Thread: New Boots for the D3

Originally Posted by bobzed57

Thanks for the timely thread as I'll be in the market for new tyres to replace the OEM Wranglers in the next few months. I had been leaning towards the Scorpions, but might check the Contis now.

Bob,

Up until a few weeks before I purchased the Contis I was leaning towards the Scorpions, what changed my mind;

1. Did a trip with some mud and slippery sections where my OEM tyres (which were 100% road) were useless after about 20 m, completely slick with mud. Now I am no mud plugger but felt that a bit more aggressive tread would be worthwhile for the occasional trip in the dirt and mud.;

2. When I finally made the decision to get new tyres I had do make a decision reasonably quickly due to one of the rear ones starting to show some really bad wear. There were no Scorpions available in Aust and I was told something like 4 - 6 weeks. Decision made easy !!

So I went the Contis, happy so far.

I am going out to Mt Walker, near Lithgow in a few weeks (check out upcoming events channel) so will have had an opportunity to test them in off road conditions, hopefully a bit of mud etc so can provide more feedback then.

Hope this helps your decision making/contemplation.

Regards,

George

Guys,
I'm not taking delivery of my D4 SE until December; the dealer here in Perth however generally delivers them with a Continental tyre rather than the factory fitted Goodyear wranglers. I'm not sure which conti tyre it is, I understand it's a road biased tyre similar to the wrangler.
The dealer is a Continental tyre dealer amongst a number of other bsuiness and they claim they do this so they can "support" the tyres, ie provide replacement tyres. I tried getting more info and as they must make money out of it - they send the wranglers back to the factory and get a rebate for them.
Anyway, my question is what standard road biased tyre do you think is better, goodyears or the continentals? (I notice some of you a quoting pretty good milage out of the originals wranglers.)
Thanks
Marty

Originally Posted by DiscoWeb

There were no Scorpions available in Aust and I was told something like 4 - 6 weeks. Decision made easy !!

When I replaced my wranglers I had narrowed it down to the same two, the Pirellis, and the Contis. I have to say before I started phoning around I was leaning toward the Conti for the more aggressive tread, but was going to let cost and availability decide. When I started phoning around I was quoted similar waiting times (4 weeks) for the Scorpians, and two local guys could get the Contis inside of 24 hours…….. so like you George the decision was easy in the end. That and the guy who did them for gave me a good deal on the Contis to boot…….

Originally Posted by MartyJB

Anyway, my question is what standard road biased tyre do you think is better, goodyears or the continentals? (I notice some of you a quoting pretty good milage out of the originals wranglers.)
Thanks
Marty

Marty,

I had the Continental UHP, which are listed as 100% road tyres on the Continental website.

I managed about 35,000 km out of them and probably could have got more, however as I took them off road a few times they got cut up and I had to change them.

I did most damage on a coupe of day trips into the Victorian High Country where the terrain was lots of sharp rock and gravel.

Whilst it was pretty cool climbing Mt Pinnibar in a standard D3 with road tyres and passing fully kitted Patrols and Cruisers all suggesting I would not make it, most due to tyres, they cut up pretty badly which as noted shortened their life. But regardless they performed very well and I suffered no punctures or grip problems which was a surprise.

They were great on road, no noise, excellent grip etc but hey it is a 2.5t 4wd so I want to use it as such and not pretend it is a sports car.

So if you plan to do anything more than gravel roads or intend to use the D4 for what it was intended I would stay away from fully road biased tyres and go for an AT or something similar. Just my 2 cents worth.

Regards,

George

Mt Pinnibar, although steep, is not difficult when it is dry.
For example, my brother in his stock 10yr old Subaru Outback shod with highway terrain Bridgestones makes a meal of the climb & descent.
The only thing he needs to watch is that he dowsn't get hung-up whilst crossing the conservation mounds.
It suprises everyone just how far that Subbie will go!

Go the Scorpions at the very least if you are going offroad. Especially when you will already be battling with the 19's.

If you are mad keen on 4WDing, go the MTR's. They look tough, noise is not that bad and shes chops the mud!

Dorko

Originally Posted by Duck's Guts

Mt Pinnibar, although steep, is not difficult when it is dry.
For example, my brother in his stock 10yr old Subaru Outback shod with highway terrain Bridgestones makes a meal of the climb & descent.
The only thing he needs to watch is that he dowsn't get hung-up whilst crossing the conservation mounds.
It suprises everyone just how far that Subbie will go!

Agreed,

Pinnibar in the dry is not too tough, would be diabolical in the wet !!. Both times we did it we did the run out to Davies High Plain first and that track has lots of sections that work tyres hard and would probably challenge a stock Outback or Subbie generally.

I owned a Forester prior to the D3 and loved it but it ended up being a bit small for a growing family. Was more capable than most gave it credit for off road but not a patch on the D3.

Regards,

George

Agreed.
I been on the Mt Pinnibar descent after a summers thunderstorm went through that included hail - couldn't drive the trail. Had to wait about 1.5hrs whilst the sun dried things off sufficiently to safely travel again.

We also have done the Davies Plains, Buckwong, Mount Misery, Limestone Creek, & Cobberas, McFarlane Tracks/Trails (name dropper ), and my bro will not take the Subbie on those!
Not worth the potential damage to undercarrage & tyres.
But it is a capable vehicle when pushed.
And like most things in life, there is an easy way to do things, then there is the hard way. D3/4 = easy offroad. Subbie = the hard way offroad.