Tyre Choice

Offroad or dirt road/tracks? There is a difference.

Maybe an All Terrain tyre would be best suited for your needs.

My next lot of tyres will most likely be Goodyear Wrangler MTR's but I do some extreme stuff.

You will open a can of worms with a question like that around here mate, seems many have an entrenched opinion on rubber.

All the ones you mention willl have supporters.

I'd question why you would want a MT and not an AT tyre when you will be doing primarily blacktop or gravel.

Check out current 4WD monthly for a comprehensive 4WD tyre test.

Also consider availability of a replacement if you need one (shait can happen); it may alter your list.

I don't have any personal experience with any of the tyres you mention except the original Desert Dueller passenger rated 265/70's which were at 10K after a tread puncture from a piece of 20mm aggregate gravel on well graded road.

Apart from the sand and high speed smooth gravel or black top, I have standardised on 26 to 28 psi and keep the speed down to 80k max because half the speed is quarter the impact. It is important realise that when the pressure goes down the speed should go down too. The vehicle will feel a bit wishy washy anyway so you will want to slow down.

I have done 20,000 k of that sort of outback running on my current Toyo OPATS, and so long as I run that pressure, I don't get flats. I once had one very unlucky puncture in Arkaroola from a really really sharp thumb sized rock in the Rangie. Any flats I have had are from stakes while driving off track, or from being lazy and not airing down.

I air up to 35 minimum sometimes 40 on the blacktop. I now religously air down on the rough stuff, it helps to have a really fast compressor like I had in my rangie (Aircon compressor). Te patrol doesn't have that fitted yet.

In the sand (like Simpson desert) I run 18 psi as a starting point. I have run lower to climb Big Red, but air back up to 18 straight away to avoid problems.

I run 265/70

Hope that helps you

Why not BFG Mud Terrains ? Found them to be excellent especially against chipping which can hurt All Terrains badly on some dirt roads.

Some interesting comments from others. I would certainly NOT attempt the Savannah Way and Cape York with ATs. Did it two years ago with 2 vehicles both with Cooper STs. Apart from ONE small punctured side wall when driving back to the main Road after camping in the bush one evening near Roma neither of us had any problems. What price do you put on a tyre that will go anywhere and no blow outs or punctures. I think, value for money the Coopers STs are great (just find yourself a GOOD dealer who will stand by you if you need a warranty replacement) If you do a search on this site youi will find some interesting comments about Coopers Warranty - my understanding is there is no warranty for really heavy off road work.
The Cooper STs do chip, but thats my only complaint - Cooper will say thats because of too high pressure. The chipping does not seem to reduce the performance and on current wear, I would expect to get 60,000 to 70,000 kms from them

The one thing I look at with tyres is puncture resistance in the tread section as well as the sidewall. Coopers and BFG AT's have a good a record in this regard and I personally would be looking at either of these.

The cooper have a heavythan most 2ply sidewall and the BFG have a 3ply side wall. All the other AT branded tyres have the standard 2ply sidewall.

Although BFG didn't fair too well in the test in 4WD Monthly, I will continue to use them as I have never had troubles with them and they do everything I expect they should. I wonder why they didn't do a test to see how all those tyres go with being staked thru the sidewall ??????????

Cheers,

Muzz

Gurich,
You need to throw the BFG A/T into the mix, like others I've been driving on these for many years without any problems. Make sure if you decide to go with the BFG you get the ones out of the US and not Japan, they're better. My opinions others may vary and I'm sure they will. As the Truckman says you can use the mags as a guide but believing them is another matter. Pirelli's, nah, club trip we did, Pirelli Scorpions where the worst closely followed by the Dunlop road gripper. No BFG problems at all.

What a can of worms you've opened :)) Everyone has their own requirements and experiences. e.g.
Longevity
Puncture resistance
Sidewall staking
Performance in mud, on the tar, on gravel roads
etc
Just remember that even the most expensive tyres can be turned into a pile of junk in the blink of an eye. Replacements can be hard, in some remote areas, to come by if it isn't a common type.
I've been round Oz on a set of retreads with one puncture (but I'd never do it again or recommend it to others). I've done the Cape a few times with no name brand tyres and never had a drama. (but once again wouldn't recommend it).

All tyres are a compromise. Basically it boils down to the size of your wallet :))

Gurich

Switch your TV on to SBS at 6pm each day, and watch the highlights of the Paris - Dakar Rally, one thing I have noticed over the last couple of years, the bulk of the field run BFGoodrich, considering the harshness of this event, I think that gives you some idea of how good they are. Bob Jane have the 265/75 R16 on special at the moment.

Regards

Snowy

The minesite I work at runs Bridgestone V steels 235/85 r16 I think. The terrain they are used on is probably worse than any track (on tyres) that I ever hope to encounter. (very sharp abrasive freshly blsted rock). 10 00km out of a tyre. Any others in this type of industry have any recomendations.

PS I wouldnt have these on my own car as they have poor wet bituman grip, but I think they would be great on the GRR etc

My recommendation is the Good Year and not by all means the MTR.
I use the MTR's on my Prado and I am very happy with them.
Have a look here www.goodyear.com.au
Have a look at the wrangler silent armour or the wrangler ATR.
My tyre supplier was having trouble getting me my MTR's prior to my desert trip so my second choice was Dunlop AT2 mud or AT2 all terrain.
Another choice would be the Terra Trak. Very popular out on the stations. Not sure of the sizing for the wider tyres though.
Just another finger in the pie for you.
120scruiser