[tapatio]

Hi All,

I had stock tires on my 1993 RRC LWB: 205/80/R16 Michelin Synchrone 4x4. They worked surprisingly well, hell, I made it through the first 100 miles of the Baja 1000 with them.

I decided to replace the tires as they were pretty old. I chose to go with 225/75/R16 Firestone Destination M/T tires mainly because I got a good deal on them.

I had never had M/T tires before.

The Michelin tires weigh 27 pounds each. The Firestones weight 42 pounds each.

The Michelin tires have a width of 8.07" (205mm / 25.4mm/inch) and a height of 6.46" (8.07" * .80).

The Firestones have a width of 8.86" (225mm / 25.4mm/inch) and a height of 6.65" (8.86" * .75).

While the RRC is now slower, and you can feel the extra weight of the tires, and the tires are significantly louder on the highway (although my GF didn't notice the increase in noise), they look awesome and I'm sure they are going to perform very well off-road. I can't wait to go off-roading with them this weekend.

So if you are debating street tires versus all-terrain tires versus maximum-traction tires, go for the M/Ts! You won't be dissappointed.

I'll post an update once I take the RRC off-roading.

One more thing, the Firestones are a stiffer tire. So I think they mate well with light duty springs, which is what I have right now. The ride is smooth, not harsh. Although I'm contemplating putting in medium duty springs or at least coil spring isolator rings to increase travel, as the rear end sometimes bottoms out traversing speed bumps. Although this could be because my rear springs are sagging (old). I'm going to measure the distance between the bump stop and the frame. Apparently it's supposed to be around 3.5". Is that correct?

 

[Eniam17]

Looks great, thanks for the feedback. I want to get some M/T's on my soon (after we get the new motor in!) I can't imagine these things being any slower though, that's a little scary.

 

[tapatio]

UPDATE

I went off-roading last weekend. I was able to conquer a very steep, rutted hill in 4WD low, first gear, without any loss in traction. With the maximum traction tires, this RRC climbs like a mountain goat - slow and steady but with confidence. And that is without airing down the tires (I'm running them at 35 PSI). One thing I did notice is the ride is a bit harsher off-road. I'm guessing its due to the stiffer sidewall. I think in order to have a softer ride at speed off-road, I'm going to have to air the tires down to 18 PSI or so. In any case, I highly recommend the Firestone Destination M/T tires.

 

[cdb]

If you like the Firestones I'd stay away from rocks as it is very easy to tear off lugs. I tore off 5 on one rear tire.
Frankly, I question the TireRack's rating of this tire. I noticed that most comments seemed to be from users who did not ask very much of their tires. I bought them based on the TireRack recommendations and tore them to shreds on rocky trails. They were fine for other types of driving - rain, snow, dirt.
My point is not to rain on your parade, but to get others who may read this post to consider what they want them for first. Don't buy them based on price.

 

[tapatio]

Thanks for the info. I will be gentle with them on rocky terrain.

 

[benji]

I had the same thing when i changed to the BF all terrains - they're just so heavy - but completely indestructable. I'm a bit frightened to go to a mud terrain, as I still like to be able to stop in the wet after 50,000km wear. I'll go for difflocks before an aggressive tyre.

Don't be scared to drop the pressures right down. You should try the same hill at 16 psi. Our tyres are 10 ply light truck, and it's only below 18 psi that they start to bag out, I usually drop straight to 16 in the front, and 18 in the back when off road. We had to go down to 8 recently on the sand.

 

[tapatio]

UPDATE

I enjoy the M/T tires. They have done well in all road conditions (rain, fire roads, rocky hill climbs, river crossings, etc.).

The only downside: with a Garvin Wilderness Expedition rack and 225/75/R16 Firestone Destination M/T tires, my 1993 RRC gets about 10 MPG :[