Blackdiamond (Gup-C build-up)

[blackdiamond]

Looks good. Interested to see the gains you see with it.

I have a few specific places in mind to give it a good test.

[SqWADoosh]

I have a few specific places in mind to give it a good test.

I'm stoked to be along for the ride 

[blackdiamond]

New Tires!

[Rockcrawlintoy]

How do they compare size wise to the bfg? You were just down the street from my house

[blackdiamond]

How do they compare size wise to the bfg? You were just down the street from my house

I think the official measurement on 10s is pretty much the same, about 34.5 inches. I have not had a chance to put a tape on the new ones to see where they are at.

The tread is about an inch wider than the KM2 and I am sure the KMs I had were similar.

[blackdiamond]

How do they compare size wise to the bfg? You were just down the street from my house

Looks like an even 34 inches with 32 psi. They seem to be a very aggressive design, more in person than I was expecting from the pictures.  I am surprised at the reviews for being easy to balance and being quiet. They are not too loud for my needs, but I did hear some actual tire hum that I never heard with my KMs.  They are smooth, but took a bit of weight. I made them spin one 180 degrees and may press the issue on another one after Moab when I get them rebalanced.

My Moab "To Do" list is pretty short:
(1) Install Soft Top
(2) Hopefully, that's all folks...

[SqWADoosh]

My Moab "To Do" list is pretty short:
(1) Install Soft Top
(2) Hopefully, that's all folks...

Ugh I hate you. 

[blackdiamond]

Ugh I hate you. 

I think my tires and traction bar are my first off road mods/upgrades in at least five years. I can't even remember what the last mod was. This has been a busy "to do" list by my standards.

[blackdiamond]

The ARP studs and Longfield Hub gears are now installed.

Black lug nuts are way as well so I'll have a matching set.  I lost my locking lug keys so I had Discount remove them.  I was surprised that they would let me leave with a missing lug nut, but I'm glad they did so I wouldn't have to purchase four odd lug nuts to hold me over until the order comes through.

The build can't officially be complete until I get bump stops installed.  I think gotrocks has a set slated for the bdrunner at some point in the future, but I don't remember for sure.  He may also still have my fan shroud from the build days.

30 days until I'm going to Moab!

A quick look back. 2009 was the last mods.

[Rockcrawlintoy]

These tires intrigue me. Looking forward to see he they do

[blackdiamond]

These tires intrigue me. Looking forward to see he they do

With the addition of the traction bar it may be difficult to isolate an performance differences to the tires, but after seeing them on my 4Runner I would anticipate them being superior to my old KMs.

I developed a theory this morning. My gut tells me that the Coopers are not as smooth and quiet as my old KMs were new. Also, it seems unlikely that the new KM2s are as smooth and quiet as the old KMs. Both the Cooper and KM2 appear to be designed with the goal of narrowing the gap to true dedicated off road tires. My theory is that this is why you can still get the old KM tread pattern in the size for Jeeps (standard for Rubicons?). The new KM2s were not smooth enough for OEM so they had BFG keep the older KM style available for their application. Am I nuts here?

[Rockcrawlintoy]

That makes sense about the jeep tires. These may be my next set esp since I can get them for cheap.

[blackdiamond]

Updated "To Do" List:

(1) Install Soft Top
(2) Hammer the inner fender pinch weld down to avoid cutting the beautiful new tires.  Until a couple of weeks ago I would have told you that it was already been done, but that must have been on my 85...

[Rockcrawlintoy]

Looks like you need to update your sig as well

[blackdiamond]

Looks like you need to update your sig as well

Done. I don't see signatures so had forgotten about it. The list of mods is now longer.

[blackdiamond]

I think this is the best picture of the Cooper STT PRO tires that I have seen.  It does a pretty good job of showing the tread.

[jangelfire]

I think this is the best picture of the Cooper STT PRO tires that I have seen.  It does a pretty good job of showing the tread.

Ive heard these do well on light trucks.i put them on my 06 duramax and dont like them.i had the older style stt's and really like them.

[blackdiamond]

Ive heard these do well on light trucks.i put them on my 06 duramax and dont like them.i had the older style stt's and really like them.

I think they are too aggressive for anyone wanting a smooth mud tire for primarily street use. The BFG KM was smooth when new. I think the Cooper STT PRO and BFG KM2 are a step closer to a dedicated off road tire.

[jangelfire]

I think they are too aggressive for anyone wanting a smooth mud tire for primarily street use. The BFG KM was smooth when new. I think the Cooper STT PRO and BFG KM2 are a step closer to a dedicated off road tire.

They have decent manners on the highway but they suck in the snow with that heavy diesel, dunno why.i run mud tires on my tow rig because i live in colorado where it snows all the time.i burn up a set of tires every 25,000 miles but I feel safer.the stt pros are my least favorite set out of 10 sets ive run on my truck.my buddy was saying that they are great on his toyota though.i dunno?

[blackdiamond]

23 day until the Moab trip and the 4Runner is ready to go.  The only outstanding items are the Luggable Loo and 1/2 inch shackle that I ordered yesterday.  The Luggable Loo is for obvious reasons and the 1/2 inch shackle is in case we need to use a winch anchor that the larger standard size shackle doesn't fit though.  I remember using one in the past that was difficult to hook so I wanted another option.

[mdtrail-toy]

Man I really like those new Pro's a lot... looks great

[blackdiamond]

Man I really like those new Pro's a lot... looks great

Thanks. I hope they perform as good as they look.

[SqWADoosh]

Thanks. I hope they perform as good as they look.

I had a real wake up call to the mistake I made of buying new tires right before Moab. They are in serious need of breaking in before they start hooking up correctly. I fear you will find the same.

[Rockcrawlintoy]

Run 10 psi in them to work for a few days. You will be fine

[blackdiamond]

I had a real wake up call to the mistake I made of buying new tires right before Moab. They are in serious need of breaking in before they start hooking up correctly. I fear you will find the same.

Mine will have about 1,200 miles on them so I am not at all concerned.

[blackdiamond]

Run 10 psi in them to work for a few days. You will be fine

I ride the bus. They will get whatever break in they need on the trip there and if necessary the first day. Maximum performance isn't required on the Moab Rim or Cliff Hanger which is slated for day 1. 

[SqWADoosh]

1200 miles at full psi isn't going to break in sidewalls.

[blackdiamond]

I had a real wake up call to the mistake I made of buying new tires right before Moab. They are in serious need of breaking in before they start hooking up correctly. I fear you will find the same.

What or who gave you the wake-up call?

[Rockcrawlintoy]

I ride the bus. They will get whatever break in they need on the trip there and if necessary the first day. Maximum performance isn't required on the Moab Rim or Cliff Hanger which is slated for day 1.

It was more for Andrew.

[SqWADoosh]

What or who gave you the wake-up call?

Wheeling last weekend.