Tyre choice for 15,000 km trip

Hello workhorse,

I have the Cooper AT3's on my '04 3.0iTD Rodeo. Very nice tyre. I am a regular firewood cutter and these tyres see a lot of rough terrain and heavy loads. They're fairly quiet on the road, and having a really deep tread they perform very well off-road. The main reason I went for these is their high load index (118 in my size) and strong sidewalls. So far I'm quite pleased.

Cheers,

Tim.

The only benefit in muddies is in muddy conditions and then it has to be pretty muddy to show any real advantage.

A mud tyre will chip more, has less puncture resistance, worse handling , more noise and increases fuel consumption.

We use to run Toyo Open Country M/t/s on our last 4x4 and they were a fantastic tyre, when we got the 200 series we went to Mickey Thompson MTZ's...... they are the worse tyres I have ever used.

After 25k we changed over to Cooper S/T Maxx's and I love them..... they handle well, are quite, work well in mud and are fantastic on fast unsealed roads and sand.

I have come to the conclusion about muddies....... why have a tyre that you're only going to see any advantage with in maybe 5% of driving and for the other 95% you have to put up with noise, bad handling, less strength and increased fuel consumption.

For what it's worth, the tyre repairer on the Gibb south of Mt Barnett Roadhouse stated that Coopers don't handle the heat in the tyre walls and recommends a LT tyre from the major brands as a superior performer on the rough rocky corrugation on the Gibb.

Hi Workhorse

I have ATR's on my Challenger and AT3's on my work ute (Ranger), very happy with both, can't fault them.

But having said that I have never used BFG or Maxxis, I guess if you find something that works, why change.

Cheers

Rob.

I'm onto my second set of Mickey Thompson ATZ LT tyres after getting around 140,000kms out of the last set of 5 in the rotation.
I think they are a brilliant tyre for all-round traction, wear and puncture resistance.
If i was to go for another similarly good tyre, I would go for Cooper's new ST Maxx.
After a mate's 4WD blew a Maxis sidewall out on a rock that an MT or Cooper would roll over, and had me lying in the mud and rain changing it for him, I will never go for a cheap tyre. You get what you pay for.

Just fitted 5 new goodyear wranglers to my ford ranger as am setting off again for another lap around the paddock including 3 weeks on gibb river rd and up to mitchell plateau leaving the caravan at kununurra and tenting it. Gross weight of my vehicle is 2900kg loaded. Have been using the wranglers for 3 years now and have been good. Cost $227 each at kmart tyres.

If money isn't an issue go the BFG's.

If dollas are tight look at Hankook RF10's

If money isn't an issue initially, then Mickey Thompsons or Coopers are the best. Over the life of the tyre, they usually work out to be cheaper than cheaper tyres that give less kms and worse performance.
No comparison really. Do your research and you will see why they are better.

Thanks for the replies.
Im pretty used to the specifics of my vehicle driving it daily around some pretty steep muddy farm tracks, rotten potholed dirt road into town, winding bitumen mountain road and highway. Its been on long highway runs, Fraser Island,northern NSW forests, gravel roads out west. Im fortunate to run several sets of tyres at the same time having 3 sets of rims. This allows me to have a good idea of the small differences in tyres driving them back to back. A newset of tyres will always feel different to a worn set. The tyres Ive run have been BFG AT, Cooper ST, Toyo M55, Maxxis Buckshot, Cooper ST Maxx. None of these tyres were bad. I dont believe in bad tyres, possibly an occassional defect but some tyres are more suited to certain vehicles and certain conditions more than others.I dont have a mind set for or against any brand, that seems limiting. Comments that one brand are rubbish and others perfect dont hold water considering the number of tyres manufactured and the abuse they are subjected to intentionally or not. Im surprised by comments on tyres by those who havent driven on them and havetnt driven my vehicle with them on. An example are the Cooper ST Maxx tyres. I think these are fantastic tyres but not suited for my lighter Courier ute. On this trip, loaded up they would be a good choice but when I return and run around empty they will be too hard walled for me. I had them for a few thousand kms and thats how they rode on my vehicle. A 100 series running around empty at approx 2800kg may ride completely differently.
I was hoping some feedback might be a bit more based on actual experiences mixed with the vehicle type I have not just blanket comments.
In the end I will take mud tyres as Im 80% off road on this trip, love them on the gravel and think some extra grip if it turns to manure out there is sensible. I was hoping some comment might have been made about the specific query about the load rating of the BFG KM2 Vs the others. I have decided if BFG has given them a lower load rating Ill take their advice.
Buying the tyres tomorrow (Maxxis Buckshots) and will let you know how they faired on my return in late July.
Many thanks

You asked advice, ignored it, pushed your own opinion and have now bought the cheapest, nastiest tyres of the lot.
I have no doubt, as a lot of my workmates have experienced, the Buckshots will give you half the life of a set of Coopers or MTs, and will most probably let you down when you need them the most. EVERYONE i know who has had MAxxis bighorns and buckshots has vowed to never buy the rubbish tyres again.
Why did you post in the first place anyway?
Good luck to you pal.

If you are paying $25 less than Coopers STT, St Maxx or MT ATZ/MTZs for Maxxis Buckshots, then you are getting RIPPED OFF!!
If money is not an option and you have chosen Buckshots over all others, then you have made the most idiotic decision i have ever witnessed.