Reviews
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86
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898781
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Average Rating
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83% of reviewers
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$245.31
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7.4
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![thornbirds-l.jpg](http://www.offroaders.com/reviewbox/data/3/thornbirds-l.jpg)
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Description:
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Review of the Interco Thornbird TSL Radial (TSL = Three Stage Lug)
Now, we want to start off by saying, we really like Interco Tire Corporation and their true Mud Terrain tires. Interco has established themselves as the king of hill when it comes to street legal mud tires for common 4x4s at a reasonable price. We use Interco tires ourselves. With that being said, we really wonder what they were thinking when they designed the Thornbird TSL. Really. At first glance the Thornbird looks extremely aggressive. It has one hell of a profile with the knarly 3 stage lugs jutting out of the sidewall like medieval spikes on a chariot wheel. But to call it a true mud tire would be misleading. Within our definition of a true mud tire, the primary tread that makes contact with the mud is the same tread that makes contact with the street surface. With the Thornbird TSL, this tread is more specifically designed as a street tire with very narrow voids between the large, siped lugs. These voids seem more designed to channel water rather than mud. Which may be fine for some people who really want a street tire that looks like a mud tire. But for the offroader who is really looking for a good mud tire as the primary reason behind the purchase of the tire, we suggest you steer clear of the Thornbird TSL and look rather at Interco's other mud tires such as the Super Swamper SSR. That being said we can point out a few good qualities of the Thornbird. First the Thornbird isn't too bad on the street. A couple of people we know have had this tire and as long as the tires or rotated regularly and the front end kept aligned, this tire is relatively quite on the street. The tire looks impressive. We like the sidewall profile with its ugly lug patterns and raised white lettering. But it starts going downhill from there. Traction is about average for a larger mud tire however wet surfaces still requires awareness to the fact that you don't have as much traction as a tire designed for wet road driving. Even with some siping in the lugs they do not grip too well on wet road. Even less so in the snow due in part to the narrow voids between the lugs which do not self clean very well, which helps to explain why this tire can hardly be called a true mud tire. But enough of our ranting. The Thornbird is not all that bad and may actually be what some people are looking for. Size availability ranges from 29x10.50 to 38.5x14.50 in 15, 16 16.5LT with 6 or 8 ply rating model dependant.
Manufacturers description of this tire:
The inset shows why the Interco TSL/THORNBIRD is such a Versatile tire. The highway contact area in the illustration shows the tread on hard surfaces. The Three Stage Lugs on the sidewalls do not touch highway surfaces but as soon as the tire gets into mud or snow the sidewall lugs provide decisive traction in forward or reverse. Fiberglass belts under the tread and polyester body plies contribute to a really smooth comfortable ride. The design comes close to being two tires in one... a revolutionary design that has earned its place in the legendary ranks of Super Performance.
Manufacturer Info:
Interco Tire Corporation
2412 Abbeville Hwy
Rayne, LA 70578 Phone: (800) 299-8000
www.intercotire.com
Interco Tire Corporation, is a Louisiana company that has evolved through three generations into a leader in the development of high performance tires for use on four wheel drive light trucks and all terrain vehicles. In 1968 Interco developed the first 78 series light truck tires which began the evolution in light truck tires we see today.
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Keywords:
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Thornbird TSL Radial Mud Terrain Tire Interco
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Anonymous
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Review Date: Thu February 1, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? No |
Price you paid (per item)?: None indicated
| Rating: 6
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Pros:
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They look great
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Cons:
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not much traction in mud or anything
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My first "aggressive" mud tire purchase was a set of these Thornbirds on a Dodge Durango. They looked impressive as hell but were not worth the money in the mud. The funny thing was the shallower the mud the worse they did. I guess cause the clogged and the sidewall lugs were not getting anything to bite. I really didn't wheel much in them, mostly street use which was ok. A few trails around here had some rocks which they did good, but mud and snow, not so good. I've since used BFG MTs on my 4x4s and I like them better. - Roger Fort Wayne, Indiana
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Anonymous
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Review Date: Thu February 1, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid (per item)?: None indicated
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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Great looks, fun on street
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Cons:
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NOT a MT tire, NOT an offroad tire
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I bought these tires back when I was in high school for my 91 wrangler. They looked awesome, but performed very poorly. I had to air way down to get the side lugs to bite on the rocks.
When in snow (without lockers) I wouldn't get very far if it was over ~10 inches deep. It was a constant battle of backing up to get a run at it. Then I would only go about 50 yards or so before I had to back up again.
In my opinion, I you have a truck that has more chrome, bells, and whistles than a parade of low riders, this tire is for you. It definitely will turn some heads. If you actually use your truck/jeep for offroading, and you would prefer to get to the end of the trail on your own, this tire is NOT FOR YOU.
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Anonymous
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Review Date: Thu February 1, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? No |
Price you paid (per item)?: None indicated
| Rating: 6
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Pros:
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I like it
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Cons:
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I won't buy it again
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I love my tires, but I think the original TSL was a better all around tire, and my next set will be another set of TSL's.
Kevin Anderson, SC
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Anonymous
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Review Date: Sun March 4, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid (per item)?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Decent all round tire
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Cons:
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I've mostly wheeled these tires in the mud, snow & sand & I've found they do very well on all 3 terrains. I have the small ones 29/10.5x15.
I call them diggers as they have to do just that before getting traction in the soft stuff, thats when the side lugs grab(with the exception of sand which they seemed to float over.) But once they grab, they've always kept me moving (even thru more than 2" of snow!) Of course this means they lack on hard packed surfaces.
I use them on my '96 Ram 1/2 ton daily driver and put 70 miles a day on them commuting to work. They do well at both highway (65mph) & interstate (75mph) speeds. They are a noisier & softer tire. I wore the siping off the rear tires mostly due to burn outs. But easily cut new ones back in.
I've read alot of bad reviews about this tire saying they aren't good mud tires like boggers/swampers or their street performance sucks. A in fairness I guess both statements are true, they don't dig like boggers or ride like pirellis. But I have yet to see an all-in-one tire! I've owned 35" Swampers, 31" BFG ATs & these. They dont mud like the swampers and outperformed the BFGs on ALL levels except the highway. Overall I'm very happy with this tires performance both in the mud and on the street.
James
city: kearney
state: NE
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Anonymous
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Review Date: Sun March 4, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid (per item)?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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Mud Slingers!
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Cons:
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I love slinging mud with these tires.
Bobby
city: Zebulon
state: GA
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Anonymous
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Review Date: Sun March 4, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid (per item)?: None indicated
| Rating: 4
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Pros:
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good in deep
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Cons:
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rough ride if not rotated
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if you dont keep them rotated there the roughest ride you can ever imagine... there good in deep mud and decent on trails. On slick roads they are dangerous. They look good and there loud as hell. I like my Trxus a lot better
NICK
city: BENTON
state: LA
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Anonymous
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Review Date: Sun March 4, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid (per item)?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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these tires are very well they hold there own and these tires let me fly right across my mud pits and rough trails
SEAN EARLY
EDEGEMERE MD
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Anonymous
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Review Date: Sun March 4, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid (per item)?: None indicated
| Rating: 7
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Pros:
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Great in deep mud
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Cons:
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Loud as hell on the street
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I had 33x12.50 on my 85 Bronco. i bought them new and they did great. I did alot of mud bogging and they did good. They work best if your in deep mud so the side lugs can push you. Loud as hell on the street but had good wear.
Chance
Kill Devil Hills, NC
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Anonymous
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Review Date: Sun March 4, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid (per item)?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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I had these tires on my 95 Jeep Wrangler and went any where I wanted with no problem. I found that most people who buy these tire don't use them right that is why no one gets good results. If you keep em spinning fast enough it clears the mud out of the lugs for a good bite. This tire was the best I ever bought for what I do.
Jim
Valdosta, GA
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Anonymous
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Review Date: Sun March 4, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid (per item)?: None indicated
| Rating: 8
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Pros:
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good in the mud
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Cons:
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i bought these tires for my stock 2000 wrangler, they looked good and worked well. they did good in the mud but i thinks its all because the mud around here is shallow and thick. oh well, i like the tires
Kevin
Dover NH
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Anonymous
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Review Date: Sun March 11, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid (per item)?: None indicated
| Rating: 10
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I would buy them now
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Anonymous
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Review Date: Mon April 9, 2007
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Would you recommend the product? Yes |
Price you paid (per item)?: None indicated
| Rating: 9
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Pros:
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255\85-16
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Cons:
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255\85-16
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this size is the ticket for these tires. narrow and tall. dont get the wide ones.
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