Thornbird TSL Reviews

< 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.

description of this tire:

br> Manufacturers align="right" width="200" height="133">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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User Reviews

Below are reviews submitted by people who have had experience with this tire. Opinions below are not necessarily that of Offroaders.com. If you'd like to submit a review of your own, please use the form below to review this tire. Please restrict your comments to only tires you have had experience with.

Roger

Fort Wayne, Indiana

Terrain where used:

Rocks, Mud, Wooded trails

Street

Sand

Rock

Mud

Snow

Wooded Trail

Overall Rating

Comments:

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.

Dustin Leonard

Las Cruces, NM

Terrain where used:

Sand, Rocks, Mud, Snow

Street

Sand

Rock

Mud

Snow

Wooded Trail

N/A

Overall Rating

Comments:

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.

Kevin

Anderson, SC

Terrain where used:

Sand, Rocks, Mud, Trails

Street

Sand

Rock

Mud

Snow

N/A

Wooded Trail

Overall Rating

Comments:

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.

Rating Key - The star rating keys are specific to the terrain being rated in the review. To the Top

	Don't even consider it if this is your main terrain. This tire will not perform well at all in this terrain.

	Its trying but not doing too well. You'd be better off choosing another for this terrain.

	Average. Its doing ok, not great but its holding its own. A decent choice if you're compromising.

	This tire does very well in this terrain but its not the best tire available however still a very good choice.

	This tire performs exceptionally well in this terrain. Among the best suited for this terrain.

	Size Availability - This is a one to three thumbs up snapshot rating where one mean poor selection, two means ok and three means great. Check with suppliers or manufacturers for actual available sizes. While this rating system is vague, we couldn't possibly list all available sizes with size selection changing over time. Please see manufacturer for list of sizes in production.

	Money Bags - This is an average cost scale based on an averaged advertised cost of this tire when compared to other tires. One money bag represents the tire is typically one of the cheapest available while 5 money bags indicates that this tire is one of the most expensive. Averages are based on the tires reviewed.