Tyre Decisions

[~Rich~]

Ok we all have made choices on what tyres we require.
Some make do with 1 set while some have 2, one set for the road and one set for more adventurous off road excursions.

I have 2 sets, 1 set of 255/55 R19 GG AT's and 1 set of 285/60 R 18 Cooper LTZ Zeons for off road.

The 19's are not really suitable for anything other than bitumen, sand or good gravel roads.

The 18's are a fantastic sand tyre and I can get by with them in the bush apart from Mud!

I want to be more confidence in mud and are considering selling my Zeons and getting some 275/65 R18 Maxxis 764 MT Bighorns.

I know they are going to be noisier but how will they do in the desert or beaches?

No I don't want to have 3 sets either!
Anyone else had this dilemma?

[Geedublya]

I think they will be fine in sand just adjust the pressures appropriately.

The D3s and D4s hate noisy tyres though. The excellent NVH on road tyres is completely overcome on M/Ts. Believe me if you drive for any length of time on bitumen you will slowly go insane.

[chuck]

Rich

I had a D3 with Mickey Thompson MTZ's in 265 70 17 & noted that it was not as good in sand as my current D4 with GG AT's in 255 55 19.

This was in SA between Carpenters Rocks & Robe.

In comparison the Mud Terrains dug in even though they had been aired down.

I was surprised at the difference not sure if it was the tyres or differences in terrain response between the D3 & 4.

[tiddy]

Ok we all have made choices on what tyres we require.
Some make do with 1 set while some have 2, one set for the road and one set for more adventurous off road excursions.

I have 2 sets, 1 set of 255/55 R19 GG AT's and 1 set of 285/60 R 18 Cooper LTZ Zeons for off road.

The 19's are not really suitable for anything other than bitumen, sand or good gravel roads.

The 18's are a fantastic sand tyre and I can get by with them in the bush apart from Mud!

I want to be more confidence in mud and are considering selling my Zeons and getting some 275/65 R18 Maxxis 764 MT Bighorns.

I know they are going to be noisier but how will they do in the desert or beaches?

No I don't want to have 3 sets either!
Anyone else had this dilemma?

I have always been of the opinion, that for sand- including desert, M/T's are a waste of money & that A/T's are a much better tyre. M/T's will bite into the sand too much, effectively digging into it rather that going over the top of the sand like an A/T will, mainly due to the less aggressive pattern.

So for me, if you're doing sand driving, forget the M/T's.....plus the road noise on the way to the sand will drive you up the wall, not to mention a drop in fuel economy....but they do look the business.

My 10 cents worth.

tiddy

[Disco4SE]

I want to be more confidence in mud and are considering selling my Zeons and getting some 275/65 R18 Maxxis 764 MT Bighorns.
Anyone else had this dilemma?
Hey Rich, have you considered the Hankook Dynapro MT RT03's as your off road tyre. Quite cheap to buy and perform really well in the slop.

Cheers, Craig

[sniegy]

Rich,
Stay away from the Bighorns. There a Crap tyre.
One of my mates has them on his vehicle & swears he shouldn't of bought them. Wish we had stuck with the MT MTZ's.

Good luck. Tyres ahhhhh Tyres. :D

[Redback]

Rich, as Sneigy said, don't buy the Bighorns, I had them on my D2, they are really noisy and get noisier as they wear, and it not a constant growl, they pulse, wah wah wah wah wah, drives you nuts, they were good offroad, KM2s are much better though IMO.

As you know we do the same as you, we have Bridgestone D697 265/60/18 for on-road and short drives off-road and BFG KM2 245/70/17 for hard off-road and touring, thankfully the KM2s are not as noisy as others.

Here's a couple more choices, the buckshot is a genuine mud tyre, just looked at the Federal website, only the 35" tyre is available in the 18" rim

LT275/65R18 FEDERAL M/T MUD TYRE 8 PLY

LT275/65R18 MAXXIS BUCKSHOT M/T MUD TYRE

Baz.

[~Rich~]

I'd like to either be able to buy the Mickey Thompson or BFG's in 275/65 R18 but not available - GRRR.
Thanks for the advice.

[Redback]

I'd like to either be able to buy the Mickey Thompson or BFG's in 275/65 R18 but not available - GRRR.
Thanks for the advice.

I noticed 275/70/18 was as close to the size you want in the Mikey Ts.

[~Rich~]

But alas no way will a 849mm tyre fit easily on a D3 / D4 without some serious mods.
BTW its a 33.4" tyre!

[Dirty3]

I have just fitted the Conti Crosscontact AT's.

They look nice and chunky. Hope they'll go ok. Pervious tyre GGAT2's. Very happy with the GG's but thought it time for a change.

[~Rich~]

I'm after a Mud Terrain. The LTZ Zeons are All Terrains.

[Graeme]

You might have to sell the rims too and get 17" for a better range if you're keen enough.

[~Rich~]

Can you get the 275 /65 R18 Duratrac here in Aus, How are you liking your Graeme?

[Graeme]

G'day Rich,

GY still aren't showing 245/70-17 size as being available here so I suggest that you contact a tyre outlet to discover what's available.

Mine haven't had much use so really only first impressions. I had them fitted for a mostly sealed road excursion to Bourke and would have no hesitation in driving long distances with them on if there was any chance of needing their extra grip and stronger sidewalls than my everyday Conti ATs as their noise was not really noticable over 80 kph. Their sloppy stuff performance for the few weeks fitted last winter was as good as I would want, bearing in mind that I wasn't looking for a mud tyre.