Tyres???

Bridgestone D 697 for me also, good solid tyre, plenty of tread and easy to get balanced (Important as some of the others mentioned are not). Possibly won't wear as well as some others but have good wet road holding abilities and aren't prone to chipping, all round a good tyre.

Yeah, the 697's also did good on the Troopy for me.
The softer rubber provided good grip on wet sealed roads, and the Troopy needed that. Also deflates comfortably for sand and stony roads.
Wear life not great due to soft rubber, but you cannot have everything ion one tyre.

I change my tyre selection at each renewal. Have now fitted General Grabber AT2's as a trial. They are much like the 697's with a softer rubber but not as expensive.
One day I may settle on a tyre brand. lol

Hi Allan

We have been through 3 sets of Bridgestone, one being the older 694 and then 2 sets of the 697's, all in LT construction.

They were a great tyre, but not over happy with the way they were wearing. As my tyres spend most of their life ( when I say most, it. Is more like 80% dirt and 20% bitumen ) I replace them when they drop below the 50 % tread life. The reason for me is simple, you need as much meat on your tyres when you go bush as possible and under normal outback driving conditions ( this does not include true cross country travel, which is a very different story and hard on any brand of tyre ) we never suffered any chipping what so ever.

A lot of desert tracks are not a fair test in that regard, as we all know that sand is far kinder to tyres than tracks like the Birdsville Track, Strezelecki Track and the upper sections of the Oodnadatta Track.

When I priced around, the BFG were shy on $400 per tyre, the 697 were around $350, but got them for $320 per tyre. 30 k would see my tread down to just over 40%, which included full rotation ever 5 k.

Last year before heading off, I wanted new tyres to go bush and a couple of tyre dealers were pushing the new Toyo AT2 in LT construction for less than $240 per tyre. The $80 in difference per tyre is too much for a very similar tyre. So far they are just as good as the 697's both on and off road, and in the wet, with the exception of better tyre wear. I know that 10k is still not a good test, but even if they get to 40 k for the same tyres life, I am still miles in front.


Cheers




Stephen

Stephen, I also have Toyo A2's and I am experiencing similar wear rates as you. Paid $228 per tyre f&b so that was excellent.

Have found them to be very good all round with no chipping on mine and good adhesion. The only downside are the wear rates. I don't think I will get to 40000K as at 25000k they are half worn, I would think I will be changing them between 35000 and 40000K.

I've found the 697's don't last quite as long as the 694's that preceeded them. But still pretty good. I've replaced mine a couple of months ago. Set of five 697's in a 285/70R17 got 53,000km with 5mm tread still left. Towing caravan or Tvan most of those k's and done GVD, Tanami, GRR, GJR, Savannah Way, Oodnadatta Track, Flinders etc.
Like Stephen, I don't like to wear them down to nothing - that's when they get punctures.
I like the fact they don't have chunky sidewalls. A lot of stakes I've seen happen when a stick snags on the chunky sidewall.

Hi Eagle

That would be disappointing, as from all reports they were wearing very well.
That is why I will not knock the 697, except for their tyre life and if the Toyo's do not perform as they should in the long run, I will have no hesitation in going back to the 697's.

One tyre that will not be on my radar now is the BFG, purely the way they badly chipped on my camper and my friends new Prado, and in return I have fitted the Toyo's to the camper.

Time will now be the biggest test, but on a footnote, even if I only get to he 30k mark and I feel they need replacing, with the $80 per tyre difference between the 697, I still have better value for money.


Cheers


Stephen

Stephen, the wear is alarming but of those kilometres 18000 have been loaded and towing + the vehicle is always loaded.

I swap my tyres front to back after each trip due to the drive tyres wearing fair bit.

I am actually going to show the dealer the wear and guess I will be told it is a suspension or inflation fault even though the wear pattern is perfect. I guess I shouldn't be a pessimist though and should wait and see their slant on things.

.
Hi Stephen,

Yes, the 697's and the earlier versions got good user reviews. My Troopy is a Big Girl and demanding on tyres. The early Coopers suffered chips, cracks and much less km performance than their sales promotion expressions. Their "warranty" was deceptive as the "80,000km" only applied to metropolitan usage and a number of other restrictive conditions. I won't deal with suppliers who try to 'con' me. And they are bloody expensive, as are Mickey Thompson etc. Their promotion by certain "professional" users is pathetic as they are obviously supplied gratis, saying more about the calibre of the "professional" than about the Tyre.

The BFG's that followed were maybe better but similar pricing.

Then came Bridgestone's which stood up better and with similar life but much cheaper. Also, I was maybe influenced by some emotional connection with Bridgestone having been involved with the establishment of their UniRoyal factory in Adelaide some 50 years ago. (Blimey, is it THAT long?)

I am not too concerned re the economy of mileage performance, after all I spend much more on diesel and maintenance. Road holding and reliability is more important to me. Each of us will hold to differing criteria. There are many good tyres on the market, some simply have more expensive advertising. Toyo's, Kuhmo's etc don't seem to spend too much on advertising but attract good reviews.

Continuing my explorations into 4WD tyres, I had a chat with an independent dealer I have known for some time, a rather No Nonsense guy. His recommendation for my Troopy, and the use that it is put to, was General Grabbers in LT265/75R16. Cost.... $270 each, fitted. A little more than your Toyo AT2 but possibly a larger tyre than for the Prado? I like the look of them with smooth transition from the tread shoulder to the sidewall with no fancy projections to attract stakes. They have yet to be put to the test other than a short trip to Fraser Island but will soon be tried on bitumen, Simpson sand, and the stones of Plenty and Donohue Highways.

Incidentally, in all my bush travels, I have had only 2 tyre failures. Each were in the Cooper's and on bitumen. I must say though that Coopers do make a good beer! lol

Thank to all contributors. As usual I have learnt something and as a feedback I can say I have gone with Bridgestone 697's in LT construction. This is the result of consideration of budget and fit for purpose.
I'll get back in 12 months time and let you all know how that worked out for me.
Cheers
Scruffy (changed my name min conversation in honour of my recently departed dog and companion)

I expect you will be pretty satisfied with the 697's Scruffy.

Just to set the record straight from my previous post about wear on the Toyos. I went and saw the dealer and he had a look at them. His words were, the wear rate may slow but if it doesn't bring them back at the end of their life their life, in other words what I am comfortable with regarding the likelihood of punchers and not down to the wear indicators.

He then said he would contact the Toyo rep and see if they will agree to a price adjustment if there is excessive wear. Well I will see how they go.

I must say they are the best all-round 4wd tyre I have ever used.

Hi Allan

The tyre size on my Prado is 265/65R17 in LT construction @ $240 per tyre.

On the other had, you might have the same size tyres on your Troopy as my Ultimate, which I have also put new Toyo's on, as the BFG were very badly chipped.

The tyre size for my camper is 265/75R16LT and the grand price of $230 ea, fitted and balanced. The same size in the 697 was going be $295 ea.



Cheers



Stephen

Thanks Notso, any particular reason you would recommend that?

Cheeers
Kevin

All round a tougher tyre, stiffer sidewalls makes them less prone to sidewall penetration, and generally deeper tread.

I had bad chipping with the original KOs on my Prado, but the KO2s on the heavier BT50 didn't chip at all in 10,000k of outback dirt.

Cheers

Another vote for the toyo at2

Hi,

As Frank P. has said I also had the old style BFG AT fitted to my 07 Prado and they chipped badly, I now have the later KO2 tyres, fitted before a Canning trip 2 years ago and didn't receive any chipping.

I am quite happy with them.

I don't do as much travelling as I would like so my tyres last me quite some time.

William

Hey Dean, you're the second to recommend Toyo. Ill have a look at them. Cheers Kevin

Nobody mentions Pirellis much. The second hand Prado I bought nearly a year ago came with five new Scorpion ATR LTs. I guess price is a factor in what a dealer fits and looking around on the web they seem a bit cheaper than others.

No complaints so far. They seem quiet, grip is not an issue and while a recent run through the Gascoyne and Pilbara involved some rough tracks it was hardly a torture test.

But after 17,000 km I don't think they are going to be as long lived as the Bridgestone 697s I had on my Ford Ranger. They had notched up nearly 60,000km when I traded cars and had at least another 10K in them ... but would have been replaced before that if there was a major trip.

Cheers

The scorpions won a few of those AT tyre shootouts they used to do years ago. We had them on the fleet utes and while there were no complaints, the shoulder lug sipes wore out pretty quick and they don't drain water too well after that. Still a good enough tyre for the job though.

I have Hankook Dynapro ATM RF10 LT on my 79 series ute about 50% gravel roads, no chipping, no punctures and wearing very well after 15,000 k. They are supposed to be rated 120R. Anyone else had any experience with this brand ? They are reasonably priced as well.
Harry.