Thread: Tyres - R18's - LT or AT

Originally Posted by Ozzy119

Hi everyone,

Sorry, it has been a long time.

I'd value your thoughts. My Cooper AT3 are coming to their end in wear and I'm looking for the next replacement. If I'm honest I haven't really had confidence with the Coopers. Looking at the various options suggest on GOE and other posts I see we have a good selection for the D4 R18s. I seem to have narrowed my choice to the Bridgestone D697LT or the General Grabber AT2. Looking at the load ratings between the two there isn't much difference.

So my open question is.....aside from the small load rating improvement on the D697LT what additional benefits would I get by choosing the LT tyres?

cheers

Have you considered Hankook ATM RF10's. Gordon runs them on his Sport and rates them.

Cheers, Craig

Personally don't rate the duellers. Sidewalls cracked after about a year in on my D1.

BFG AT LT would be my choice 265/65/18. $426 on tyres sales atm.

Main benefit of LT is generally much stronger side walls.

Cheers
Mike

What problems did you have with the Coopers?

Originally Posted by kingo

What problems did you have with the Coopers?

I have had 3 plug repairs and a total replacement. I think my general concern comes from their load rating. I tow a big K Kamper with family on board. Have reservations letting some air down and their ability to cope. Having had BFGs on previous vehicle the Coopers just don't 'look' capable so I haven't enjoyed the many KMs travelled off road with them under me.

Also, they seem a bit slipper in the wet, most noticeable on roundabouts. I don't like the sensation coming from the slip.

Originally Posted by hibees1972

Personally don't rate the duellers. Sidewalls cracked after about a year in on my D1.

BFG AT LT would be my choice 265/65/18. $426 on tyres sales atm.

Main benefit of LT is generally much stronger side walls.

Cheers
Mike

Considering BF Goodrich LT265/65R18 for my next set too. Plenty of good reviews from users here and elsewhere on the web.

Cheapest I can see is $369 fitted and balanced here:

Bf Goodrich 2656518 122R All Terrain TA KO

The BFG are a bit noisy,and the 265/65/18 are around 24mm oversize from OEM,but shouldn't cause any major issues.

They do seem to go hard with age,and chip badly on fast,very rocky roads.

Apart from this,have found them excellent,very strong.

In fact,since running them have never had one go flat,and that includes a lot of off road use.And they generally last around 80k.

Have run them on two D2's and now on the D4.

Originally Posted by scarry

Have run them on two D2's and now on the D4.

Nice! Nearly all the reviews I've read online have said they will buy them again. They seem to be long lasting reliable off road tyres.

Any trouble with the spare fitting into its compartment? I've read some larger sizes won't fit.

Be careful following recommendations - the same tyres from the same manufacturer, but in different sizes, are markedly different to each other. For example, the Cooper Zeon LTZ's in the 285/60R18 is amazingly strong, and has a load rating of 120. The same tyre in the 255/55R19 suffers from weak sidewalls and is no where near the same load rating.

So with that in mind, the Bridgestone D697 in 265/60R18 is proving to be a very robust, all-round performer. The Grabber AT2's have some sidewall failures in that size. The BFG 265/65R18's have poor wet bitumen handling when pushed at D3/D4 speeds. The Hankooks in 255/55R19 are very good, but I haven't experienced them in the 18" size. The Mickey Thompson STZ's in 265/60R18 are probably the best all-round performer, but a couple of people have had issues with de-lamination, although that was supposed to be due to a particular bad batch.

Cheers,

Gordon