Tyres

[Jesters Td5]

Okay so I am possibly going to create storm and apologies for that.

I wanted to replace my BFG AT KO, with the new BFG AT KO2, sadly there is none available WA until late August in the size I want to run on my 16" rims. I could change size, but that means my 4 spares are now useless and as I am about to disappear into the bush that's not an option.

I would like to know what rubber you have on your defender. And three facts. Wear, noise, would you buy them again. Please I don't want to start a big series of discussions about why A is better than B but not as good as C. I am looking simply for basic facts to help me make my decision. I have a number of alternatives in mind but don't want to sway this discussion at all.

Thanks in advance.

[TheGrumpy]

I've done 13,000km on the stock Wrangler muddies. Pretty quite for a mud tyre though not super aggressive. Perform well in gravel, mud and sand. I Lost one to a twig (I mean a tiny twig) punchering the tyre 15mm outside of the tread so not repairable (with a guarantee). Lucky to find a replacement as not available in OZ (so my comments area a bit irrelevant!).
I have previously done around 100,000km on the old BFG ATs and couldn't fault them. I suggest trying to source the KO2s on the east cost and freighting them over ($$$) or maybe looking at the BFG MT if available. I also have coopers on a work ute that aren't the best performers and haven't worn well (I'm sure someone will have the exact opposite experience to this!).

[davisshannon]

I've got BFG AT KO2 235/85R16 on my 90. They are a great tyre so far (only about 6000kms on them). Road noise isn't bad, and the limited offroad done to date they've been great.

I bought them through tyresales.com.au and they were delivered to a local fitment centre. Not sure if there are any fitment centres in WA, but worth a look.

[harro]

Toyo M55 236/85/r16's, on the camper as well.
A great all round tyre and absolutely bulletproof but a little noisy once they wear.
Would I buy them again?
YES!

And I will;).

Cheers,
Paul.

[Michael2]

I've got the Michelin LTX AT2 in 235/85R16 on the 110.

The last set did 100,000km, and were still legal. At least 20,000km of that was on unmade surfaces, covering the Tanami, Pilbara, Gibb River Rd, Cape York, and Gulf.

They are quiet, with good wet weather traction.

I'm now on my 2nd set.

[EastFreo]

I have got 40,000 km so far out of the Michelins I got with my 110. I would say they are about half way down on the usable tred and I have had no punctures.

Had a reasonable amount of off road but mainly down south so no not as hard as what you may be expecting.

As I also drive a lot on gravel my main gripe initially was how much they threw stones out with some loud noises. But you seem to get used to it.

On the Tarmac they are very quiet.

So far I would replace them with the same. But let's see how the next year of so goes

[BigBlueOne]

235/85/16 Cooper Discoverer at3 - done just over 20,000km on them now. Nice and quiet, decent off road (I don't do anything too extreme) and excellent wear so far. I'm getting more k's per tank compared to my previous mud terrains aswell so that's a bonus.

[MrLandy]

For the trip you're about to do, Bridgestone D661 235/85R16. You'll find that everyone up north is running these tyres. They are excellent and available anywhere up there.

[Jesters Td5]

I will definitely be running 235/85/16. Jury is still out and I have an hour left to make the call.
😄

Thanks everyone for input and not turning it into a this is better than that forum

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[Beery]

7.50/R16 Michelin XZL.
Great in the scrub and to my surprise, no nasty surprises on road. Wet or dry, they are predictable. As long as you understand what sort of tyre you're driving on and dont carry on like a boy racer.

The noise is also surprisingly low for such an aggressive tread. I mainly put this down to the brand that is on them.

Wear is reportedly not the greatest, I'll be happy to get 50,000 - 60,000km out of them. Depends on use of course.

I think they'll only go on the steel wheels though.

[dero]

My last two sets of tyres have been 265/75/16, Goodrich all terrains & Cooper AT/3 . Both did the job well , The Coopes have just come home from similar places you intend to go . Although both tyres have been good , they both averaged aprox 55,000 km . Some previous brands have given 75,000 under similar conditions .
My next set will probably be Bridgestone 661 , as recommended by many posters .

[DiscoMick]

My Defender still has the original General Grabber TRs on it after 77,000 kms and they still have quite a lot of tread. I don't know how much they originally had so I can't estimate how much of the original is left. The TRs are ATs and LT but the tread is quite road oriented. I don't think they are available here so I'll have to make a change when replacing them. Looking at Hankook ATs, which I recently fitted to our campet trailer, or Pirelli Scorpions, in the standard 235/85/16.

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[Jesters Td5]

7.50/R16 Michelin XZL.
Great in the scrub and to my surprise, no nasty surprises on road. Wet or dry, they are predictable. As long as you understand what sort of tyre you're driving on and dont carry on like a boy racer.

The noise is also surprisingly low for such an aggressive tread. I mainly put this down to the brand that is on them.

Wear is reportedly not the greatest, I'll be happy to get 50,000 - 60,000km out of them. Depends on use of course.

I think they'll only go on the steel wheels though.

Sadly that's correct there is one place in Perth that would put them on my allows but no one else would so have had to rule them out

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[Summiitt]

I'm running various tyres on a few Utes at the moment, 750.16 Michelin on a 6x6, 2 sets of Micky Ts on the 130s, a set of BFG mud terrains on a 110 ute and a set of general grabbers on another 130.. So far the Mickey THompsons have been the pick, 30-50k out if the Michelin and BFG but the surprise package has been the general grabbers.. Good all terrain tread and good wear. We run at GVM on our defenders, fast windy bitumen, fire trails from rocks to clay to mud..and open cleared forestry blocks with sharp stumps

[Jesters Td5]

Thanks everyone,

Me thinking tyres would be easy have left them to the last week or so of preparation as I still had/have about 40% tread on the BFG's I am running already.

Sadly that is not the case. In the standard size of 235/85/16 (save me buying extra spare rubber there is now officially (from the national sales rep) no BFG AT KO2 in the country until some time in late August except what you can find sitting on shelves.

Second choice was the Bridgestone Kevlar AT monsters and again in WA none in my size and without adding $80 a corner for shipping to come from Sydney before Wednesday.

After discussions with people working out where we are going and a couple of peeps and reading whats on here I have gone for the Toyo tyres. 1 long wearing, 2 huge amounts of sidewall protection, 2 a warranty to send replacements ANYWHERE in WA, NT or SA if I puncture within 50,000km free and finally a discount that ended up with me paying less than 1grand for all four, plus moving current rubber around to spare wheels and an alignment. $ is not everything but damn at that price and with that assurance of a new tyre ANYWHERE I just had to trial them.

I am going to keep this thread up just so I can post pics of the tyres as they degrade and comment on general handling etc for others in the future.

[Jesters Td5]

So initial impression

Fair amount of road noise and definitely more than the BFG's AT once they had worn in but not much more than when they were new. Given the weather in Perth at the moment it wont be long before the first wet drive occurs. No issues on freeway or cornering on my hour long 4 psi drive.

Fitted at 40Psi front and rear. I am now at 36Psi front and 38Psi rear and will do another 4Psi drive on Monday to see how the new pressures go.

[harro]

So initial impression

Fair amount of road noise and definitely more than the BFG's AT once they had worn in but not much more than when they were new. Given the weather in Perth at the moment it wont be long before the first wet drive occurs. No issues on freeway or cornering on my hour long 4 psi drive.

Fitted at 40Psi front and rear. I am now at 36Psi front and 38Psi rear and will do another 4Psi drive on Monday to see how the new pressures go.

Those are about the pressures I run my Toyo M55's at.
When I am towing the camper (150kg ball weight) and the long range tank and water tank full the rears go up to 45 psi.
They do tend to bag out a bit under increased weight.

Cheers.

[Jesters Td5]

Thanks mate, will keep that in mind. Will be doing 4 Psi runs every few days until in am happy and then will be doing it again once loaded and first time on soft stuff etc etc

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[Jesters Td5]

Out of interest what's your cold pressures when on the red dirt roads? Without the camper (if you ever do that) just as a starting guesstimate, otherwise I am going with old faithful 20/22

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[harro]

Out of interest what's your cold pressures when on the red dirt roads? Without the camper (if you ever do that) just as a starting guesstimate, otherwise I am going with old faithful 20/22

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Only ever aired down hot so,

25 front 28 rear , much lower and they tend to bag out more than I like.

Cheers

[Jesters Td5]

So now just over 500km on them and they are still very very soft.

Fully loaded for my trip (96kg under my max GVM) and another 4 psi road test has me on bitumen at 34 front and 36 rear. All 4 have 14mm tread and will see how we go on the long haul to Broome starting tomorrow.

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[MrLandy]

So now just over 500km on them and they are still very very soft.

Fully loaded for my trip (96kg under my max GVM) and another 4 psi road test has me on bitumen at 34 front and 36 rear. All 4 have 14mm tread and will see how we go on the long haul to Broome starting tomorrow.

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With your load Jesters, I'd be running 50psi rears.

[Jesters Td5]

With your load Jesters, I'd be running 50psi rears.

I will be doing 4 psi run in am and will adjust accordingly mate. Will report back tomorrow night how I end up

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[Jesters Td5]

So now just over 500km on them and they are still very very soft.

Fully loaded for my trip (96kg under my max GVM) and another 4 psi road test has me on bitumen at 34 front and 36 rear. All 4 have 14mm tread and will see how we go on the long haul to Broome starting tomorrow.

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After 5500KM with just over 3000 of that on black top and the rest Kimberly corrugations. The tyres are showing no signs of rock chipping despite my best efforts to hit every rock according to the Finance Minister in the passenger seat and the read measurements are

FR 12MM
RR 12MM
FL 12MM (looks more abused than the others)
RL 12MM

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[Jesters Td5]

After 5500KM with just over 3000 of that on black top and the rest Kimberly corrugations. The tyres are showing no signs of rock chipping despite my best efforts to hit every rock according to the Finance Minister in the passenger seat and the read measurements are

FR 12MM
RR 12MM
FL 12MM (looks more abused than the others)
RL 12MM

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Update

Blow out (bead separation), rear right cold pressure was 50PSI and hot 55 PSI about an hour before it blew. Sadly has now decimated the bush on the trailing arm as a result

112852

112853

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[dromader driver]

I would be surprised if the bush was caused by the tyre. I have seen some very disintegrated tyres that have not damaged those bushes. yours looks like it hasn't been flat for very far. https://www.google.com.au/search?q=shredded+tyre+land+rover&rlz=1C1CHBF_en-GBAU697AU697&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjKxdX63szOAhXHW5QKHcMlBrAQ_AUICCgB&biw=1680&bih=943#imgrc=as4AAvvyKzm7BM%3A

[micksta1973]

I'm a fan of Federals. Amazing in sloppy clay/mud. Amazingly quiet on the road for such an aggressive tread. Great braking grip. Not too sure of their longevity, as I only put them on when going out to play. Have a different set (Dunlop SP Road Grippers) for the road.

[Jesters Td5]

I would be surprised if the bush was caused by the tyre. I have seen some very disintegrated tyres that have not damaged those bushes. yours looks like it hasn't been flat for very far. https://www.google.com.au/search?q=shredded+tyre+land+rover&rlz=1C1CHBF_en-GBAU697AU697&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjKxdX63szOAhXHW5QKHcMlBrAQ_AUICCgB&biw=1680&bih=943#imgrc=as4AAvvyKzm7BM%3A

Agree with you, my only thought was that as I was cornering at speed (long wide arc of a corner on the highway) and it was the inside tyre that went and the car did quite a big wobble and slide initially is that inertia caused the issue. Weirdly I was almost empty when it happened, water tank empty, fuel less than half and all the food and camping stuff out of her as we were staying with friends for a few days. If loaded would say it was the load moving when it blew but am really just trying to think of what happened.

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[Bernd VonCrashen]

Jesters TD5, how is the long term report of these tyres? Would be interested in your views on your travels of how they fair. Also if anyone else has used these please advise:)

Example; how are they in differing (thin/thick/type etc etc) types of mud , sand, dirt, rocks, wet weather, dry weather and including bitumen.

I am about to go down the avenue of AT's on my alloy's and the Toyo M55 is one of two on my list. The other is the Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac. Both in 235/85/R16 LT Load E.

If anyone has comments, I know they are a little bit different in someways between the two- though please let me hear your observations of the two.

I have Michelin XZL 7.50 R16 on Wolfs at the moment and need a more AT tyre to avoid destroying these on the road. The Deef is a semi daily driver, though often off road but not to extremes. The AT's will go on my alloy's, so i will have two sets of tyres to suit use, as I prefer to use the XZL for extreme conditions and tracks when planned and suit the conditions.

Thank you in advance for your and anyone's comments regarding the above.

If only Michelin kept importing XZL and even brought in XPS or other similar off road types still.

Cheers
James

[Defender Defender]

I use the Toyo M 55 10 ply all terrain 235/85/16 fitted to standard split rims on the V8 Canned Loser tray back they make me drive at work- well I ordered it- insisted on it- when I couldn't hire a Defender. It averages 400km a day with two thirds of that on rough, potted, washed out rural roads out the back of Cloncurry here in NW Qld. I'll grant the thIng that it is mostly reliable and has endured some pretty poor treatment from the roads, but boy, it's as rough as hessian undies to ride in and a real handful to punt down the road. Roadhandling isn't part of the engineering input from the boys from wherever they come from. Anybody who reckons a Defender is rough is more than welcome to spend a day in this overrated, underengineered overpriced dinosaur and find out how truly luxurious a Defender actually is. And the Loser is mediocre at best but streets ahead of the pitiful things offered in the dual cab range by aĺl the manufacturers. It is my second Canned Loser after two totally forgettable new Jap dual cabs (all in the last 18 months- and this one goes in 3 more months). Anyway, bagging the opposition wasn't the sole intention of my piece. I fitted the Toyos last September and they're just about due to be renewed or replaced. If I was paying for them and not the council I'd buy them again without hesitation. They've done 36000km with only 3 punctures . The treads have worn down evenly with no heel and toeing that Canned Losers are renowned for with tyre wear. The mileage (kilometre-age doesn't seem to fit) may seem low but after the terrible run with original fitment Dunlops and the follow up Bridgestones where we had 6 blowouts and 9 punctures in a month on the same roads, these are brilliant. If the Dunlop or the Bridgestone kept their sides or treads on, they were shot (as in missing lugs, or worn to bald..... not actually bullet riddled)) at 25000km, so the Toyo seems durable- they still have the little sprues on their walls like new tyres.
The other Canned Loser we have runs the same type of tyre as my Toyos in a Maxxis. They've been as good and are about the same price.
The Tojo slides badly in mud, but is acceptable on most other surfaces. They howl a little on various sealed surfaces but not really loudly. The bum drifts out in any loose gravel but this is more about the poor front to rear weight distribution of your typical slapped together Jap offering than a failure in the tyre's ability.
For muddy use, I've had a great run on mines and gravel roads in sloppy and flooded conditions from the GT Adventuro ll's in 235/85/16 in all terrain on my Defender. They are a simple block pattern that cleaned black mud better than the Cooper STT fitted to another ute.
Harking back to "if I was paying for them....." I'm tempted to try these GTs as my next set to see if they were as good as I thought in the extremes as they were a fair bit cheaper than the Toyos and Maxxis. Even if they're brilliant, the trial would be over in under 6 months anyway. I'm on my second set on the Defender with a combined 140000 puncture free kms- but nothing like the roads I'm driving on now. The first set are still legal at 100000 neat but there is no way they'll last that long on a big fat heavy Canned Loser down our long and dusty tracks. If I wasn't so curious, I'd have another set of Toyos on without hesitation.
There are some pretty good tyres out there but that's my take on the ones I've used.

[lebanon]

Like BigBlueOne, I also have 235/85/16 Cooper Discoverer at3, very quiet compared to BFG All-terrain, they have very good handling on wet tarmac and an impressive behavior on snow.