Thread: Tyres - a slightly different question

D697 A/T are quiet and so far with a heap of offroad and highway have done 65,000km

Originally Posted by Mk1_Oz

I have always figured that an A/T tyre will never be as quiet nor safe (road holding) as an H/T tyre but I have not been able to find any factory info directly comparing these options.

A/Ts generally wont be as quiet as HTs but A/Ts are less likely to aquaplane on water patches in heavy rain. LT's aren't likely to be any less safe with normal driving which presumably you do at least with the family on board. Harsher ride on LTs is the usual factor but the D697 in the D3/D4 18" size only has a LI of 114 so only slightly heavier duty than the minimum allowed passenger rated tyres.

What sort of country roads do you tow on? Considering you live in Adelaide, do you head north a fair bit?

A/T tyres are pretty good these days, very little noise and pretty good roadholding. I have run A/Ts on my D3 and D4 of various types and never had a problem with roadholding or noise, including towing a car trailer - and I am known to drive somewhat "spiritedly" on occassion. Of course road noise is somewhat subjective, so you may disagree, but I would be genuinely suprised if you found it a problem in a D3.

I'd agree with Tombie's recommendation. I have only experienced D697s on a Colorado and Hilux so far but have been impressed with them.

Cheers,
Jon

I'm quite happy with the good years so far up to 34000kms and still miles of tread left has been 95% highway and generally at a good cruising speed from 110kmh to 140kmh. I'll probably go with them again.

Originally Posted by jon3950

What sort of country roads do you tow on? Considering you live in Adelaide, do you head north a fair bit?

When we go out camping I tow on sealed roads of good quality for around 300km then have a 60km stretch of unsealed roads. These are well maintained albeit covered in stones and small rocks. These must be giving the H/T tyres a hammering at 90km/h!

If light truck tyres give a harsher ride then I would be hesitant to use them. I probably need to consider the total weight on the car tyres when we are all in the car (7 people) and with the weight on the towball. For allI know I may be exceeding the rating of the H/T tyres!!

Is an A/T tyre going to be a different compound to a H/T? The way I see it the only benefit to me of A/T over H/T would be if the compound would hold up to the fast unsealed road stuff better. (Need to point out I have never actually had an issue with H/T tyres on the unsealed roads - no damage and no flats)

I've had pirelli scorpion zero, Goodyear wrangler (x2 sets) and general grabber AT on mine. I like the good years and use them in all kinds of on and off-road conditions. They are German made extra load tyres and are the original land rover spec for the vehicle. They suit the vehicle for mixed use and I doubt you'd exceed the load rating with a fully loaded D3. Mine have not given me any trouble but I am careful off-road with them and very aware of their soft sidewalks and dodgy performance in mud. I can't stand the compromised on road driving of many AT tyres. My main criticism of good years would be the price of them.

Reading between the lines, it seems as though your needs may be best served by having a second set of wheels on to which you would fit a set of A/Ts for use when towing the camper trailer. This is what I have done using D697s. Have been to the Pilbara, Kimberley (x2) and the Simpson on mine. They are an excellent tyre for the tougher work and in my opinion only marginally firmer and noisier than the standard variety. My original Pirellis lasted a total of 30K and so far the D697s have gone 25K and are about 40 percent worn.

Nick
D4 TDV6 2.7 MY12

I have recently been thinking along the lines of a second set of wheels Nick. Waiting to find some decent (=el cheapo) std rims in my area.

My first set of BadYears went out of round/scolloped at 20,000km and by nearly 30km I just couldn't stand the noise any longer. Hesitant to ever use them again.......