Thread: Tyres cheap vs nasty

Originally Posted by beav

im in the industry and these days it does not may any differance weather you buy a cheap tyre or a dear tyre i went from 3 sets of tyres now i just run a set of 255/85 bfg muddies and i find they are the best all rounder

regards josh
ex 82 rangie
97 300tdi 110

If your in the industry and there is no difference then why did you buy one of the most expensive muddies before you go to Simex swampers.

IMO You buy what you need, if your only going to drive on the road and not loading it up too much then stick to road tyres (michies etc) if you want to do touring then BFG AT's are the go and only a few variants of the cheaper variety will perform as well but all have their compromises, if you play in Mud every now, not too far from home and then and your happy do sit on no more than 80kmh to be safe on the road then recaps will do the job and if you have to travel to get to mud then buy the cheaper muddies (nonrecap) as your second set. If you play off road most of the time and need a good strong tyre then look at the expensive brands as the side walls are stronger and they carry more weight than the cheaper tyres.

Also there is the ply ratings that you have to take into account, 6 ply is basically a car tyre carcase, 8 ply is Light truck and 10 ply is a heavy duty off road tyre that I recomend for towing, carrying lots of weight or driving in rocky areas or where a puncture is likely.

You will find the cheaper tyres may look the same though the build quality will be more like a car tyre as well as only 6 or 8 ply ratings.

Also speed ratings come into it. Most LT and 6ply off road tyres (not hwy) will ne 'S' rated which I think is top speed of 120kmh, 'H' rated tyres are better which are rated in off road (not hwy) to 200kmh.

This is the speed that the tyre is tested to and has not delaminated during it's life cycle.

There are good cheaper tyres but they are not that much cheaper than the exy ones and you can allways get better deals shopping around or asking the question on here as to where to get the best price.

Good luck to anyone buying tyres as I have just done, there is a lot of choice out there but my advice is to budget over $250 a tyre (AT or MT) if it's on a decent size 4wd unless you can handle the compromises of the cheaper tyres.

A good quality remold for off road is the Mongrel's, I know 4 people who run them 3 of them for play only but 1 mate has got about 60,000km's out of his and they have hardly worn and he drives it to work every day 100km/h on the freeway.

Im getting some oneday as play tyres only and will probably live in the shed most of the time but I would only trust them as much as I would trust second hand tyres, not very much.

Originally Posted by mcrover

If your in the industry and there is no difference then why did you buy one of the most expensive muddies before you go to Simex swampers.

IMO You buy what you need, if your only going to drive on the road and not loading it up too much then stick to road tyres (michies etc) if you want to do touring then BFG AT's are the go and only a few variants of the cheaper variety will perform as well but all have their compromises, if you play in Mud every now, not too far from home and then and your happy do sit on no more than 80kmh to be safe on the road then recaps will do the job and if you have to travel to get to mud then buy the cheaper muddies (nonrecap) as your second set. If you play off road most of the time and need a good strong tyre then look at the expensive brands as the side walls are stronger and they carry more weight than the cheaper tyres.

Also there is the ply ratings that you have to take into account, 6 ply is basically a car tyre carcase, 8 ply is Light truck and 10 ply is a heavy duty off road tyre that I recomend for towing, carrying lots of weight or driving in rocky areas or where a puncture is likely.

You will find the cheaper tyres may look the same though the build quality will be more like a car tyre as well as only 6 or 8 ply ratings.

Also speed ratings come into it. Most LT and 6ply off road tyres (not hwy) will ne 'S' rated which I think is top speed of 120kmh, 'H' rated tyres are better which are rated in off road (not hwy) to 200kmh.

This is the speed that the tyre is tested to and has not delaminated during it's life cycle.

There are good cheaper tyres but they are not that much cheaper than the exy ones and you can allways get better deals shopping around or asking the question on here as to where to get the best price.

Good luck to anyone buying tyres as I have just done, there is a lot of choice out there but my advice is to budget over $250 a tyre (AT or MT) if it's on a decent size 4wd unless you can handle the compromises of the cheaper tyres.

I'd be very happy if it was as clear-cut as you suggest but these figures look very close to me.

BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/ALT235/85R16 Load rating - 1400 Speed rating - S (1400kgs/180km/h)



Kumho All Terrain KL78

LT235/85R16 10PR(10 ply rating) 120/116Q(1400kgs/160km/h)



I'd be very happy if it was as clear-cut as you suggest but these figures look very close to me.

Cheers
Simon

It's a hard question!!

I want the most outragous tread for my play tyres and I'm not sure I care if they are retread remade or new. I may even get tractor tyres yet as they are for purely off road. My road / normal tyres are BF AT's which I will never buy again as they are not good on gravel roads - the gravel gets stuck inbetween the thin (factory) cuts in the treads and rips them to pieces

I believe if they are your main tyres always go for quality as I think it is a false economy buying cheap.

FYI my brother just bought a set of Baja Claws and is raving about them

I think it does depend on your situation and needs though.

I buy "quality" tyres because above all else I want toughness and reliability. I also need a set of tyres that will take me to Toolangi to play in the mud and do a 5000km tour through the Flinders and the Simpson. And I want them to be strong and reliable..so I run BFG muddies. I would also seriously consider getting Goodyear MTRs. I do this because I can afford to though.

But I run a second set of more highway biased tyres for around town. This is where I will likely go for a set of cheapies because I think highway tyres are pretty much the same and the consequences of a flat arent as possible servere (ie stuck in the middle of know where). And I think a lot of the cheaper manufacturers have really made gains in the quality of there road tyres.

Angus

Originally Posted by abaddonxi

I'd be very happy if it was as clear-cut as you suggest but these figures look very close to me.

BF Goodrich All-Terrain T/ALT235/85R16 Load rating - 1400 Speed rating - S (1400kgs/180km/h)



Kumho All Terrain KL78

LT235/85R16 10PR(10 ply rating) 120/116Q(1400kgs/160km/h)



I'd be very happy if it was as clear-cut as you suggest but these figures look very close to me.

Cheers
Simon

Great comparison, Kumho's are well known for having weak sidewalls and are prone to separating.

If you like them then go for it but it is as straight forward as everything else in life, you get what you pay for and tyres are no exception.

The load and speed rating may be the same or similar but the point is where it was tested and by whome and how consistant quality control is.

All tyre manufacturers try to cut corners to save money where they can and both Cooper and BFG have learnt in recent years how it can bite you back.

The other company's dont care, when My mate rolled his Hilux thanks to a faulty Kumho, the tyre joint sent it back and they wouldnt cover the warrenty as it had been used off road and it was a MT tyre.

I only got 10,000 km's out of some Sumitomo tyres on the rear of my old Triton, I was working for a tyre joint at the time so I sent them back my self with proof of when I bought them and they also said there is no warrenty on tyre that are used off road.

The only off road they did was my 100m long dirt driveway.

On here I have read about people having trouble with both Coopers and BFG but both will replace a tyre or even all 4 if the problem is serious enough or even upgrade you to a tyre more suited to your needs if your exceeding their specs and destroying tyres.

This is what you pay for for the other $100 per tyre, it can be a pain but it is a bit of piece of mind.

Goodyear charge you $35 or something like that to have a good lifetime warrenty but when they are more exy than BFG and Coopers (in MTR)to start with it makes them a very exy tyre.

I did the same on my ladies Prado they are highway tyres, I'm not even sure what they are, cost 800 fitted and balanced so for Darwin thats not to bad.

for the landy the BF Goodrich AT's they are the highway tyres and I will get another set for basically low ratio or no higher speed than about 60kph if that as I am very close to my fav play area. seriously thinking about the tractor tyres - front steering ones should be ok plenty in 16" rim size. the other which are probably to wide would be dichwitch tyres would be fun to fit though, but I think serious panel work would be required so not realistic on a registered car.

yet another good point to note is that some insurance company's will only cover you if your tyres are rated as per manufacturers specs

i know on the wifes HSE they have to be a high speed and load rated tyre

i would never buy cheap tyres for the wife and kids to drive around on
nor would i do it for my car my life is worth more than a few extra bucks