Until this thread, I've never heard anything mixed or good about them. 1980's technology at its worst.

 

I ran Thornbirds on my CJ-7 (because they were new and already on the Jeep when I bought it) for 6 years. . The only good aspects are that they wear great because of the light weight CJ and they look mean with the side lugs. BUT THEY SUCK otherwise, here are the reasons:
1) They are the loudest tire I have ever seen. People would hear me 4 miles away, it sounded like a jet plane coming down the road. I would have to 'yell' at my wife in the passenger seat just to carry on a conversation.

2) They will get you suck on wet grass. I once got 'stuck' in my yard when the grass was wet. The only time they work in the mud is once you get down deep enough for the side wall lugs to bite.

3) They grab every bump in the road causing you to wonder back and forth. I ran a 33 / 12.50.

I would not recommend them, I have heard they are great for sand, but just do not take them on the road.

-Mike

 

all these people saying thornbirds suck are just jealous. I've run thornbirds for years and will never run another tire. They dig like a sum bitch in mud, and they absolutely stick to rocks. Running them in single digit psi they hook up on rocks better than red label krawlers, rockers, or even creepy crawlers. They don't chunk nearly as bad as iroks. anyone who tries to disuade you from thornbirds just doesn't want you running the best tire on the market.

Hell, the pictures of those rangers should be reason enough to run them.

 

Although I wouldn't use those words, he is absolutely correct. I ran these tires on my XJ before I sold it to buy my JK (see www.spudracer.com). They are terrible in sand even when aired down, useless in snow, DANGEROUS on wet roads as they spin/slide like crazy, but were good in mud if you spin them fast enough. When they are cold, they wobble terribly (and I had only 31" tires) for the first 10 miles or so, before they warm up. It would cause a "Death Wobble" in my front-end which scared my wife to death, forcing me to avoid driving at certain speeds. Once they warmed up, no more wobble. Though they look tough, they are not a very good tire.

I learned my lesson, you should learn from my mistake, or feel free to repeat it yourself. Once you buy them, they last forever. I looked forward to replacing them as soon as they wore out and would spin them like crazy every chance I got (my driveway looks like a drag strip), but after three years I gave up and sold the XJ. (Obviously that wasn't the reason I sold the XJ, seems we all love our JKs!!

Tom
Bryson City, NC

 

Yes, I have. I would not post an opinion about a product's performance unless I had first hand knowledge.

Jealous??? Of what? A heavy bias-ply all terrain tire? I don't think so. I have owned 6 different sets of Super Swamper tires and those are far and away the worst set of tires of any kind I have ever owned. I did say that they look cool, but in my OPINION (yes, that's what it is my OPINION) they perform terribly.

 

I to got stuck turning around in a ditch with wet grass.

 

Seems enough has been said on this topic. The voting is nearly unanymous, and I hope it did some good.

Tom
Bryson City, NC

 

Had a set on a YJ in the early '90s. Bought them because they 'looked good' in the magazines, wish I woulda just got a set of BFG MT's like I had on my previous CJ. They hydroplaned like hell on road in even the most minimal amount of wettness and even though I didn't wheel really hard back then, I managed to get it stuck in mud and snowy conditions....remember having to walk to a nearby house to borrow a shovel to dig out my Jeep after I got stuck on the way to work in some heavy snow. Boy that's egg on your face there, digging out a Jeep on 33's in some snow .

Take it for what it's worth, you'll get opinions either way. I agree with one of the above statements though, woudn't run them again if they were free .

 

Hahaha...this is some extremely funny stuff. I wouldn't trade the 4 39" reds I have on the buggy for a lifetime supply of thornbirds.

Actually, no, you're right let me call up Interco and see if they can hook me up with some thornturds to compete in next season. I'll start a new fad and all the competitors will follow suit

 

just flip through any 4x4 mag. how many rigs do you see running these tires? not too many. you do see alot of the other lines of super swampers but rarely the thornbirds. quite frankly, i'm surprised they even sell these anymore.

i've never run the thornbirds but i've never heard ANYTHING good about these tires. on or offroad. in fact, besides these pics i haven't seen anyone run them in a long time. just go to google and you can find all kinds of terrible reviews on them.