I know a few of you were skeptical and/or curious about how these tires perform and hold up. This will serve as my long term review of the tires, probably to a year out but possibly longer. I plan on posting after every trail run and periodically throughout the year describing trail performance, snow performance (after winter rolls around), tread depth, and any other isses. To see how the tires are made, sizes available (up to 37"), and tread patterns, check out the website at www.treadwright.com.
After extensive thought and research, I decided to just replace the Rubicon's MT/Rs with the same size (31"). Since I still don't have the lift my wife promised me, I didn't really want to up the tire size yet. So, after picking the size, it was time to pick a tread design. They have multiple all-terrain designs including an almost exact replica of the BFG AT (Warden is the name of that design for Treadwright). On the mud tire side of the house, they have almost an exact copy of the old MT/R design (the Guard Dog) along with a few other designs. I seriously considered the Warden, but I would have to buy five tires to have a matching spare (not that it would cost that much more). I decided to go with the Guard Dog so that I would only have to buy four tires. Then to pick the sidewalls. Treadwright made it policy to send out matching sets of sidewalls. If you don't specifically request a certain sidewall, it seems that they tend to send out Michelin LTX MS2 sidewalls. If you request certain sidewalls, they do everything that they can to get you what you want (it's best to call to make sure they have what you want before ordering). Now to decide whether or not I wanted the "Kedge Grip", which is an additive composed of crushed walnut shells and crushed glass. The walnut shells are designed to come out of the tread, leaving small (approx. 1mm) holes that act as extra siping. The glass is designed to stay in longer to add a gritty feeling to the tread and provide extra grip on the road. I decided to just go the cheap route and leave the Kedge Grip out (however, it's only $10 extra per tire).
First off, Treadwright customer service is fan-damn-tastic. In the few times that I called to ask multiple questions, not once did I get any rudeness or anything but professionalism and hospitality. I called them up to see if they had MT/R sidewalls for the Guard Dogs. The representative that I spoke to said that they did and if that is what I wanted those, to make a note in the "Special Instructions" portion of the order form. So I ordered my tires exactly the way I wanted them, specifically requesting Goodyear Wrangler MT/R sidewalls. I told them that the representative I spoke to said that getting those sidewalls wouldn't be a problem, but if, however, they were not available to please use BFG Mud-Terrain or All-Terrain sidewalls. Total cost, delivered to my door: $394. I placed my order last Friday night. Monday was a holiday, so the tires shipped on Tuesday. They arrived on Thursday with regular old FedEx Ground (they offer faster delivery for something like $400, but the $55 FedEx Ground was plenty fast.
Today I took the tires to get mounted and balanced. After price shopping, I found that Wal-Mart had the best deal. Big O and Discount tire were around $80, plus additional cost for a lifetime rotate/balance plan. Smaller shops quoted me in the mid-$50 range with no lifetime plan. Wal-Mart was right at $50 with lifetime balance and rotations included. The guys at the tire shop said that if I didn't tell them that they were retreads, they wouldn't have known. The only thing that they noticed was that the finish on the tread was a little more rough than other tires. One guy even asked for the website so that he could check them out and maybe order some for his truck.
On the drive home I was expecting the usual rhythmic "wah wah wah wah" that I had becomed accustomed to. What I got...a slight whine. Much, much quieter than my old tires. Also, no more death wobble!!!! My old tires' treadwear had unbalanced the tires and the 47-51mph range scared the s#!t out of my wife a couple of times. They grip the road like they're made of glue and sandpaper. So far, I'm extremely impressed with the quality, look, on-road performance, and price of my Treadwrights.
Again, I'll be checking in on this thread often to update and review the tires. Hope this helps.