Here in the UK we swear by BFGs, which I have on my TD5 Disco, but I also have General Grabbers on my other 300 tdi Disco and they are brilliant too. I use both for towing a huge, heavy box trailer along motorways and up into the French Montagne Noire. We also use both in Yorkshire at Christmas in the snow, mud and floods. So I would recommend both. As I remember it, the GGs were cheaper, but over in Oz I am sure price and availability make for difficulty. Best of luck!Quote:
Originally Posted by Hokoman
Greetings all,
always good to throw another voice into the Great Tyre Confusion. I've travelled a lot in the outback with a 1996 Landy 130 and a 2004 Nissan Patrol. I'm not a rockhopper but I give the tyres a hard time when it's needed. In 18 months of touring Southern Africa with the Landy 130 I had very good results with BFG MTs. I chucked them when I returned to Sydney cos I do too much normal roadwork here and the off-road I do is not usually that demanding, relatively speaking.
The Kogarah Tyrepower guy used Grabbers on his Landy and suggested I try them. I found them to be a really good all-round tyre, just so much nicer on the road than the BFG Mts. And at a good price of $235 each. BUT when I went to replace one that got accidentally punctured in the sidewall (was punctured off the car) I found it hard to replace under $280. If you're going to spend that money better to go for BFG KO2. They have a very good reputation in Southern Africa, Oz and also France where I have another Landy. EVERYONE swears by BFG here in France it seems. Oddly enough they're way cheaper in Europe than Oz, generally the equivalent of $235 for a 265/75/16.
Recently on a trip to the centre with the Landy I was very happy with the General Grabbers. That included crossing the Simpson and fast running on stony tracks/roads around West QLD.
When I was in Dubbo trying to find a 2nd spare Grabber (ended up spending the $280) the dealer said everyone around there swore by Hankook and "for the price they can't be beat!" That price was $215 from memory.
Grabbers do have a high load rating indeed but when I punctured the sidewall and inspected it I thought they didn't hold a candle to the 3 ply BFG tyres.
So in my opinion if you want to go as tough as possible and you don't want to entertain the Coopers debate (I've heard good AND bad about Coopers and I've talked with people in the country who HATE them) then the BFG route is a safe and proven one. And Mickey Thomson, whilst better it seems in reputation to Coopers, are indeed under the Coopers umbrella. I had issues with the Mickey Thompsons in 2008 by the way. The rep said I had been under-inflating them (20-25psi off-road) and possibly travelling too fast on corrugated roads. That may have held some truth but i felt that the tyres should have lasted better than they did. I talked with a worker in the NT who had lots of experience and put in a lot of miles and he swore he never ran tyre pressures below 40. And that was on a lightly loaded Patrol Tray from memory. Others said 32, others swore by 25. In the end you can't say one pressure is right, you have to change according to the conditions. A really big factor is SPEED. Of course corrugations demand a certain speed - depending upon your vehicle it seems to be 50-70kph. But some will swear that's too fast. You just gotta do what feels comfortable and safe for you and your vehicle.
Tyre pressures - if your load is heavy, as mine is on the Landy 130 (always around 3.5T when touring), I don't consider 60 psi a problem. I generally run 50 - 60 psi on the rears if I'm running on bitumen and not think twice about it, and I've never had bad wear doing that. I stick generally with 35-45 on the front. But off-road I'll vary anywhere between 22 - 30 for the front and 25-45 for the rear.
All depends upon your load, the terrain and your speed. Obviously!
It's all trial and error and personal choice anyway. Don't go too high or too low in pressure, keep speed at a sane level, and mostly it'll be "she'll be right, mate."
