Mickey Thompson MTZ Failure
I posted a thread after Camp Commander 2010 when I noticed that my tires had lost some fairly sizable chunks on Black Bear. It seemed like excessive wear, but others said they had lost some rubber also. I had never had a tire lose chunks that way before. I thought, "Well, now I have something to remember Colorado by."
A couple weeks ago, I ran parts of the Rubicon trail (before i get mobbed over this part - pictures taken - writeup pending, it is hard to get time away from work to post). After returning home, I am missing about a 3" in diameter circle of tread, all the way down to the threads, on one of the rear tires.
I asked the place I bought the tires about the warranty they supposed came with and was told about all the fine print. Basically, due to uneven tire wear (anything more that 1/32 from one side to the other), they consider it to be an alignment or vehicle issue. This is a bunch of horse leftovers. The tires don't have excessive uneven wear. Teach me to try to give some business to a local shop. I bought these tires, after some research, on their recommendation.
I guess my concerns were well placed. After talking to a few other people running the same tires, it appears they are not the same quality they used to be when they were first introduced. Rumor has it ( I haven't checked) the tires have been discontinued. The remaining three tires all have noticable chunks missing from the tread lugs, just not down to the threads....yet.
So, as of tomorow morning, my XK will be sporting a new set of Toyos. Expensive, but not nearly as expensive as a 4X4 tow out of the back country. I just can not go the places I want to go without reliable equipment. I may keep one of the better Thompsons as a full size spare on a junk rim, but at this point I question even that.
