boss construction & decided to try them out instead of using an actual Load C. What works for me is different than you, obviously. My thinking is that I'm planning on having a failure. So when the inevitable happens I'm prepared for it. Meanwhile I'm not wasting gas on heavy tires. I'd take the Bajas anywhere around here within 100 miles or so. If I plan on going somewhere else that where there is an extreme likelihood of puncture or some gumbo mud, I have a second set with Mud Terrains. And yes, those are Load E. I maybe failed to articulate this adequately. I choose tires based on the specific need. If I were doing heavy rock crawling(which would be never), places with rock gardens, completely unknown terrains, or lots of water crossings it'd be Load E mud terrains. From what I've seen in video of the more popular trails out west I'd run the Bajas until they fail. Then reevaluate. For basic rocky/rooted trails and general on & off road use I'll stick with Cs. In this case its the Baja Boss. I haven't had a failure yet, so I can't judge how "tough" they are. I can tell you that they've been great so far. The on road handling is far superior to those Duellers, even in the wet. The non pavement places I go tend to range from thick mud flats(usually 4-6 deep over compacted soil), compacted forest terrain, and mostly pine barrens. Pine barrens here are a mix of layers of greasy clay, sand, dead grass & tree limbs, with a lot of low brush. So far the Bajas do well ejecting mud buildup, decent on ejecting clay, and maintain a general firm planting over roots and other slippery surfaces.

I haven't aired these lower than 20, run 34 on the road. Airing down increases malleability of the sidewall & tread patch, thereby decreasing the chance of resistance induced puncture. Also improves grip over uneven surfaces. Not just for big tire sizes. The 7.5s you have push the bead further away from each side maintaining the pressure on the bead even at lower pressures than the TRD Pro 7 inchers. But as said before, people here run low pressure with 285s on a 7 without many problems popping the bead. Whatever tire you go with, might be good to experiment with various PSIs. Find a moderately rough trail with easy turnaround points. Start at 25psi, run the trail back & forth, then repeat lowering the psi a bit each time on subsequent runs. This way you'll have a better feel for what your tires are doing and the benefits or not for that type terrain.

Hopefully some people on here that live in the areas you'll be frequenting will chime in on the success rates on Load Cs in those areas. I know that a few people are running this specific tire in different sizes and loads. Keep bumping till you get more info.

 

XL is above SL, but under C.

It would be great if there were a multitude of tests for various tires sidewall strengths independent of manufacturers.
It would be expensive if someone were to perform these tests on multiple tires independent of manufacturers.

Hold your breath!

 

Thanks for that. Is there some substantive difference between P-metric and LT tires other than the load rating? I’m just wondering why there are two different scales.

 

@Captain Spalding

All I know is P-Metric is for passenger vehicles and LT is for Light Trucks. I'd venture a guess that there are legal requirements for standards met to label a product a certain thing. How big of a difference between in how Ps & LTs are constructed? No clue. Anecdotally, its obvious that manufactures use various tricks in "plys" and compounds to reach those standards or exceed them. Tire tech is a deep rabbit hole. Long ago I watched something on Discovery(when it was still a science channel) where they showed not only Goodyear high performance tires being made, but also retreading Semi tires. Semi tires were much less complex, yet obviously way beefier in construction.

Wait. Are you saying there are 2 different load rating scales? I didn't know there was. Thought it was one long scale with different categories based on load capacity.

 

I see a falcon wild peaks on all kinds of rigs in Southern California … I had Toyo AT3s that’s still had a lot of tried, but I probably literally had five or six nails per tire… so much construction in my neighborhood…. One of the plugs stopped holding air so I was forced to get tires really quickly as I had a road trip and it was going flat…. Spur of the moment I got the falcon Wildpeaks, and I totally regret it.

Soon as they got installed, and I got on the highway my acceleration felt like crap. As I was driving down the highway I googled their weight- they are 7 pounds per tire heavier than stock or the Toyo!!!

The 4runner already felt like a pig and now it really feels slow… pay attention to the weight of the different tires. You are considering.

I really wish I could return the Wildpeaks and get the Toyo AT3 again.

 

Excellent thread, I'm looking at these as well. I wonder why Toyota ever decided to use these weak ass Terra Grapplers instead of the decent Ridge Grapplers that I hear some packages are coming out with now? At LEAST on the OR, ORP and PRO.

 

You should have no problem selling the Falkens, then get what you want.

 

My 2 choices for my 23 Pro the Mickey’s and check out Falken wildpeaks R/T the new tire they just put out. Seen it last week at my tire shop. Very nice tire. The only problem 265/70/17 comes in E rated.

 

I don’t know. i searched for images with the term “tire load range chart” and didn’t see p-metric and LT scales on the same chart.

Hi Chappy. Would you say the Toyos are particularly prone to punctures? 5 or 6 nails per tire. 20 punctures isn’t a good recommendation, neighborhood construction notwithstanding.

 

can’t blame the tires for living in Los Angeles where half the homes around me get torn down by millionaires to rebuild constantly and one particular nail was close to edge and plug wouldn’t hold ….

didn’t think about selling. Not sure how big a loss I’d take plus the $170 for road force balance …. My rig is particular and even with Toyos had to road force. So if I switch tires again will be another road force balance to pay for unfortunately….

 

@Captain Spalding

I see what you mean. There is a difference between Load Index and Load Rating. Load Index is for all tires. Alphabet designations are apparently just for LT & Trailer tires. Looking for this info I was amazed that P Metric sizing is actually 'Murican. Weird to learn standardized metric tire sizing was established here.


@Tacticalchaplain

They charge you extra for Road Force Balancing out there? Here, local shops charge about $30 a tire for install and you can choose Bead, Dynamic, or Road Force. That also includes lifetime balancing and rotation.


-Glad the balancing thing was brought up as I don't really think of it. I know many people here have balancing issues on 4Rs. About 4000 miles on these. Usually drive in the trouble zone of 50-60mph. No shake or shimmies. Mounted on the new style "Pro" wheels.

 

Priceless new knowledge in this thread, thank-you boys.

 

Do you have the same puncture issues with the Falkens?

 

In the table below, note that the passenger tire sizes have a two-letter load rating (SL, XL), while the LT tires have a single letter rating (C, D, E, etc.). This pattern is shown on similar tables from Falken and Mickey Thompson.

 

tire shop I’ve used 14 years doesn’t have road force …. And the two times I’ve got new tires for my ‘16 - both required road force or else shimmy and wheel shakes. Happens sometimes on rotation as well. Anyone with a 5th gen vibrating steering wheel after a tire rotation or new tires - go get road force

Another shop used to charge me $20 per tire road force - now $87 per tire since pandemic!! I found shop for $50 tire with 15% first responders/military discount. But then they s suggested new brakes, belt, and a lift kit haha. Just looking to make money around Los Angeles.

if you mainly drive highway and city like me in a place like SoCa where gas is $$$… pass on the heavy a$$ Wildpeaks !

 

Only had them 2 weeks. And just moved to a less construction happy neighborhood. Hope it helps…. Will be disappointed if Wildpeaks attract as many nails as they’re too heavy for my liking and gonna cost me a $400 tune probably to see if it helps the peddling a moped uphill feeling now with 7 pounds per tire extra for Wildpeaks… I’d go Toyo AT3 if I could do it over again. Or try another AT if there are some lighter ones with good road manners.

 

The SL rated Toyo in 265 is the same weight as the stock Dunlops. Perhaps that is a benefit for the drivability. I assume the tread is heavier. Does that mean the carcass is lighter? Maybe that accounts for the plethora of punctures.

 

well, that would be quite interesting… so are you guys inferring that’s possibly a pitfall to the Toyo? My tire shop said a lot of people in my area come in with nails frequently…. It never crossed my mind that one tire over the other might grab nails easier.

 

@Captain Spalding

So, for 265/70/17 SLs an extra 3 pounds just for white lettering? Wow.

https://www.discounttire.com/learn/load-range-load-index


@Tacticalchaplain

Tires are constructed differently not only by what you can see, but also internally. Even the same "line" of tires can have various construction methods among the differing sizes. As far as ease of puncture heres an anecdote. Thoughtout the early 90s I ran nothing but Goodyears on my cars. By the late 90s I had switched to Falkens. Why? I was replacing whole sets of the Goodyears within 10k miles. Could not keep from picking up metal. A front tire sidewall blowout at 60mph was enough to swear off Goodyears permanently. At the time of the blowout, the only tire in my size were Falkens. Never heard of them before & was skeptical, but also impatient. Those lasted 30k. No issues. So when I traded that car in & the new car had Goodyears I immediately swapped them for Falkens. That car went 105k on only 2 sets. Drove the last set almost bald. No issues. Bought an MR2 and put 130k on 4 sets of Falkens. Did have 2 flats from roofing nails(Thanks Katrina!), but otherwise flawless. In fact, I haven't driven that MR2 in 6 years and it still has 40k Falkens on it. Somehow no dry rot. Of course, thats just my experience and sure maybe the planetary alignment or the way I hold my mouth was causing problems with the Goodyears. Bottom line is switching brands resulted in almost no problems.

*Edit for clarification. All those tires were low profile street tires on a sedan, coupe, and a roadster. So nothing to do with Falken truck tires which Ive heard an equal amount of good & bad about. I had originally thought about going with Wildpeaks. That is, until I saw these Mickey's.

 

that’s good to hear!!! So maybe I did escape more trips to tire shop for nails … my guys laugh anytime I pull in when it’s not scheduled for maintenance…. Then tell me “see you in a month”

The extra weight though hurts with a 4runner. If I had a V8 no sweat but these rigs are slow as it is and never in my life did I get a new set of tires and immediately feel the loss of acceleration…
If I lift it soon (probably will as stock shocks leaking) and get 285s next time maybe it won’t feel that different after getting used to these.

but then again had I not gotten Wildpeaks, wouldn’t have learned about Sprint Booster, Pedal Commander or KD tune…maybe one of those options will brighten my world when I get the cash to try.

 

lololololololol, yeah probably accompanied by a rather robust shit eating grin.

These Baja Boss were noticeably heavier than the stock Duellers at first too. Don't even notice now. I have a diseased right leg that just has to try and stand up at all times. Leadfootitis. Thats my pedal commander.