Tour report - 19" Maxxis vs General Grabbers AT

[JamesH]

Greetings

After taking the plunge and opting for the new LT Maxxis, Ive finally managed to to take them out to the places I got them for. I have done 8300km along the Great Central Road, Buchanan Highway, and assorted off track trips poking around for a bush camp site. I was traveling with (aside from an Amorok and Prado) with another D4 towing a Cub Camper which had the General Grabbers on (I think they were the old model not the AT2s).

As many of you know, the GCR and the Buchanan are actually pretty good. There were stretches with shale and corrugations but generally all OK. It was not our intention to go deliberately looking for challenging tracks but merely to get to the places we wanted to go and have a looksee.

We were driving around some station tracks with an owner checking out the country, rock art and the cattle and this day was much more challenging on tyres. Rocks, creek crossings with steep banks, rim grinding river rocks, rough shale, sand and bulldust, potholes, the works. etc. The Maxxis really gave me a sense of security that I was looking for. It's just my gut talking but I felt the tyres were coping really well and it it turned out they did, not punctures, no rim damage. The tyres themselves are in good nick, not chunks missing etc.

But the Grabbers were good too, definitly good enough for GCR and Buchanan. As good as the Maxxis were i had decided that if the Grabbers coped with everything this trip threw at them, while towing, they would be good enough for me as they are quieter on bitumen and give a better ride. The Maxxis are noisy at 60-80 but the ride is fine. As good as the Grabbers did the day out on the station exploring was too much for them and a puncture occurred on the shale which with investigation looked repairable (was straight through the tread not the sidewall) but turned out not to be. Luck plays a part but there it is.

Sometimes on these light trips you get brief challenging sections you want/need to do and you have to choose your tyres for those brief sections alas. It turns out the Maxxis vs Grabbers was a one puncture competition on one day and Ive been tolerating the road noise all this time for that one day on the track.

I did not have to unload to access a spare, use the crappy jack and I felt confident that I had tyres for the job, so the Maxxis gave me what I wanted from them and will use them again.

Cheers
JH

[DI5CO]

Thanks James, what pressures did you run over the various conditions?
Dave.

[JamesH]

Thanks James, what pressures did you run over the various conditions?
Dave.

Set them at 40 all round and left them there. Did not do enough sand to worry. Rarely went over 80kmh off the bitumen. When it was rough went 60.

[correction: I forgot that I did drop the fronts to 38 once the road turned to gravel. apologies, I had forgotten]

[1nando]

I know nothing about those size tyres and rim combos in relation to pressures, but 40psi seems high even for low profile offroad? Going down to 34-35 is to risky with that size tyre?
Sorry for the questions but im considering adding a d4 to our driveway and just trying to build up my knowledge

[JamesH]

I know nothing about those size tyres and rim combos in relation to pressures, but 40psi seems high even for low profile offroad? Going down to 34-35 is to risky with that size tyre?
Sorry for the questions but im considering adding a d4 to our driveway and just trying to build up my knowledge

These are light truck tyres, I have a roo bar and was heavily loaded so don't take 40psi as general advice, just what the salesman said for these specific tyres. I followed it and did not pay a penalty. On corrugations I lowered he speed. If they had got really bad I would have dropped the pressure but it didn't turn out to be necessary [correction: I forgot that I did drop the fronts to 38 once the road turned to gravel. apologies, I had forgotten]

The only general comment I'd make is that on 19" rims people have experienced bulging and increased sidewall puncture risk when dropping pressures too much. The D4 is an amazing off-road vehicle but the 19" rims are seen by many as a negative attribute. Some of us buy the specialist custom made 18" rims, the rest of us try to choose tyres that suit us from the limited but growing range of options.

[ATH]

I'm thinking the same as you James and going for GGs or Maxxis. Had Maxxis in 17" on our Prado (sorry I said that word [wink11]) and GGs on 2 Deafeners and they were both good tyres.
Maxxis much softer ride than BFGs and really made for a different ride with the Prado. No problems with either brand actually but if BFG start making a 19" I'll go for them because of the better sidewall protection.
Cheers.
AlanH.

[JamesH]

I'm thinking the same as you James and going for GGs or Maxxis. Had Maxxis in 17" on our Prado (sorry I said that word [wink11]) and GGs on 2 Deafeners and they were both good tyres.
Maxxis much softer ride than BFGs and really made for a different ride with the Prado. No problems with either brand actually but if BFG start making a 19" I'll go for them because of the better sidewall protection.
Cheers.
AlanH.

Hi Alan, my summary would be that Grabbers are the superior tyre for on road and will handle most off-road situations. I would take them happily down the Gibb for example. It gets a bit more complicated when you are pulling off and checking out gorges etc.

The Maxxis are tough (someone here would disagree, he got some and had immediate problems with blow-outs). I knew they were just by pulling up over the kerb to park my ca at a friends place. You could feel the OEM Wranglers squish to the rim but Maxxis felt as they should. And when I was doing all my hard work on the station tracks the felt re-assuring.

Remember though that you just can't compare tyres across sizes. On one rim a type maybe brilliant on another size they are rubbish.

I had a 200 Series owning mate co-drive me home from Timber Creek to Perth. He complimented the car on its quietness! I told him he should try one without the Maxxis. He also complimented on its get up and boogie when he overtook two four trailer ore road trains outside Port Hedland. They are really good cars.

[Melbourne Park]

...

Remember though that you just can't compare tyres across sizes. On one rim a type maybe brilliant on another size they are rubbish.

...

Too true. Its not easy to find a GG tyre that is light truck designation. I looked for 18" wheel GG tyres some time ago, and couldn't find a suitable tyre. I've had then and still have the same GGs on 18" wheels, but they are not LT tyres. I worry when towing and with a high ball weight ( maybe 300 kg at times) that I really should have LT tyres for the back wheels. Evidently one can get some 265/65/18 onto the D4; I am not sure about the gearing, but a 65 profile has a lot of forgiveness IMO. Tyre noise for me is also an issue. The GG are as quiet as the factory 19" tyres.

[ATH]

"They are really good cars. " Must be better now than the model our boy bought when they came out. No end of oil consumption and transmission probs. Took Tojo 3 years to do anything about it and then it required major engine work and a new transmission.
If I'd ever had that much trouble with a Landy I'd never have had 5 of the things....... [bawl]
As I rotate all 5 tyres at a time I want them all to be the same obviously. My tow ball weight wouldn't be anywhere near 3 tonne so really I don't think LT is necessary ..... I've never actually checked but are BFG AT designated LT or not? I was just thinking that their side walls are tougher than most being 3 ply.
Whatever, thanks for all the feedback, I'm sticking with the original fitted Goodyear until they're worn out as there seems to be no market for low kay 19s..... not at a reasonable price anyway.
Cheers.
AlanH.

[veebs]

"They are really good cars. " Must be better now than the model our boy bought when they came out. No end of oil consumption and transmission probs. Took Tojo 3 years to do anything about it and then it required major engine work and a new transmission.
If I'd ever had that much trouble with a Landy I'd never have had 5 of the things....... [bawl]

I think James was referring to his D4?

[ATH]

Ooops! I just reread James thread and I see I stuffed up....must have been something I ate.
Anyway the 200 series is still crap......
AlanH.

[GregMilner]

I've just completed the Gibb and various side tracks on 19 inch Maxxis tyres on my D4 and couldn't be happier with them. Had them down to 26psi on the Mitchell Falls track (apart from say the Munji track) reputed to be among the worst in the Kimberley - and have to say they were perfect, no nicks, chunks missing or split side walls. Admittedly, we'd emptied almost everything out of the car and left the trailer at King Edward River crossing, but still, impressive.

[Jaybee]

Hi Alan, my summary would be that Grabbers are the superior tyre for on road and will handle most off-road situations. I would take them happily down the Gibb for example. It gets a bit more complicated when you are pulling off and checking out gorges etc.

The Maxxis are tough (someone here would disagree, he got some and had immediate problems with blow-outs). I knew they were just by pulling up over the kerb to park my ca at a friends place. You could feel the OEM Wranglers squish to the rim but Maxxis felt as they should. And when I was doing all my hard work on the station tracks the felt re-assuring.


Thanks for your report James, the Maxxis 980's sound like a good tyre that are well suited to off road use.

As you know, I've followed your earlier (and others) reports but didn't end up buying the Maxxis. After 47,500kms (using only 4 tyre rotation) on the Wrangler OEM's I looked at my usage/requirements and decided not to take on the extra road noise. I've spent the last 6 months towing a 3,000kg caravan (ball weight of 240kg) through the Red Centre to Darwin and now back in Central Qld covering 16,000kms in the process. The D4 (with Mitch Hitch set-up and DO35 Hitch) has performed admirably, where the biggest problem was not the tyres but the fuel tank size necessitating carrying 40 litres of diesel on the A-frame (I came incredibly close to needing them on 2 occasions). Motto: when traveling with a BT-50 and LC 200, both towing vans and long range tanks onboard, is to make them wait as you fill up at every fuel opportunity - even if it's only to take on half a tank.

Okay, so the tyres I fitted are the Cooper Zeon LTZ 255/55/19 designed for 70% Road & Sand, 30% Dirt & Mud. Having one unused Wrangler OEM I only replaced 4 tyres. Now after 16,000kms and one rotation I am extremely happy with their performance. Starting out with 35 front and 40 rear (cold) I discovered through my on-board tyre monitor that they were running when hot at 39/40 at 34 degrees (front) and 47/49 at 40 degrees (rear) through the heat of Central Australia. After rotation and discussions with Tyrepower in Darwin I trialed 40 front and 40 rear (cold) before finally settling on 38F and 38R (cold). On one heavily corrugated dirt road I knocked 10 psi out (F & B) for 200kms to get a smoother ride but on every off road venture I stuck with the road pressures with good results. This included sand hills south of Robe SA, tracks to Oodnadatta, Flinders & McDonnel Ranges as well as some more challenging tracks on a cattle station north of Mount Isa. Whilst none of them were as difficult as you will find at a 4WD Park (where I'd start with 28F/28R) or the sand as soft as on Moreton Island (where I'd use 18psi front and rear) they were a good test for overall tyre suitability.

One note here is that I've always gone easy and carefully when off road which has probably reduced tyre and vehicle damage but it's also allowed me to take my road caravan (dual axle rocker roller suspension) on lots of dirt roads and bush tracks.

James, my conclusion is much like yours. Whilst I initially struggled with the difficulty of tyre choice, in the end through experience I'd say that Coopers LTZ and GG's are suitable for what a lot of D4 owners would throw at them. However, if it's heavy off roading that you're into then the Maxxis 980's or 18 inch rims and BFG's (or similar) would be more suitable. That said, I love the smooth quiet ride of the D4 (with less aggressive tread tyres) so perhaps you'll need both 19 and 18 inch rims for mid week travels?

Cheers Jaybee

[ATH]

Correct. I misread the post but nice to hear a Tojo driver say something about a Land Rover. :)
AlanH.