So after reading and asking, this is the big question. Need more opinions!

[Big Blzn]

The only thing I have to add that hasn't been mentioned is that why if most of your driving is going to be on the street and quite a bit in the sand would you go with mud terrians and not an all-terrian? Mudders in the sand will dig you holes while AT's will be better in the sand and on the street. Just my $.02.
Hoby

 

[AJMBLAZER]

He lives in the northern part of the country. He might find himself on sand and street a lot but sooner or later he's going to be on a tight, twisty, gooey two track or a mud pit. AT's REALLY suck right about then.

MT's do fine on the street if you sipe them and actually drive the vehicle and on sand they're fine if you air down.

 

[Dabba]

most of the reason i want MTs was far the more agressive look. I heard they arnt bad on the street and what i do see is light mud, dirt, hills and soft soft sand. I think muds would do good in all but the soft sand but i mean how bad can they be at 16pounds? I mean my ats at 16pounds on the softest sand right now you dont even know your on sand. How much worse would mts be?

 

[AJMBLAZER]

If you get yourself well and truly stuck they'll turn into shovels.


That said it's up to you to know when to lift your foot when the only progress being made is down.

If the least aggressive tires were always the best tires in sand stock trucks now-a-days would rule...but they suck just as bad as any other since most won't air down far enough.

 

[Dabba]

that being said. know if i can get the bfg mts down to 16 pounds without worries? Also, i am looking at the procomps now. How are the exteme ats and normal mts compared to the bfg mts as far as price/performance. I would think the exteme ats would be good because they look like a cross between ats and mts but i think i still want an agressive looking tire like the bfg mt.

 

[Dabba]

ttt! i r whoring teh votes!

 

[AJMBLAZER]

You should be able to air them down to 15psi no problems. That's kind of a given now a days with offroading tires.

 

[Col_Sanders]

I'm running Pro Comp MTs and havent had any problems with them. I have run on soft sand, mud, but mostly street. They arent as loud as I expected but I guess no top and loud exhaust could be covering up the noise.

Check 4 wheel parts for pricing or just look through a Petersons 4 Wheel and Offroad.

 

[Dabba]

thanks for the tips. Well it seems im set on mts now, just not sure if i should go bfg or procomp tripple ply?

 

[AJMBLAZER]

See which you can get a better deal on. Both have good names and appear to be similar in performance and durability.

 

[Thunder]

I have Pro Comp MTs. I like them. Un like BFG MTs, Pro Comp MTs are siped and are better in Ice and snow than my old BFGs. Offroad performance is similar, they are quiet, and Cheaper than BFGs I like that.

 

[original balzer]

You know I ran 10b's in my 84 diesel K5 for a long time with 33x9.5x15. Open front and auburn limited slip in the rear and never broke anything but front driveshaft u-joints. Of course the 6.2 was very weak and worn (over 300k miles) and to have much power at all I had to run in 4 low. But I did wheel that truck for a long time with that set up. Mostly in rocks snow and mud.

I did swap over to a D44/14bff after a while and went to a 4" lift and 35's but the axles came free with the lift I bought and I wanted the 4.56 gears. Im sure with 8 lug d44 (or 10b) front and 14b rear with a disk brake swap, you can grind the tops of the calipers and run 15" 8 lug wheels.

All that being said I think you would be fine keeping the 10b's. One other option would be a rear 12b but they can be hard to find as well.

 

[Dabba]

nah if i was gonna spend the moneys id go 14ff. I just wish it were 6 lug because id be content keeping the front end, but as i said, open 10bs and 4.56s i think. Now im thinking about procomps or bfgs

 

[K5dreamer]

sounds like you and i have been looking at the same kinda stuff, although im really surprised you havent found any cheap axles where you live. almost every cheap axle i want is in maine, mass, michigan or the northern states where yall still have woods and mud

for tires, i highly recomend Goodyear MT/R's, im running 33x12.5x15 on my M1009 and LOVE them. dont even notice them on the road, and offroad i havent gotten stuck once, even driving through slop up to the crease in the door and body panels. LOVE those tires. just not very good on rocks when fully aired up. i keep them at highway pressures of about 30-40psi because i dont have an onboard air pump yet. once all the drivetrain mods are done, ill probly build an "octopus" to do 4 tire deflate/inflate all at the same time.

as for axles, i agree the prices youre looking at are rather steep, unless youre doing a D60 (500-700 apiece GEEZE). ive found several 14 bolt rears, including one from a G-van, with the disk brake conversion parts, for 275, and i may have found a better deal for a local blazer guy that needs to liquidate some stock from a friends storage unit. Need to go look to see if the 14 bolt is a SF or FF, and which front axle it is (he said it was an 8 lug 12 bolt front??????) but he'll let both go for 200 bucks. as well as an additional 100 for all the other parts i wanna take, from doors, to windows, to a TH350 tranny. but ive also found 8 lug 10bolt and D44 axles for 100-150 apiece. just too far away (8 hour round trip) to drive.

the deals are out there man, just hit up ebay, craigslist, the local trader magazines, hop on it, happy hunting

 

[tRustyK5]

Run some 15" 8 lug rims and keep your tires...only requires some minor grinding of the front calipers to make em fit. That removes the spendy new tires from your budget.

Rene

 

[Dabba]

eh, im getting new tires either way. It just seems that 2/3 people think the abuse i put it through dosnt warren the swap, id rather just leave them open because i heard its more forgiving and if im gonna spend the money its gonna be to 4.56s