Help choosing a tyre please

Thanks Slunnie matey. I appreciate that offer. I am keen to go and have a look at some in the flesh. The only problem I have with going 265/75 is that makes it a much bigger tyre in OD. While they would be magic off road, I tow a heavy boat and starting off with the manual on steep hills in high range is about at the comfortable limit now...I reckon I would have to look at lower diff ratios if I went to a 265/75. I also do a lot of town driving and the 31's knocked acceleration a little bit but going to about 33 (at a guess) would bugger me a bit in town.

Thanks again mate.

Dear All,

Got the new tyres yesterday. 245/70R16 Pirelli Scoprion ATR's in LT construction and I have to say that they are a lot quieter than both the Cooper ATR and Michelin XPC. In fact the whole car seems to ride a lot better.

Anyway re the turning circle and with the shortened lock stops in there is also no scrubbing on the radius arms either - in fact quite a bit of clearance so real happy there too.

Thanks to everyone for all the info especially Slunnie for that excellent writeup.

Cheers
Peter

You'll love them knp.

Ozscott, the 265/70's are 30.6" and the 265/75 is 31.6" though what you're saying is still highly applicable.

How do you think the Pirellis will compare with BFGs in a similar LT size re noise, grip on and off road and wear rates?
For historical reasons, I have one Pirelli Scorpion HT on a wheel in the back shed, which is nice on road but useless off it.
I'm planning to replace my BFG AT LT 235/70/16s with something a bit bigger, since there is room after the 50mm lift, but am undecided what size and make to go with. Like to get more diff height and tyre width without scraping.
They will spend most of their time on bitumen, but must be capable of handling Cape York later this year though, so I'm seeking a suitable compromise.
Friends say their Cooper STs last forever, but they sound rather noisy to me.

What I found at Cape York was that the track's were not necessarily that hard on tyres, but there were a couple of creek exits that were clay muddy where AT's etc were having problems, notably the first proper one at the bottom of the OTL. This said, we all ran Simex up there at 20psi and ignored the corrugations. The only place that I recall being really sketchy was in to Chilli Beach - that was a quagmire and we were certainly glad to be running open tyres.

Thanks.
I'm not gonna buy MTs just for one trip so I think I'll compromise with ATs. But I do want more height and width than the current 235/70/16s give.
If you''re towing a trailer (a strong off road trailer), can you take the chicken tracks to avoid the worst bits? Nothing to prove. I'll be in a group so can get towed where necessary.
Would a decent set of ATs let down to low 20s be OK on the corrugations? We're going in September so it should be pretty dry by then?
I'm basically thinking either BFG ATs, Scorpion ATRs or Cooper STs in LT.

There's not really chicken tracks, but I wouldn't sweat it if you're in a group to be honest. People are towing through there all the time with AT's and trailers etc. A lot of the time the difficult parts are where the track is cut into the banks anyway, and most of it is single track. I really think that any of those tyres will be fine. My choice would be the ATR based on what it will do for the other 99% of its life, especially if its dry up there. If its wet then the ST's ***shudder*** (seriously consider the MTR instead) would be a better tyre, but the ST is noisy.

I'm not sure if the AT's at 20psi would be suitable. They're a different construction to a bias tyre which is quite stiff. I'd definately drop the pressures though, maybe 25 or a little higher. I guess it just depends on how heavy the Disco is, but the corrugations are fast dirt.

You would prefer the Scorpion ATR to the BFG AT? What size in an LT do you think would be best for a Disco1 with 50mm lift?
Looking at their size range I see:



LT265/75R16 109S
LT245/75R16
LT235/85R16 120R

I've highlighted the ones I think might be goers. Do you agree?

Maybe mid-20s for pressures, you might be right.

I guess preferring the ATR over the BFG AT is just a personal preference. I like the pattern, I like the carcass, I like the noise levels, I like the smoothness + ride, it has less "edge" which can be good and bad, and the compound is silica which gives a lot of traction but I dont expect a 100,000km life from them. I haven't driven on BFG AT, though I would expect it to be better in mud, but that'd be about it. Its just an old technology tyre these days.

Mick I'm really not sure re sizing.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by knp

Gedday,

I know this is another tyre question but have spent ages going through as many posts as I can find and have come up with the following short list of tyres.

Have decided on 245/70R16 as this is a more common size and is available in LT construction and a lot of AULRO folk seem to be running this size in preference to the narrower 225/75R16.

I would very much appreciate some advice on which of the three below would be the most suitable for 90% town car and 10% family touring (loaded to the gunwales and towing the tardis). Something that is quiet, fuel efficient and hard wearing but that has a decent tread pattern with enough bite to handle the occasional mud. Most of our driving/camping is in the bush, not much beach work at all and zero hard core stuff.

So in order of preference (so far):
1. Pirelli Scorpion ATR - seems to be well recommended by others on this site. Best price so far is $1200 for 5 fitted, balanced and aligned.
2. Bridgestone D694 again seems a great choice. Best price is $1170 for 5, fitted, balanced and aligned. (Apparently on special during Sep).
3. BFG AT - Are these as quite or quieter than the others? The tread pattern seems to me to be an older perhaps more noisy style? Best price $1324 for 5, fitted, balanced and aligned.

I have looked at and discounted the following:
Cooper ATR - not available in required size
Goodyear Silent Armor - too expensive and more or less unkown to date.
Yokohama G012 - wears out too quick? Nice and cheap tho.
Maxxis 751 - nice and cheap and has good following but has more rounded shoulders and probably less puncture resistant.
GG AT - not interested in these.

So whadddaya reckon please?

Cheers and thanks
Peter

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Aloha from NZ!:D

I have the Scorpion ATRs and they are great 'ere. I have the 'standard' size of 235/70 16.;)

Coopers are good too... had 'em on a Jeep a few years back.

Oliver