Tyre Choice - Wrangler Silentarmor VS Michelin

[Captain_Rightfoot]

Well the General Grabbers are up for replacement. They have done 60k and they have been very badly chipped by dirt road travel. I've enjoyed their handling and quietness - but they aren't up to dirt roads I'm afraid.

So, I'm looking for replacements before our trip to WA. I don't want muddies! We do general stuff - with lots of dirt road and sand. The main things I'm after are...

1. Non chipping.
2. Quiet (Defenders are loud enough!)
3. Handle well.
4. Tough.
5. I'd really like it if they could make coffee.

Anyway, the two tyres I've narrowed it down to are the Michelin LTX AT2 and the Goodyear Wrangler SilentArmor.

The Michelin I know will be good because I have one as a spare and it seemed pretty good.

The Wrangler is American made and sounds like it's the right thing for what we want.

Price wise the Wrangler is the cheaper of the two, but not by much. Interestingly the Wrangler can be bough with a lifetime puncture warranty for only $16 a tyre which seems like a steal to me!

If anyone has either I'd love to hear from you.

[Loubrey]

Back in 1998 I had to change tyres before setting of on a FIFO (well more like DIDO!) job in central Africa. I'm a BFG man myself, but they weren't available, so I was "forced" to put a set of Wranglers on. They were obviously not the new Silent Armour type, but I was pleasantly suprised by their durability and they are much quieter than any other 50/50 tyre I've had before. I put 75 000km on them in 18 months driving a 90, I did 98% of that on severely corrugated roads and they were good for another 5 000km to 10 000km. In my opinion you can't go wrong with the Wranglers.

I've not run the Michelins myself, but mates with them on had no complains I know of. They appear to be a good long distance touring type tyre.

I remain a BFG man, but that is just foolhardy brand loyalty I'm sure!

[dromader driver]

I've been using XZA michelins on gravel and tar for about 6 years on the defender.when I bought thetruck it had geolander A/T on wider rims that had not been rotated and were very noisy. When XZA was fitted there was NO noise.
over that time only one puncture from a nail. Lots of warning if you push them too hard on both gravel and tar. currently upto about 70000km's and probably another 20 000 to go.
On soft stuff around home after rain they tend to cut in but have not been bogged yet.
not sure if I will try XZL next time as they were on the bushfire truck and very good.

[amtravic1]

I have had Silent Armours on a Rangie for nearly two years. So far I have been very impressed. They are quiet, have excellent road holding and seem to be wearing well. Surprisingly I have had no punctures even though I spend allot of time on building sites where I would have expected at least a couple of punctures a year.
I have been lazy on the last couple of 4wd trips and could not be bothered changing wheels to my mud tyres and also have been very surprised by the performance of the tyres on tracks, MUCH better than I would have thought at low pressures however I did pop one off a rim on a very rutted muddy hill at 18 psi.

by the way, my silent armours are not American made as I thought they would be but have made in Indonesia stamped on them.

[Captain_Rightfoot]

I have had Silent Armours on a Rangie for nearly two years. So far I have been very impressed. They are quiet, have excellent road holding and seem to be wearing well. Surprisingly I have had no punctures even though I spend allot of time on building sites where I would have expected at least a couple of punctures a year.
I have been lazy on the last couple of 4wd trips and could not be bothered changing wheels to my mud tyres and also have been very surprised by the performance of the tyres on tracks, MUCH better than I would have thought at low pressures however I did pop one off a rim on a very rutted muddy hill at 18 psi.

by the way, my silent armours are not American made as I thought they would be but have made in Indonesia stamped on them.

Thanks for that. Is it possible you have the Wrangler AT/SA? Have a look at the tread pattern on the link. They did mention that they weren't made in the US. They include "silentarmor" technology so it's probably still relevant.

[amtravic1]

I have this one

Tyre Search, Goodyear, Australia

[Captain_Rightfoot]

I have this one

Tyre Search, Goodyear, Australia

Well thanks again. That's the one I'm looking at. The brochure in front of me says that they are made in the USA so I'll check that. They must have changed source at some point.

[dmdigital]

Just checked and the four 235/85R16's I have for the trailer and its spares are all Made in U.S.A. These were bought in 2008.

You may have seen my other thread on Wrangler MTR's but I'm pretty convinced I'll go with Silent Armours now.

[Tombie]

4bar ATZs are worth a look too.

[Graeme]

I had LT225/75-16 Silent Armours on my D2. They performed well for everyday use and on 2 desert trips including visiting the Pedirka ruins and lasted about 80K. 1 root stake through a sidewall climbing a dune but that was easily plugged then subsequently patched on the inside and continued to be used. They were surprisingly useable in light mud too.