New Boots for the D3

[DiscoWeb]

Well after procrastinating for a long time I was finally forced to make a decision about tires as my rears were getting badly worn.

So on Friday I bit the bullet and had a set of Continental Cross Contact AT's put on the D3.

I ended up with the AT's because;

1. They were the same size (255/60 18) as the originals fitted;
2. The Pirelli Scorpion was not available for 6 -8 weeks;
3. The AT's are a reasonably aggressive for an AT tyre which is what I wanted;
4. I think they look good.

On Friday afternoon i packed the car, grabbed the kids, kissed the wife and headed drove down the South Coast for a weekend of camping, walking and had planned some 4wding. Unfortunately did not get any real 4wding in but covered over 600 km of which about 80 km was on dirt.

So my impressions thus far are;

On Road
I did not noticed any real difference between the AT's and the UHP's previously fitted. Straight line tracking is good and cornering was fine. I did a couple of hard braking test and did notice a bit of squirming from the blocks but not enough to be of concern. Noise wise, under normal conditions (windows up and radio on low) absolutely no noise intruding, I had to open the windows and turn off the radio to hear the slight increase in noise.

On Dirt
The road was a bit rutted and cut up and after about 3 or 4 km I stopped to check if I had a flat. The tyres felt a bit floaty, like the tread block would "walk" its way into the ruts rather than track across them. This was a bit off putting at first but after I worked out what I thought was going on and drove on for a bit I stopped noticing it. Otherwise they gripped will on wet corners and soft and gravel edges so all in all pretty good.

Overall pretty happy and as per the photos attached I do like the way they look.

Hope this helps.

Regards,

George

[DiscoSaffa]

Hi George

Was looking forward to your feedback. I am intrigued by two things, the floating on dirt that you mention. I never gave it much thought but the tyres do seem to do that, that said, they are not very different in that respect to the stock rubber that was fitted to mine.

Also I notice from your pictures that you have not been plagued with the darned pick up of stones that mine have. If I was to take pictures from any of the angles that you have taken your from, there would be a handful of stones in each of my tyres. The size of these stones vary from pebbles lodged between the main tread blocks to small sharp little blighters trapped in the slots in the edge blocks. :mad:

What pressures did you/are you running yours at? And does anyone else have any experience, ideas or suggestions on how to deal with the stone issue?

As a parting shot, I never mentioned in any of my posts regarding these tyres, but I agree with George, the tyres do look very good on the D3! :cool:

Look forward to a report on some real 4x4ing!

DS

[DiscoWeb]

DS,

I put the squirming down to a pretty soft compound and the fact the blocks are widely spaced and quite deep, but as I said once I got use to it, it was no issue.

I was waiting for the stones to start pinging away but did not seem to pick any up, but in saying that the roads were mostly clay based and not overly graveled or full of stones.

Pressures I am not sure as I have not checked them yet but will do so tonight and advise.

I think they make the D3 look a little more "fit for purpose" and hope they perform when I get them dirty.

George

[Scouse]

I think they make the D3 look a little more "fit for purpose" and hope they perform when I get them dirty.

Goody goody, Lake Lyell take 2 here we come !!

:p:p

[DiscoWeb]

Goody goody, Lake Lyell take 2 here we come !!
:p:p



My thoughts exactly:BigThumb: !!

[Scouse]

I'd better take my road tyres off next time - I can't have a D3 showing me up ;).

[DiscoSaffa]

I think they make the D3 look a little more "fit for purpose"

I like that term..... :D

They do, ever so subtly, alter the look of the vehicle, for the better..... and definately fit for purpose! :BigThumb:

[DiscoWeb]

I'd better take my road tyres off next time - I can't have a D3 showing me up ;).

Scouse,

Even with your "road tyres" on you and that Rangie will probably go further than me in the D3:TakeABow:

George

[Graeme]

I think they make the D3 look a little more "fit for purpose" and hope they perform when I get them dirty.
They might not pick-up the mud that my Pirelli ATRs do.

[tunnelthug]

1. They were the same size (255/60 18) as the originals fitted;
2. The Pirelli Scorpion was not available for 6 -8 weeks;
3. The AT's are a reasonably aggressive for an AT tyre which is what I wanted;
4. I think they look good.



Looks like a good choice, Discoweb -

How much of the hard-earned did you have to part with, if you don't mind me asking?

Cheers,

NM

[DiscoWeb]

tunnelthug, (great name by the way),

Good question, I rang around about 6 places and got pricing between $475 each and $365 each.

So ended up as the $365 ( $1,460 for 4) from Tempe Tyres in Tempe Sydney.

Average price was around $400 so pretty please with the $365.

Regards,

George

[tunnelthug]

Thanks DiscoWeb, (& Thank you!)

Interesting to see the variability in quotes - for example, after doing sonme research I was quoted $379 per tyre for the Pirelli Scorpion ATR 255/60/R18 (fitted), $338 per tyre for the Cooper HT Plus 265/60/R18 (fitted) and about $420-odd for the General Grabber AT's 255/60/R18.

The Conti's are serious contenders at that price.

Cheers!

[Graeme]

I'm not too fussed with my 19" Pirelli ATRs due to the number of times they have aquaplaned yet I don't recall ever having such problems in all my years of driving. The Conti ATs I saw in 15" were very open compared with the Pirellis so are unlikely to suffer from the same problem.

[Dirty3]

Thanks DiscoWeb, (& Thank you!)

$420-odd for the General Grabber AT's 255/60/R18.

The Conti's are serious contenders at that price.

Cheers!
Hi,

I got GG AT2's for $340 each fitted in Melbourne. They had to come down from Brisbane so I would assume you should be able to get them for at least that in Brisbane also? Jax Quikfit tyres is where i got them.

Cheers, Neil.

[FifiLámour]

Thanks for this thread. It's very useful. So would you say these tyres would be just as suitable for a Disco that does primarily road driving? It sounds like you were quite happy with their performance on the road.

We had our D3 serviced last week and were told we really needed to replace the tyres as they were "lumpy". My husband is skeptical and feels it is premature, although I am starting to turn my head to the available options just in case. It worries me that the point where the rubber hits the road might not be performing at it's optimal level...

I asked the techi what caused the "lumpiness" and he said Disco's more than most cars are very sensitive to their wheel alignment and that you needed to get it checked regularly - at least every 6 months. Does this sound right to you guys?

(sorry to hijack thread)

[DiscoWeb]

Fifi,

To be honest, like most I suspect my D3 spends most of it time on the road, and increasingly more time in the hands of my wife as the school shuttle etc, I am relegated to the Mini which is not all bad.

Road performance so far has been good but I have really only had them on for a coupe of weeks so a little early to make a call and whilst I have done one weekend road trip they have not done many Km's just yet.

DiscoSaffa also runs the AT's and has done for a few more months than me so maybe he can chip in as well.

I find them only a little noiser than the Continental UHP's I had before, not enough to be a bother in any way.

I do try and use the car as intended off road which is why I went the AT's as they appear to offer a more aggressive tread pattern than most AT tyres I looked at.

Hope this helps,

George

[DiscoSaffa]

Fifi

More than happy with these as an on road tyre. Audrey spends most of her time on the road, 15 to 20% of her time on gravel roads around the construction site on which I work, and some time off road.

George has given his reasons for choosing the tyre earlier in this thread, but mine are as follows:

• Wanted an AT, and one that would do some fairly serious off road work, I don’t do lots, but when I do I didn’t want to be doing it on road tyres. As George points out this is probably the most aggressive AT available for the D3, so it fits the bill here.
• I wanted a tyre that would cope better with the work I do than a standard tyre.
• I wanted a tyre that I could live with on the road as I do a fair bit of long distance on road travel.

The Conti ticks all these boxes, handles very well on road and off, wet and dry. As George points out they are slightly noisier than road tyres but with the radio set at normal volume you wouldn’t notice. Safari Barbie didn’t even notice the difference. :eek:

My only bug bear with them (and I have mentioned this on numerous occasions elsewhere) is with regular travel on gravel they pick up, and hang onto, small pebbles……. :mad:

If it helps at all, I would fit these tyres to my car even if you took my work out of the equation, just for the ability to go off road as and when, and for the mileage they reckon you should get out of them…… oh, and they look GREAT! :cool:

As an additional endorsement, Jamo fitted them to his Porsche Cayenne…. If they can handle the on road performance of that :burnrubber: we should all be okay in our mere D3s…….

[FifiLámour]

Yes, they really do look great! I was admiring those pictures of Discoweb's car before.

We are currently running Good Year Wrangler's (255/60R18 in case that means anything significant) on our car. They were on it when we purchased it second hand. But they look very different to those pictures of Discoweb's where the tread is so pronounced.

What does it mean when you call a tyre "aggressive"?

What kind of tread is more likely to aquaplane? Presumably a flatter tread? We have a road near us that is notorious for this. I don't know what it is...the camber perhaps. But I was caught once in my old RAV4 and never want to go through that again!

Sorry, probably stupid questions for you guys, but they're helping me get my head around this as I didn't understand a lot of the stuff the service technician was trying to tell me.

[big guy]

255/60R18 means the tyre is 255 mm wide, 60% is aspect ratio meaning 605 of the tyre width is the height of the tyre and 18 is the size of rim it will fir in inches. You have 18 inch wheels. R is the speed rating.
Strange to quote mm and inches in same sentence but that is how they do it.

Aquaplaning has a lot to do with th espeed you are carrying when approaching water.
Some tyres are better at displacing it than others.
Very aggressive(chunky, knobly etc) tyres can do it earlier than road biased tyres as the off road (aggressive) tyres are designed to go off road more and hence not as good as say a Highway tread tyre. (less aggressive)

Hope that helps.

Remember, if you intend to not use the D3 or any Landy off-road you are much better to get a high tyre.
Better performance, quiter, better wear usually, less chance of aquaplaning etc.

[FifiLámour]

Thanks Big Guy, that made it a lot clearer.

[DiscoWeb]

What kind of tread is more likely to aquaplane? Presumably a flatter tread? We have a road near us that is notorious for this. I don't know what it is...the camber perhaps. But I was caught once in my old RAV4 and never want to go through that again!



Fifi,

Think of one of those skimming boards they use on the thin film of water close the beach sometimes. You see the kids sprinting along th beach and then jump on and slide along in almost no water !!

Now think of your tyre rolling along the road, hits a patch of water. If the tread can not get rid of the water faster enough then the tyre effectively starts skating or skimming on the top of a film of water, you have no control and it all goes pear shaped.

Theoretically tyres with "chunky or aggressive" tread patterns should cut through the water better as the water is able to find its way out through the large channels or grooves in the tread (i.e disperse). However the flip side of this is that for the 95% of the time when it is not wet the chunky tread patterns have less rubber on the road which gives them less "grip" in the dry.

If you ever watch motor racing you will see this, the normal racing tyre is called a slick, almost no tread so maximum rubber contacting the ground, but as soon as it get wet they slide around like mad because the water can not get away. As soon as it gets wet, they change to a tyre with a tread pattern.

Hope you do not find the above too patronizing as it is not meant to be, just a simple and logical way to explain what aquaplaning is.

Either way what ever you choose, as with most thing there is a compromise somewhere.

George

[tunnelthug]

Fifi

More than happy with these as an on road tyre. Audrey spends most of her time on the road, 15 to 20% of her time on gravel roads around the construction site on which I work, and some time off road.

George has given his reasons for choosing the tyre earlier in this thread, but mine are as follows:

• Wanted an AT, and one that would do some fairly serious off road work, I don’t do lots, but when I do I didn’t want to be doing it on road tyres. As George points out this is probably the most aggressive AT available for the D3, so it fits the bill here.
• I wanted a tyre that would cope better with the work I do than a standard tyre.
• I wanted a tyre that I could live with on the road as I do a fair bit of long distance on road travel.

The Conti ticks all these boxes, handles very well on road and off, wet and dry. As George points out they are slightly noisier than road tyres but with the radio set at normal volume you wouldn’t notice. Safari Barbie didn’t even notice the difference. :eek:

My only bug bear with them (and I have mentioned this on numerous occasions elsewhere) is with regular travel on gravel they pick up, and hang onto, small pebbles……. :mad:

If it helps at all, I would fit these tyres to my car even if you took my work out of the equation, just for the ability to go off road as and when, and for the mileage they reckon you should get out of them…… oh, and they look GREAT! :cool:

As an additional endorsement, Jamo fitted them to his Porsche Cayenne…. If they can handle the on road performance of that :burnrubber: we should all be okay in our mere D3s…….

Discosaffa,

Any discernable difference in fuel consumption? I suspect you guys with the TDV6's wouldn't notice - I have the SE V6 petrol, which can be a little thirsty sometimes around town, which regrettably, is the majority use. Like yourself, on the occasion one does get off the blacktop, decent rubber would be desirable!

Cheers!

[FifiLámour]

DiscoWeb: goodness no! Not patronising at all! That was a great explanation, thank you.

Good question Tunnelthug, will be interested to hear that answer.

[WhiteD3]

Fifi,

I ran the factory fitted Wranglers for 50,000km (including 3 new tyres which I busted along the way). I found them quiet, useless off road but otherwise fine for on road.

I've done 30,000km on the Pirelli Scorpion ATR and love them. Quiet on the road, good off road (although somewhat challenged by thick mud). No sign of aquaplaning.

[FifiLámour]

Thanks White D3 - that was really helpful information. Our Disco has done about $48,000kms and the service guys told me it was about time for new tyres. My husband doesn't think so though, so it is very interesting to hear that you changed yours at $50,000kms and that they were no good for off-road.

Sounds like he (husband) and I need to have further discussion about it. I carry the kids (and others' kids) in that car, after all.

[DiscoSaffa]

Discosaffa,

Any discernable difference in fuel consumption? I suspect you guys with the TDV6's wouldn't notice - I have the SE V6 petrol, which can be a little thirsty sometimes around town, which regrettably, is the majority use. Like yourself, on the occasion one does get off the blacktop, decent rubber would be desirable!

Cheers!

At first I thought the fuel consumption had increased a little, but a few thousand kms into them and there is no notable difference. My check is my regular run from Ballina to Coffs, with a full tank, and the computer reset, I should be reading an average of around 11.7 l/100km by teh time I reach Coffs. It did that with the old tyres and does that with the Contis. The reality is, around town the V6 is just thirsty, driving style :burnrubber: rather than tyres are going to affect fuel consumption more than anything else........ Depending on my mood my fuel consumption around town can vary as much as 2l/100km! :eek:

[DiscoSaffa]

Fifi,

I ran the factory fitted Wranglers for 50,000km (including 3 new tyres which I busted along the way). I found them quiet, useless off road but otherwise fine for on road.

I've done 30,000km on the Pirelli Scorpion ATR and love them. Quiet on the road, good off road (although somewhat challenged by thick mud). No sign of aquaplaning.


Thanks White D3 - that was really helpful information. Our Disco has done about $48,000kms and the service guys told me it was about time for new tyres. My husband doesn't think so though, so it is very interesting to hear that you changed yours at $50,000kms and that they were no good for off-road.

Sounds like he (husband) and I need to have further discussion about it. I carry the kids (and others' kids) in that car, after all.

I replaced my Wranglers at 37000km...... they perhaps had another 5000km in them, but were starting to get a bit hairy on the gravel roads, and the rear ones had worn badly as a result of poor care by the previous owner. They managed to do the damage in the first 13000km (when I bought the car). It is worth noting that the previous owner was a Land Rover Australia director! :eek:

Tyres on the D3, or any heavy 4x4 for that matter, thrive on correct wheel alignment and pressures..... look after your tyres and the will last.... simple as that. For what is worth some guys are quoting 70000km out of the Contis....

[Tinman]

Hi Guys, Havent been on for a while, so Hi to everyone. Just read about the new boots, just coming up for new ones on my D3. I have been using General Grabbers AT2 for the last few years, wasnt much around then, like to know how your boots are. Very happy with the grabbers but like to leave my options open.
Cheers Tinman

[DiscoSaffa]

Hi Guys, Havent been on for a while, so Hi to everyone. Just read about the new boots, just coming up for new ones on my D3. I have been using General Grabbers AT2 for the last few years, wasnt much around then, like to know how your boots are. Very happy with the grabbers but like to leave my options open.
Cheers Tinman

Hi Tinman

A thread for you on the Contis......

http://www.aulro.com/afvb/general-chat/67953-continental-cross-contact-any-thoughts.html

I seem to recall there being more info, so do a search and see what you come up with. If you have no luck or want any more info, give us a yell.

DS

[bobzed57]

Thanks for the timely thread as I'll be in the market for new tyres to replace the OEM Wranglers in the next few months. I had been leaning towards the Scorpions, but might check the Contis now.

An observation; I just returned from four weeks in and around Alice and took a number of the local tracks (Cattlewater Pass, Arltunga etc) and at 27PSI the Wranglers with about 25k on them never missed a beat. That said, I did get one puncture on the black top near Clare in SA when we drove a 120mm bolt into the RH rear. When we pulled up, only about 15mm was visible. I reckon I'll get another 5-10k out of them before discretion will overtake valour.

Cheers

Bob

[Disco4SE]

I too am leaning towards the Conti's, however after speaking with a few people and reading an article on the Disco UK forum, the Cooper ST looks good as well.
Has anyone had them on their vehicles before.
Noticed that they are 820mm in diameter. Bloody big tyre.
Keen to hear some comments.

Cheers, Craig

[DiscoWeb]

Thanks for the timely thread as I'll be in the market for new tyres to replace the OEM Wranglers in the next few months. I had been leaning towards the Scorpions, but might check the Contis now.

Bob,

Up until a few weeks before I purchased the Contis I was leaning towards the Scorpions, what changed my mind;

1. Did a trip with some mud and slippery sections where my OEM tyres (which were 100% road) were useless after about 20 m, completely slick with mud. Now I am no mud plugger but felt that a bit more aggressive tread would be worthwhile for the occasional trip in the dirt and mud.;

2. When I finally made the decision to get new tyres I had do make a decision reasonably quickly due to one of the rear ones starting to show some really bad wear. There were no Scorpions available in Aust and I was told something like 4 - 6 weeks. Decision made easy !!

So I went the Contis, happy so far.

I am going out to Mt Walker, near Lithgow in a few weeks (check out upcoming events channel) so will have had an opportunity to test them in off road conditions, hopefully a bit of mud etc so can provide more feedback then.

Hope this helps your decision making/contemplation.

Regards,

George

[MartyJB]

Guys,
I'm not taking delivery of my D4 SE until December; the dealer here in Perth however generally delivers them with a Continental tyre rather than the factory fitted Goodyear wranglers. I'm not sure which conti tyre it is, I understand it's a road biased tyre similar to the wrangler.
The dealer is a Continental tyre dealer amongst a number of other bsuiness and they claim they do this so they can "support" the tyres, ie provide replacement tyres. I tried getting more info and as they must make money out of it - they send the wranglers back to the factory and get a rebate for them.
Anyway, my question is what standard road biased tyre do you think is better, goodyears or the continentals? (I notice some of you a quoting pretty good milage out of the originals wranglers.)
Thanks
Marty

[DiscoSaffa]

There were no Scorpions available in Aust and I was told something like 4 - 6 weeks. Decision made easy !!


When I replaced my wranglers I had narrowed it down to the same two, the Pirellis, and the Contis. I have to say before I started phoning around I was leaning toward the Conti for the more aggressive tread, but was going to let cost and availability decide. When I started phoning around I was quoted similar waiting times (4 weeks) for the Scorpians, and two local guys could get the Contis inside of 24 hours…….. so like you George the decision was easy in the end. That and the guy who did them for gave me a good deal on the Contis to boot…….

[DiscoWeb]

Anyway, my question is what standard road biased tyre do you think is better, goodyears or the continentals? (I notice some of you a quoting pretty good milage out of the originals wranglers.)
Thanks
Marty

Marty,

I had the Continental UHP, which are listed as 100% road tyres on the Continental website.

I managed about 35,000 km out of them and probably could have got more, however as I took them off road a few times they got cut up and I had to change them.

I did most damage on a coupe of day trips into the Victorian High Country where the terrain was lots of sharp rock and gravel.

Whilst it was pretty cool climbing Mt Pinnibar in a standard D3 with road tyres and passing fully kitted Patrols and Cruisers all suggesting I would not make it, most due to tyres, they cut up pretty badly which as noted shortened their life. But regardless they performed very well and I suffered no punctures or grip problems which was a surprise.

They were great on road, no noise, excellent grip etc but hey it is a 2.5t 4wd so I want to use it as such and not pretend it is a sports car.

So if you plan to do anything more than gravel roads or intend to use the D4 for what it was intended I would stay away from fully road biased tyres and go for an AT or something similar. Just my 2 cents worth.

Regards,

George

[Duck's Guts]

Mt Pinnibar, although steep, is not difficult when it is dry.
For example, my brother in his stock 10yr old Subaru Outback shod with highway terrain Bridgestones makes a meal of the climb & descent.
The only thing he needs to watch is that he dowsn't get hung-up whilst crossing the conservation mounds.
It suprises everyone just how far that Subbie will go!

[Dorko]

Go the Scorpions at the very least if you are going offroad. Especially when you will already be battling with the 19's.

If you are mad keen on 4WDing, go the MTR's. They look tough, noise is not that bad and shes chops the mud! :D

Dorko

[DiscoWeb]

Mt Pinnibar, although steep, is not difficult when it is dry.
For example, my brother in his stock 10yr old Subaru Outback shod with highway terrain Bridgestones makes a meal of the climb & descent.
The only thing he needs to watch is that he dowsn't get hung-up whilst crossing the conservation mounds.
It suprises everyone just how far that Subbie will go!

Agreed,

Pinnibar in the dry is not too tough, would be diabolical in the wet !!. Both times we did it we did the run out to Davies High Plain first and that track has lots of sections that work tyres hard and would probably challenge a stock Outback or Subbie generally.

I owned a Forester prior to the D3 and loved it but it ended up being a bit small for a growing family. Was more capable than most gave it credit for off road but not a patch on the D3.

Regards,

George

[Duck's Guts]

Agreed.
I been on the Mt Pinnibar descent after a summers thunderstorm went through that included hail - couldn't drive the trail. Had to wait about 1.5hrs whilst the sun dried things off sufficiently to safely travel again.

We also have done the Davies Plains, Buckwong, Mount Misery, Limestone Creek, & Cobberas, McFarlane Tracks/Trails (name dropper :blush:), and my bro will not take the Subbie on those!
Not worth the potential damage to undercarrage & tyres.
But it is a capable vehicle when pushed.
And like most things in life, there is an easy way to do things, then there is the hard way. D3/4 = easy offroad. Subbie = the hard way offroad.

[rmp]

Squirming -- new tyres do that as they have a sheen of plastic on them. That quickly wears off and they grip better.

Stones in tyres -- very dependent on several factors such as the exact size and nature of the stone, pressures, tyres and heat. Just something to live with.

Pinnibar -- last time I was there I had to winch it, but that was in over a metre of snow. It's very easy in the dry.


255/60R18 means the tyre is 255 mm wide, 60% is aspect ratio meaning 605 of the tyre width is the height of the tyre and 18 is the size of rim it will fir in inches. You have 18 inch wheels. R is the speed rating.

R in that context means Radial, although there is a speed rating of R which is 170km/h. We need only a rating of N or greater (140km/h), despite what the placard says.