Chat with an old timer at Big Bear last weekend changed how I look at my Jeep

I was airing down at the trailhead near Big Bear lake and this older guy in a beat up Tacoma pulls up next to me. He saw my new 35s and asked if I'd ever actually wheeled on worn out tires. I said no, figured fresh rubber is always better. He laughed and said his last set of MTs had 60k miles on them and crawled through shit I'd probably chicken out on. He told me that grip comes more from knowing your line and throttle control than the tread depth. Honestly, it hit different because I've been obsessing over upgrades but barely practiced on my own trail. Has anyone else noticed that gearheads with clapped out rigs just drive circles around built ones?

3 comments

3 Comments

the_lucas12d ago

Old timers have a point about line choice and throttle control, but new tires do give you a real advantage in certain situations. Wet rocks and loose gravel are way more forgiving with fresh rubber, and that older guy probably forgot how much his truck slipped before he wore those 60k mile tires down. I’ve seen guys in built rigs with new tires struggle on the same obstacle a clapped out Jeep crawls through, but it’s usually because the built rig driver is overconfident and smashes the gas instead of picking a line. Good tires won’t save you from bad driving, but they sure make good driving easier.

lopez.jana12d ago

Wait, he forgot how much his truck slipped before he wore those 60k mile tires down? 60k miles on a set of off-road tires? That's like running on hockey pucks by 40k, maybe 45k if you're lucky. I'm honestly shocked anyone could forget that because those things are basically slicks at that point. You might as well be driving on highway tires in the mud. No wonder he thinks it's all about line choice and throttle control, he's been compensating for bald tires for the last 15,000 miles.

the_eric9d ago

Wait, are we really pretending 60k mile mud tires are actually good? I ran BFGs down to 45k once and they were basically useless on wet granite. That old timer's advice is solid about line choice, sure, but he's probably forgetting the 20 times he had to get winched out on those hockey pucks. New tires won't fix bad driving, but they absolutely give you more room for error on loose stuff and wet rocks. I've personally felt the difference between bald and fresh tires on the same obstacle, and it's night and day.