Wild Country MTX Tires
02-24-2015, 03:08 AM
#1
Wild Country MTX Tires
I've been holding off posting about these, because I wanted to see how they performed and held up. Since I've had them a while now, I figure I'd go ahead and let you guys know.
They appear to be wearing good. Still look like brand new. Can't complain about how they perform on and off road, and I have put them through everything but rock crawling. I use it a lot for hunting and whatnot and I live on a terrible hill, which gets muddy and stays covered in snow and ice during the winter months. I've been in some deep ruts with it and the tires gripped very well. It feels ok, for mud tires, when driving on the highway. They're a little noise, but that's to be expected, of course.
It wasn't until yesterday that I really had a chance to put it through the test in snow and ice. This is the first winter I've had the tires and I just haven't had the truck out at all. In fact, our Ford Edge has been blocking it in the driveway and our hill was so bad that we just couldn't get it moved out of the way until today. We spent the afternoon trying to bust ice up and clear a path so we could move the car to the other side of our road, so that we would have room to pull the truck down. Everything was either covered in a foot or more of snow, a solid sheet of packed ice, or solid ice with snow on top lol! I was a little worried about how these tires would perform in the white stuff. I back it down our steep incline in front of the house, which we hadn't cleared. I was sweating even making it down that in one piece, since there is a straight drop off on one side and a nice ditch at the bottom. I made it down with no issues. Started down our hill, which was solid ice...and a good little distance down to the main paved road. Once again, no problems at all. Drove back up our hill without spinning a wheel. Once up by our driveway, I had to maneuver the truck around to get it backed into the driveway. I was backing up into snow drifts with solid packed ice underneath...up a very steep incline. It plowed right through everything and gripped like a BEAST! I even ended up pulling it back up into the even steeper incline, to the spot in front of the house without spinning one bit.
I am completely surprised at how good these tires grip. I didn't air down or anything. I just drove it. Even tried to get it to slip a few times and she just shredded through the ice.
I previously had a set of 265/75 Cooper AT3's on it. Didn't have them long...about 6 months, but they performed so much better than the tires on my Explorer that they impressed me. I slid down my hill last winter in the Explorer, which had the same size tires...limited slip diff, just like the F150. It was not pretty. But the truck did great. I had put a set of brand new Hankooks a/t's on the Explorer and wasn't too happy with them. So when I put the leveling springs on the f150 and went tire shopping, I tried to find some MT's made by Cooper. They found the Wild Country MTX's and said they were re-branded Coopers. Not sure if they actually are, but I like them.
So if you're looking for a good set of aggressive tires and don't want to break the bank, I would consider these. I have to admit, the truck isn't my daily driver. We mostly drive the edge and I have a couple Mustangs. I don't think I would suggest putting any kind of MT tires on a daily, though. But these tires seem to be doing exactly what I need from them...and then some!
To give you a better idea, this is where I parked the truck...at the top of my driveway. As you can see, not much room for error. Everything is pretty deep, hard-packed snow and ice all around it. In fact, when walking around to the drivers side to get into the truck, I had to hold on to the side mirror to keep from sliding over the hill.
The road down the hill is even worse. Steep drop-off and much higher. Not something to be taken lightly. Once I got a feel for it, these tires and the trusty ol f150 put my mind at ease!
They appear to be wearing good. Still look like brand new. Can't complain about how they perform on and off road, and I have put them through everything but rock crawling. I use it a lot for hunting and whatnot and I live on a terrible hill, which gets muddy and stays covered in snow and ice during the winter months. I've been in some deep ruts with it and the tires gripped very well. It feels ok, for mud tires, when driving on the highway. They're a little noise, but that's to be expected, of course.
It wasn't until yesterday that I really had a chance to put it through the test in snow and ice. This is the first winter I've had the tires and I just haven't had the truck out at all. In fact, our Ford Edge has been blocking it in the driveway and our hill was so bad that we just couldn't get it moved out of the way until today. We spent the afternoon trying to bust ice up and clear a path so we could move the car to the other side of our road, so that we would have room to pull the truck down. Everything was either covered in a foot or more of snow, a solid sheet of packed ice, or solid ice with snow on top lol! I was a little worried about how these tires would perform in the white stuff. I back it down our steep incline in front of the house, which we hadn't cleared. I was sweating even making it down that in one piece, since there is a straight drop off on one side and a nice ditch at the bottom. I made it down with no issues. Started down our hill, which was solid ice...and a good little distance down to the main paved road. Once again, no problems at all. Drove back up our hill without spinning a wheel. Once up by our driveway, I had to maneuver the truck around to get it backed into the driveway. I was backing up into snow drifts with solid packed ice underneath...up a very steep incline. It plowed right through everything and gripped like a BEAST! I even ended up pulling it back up into the even steeper incline, to the spot in front of the house without spinning one bit.
I am completely surprised at how good these tires grip. I didn't air down or anything. I just drove it. Even tried to get it to slip a few times and she just shredded through the ice.
I previously had a set of 265/75 Cooper AT3's on it. Didn't have them long...about 6 months, but they performed so much better than the tires on my Explorer that they impressed me. I slid down my hill last winter in the Explorer, which had the same size tires...limited slip diff, just like the F150. It was not pretty. But the truck did great. I had put a set of brand new Hankooks a/t's on the Explorer and wasn't too happy with them. So when I put the leveling springs on the f150 and went tire shopping, I tried to find some MT's made by Cooper. They found the Wild Country MTX's and said they were re-branded Coopers. Not sure if they actually are, but I like them.
So if you're looking for a good set of aggressive tires and don't want to break the bank, I would consider these. I have to admit, the truck isn't my daily driver. We mostly drive the edge and I have a couple Mustangs. I don't think I would suggest putting any kind of MT tires on a daily, though. But these tires seem to be doing exactly what I need from them...and then some!
To give you a better idea, this is where I parked the truck...at the top of my driveway. As you can see, not much room for error. Everything is pretty deep, hard-packed snow and ice all around it. In fact, when walking around to the drivers side to get into the truck, I had to hold on to the side mirror to keep from sliding over the hill.
The road down the hill is even worse. Steep drop-off and much higher. Not something to be taken lightly. Once I got a feel for it, these tires and the trusty ol f150 put my mind at ease!
02-25-2015, 12:24 PM
#2
Senior Member
Your post goes to show how important tires are (and good driving practice), especially in places where snow and ice hangs around for a good portion of the year. You could put a professional driver behind the wheel of a 4x4 with LS, but without good tires they still wouldn't be able to go anywhere. On the flip side, you could put the same driver in a 2wd with good tires, and they could probably make it farther than the 4x4.
PS - I loved reading the story. I was imagining every bit of it and it sounded like a ton of fun! Also, that is one killer hill! Kudos to taking it on!
PS - I loved reading the story. I was imagining every bit of it and it sounded like a ton of fun! Also, that is one killer hill! Kudos to taking it on!
02-25-2015, 07:42 PM
#3
Lookin' good! I've always liked the look of your truck. 
Can you tell me more about the wear? At their current value it almost seems too good to be true -- the 32x11.5x15 is only $143.
What wheels are you on? Are those stock 7"? Or aftermarket 10? or something else?
Can you tell me more about the wear? At their current value it almost seems too good to be true -- the 32x11.5x15 is only $143.
What wheels are you on? Are those stock 7"? Or aftermarket 10? or something else?
02-26-2015, 12:42 AM
#4
Thanks guys. I love my truck, but don't get to drive it nearly enough. I work on the river 6 months out of the year.
As for the wheels, they are stock. 7", I believe...or are they 8"? The tires do rub the radius arms pretty good, if you're not careful. It could be corrected with some aftermarket rims, but I'm a sucker for the stock look...and I particularly like the looks of the wheels. Ford really had some decent factory wheels back in the 80's and 90's, imho. I have some of the factory turbines on my '88 fox body and have a couple sets of the 10-hole fox wheels for my 82gt. I like the ponies, too...but I have nothing to put them on. Guess I'll have to buy another fox body!
As for the wheels, they are stock. 7", I believe...or are they 8"? The tires do rub the radius arms pretty good, if you're not careful. It could be corrected with some aftermarket rims, but I'm a sucker for the stock look...and I particularly like the looks of the wheels. Ford really had some decent factory wheels back in the 80's and 90's, imho. I have some of the factory turbines on my '88 fox body and have a couple sets of the 10-hole fox wheels for my 82gt. I like the ponies, too...but I have nothing to put them on. Guess I'll have to buy another fox body!
02-26-2015, 09:41 AM
#5
Bronco,
Good deal! I agree with you on the stock rims... I'm definitely a fan, but was under the impression that 12.5 might be pushing it a bit on the width. From what I can tell if you have a 7" rim then it's best not to go more than 4" up in tire width.. But apparently yours are working just fine.
I might have to reconsider looking into 12.5" tires if you've had good experience. Was previously only considering 10.5 and 11.5. Might have to do more research.
Good deal! I agree with you on the stock rims... I'm definitely a fan, but was under the impression that 12.5 might be pushing it a bit on the width. From what I can tell if you have a 7" rim then it's best not to go more than 4" up in tire width.. But apparently yours are working just fine.
I might have to reconsider looking into 12.5" tires if you've had good experience. Was previously only considering 10.5 and 11.5. Might have to do more research.
02-26-2015, 10:42 AM
#6
I like the looks of a wide tire on narrow rim. It might even provide the wheel a little protection offroad. If rubbing the radius arms bothers you, I believe you could use spacers... but I've heard bad things about them breaking under stress. I've also heard you shouldn't go too much bigger on a small rim, but I see it done all the time with no issues.
For the most part, my truck hauls a little lumber from Lowe's... Or some mustang parts... the occasional lad of firewood or gravel, and some light offroading to get my deer out of the woods.I might be a little more concerned if I did a lot of off-roading.
For the most part, my truck hauls a little lumber from Lowe's... Or some mustang parts... the occasional lad of firewood or gravel, and some light offroading to get my deer out of the woods.I might be a little more concerned if I did a lot of off-roading.