Thread: MICHELIN Latitude Tour HP compared to standard Wrangler tyres

Hi Celtoid,
Thanks for the reply, how did the ride on bitumen compare between the 3 different tyres ?

Originally Posted by 90 Rangie

Hi Celtoid,
Thanks for the reply, how did the ride on bitumen compare between the 3 different tyres ?

Hi Mate,


When I first bought the MY10 D4 (Wranglers) there were no complaints at all. It was smooth and quiet, handled and braked well on all sorts of road surfaces....wet or dry.


On changing to the ATRs I felt they were firmer and more direct, with no noticeable road noise issues. I definitely preferred them for a while ,,, until a really bad aquaplane.


The Zeon's ride sucks on the road compared to the Wrangler and Scorpion ... but they are fatter and wider. They are noticeably noisier on certain bitumen surfaces than the other two and are very indirect and bouncy.


However, I expected all of that and they rock off-road .... that's why I have 19s for everyday and the 18" (Zeon) for camping.

Look carefully at the various depths of the ATR's voids in different areas across the tyre and consider where water exit paths will be blocked as the void depths reduce - its no wonder this tyre has problems as it wears. That they require high pressures to avoid wearing down the edges leaving the centre with plenty of depth is another shortcoming, not that the edge voids are anywhere nearly as deep as the centre voids when new.

Originally Posted by Graeme

Look carefully at the various depths of the ATR's voids in different areas across the tyre and consider where water exit paths will be blocked as the void depths reduce - its no wonder this tyre has problems as it wears. That they require high pressures to avoid wearing down the edges leaving the centre with plenty of depth is another shortcoming, not that the edge voids are anywhere nearly as deep as the centre voids when new.

You're right on the money Graeme. I started my Scorpions at placard pressures but noticed they were wearing on the edges ... ended up with them at ~ 40 - 42psi all round to ensure the middle tread got some work.


Interestingly the Zeons are no deeper tread wise in the middle than the Scorpions but have more space between the plugs all the way to the outer edge, so I recon that would help eject water.


I'd read that Scorpions have a reinforcing block or ring on their outer tread and that was why they have less outer tread depth. Not sure if that is true or not.


Facts are, they are prone to outer edge wear and the tread void vanishes very quickly on the outer edges. Even brand new, you can see that they have a depth difference between the middle and outer edge ... which I imagine blocks water ejection.


Cheers.

Close inspection of my new 19" Hankook RF10 reveals that the void depths are the same all across the tread. However the gap between 1 row of blocks on each side will be reduced in width as the tread wears due to a stepped edge on 1 side of the void. Still, they shouldn't have the evacuation problem of the ATRs but their grip, durability and longevity are yet to be experienced, by me at least. The tread is much more open than the ATRs so should be considerably better in sloppy/slippery stuff.

Have you driven on these yet Graeme ?

I've just noticed that I've put a nail through the tread on one of my front wranglers and that both fronts are missing significant chunks of tread from my last lot of off-road adventures ... Oh well ... I can get a set of hankooks for 250 each (50 less than I paid for this whole set of wranglers) and my wife is encouraging me to buy some new tyres.

Any others want to chip in with views ? I really like quiet tyres that handle well on road -> she likes ones that look 4wdy and would like us to have tougher tyres so I don't drive so slow off-road (!?!!).

Nah, the wheels are still in the shed waiting for the D4 to get its new gearbox.

I'm not expecting too much from Korean tyres but am keen to at least get a feel for them. My brother has just bought some 19" rims for his 3.6 RRS and he too would like to know if the Hankooks are any good.

Originally Posted by Epic pooh

Any others want to chip in with views ? I really like quiet tyres that handle well on road -> she likes ones that look 4wdy and would like us to have tougher tyres so I don't drive so slow off-road (!?!!).

Hi Mick,

If you want a more road-biased AT tyre (quiet/good handling in wet and dry), I can recommend the Yokohama Geolandar. This place has them at a good price - 265-60-18 YOKOHAMA AT-S ATS ALL TERRAIN NEW TYRES ST GEORGE TYRES BUY ONLINE

I had 2 sets of them on my D3 and they were great. I only wish they were as cheap as above - 18" tyres were exxy back then... IIRC, $420 each!

If you want LT AT tyres - you can't go wrong with D697s.

Cheers,
Rob