Thread: 7.50r16 tyres

Originally Posted by wayne1779

have any of you guys used the 7.5r16 olympic steel trek's, if so what are they like ? Im thinking about putting them on my 98 disco.

its a tyre that doesnt excel at anything and doesnt suck either.

years ago I saw it in a mixed review of tyres and it was the only one to score over 50% in all fields.


Its a jack of all trades tyre and my personal preference because of it.

average life if all is well with the steering and suspension is 75K Km + or about 4 maybe 5 years before they start to suffer hardening.


to best run them on a disco1 you need a 2 inch lift and a little guard work at the rear

Regards my original post-the main consideration for new tyres is grassy slopes as travelling fast downhill not nice and stop at bottom worse also need to include heavy loads as tyre failure on hwy heavily loaded not good either
We run 7.50r16 goodyear TG's as steer wheels on our local firetruck(it used to run steel trek's but before my time) and larger dual MT/R's on the rear.It'll go anywhere-though it weighs alot more than a unloaded 110.
I run 7.50r16's because 110 usually running light(1900kgs) when offroad-though sometimes it's on gvm
I've always found grass the hardest surface to get traction on and a good tyre is required.Hwy performance,wear rate, noise and cost don't affect grip on grass.
A/T tyres can be dangerous as once traction lost it's hard to regain if slipping wrong way on hill- and if grounds wet useless.
Are Steel Trek's still available?-my local shop was recomending Goodyear TG's. Other local tyre shop's told me 7.50r16's are obsolete & to fit wider tyres???They just don't understand.
I think I'm leaning towards the xzl still, I do have a set of Wrangler AT's I can throw on if needed for extended on road drive.
Brett
ps-I've read some good reports on Bridgestone m888 7.50r16 truck tyres for you guy's doing high onroad km's

yes the steel trek is still available, its still manufactured as its still in use by the defence.

finding a tyre shop that will deal with them is a bit of an issue as there is a lot of other tyres that outperform it significantly in certain areas and people buy those tyres because those tyres do what they want them to.

The only other tyre that IVe run that I consider to be close in capabilities is the BFG AT.

I will soon be up for new tyres also, i previously have used bfg a/t and consistently got 80,000 km's with no punctures. I want to improve my traction in the mud (steady Col. Coleman), so i'm thinking that i'll try bfg km2 m/t

Regards extreme

Simex trekkers are available in 7.50 16.
Great for mud and grass, no good on the bitumen.
If you have an irrigated dairy farm, (lots of mud and grass) and another car to drive to town then perfect

Originally Posted by extreme

I want to improve my traction in the mud (steady Col. Coleman),
Regards extreme

So you'll take a box of twelve

I am a massive fan of Michelin XZL's. For me they tick all the boxes.

On my 130, I don't notice the noise, don't get the wet bitumen thing. I have towed loaded car trailers in monsoon like weather and not felt twitchy in the slightest. Done 4100k round trip in 73hrs on them towing on bitumen with no probs(not with the tyres anyway). Off road in whatever terrain they really perform at their best.

The Ho Hars are after a longer lasting tyre for the load they carry(the camper) which I don't think you'll get from a mud trye.

Another good option is Michelin LTX A/T. Another very tough tyre, longer lasting and VERY quiet. Only come in floataion sizes in 15 inch, so it will be 235/85x16's. Have these on my stage 1 and they are excellent.

Michelins Are expensive. But for me personally I feel the expense is justified.

I also run Michelins on everything I own. The landies, Wifes Subaru(215/60x16 synchrones), Motorcycles and even my push bikes, so I might be accused of being biased.

CC

Olympic Steeltreks are a POS. On a well cambered front axle like a defender, they scollop out badly and the very large side blocks create vibrations, noise and a horrible ride(ask weeds or inc). I know the ADF use them, but remember most of the time they are speed limited on public roads, and are not supposed to drive at the speeds that we normally do. They are on my Field Kitchen and the weak side walls make it sway badly. I keep 75psi in them to counteract this.

I run Wrangler TGs on my 120 and it sounds like I do similar work to yourself. I cannot fault these tyres, they are good in snow and on dirt roads, wet or dry. As for paddock work they are good, but our steep country isn't covered in lush grass.... Road noise is not an issue, but that may be because I cannot hear it over the gear box!

I cant say what sort of wear I'm getting as my speedo hasn't worked for years, but I'd reckon I've done 20-30k on them so far, and will get at least that again. I wouldn't expect to get 70-80k out of a set, that is probably 60% bitumen 40% dirt/bush, usually lightly loaded.

Originally Posted by Col.Coleman

Olympic Steeltreks are a POS. On a well cambered front axle like a defender, they scollop out badly and the very large side blocks create vibrations, noise and a horrible ride(ask weeds or inc). I know the ADF use them, but remember most of the time they are speed limited on public roads, and are not supposed to drive at the speeds that we normally do. They are on my Field Kitchen and the weak side walls make it sway badly. I keep 75psi in them to counteract this.

yeah because 0 degrees of camber is just a massive camber angle (or is the result of your blown up front diff a bent axle housing?)

Your speed limited to the same speed most of the time, not many places will let you do more than 100 and if you've got a trailer on then your limited to the same speed.

funny with a 12ply side wall rating I always figured they had a pretty good side wall. I know the local tyre shop doesnt like changing them because the beads are too hard to deflect.

your trailer sways badly because you probabley tow it too fast and behind something thats lighter and/or got a longer rear axle to tow ball than what the military use to tow it.

The fact that the suspension on the trailer is probabley rooted wont be helping either (but thats just a WAG)