STA NDT vs STA Super Lugs vs Yokahama Geolanders

[ashyers]

I hate to do this but here goes.

The tires in the title are the 9.00-16 tire options I'm considering. As far as $ goes the cost is about the same for all of the tires mentioned.

I have old NDT's on the truck now and have over 2000mi blasting around on them since April. My impression of them is the rubber is rock hard (age), the sidewalls are stiff as boards (age? design?), they are nowhere near round, and they are entertaining in the rain under braking. They are long past their prime and need to be replaced.

I'm wondering what I can expect from the tires in the title. What I've read is as follows:
STA NDT: wear fast (5000mi), better than the old NDT's, still iffy in the wet, Diameter 35.5"
STA Super Lug: longer wearing than NDT's, heavier steering, better in the wet than NDT's, largest diameter 36.3"
Geolander MT(LT315/75R-16): radial, modern design, designed for wider rims, smallest diameter 34.6" (600RPM@60 spec), M-series Rebuilds loves 'em

Most of my driving is on road, but I'm slowly working toward getting the truck to the point where we can take it on offroad camping trips within a 150mi radius. This will entail driving it to and from our destination. The truck is driven regularly at 55mph and rarely faster .

I'd love to hear from people who have had the opportunity to try these tires back to back. At the moment I'm leaning towards the Super Lugs due to the diameter and tread design, but would like more real world feedback before I purchase.

Thanks Guys!

Andy

[HingsingM37]

Hello Andy,

I have the Power Kings on my truck which is the similar style as the Super lug and I love them as far a ride and traction, although I am not getting into snow anymore here in NC. They have held up well. To me there is no reason other than the OEM look to go with the NDT's. They are not a pavement friendly tire and are much stiffer and like ice on hot, wet asphalt. There are pictures of Vietnam era trucks in country with the Super Lug style tread, so you can run them and still be authentic looking.

Now if authentic look is not an issue and you are looking for a good ride, traction, and to look cool, then the Geolander style is the way I would go. We are using as of late the Goodyear Dura Trac Wrangler in a LT315/78R16 at the shop. A very nice looking tire for sure. There are some good pictures of these mounted on the Budd wheel on the shops Facebook page:

https://www.facebook.com/mseriesrebuild1986

[Juan]

Modern radial tires are light years ahead of any old design tire.
I've switched to BF Goodrichs 315/75 16 (swaped wheels too) from Power King Supertractions and the ride and handling improved a lot.

[just me]

Ride? Handling! Please stop! You guys are killing me here! My ribs are aching from the laughter.
As hard as these things are to steer, I would do nothing to make it harder.

[RMS]

here I am getting all excited about some BFG's do a quick search...price is good...load rating...34.5in

junk! im not interested in running 7.50 16s on any of my trucks ......we need 1100 r16s (or metric equivalent)

something, anything that is round, under $300ea, stand 36.5in to 40.5in tall, with a greater than C load rating.

[Jess]

There's always the Yellow Sea radial tires advertised on Ebay.... I put these on one of my M37s. Inflated, these sit at 35" on the stock Budd rims. Includes the proper tube and flap. I have a couple of pics but no where to host them. If anyone wants the picture or can host them, let me know.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Michelin-XZL-Cl ... 0973386301

[RMS]

there' s a guy in north van that got a container of them and all I could think is why did you bring in 900r16s

if he would have brought in 1100s he would have sold out in a week.

[ashyers]

Thanks for the responses! It's great to get 1st hand experience.

David,
First off, nice photos !
Since it seems like you have driven multiple styles of tire on an M37 I had some questions:
* Have you experienced overly heavy steering with the Power Kings compared to old style NDT's?
* How different the trucks are w/ radials, unfortunately I'm not sure how you can quantify this. I'm debating if it's worth the higher rpm on the drivetrain/engine. I don't care about overnight flatspots.

Juan,
Curious to know your opinions on the above questions too. I recall seeing posts of your truck w/ different rims. Why did you choose to loose the Budd wheels?

Jess,
How's the quality on the Yellow Sea tires? How did they work out compared to other tires?

Andy

[Jess]

[Jess,
How's the quality on the Yellow Sea tires? How did they work out compared to other tires?

Andy[/quote]

I can't say that I have put a lot of miles on them, given the island where this truck is located only has about 6 miles of road. I was looking for a replacement for the Canadian made1964 Goodyear NDTs that were on the truck when I bought it it 1977. They had lasted well but being worn, the traction wasn't what I needed any more. I tow a compressor for rock drilling, a boat trailer to recover and launch my 23' boat across a rocky beach and other 'off road' uses around my property and this island. The deal from the guy the RMS mentioned in North Vancouver included the radial tires, tubes with the correct bent brass stems and flaps. I checked them out in person first and then picked them up. I had a set of 5 rims blasted, epoxy primed and fully painted before getting them mounted. The tires are not your harbour freight Chinese wheelbarrow tire rubber, they are equal to any of the North American and Japanese made tires that I have on other vehicles. Yellow Sea makes a lot of big industrial tires sourced around the world. From other guys that have these on their power wagons and similar, I understand they wear better than the Michelin originals. Long term, we'll have to see if they stand up like the original NDTs. If I get another 10 yrs out of them, I will be happy as likely my time in this will be close to up.

As a comparison, I had really wanted STA Superlugs but being on the west coast, availability or shipping were a deal breaker. The Firestone NDTs were in the same boat. Tires plus tubes and flaps put them out of reach for the use I need. For those of us in Canada, the plummeting dollar has a big impact on anything coming from the US or stuff priced in US dollars. Here, at least in the shorter term, offshore products will become more attractive, since a lot of anything we buy comes over the Pacific anyway. Michelins are available but expensive. A friend in my area at home, bought one to have as a spare for his M37 restomod and paid $700 for the tire alone, plus tube and flap. That was when our currency was close to or at par. I would have truble justifying $3500+ for tires to put on this truck, even if it was my daily driver.

To RMS, who would like a bigger tire, I suggest it depends on your needs. The fellow, Chris, who imported the container of 400 of the Yellow Sea tires, may have looked at other uses besides Power Wagons and M37s, but I can say that for my needs, in slow speed maneuvering witout power steering, and advancing years, these are enough rubber on the road for me.

Given the availability in the US of a wider range of used and new tires, it will all depend on what you can afford and how you use your truck. You have quite a few choices. Juan, in Argentina, had his as a daily driver, modern axles and doing a 100 or so miles a day or more. My personal experience with M37CDNs in the early '70s was that a 100 mile road move was a long and tiring drive in a by then, 20 year old truck. Given a choice, at the time, the chinook was a better ride and a lot quicker.

I'm sure there will be other opinions on the topic, as this is only that from me.

Jess

[HingsingM37]

Andy,

Glad you liked the pics.
As all of the trucks that had the Geolanders or the Goodyears have had power steering, I do not know how they would feel on a stock set up.
My truck steers well and I dare say rides better than my wife''s jeep over railroad tracks. That's right , I said "ride"..
Folks say an M37 is hard to steer, it is no different than any other big old truck without P/S.
There may be a few foot pounds torque difference between an NDT and a grip tire, who knows? They feel identical to me. IMO. Granted at a dead stop it is hard to turn the wheel and will not work like a rack and pinion sports car. Perhaps some upper body workouts may help

[52PLOWERWAGON]

ever consider super swampers
look on craigslist for a used set
theres a set of 40s by me for $800

[RMS]

he only needed to order 40 of them ?

it seams more economical to run radial 1100r16s with 5.83s, lower the rolling resistance, the drive line speed and put 55 in your sights.
with the 251 and 4.89s I noticed no loss in power with the easier rolling 1100 xl's (over the 900r16 sta). the fuel bill went down and the ride quality went up. ( like men in yellow vests were out all night filling in all the cracks and potholes). yes the steering was a little heavier at slow speeds but it seamed lighter and more responsive when flat out on pavement. now I did not care for the added hop experienced on wash board sections with the wider xl . the back stepped out more under power and the whole high speed gravel carver (I was used to with the NDT) was lost.

[CSCameron]

I've got the Yellow Sea tires also and like them. I too don't have any mileage on them yet either but they are a nice tire. I spoke with Chris about doing a run of the 11.00r16 tires but he said a run of 1000 tires would be the minimum to justify the mold cost. So, sadly I don't see that happening. I think you would be happy with the Yellow Sea tires. They are the only "radial" available in the 9.00x16 size.

[52PLOWERWAGON]

I am looking into a set of 20 inch wheels any suggestions?

[Kaegi]

my next tire will probably be the 10.50 x 16 directional. it is made by STA and sold by Wallace Wade and maybe a few others. great price and go faster with 38 inch height. I had some many years ago and never took them in snow and ice for were quiet on highway and excellent offroad in the the mountains. I liked them much better than the Michelin XLs 11.00s I had.