Advice on available 17" ATs

[Sammy D]

Hi

I run 17" 245/70/17 Cooper STT's on my D3 and boy are they noisy. I want to swap them for some similar ratio/size AT's to get the noise down but retain some off-road performance.

I gave up on the idea of switching to 18"s as they don't seem available that often and tyre choices still complex

After trawling through old threads for hours, found lots of near answers, but basically, can anyone tell me what is a decent option that is available in OZ. Staying 245/70 seems to be a decent one, but not sure what brands have them.

Painful process this one, so much easier with the old Defender on 16"s

Thanks

SD

[PaulGOz]

Hi Sammy,

I am struggling with this one as well. I have a D4 and have decided I need to go to 17 inch as I cannot find anything legal in 18 inch that has a 3 ply sidewall.

My requirements are puncture resistance, decent grip on loose gravel and reasonable capability in sand and mud and minimal noise. (Not a big ask surely). On trips i fully load the D4 with 4 people, rear cargo area ful and full roof racks. My mud driving would be minimimal.

I have narrowed my options down to
1) Bridgetsone D694s in 255/65R17LT (std dia) or 265/65R17LT
2) BFG All Terrains in 245/70R17LT or 265/65R17LT
3) BFG Mud Terrains KM2 in 245/70R17LT
4) Maxxis Bighorns MT-762 255/65R17LT (std dia)

There are some other options but you end up in non LT construction which I would avoid.

I have read a review of the BFG KM2 that had them perform quieter than the BFG TAs and quiter than some Highway Terrain tyres. I am favouring this tyre if it is indeed quiet.

I would be interest in any real world experinces and comparisonsn others have drawn between these options.

[SuperMono]

I'm on the new BFG M/T KM2s in 245/70/17.
A little noisy at say 30-50kph, but not really an issue outside of that range.
Off road, so far: brilliant.

Delivery may be a problem, as seems to be the case with all BFG at the moment.

[Sammy D]

Had MTs on defender, don't neet that level on D3,

So anyone out there help with the 'what is available' element and where in OZ to go for them, if not I'll go for the import from US approach.

Just imported some cracking sliders from UK, so not averse to is, but prefer to buy locally if possible.

[Tombie]

245/70-17. LT

Would perform better than the options already put forward!!!
http://184.72.239.143/mu/76d2d7e0-2b00-13c5.jpg

[kingo]

Hi Sammy D, I run a set of Cooper STC's 265/70/17LT. Not too much noise, 10 ply and so far have 30000kms on them and plenty of meat left. These are the 3rd set of Coopers I've had and still impressed. I believe they have a good off road pattern, with out going to a MT pattern. This size fits on my D3 as I have raised coils, only just rub on the back left under full compression, but would be a problem on air at normal road height. Had no problem getting them, the Bridgestone dealer had them the next day ready to fit. Went the STC as a change and believe the softer compound is a good option, they seem much better in the wet.
Hope this is helpful. Also they were a bit over $400ea fitted.

[Sammy D]

Fair option, mine has been lifted too, so would get away with it.. Does the spare fit?

[clubagreenie]

I'm going to the Bridgestone D694 (will be 695 soon, already available in the states). All accounts I have read & users I have come across, they are quiet and long lasting and perform well both on and off road. Took a colorado ute for a drive today with them, unladen in the wet and never felt like moving round in the back or loosing any grip in the wet.

[kingo]

The spare hasn't been changed (too tight to spend the extra $400), but should get done. Currently the spare is a Mickey Tom as mentioned in an earlier post and looking at it the other day, there is still some space around it. I think it is a 245/70/17. When I bought the car it had them all around and I've never seen tyres in such poor condition. Still had 5-7mm of tread left, but the chipping was increadible and the tyres were deemed unroadworthy, my advice is to steer clear of them. I also currently have the Bridgestones Clubagreenie mentions on my D2, yes they seem good, but think the Coopers would be a better option off road. Before buying the Coopers again for the 3rd time, I did a lot of research, but in all the comparisons the Coopers came on top or 2nd at worst and as mentioned I've had a great run on them. Trips include Cape York, Dig Tree, many High Country, Kangaroo Il, with no problems.
Cheers
Andrew

[Graeme]

I'm going to give the Geolander A/T-S in LT245/70-17 a try (just ordered ex US) but expect to get MTRs or similar for proper outback use.

[clubagreenie]

Personally, I would avoid Coopers like the plague. I was following a thread on a Mitsubishi Forum about 6mths ago on them as I was considering them. There was a link to a warranty information page on the coopers website that was also copied and pasted from the copy he was given. The warranty info form was available from the public side of the site.

Anyhow, this guy tried to claim a warranty and was knocked back and was shown the warranty conditions which included "damage sustained during off road use not warrantable". This was listed in the doc he was given, and sometime after their website warranty info form was changed to remove this and become more ambiguous.

I called into 2 dealers and tried to get info on their warranty comditions as well as calling coopers dist. Coopers said that each claim was taken on an individual basis and dealers were required to submit claims before replacements and pro rata costings could be offered. When asked about use covered/not covered by warranty they referred me to the website (which is about as useful as a diet crouton). The dealers were just as bad, one said to call coopers, the other at least said that they had to refer all claims to coopers (and obviously you may be without an operational vehicle because of this) and that off road use was covered but was dependent on the type and location of the damage on the tyre.

That, also that there is about 50/50 for & against in general comments about coopers, plus the fact that we can get the bridgestones for US$136-ea instead of $250 and up) make me very nervous about them, plus I just don't find their patterns as appealing as a lot of others.

As I said the testimonials on the BS site read well, I also called one of the tour operators they list in there as a user. I know these can be grain of salt but there just isn't the negatives out there about the bridgestones.

As a size comparison:
Std Available in D694
245/70/17 265/65/17LT

Sidewall Height 6.75" 6.78"Circumference 2433.5mm 2438.4mm
Diameter Difference 0.2% less
Speedo Difference 0.191% slow

So a bit higher sidewall (more protection) with bugger all difference in speedo

[Tombie]

The spare hasn't been changed (too tight to spend the extra $400), but should get done. Currently the spare is a Mickey Tom as mentioned in an earlier post and looking at it the other day, there is still some space around it. I think it is a 245/70/17. When I bought the car it had them all around and I've never seen tyres in such poor condition. Still had 5-7mm of tread left, but the chipping was increadible and the tyres were deemed unroadworthy, my advice is to steer clear of them.
Cheers
Andrew

Andrew

How many KMs on them when you got the vehicle?
Did the owner do a lot of trips?
Did they run correct pressures?

Unless you're the owner from new (the tyres) it's not a fair call....

We have a set here, done 130,000km and still 5mm tread and no chipping. And lots of rock and gibber work.

[gghaggis]

Another thumbs up from me for the Mickey Thompson AT's - had them for 2 years on the FL2 and a year on the D3 - brilliant tyre.

Cheers,

Gordon

[sniegy]

I will agree with Mike & Gordon,
In my experience with Coopers nothing but problems, Things may have changed but once(or in my case twice) bitten twice shy.
I have the Mickey Thompson MTZ's in 265/65/17, they fit nicely albeit a little tight, but are a great tyre.

[kingo]

Hi Tombie. The car had 79000kms on it when I got it and obviously the MT's were it's 2nd set, so I'm guessing about 50000kms on them max. As I said there was plenty of tread left, but the chipping was amazing. The spare has the most tread out of the 5, but it is chipped to buggery.

My opinion of Coopers only comes from now having 3 sets and done some long hard trips on them. The first set was on my GU 2004 Patrol, which did Cape York fully loaded from Melb, Dig Tree fully loaded and camper trailer, plus many other. Never had a problem, except for a broken piece of rusty screw driver on the way up the Cape. Then drove on a plug for 20000kms before getting it properly fixed.

I'm sure other tyres are also good and have also heard of problems with Coopers, but as you asked, how many kms, what pressures and loads go with those problems.

3 sets of Coopers and over 200000kms in total and 3 flats, one the screw driver and the other 2 nails, that would penetrate any tyre IMO. I think that is a fair call.

[winaje]

Personally, I would avoid Coopers like the plague

+100, couldn't agree more, personally.

Am looking at importing 4 x Bridgestone 695's from the US.

[Duck's Guts]

Personal experience with the Coopers is similar to others - particularly too many punctures.
The ATR's not aggressive enough for my liking, too soft a side wall that was easily damaged. But if you do alot of sand driving and tar roads, then these would probably be your nirvana.
The ST's chip too easily, and are lousy on wet tarmac. Personally, I found them to be noisy at all speeds and hard riding.
I can't comment on the other Cooper models.

Personal experience with the Micky T ATZ's in LT245/70R17 (5 rib) was disappointing. Worst tyre I've had with respect to chipping and tread block cracking (on correct pressures for the conditions/terrain). It's been the only tyre that I've ever felt the need to question the supplier about re it's performance and deterioration. Told that it was 'normal' wear & tear. Even though they subsequently continued to deteriorate, they got good mileage, never punctured, and had great traction on and off road. But I was always had a concern in the back of my mind about blowouts due to the tread block cracks...

[kingo]

Thanks Ducks Guts, thought I was the only one not happy with the MT and copped a stiff response to my opinion. As I mentioned I'm trying Cooper STC's and so far good. No chipping, good grip in the wet on tar, noise is ok. However yesterday my D3 became a sled up in Tallarook, I don't think there are any AT's on the market that would have been better. Low range 1st, downhill decent on, thankfully a wash out mound arrived after a 50 metre slide and I managed to pull it up. All the other Landies were on either muddies or centerpides. Makes me think the idea of a second set purely for off road is a safer option and way to go.