Thread: Help choosing a tyre please

I was talking to a ranger recently out at Jenolan and he was saying they go through BFG AT's on a weekly basis and that they were now changing all their vehicles over to different brands and were not getting even close to 50% of the probs they had with BFG's. He said once they had been on the road and warmed the tyre up and then off down dirt or rock/shale like tracks they were just constantly blowing out and getting holes in them. Since change over they had not experienced this any where near as bad and were now back to carrying just one spare where as at times staff had become stranded because they were doing more then one tyre at a time.

He said they were fine around most tracks but put them on rocky/shale type stuff and kiss 'em good bye.

Originally Posted by Xavie

I was talking to a ranger recently out at Jenolan and he was saying they go through BFG AT's on a weekly basis and that they were now changing all their vehicles over to different brands and were not getting even close to 50% of the probs they had with BFG's. He said once they had been on the road and warmed the tyre up and then off down dirt or rock/shale like tracks they were just constantly blowing out and getting holes in them. Since change over they had not experienced this any where near as bad and were now back to carrying just one spare where as at times staff had become stranded because they were doing more then one tyre at a time.

He said they were fine around most tracks but put them on rocky/shale type stuff and kiss 'em good bye.

what did they change over to....i have never had any issues with my bfg at's

Hi,
We found the same thing here. The 'cheaper' tyres - Khumo etc don't seem to last on the Land Rovers. The heavier sidewalls of the Pirellis and Michelins seem to handle the weight of the LRs better and give no greif. 90000km is normal for a set of Michelins although they aint cheap!!

Originally Posted by DiscoMick

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 would get the ATRs in the 245/75 size. My brother in law has 245s and he hardly notices the gearing issues. 265/7s will fit easy enough and give better clearance, but if they are your daily drivers you will notice the impact on your gearing.

As for running them at low twenties, I think you should be ok. If you do the Oodnadata track, the Pink Roadhouse give out info sheets that say you should run as low as 22 or 24 on front and about 26-28 at the rear (depending on car). I run these pressures with my BFG muddies and didnt have a problem and the tyres didnt generate much heat.

Angus

Thanks for that advice. I'll go have a look at them once the plastic recovers from Christmas and I get some more urgent things done.
The Disco currently has an oil leak from the head (head gasket?), I have to jump start it because the gearbox inhibitor has failed ( being fixed by dealer this week), the rear diff has an oil leak and I noticed a crack in a joint which I'm going to get looked at once my local LR guy returns from holidays. So I have a few other issues to consider.
I'm also planning to fit an oil cooler for the gearbox and a Detroit autolocker in the rear. Might also fit some tougher sidesteps. And I'm still considering cheap solutions for the rear storage issue (currently trialling a plastic box).
After that, when the tyres are worn down a bit more, on goes a new set.

A question: if I fit new 245/75/16s, will a 235/70/16 spare still be driveable? I have an almost unused Goodyear ATR LT spare it would be pointless to replace if I can still drive on it if I get a puncture in the new tyres. I'm a bit unsure about mixing tyre sizes. Three of the 4 B FG ATs are almost had it, but there is one plus the Goodyear I could keep for spares if that was safe to do.

I dont think it'll be good for the drivetrain but it will get you out. Def not if you fit a detroit locker.

OK, looks like I'll be wearing them out more first and then buying 6 new ones.

Discomick - it will be illegal in Qld - ie to have a different size spare compared to the road wheels.

I have the Pirelli Scorpian ATs - the ones pictured by Slunnie a few pages back next to the ATR. They have been a great tyre - in fact I run them in 265/70/16 on my D2 V8 and 245/70/16 on my D1 V8 - both very quiet tyres and give plenty of handling and feedback. The 245 are actually a better tyre - LT construction and have lasted much better than the larger passenger construction - but I like the extra height of the bigger ones off road. I have recently come back from Fraser with the D2 and it was unstoppable in the deep very soft sand of Indian Head etc.

I was considering the GG AT2 that my mate runs on his D2 - 265/70/16 and his did it easy at Fraser with me too. But ultimately I like the ATR's look, availability and reports here and will go that way soon with my D2 although its a shame that there is no LT in that size and I dont want to go bigger.

Cheers