Thread: 7.00x16 Dunlop Road Trak Major tyres / Bar Treads

Can't say I miss the pigs.
thumbnail_Normanton Trip 129.jpg

Originally Posted by V8Ian

I'd have thought 90kph was extremely ambitious for an old HiLux.
Seriously, I dont think it's going to be an issue, for your intended use.
What do you shoot, pigs, roos?

Never late in the 2.8!

Simon, I don't consider a 2.8 old. I was thinking 2.2 or 18R.

Originally Posted by V8Ian

Simon, I don't consider a 2.8 old. I was thinking 2.2 or 18R.

Oh the really old Hiluxs! I was assuming this one was a cool LN106's or something.

I drove one of the really old ones up at Stockton Beach decades ago, I was pretty stunned by how powerful it wasn't. It had the 2.2 or 2.4D.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

Oh the really old Hiluxs! I was assuming this one was a cool LN106's or something.

I drove one of the really old ones up at Stockton Beach decades ago, I was pretty stunned by how powerful it wasn't. It had the 2.2 or 2.4D.

A mate had a 2.2 when they were new. It wasn't fast, but drifted well on RTMs, in the wet.

Friend in Katherine had a 2.2 diesel twin cab Hilux - his well trained labrador dog 'Crocodile' occupied the tray. The vehicle seemingly would not do more than 90 km per hour. He reckoned that was it's limit - I thought he might just be a bit tight on spending money on fuel or it's speed was being limited by the 30kg bag of coin change tossed under the drivers seat - but it went everywhere. Owner would hang a shank of meat in the tray to dry while traveling - the dog knew not to touch it. With an inch between the tip of its nose and the meat, it spent hours on the trip just staring at that meat. The vehicle got submerged and written off by insurance in a Katherine flood so he bought it back for a pittance and drove it for many more years, putting up with an occasional electrical problem caused by moisture and silt.

Regarding tyres.

I drove on RTM's for over 300,000km on an '81 short wheel based Toyota, doing mountain trails between Sydney and Canberra. Never had any problems with them, never threw treads. The tyres just wore out as a set, together, normally, and being happy with this I replaced with like. I assume you would be trying to buy cross plies. An AI Overview, however, says today 'Road track majors can be either radial or bias-ply, depending on the specific vehicle and application'.

In contrast, my '90 Troop Carrier came with basic radials from a reputable manufacturer, and are nothing but a problem. They always fail at highway speed by throw their entire tread in one go, but thankfully without bursting through the inner carcass. When and where they will throw a tread is unpredictable - there is no external visual indication (cracking, bulging) that they are going to fail soon. They always fail with about 80% of their tread still available. Because they never all wear out at the same time you end up with a mix of new tyres and hardly worn older tyres (that you are nervous about), and an investment you are reluctant to just throw away, not to mention the possible need to get different rims.

The excuse I'm given is that the radials have suffered from 'stone bruising'. Hey? What? And not built in redundancy! These tyres are 80% tread with no visuals for trouble, and have spent 99% of their time on tarmac.

In recent years I have been experiencing the same issue with small farm tractor tyres. Bought the machine second hand 25 years ago, with half worn tread, again a reputable tyre manufacturer. Those tyres lasted about 15 years, only replaced (with a lot of tread left) after severe side wall rips by tree stumps etc that could not be patched over. So of course I bought replacements from the same reputable manufacturer. The front tyres started to fall apart after a few years. Made in Indonesia. The impression is that the tread has not bonded all the way through to the carcass. Its as if they got most of the tyre moulded, then realised they did not put enough material into the mold, so throw in a bit more rubber in the hope it will attach itself. The tyre looks good coming out of the mold. However in use, a chunk of lug starts to lift off from a smaller mirror image of itself just underneath. The excuse given, the tyres must be running under inflated. BS. The rear tyres are showing micro cracks on the wall.

I would be nervous these days of putting money into a set of tyres that don't get used all that often, and that do not come with a long warranty period - particularly radials. Manufacturers, not all, have conned us into accepting use by dates a lot shorter than us older folk have been used to getting from a tyre. And I have some wrecks that are runners around the property with very old tyres that show no signs of giving up the ghost anytime soon. Government should insist on improved longevity over time, otherwise no sale. Anyway, good luck with your quest.

Originally Posted by Slunnie

Never late in the 2.8!

Yes, the time you save gets spent on doing a timing belt change. To be honest I would not know if it was the 2.8, just my son's mate drove a relatively old Hilux and they were comparing the process of changing timing belts. My son could do the change on the Discovery 1 in about 1.5 hours by himself and I've done the same. His mate said it took him and his dad together, 13 hours because of all the stuff that had to come off first. Don't know how reliable an account that was.

Going to the original post - sadly the Dunlop factory in Bulawayo is just another decaying industrial artefact of the implosion of the Zimbabwean economy many years ago. I worked there on and off for about ten years and regularly drove past the old plant.

Once had everything that would open and shut but the latter was the more common outcome of independence.

Cheers,

Neil