Tyres - highway & a bit of mud

G'Day Fermer.

There should be reasonable posts on this forum for answering your questions so have a look in the search function which will bring up all responses to your inquiry !

Personally I've chosen a two sets path with my old-school aftermarket performance rims running Dick Cepek Fun Country 2's in 31x10.5R15 for the sand out West, and my original factory 16" Hi-line wheels will likely get fitted with some serious Mud terrain rubber-either Super Swampers or Parnelli Jones Dirt Grips very soon ?

Considering your predicament, fit four new General Grabber AT2's in 265/70R16 size which is the maximum size acceptable on your Rangie and set forth touring.

Cheerio,


Vinniman
'88 Highline
Perth, W.A.

Hi Vinniman, thanks for your response. I did try a quick search but most of the tyre posts I found seemed to be about getting big tyres on.

I didn't really want to go that big, my understanding is that anything over around 245/75R16 is pushing it a bit on a stock setup - steering stops should be adjusted and you risk future problems if your junk isn't tight. This is my daily drive and the old girl needs all the help she can get if I'm going to ask her to put in some serious highway kms over the next few years. The suspension needs work but I won't be seeking height - more interested in trouble-free kms at this stage, so I'm trying to stay close to stock.

Looks like there are mud options in 225/75R16 - I'm currently browsing mfr's sites and the Kumho KL71 and Goodyear DuraTrac look OK for mud in that size. Toyo don't have anything but I'll keep hunting other options.

I get your drift.

My Rangie was in the same predicament when I bought it, just took over Four years and little by little replacing and upgrading the rig to be both safe and sound.
The most important element in any tyre selection is load rating, especially when you're towing and even double so with any intention of using Mud tyres on-road ?

The Range Rovers have a requirement for at least "108" on the load rating side, which you'll find results in the larger tyre options available with your 16"x7" rims.
My father retired Three years ago & undertook a similar move in his Jeep Cherokee, suitably replenished with Four new tyres with Twelve trips of 1000km's each !
If you can install a pair of Polyair bags inside the rear springs before you fit the rubber, this will help a great deal when towing the trailer and working the old girl.

Cheerio,


Vinniman
'88 Highline
Perth, W.A.

Thanks, I'll take that on board. I know nothing about suspension so I'll be seeking some reliable Melbourne workshops in the near future and seeing what they recommend as well. The back end sags miserably at the moment and with the heavy loads and towing I have planned that is something I definitely need to address.

Regarding tyres, after a bit more research I'm leaning towards the Cooper Dicoverer STT. The reviews are invariably good and the bottom line seems to be that they are an excellent mud tyre with a hardwearing compound and respectable highway performance. They are also available in a good range of sizes, including LT225/75R16 and LT215/85R16. I wouldn't mind the narrower tyre (better fuel economy, lower noise and digs better into greasy mud) but I'm wondering whether to stick with the 225 so as not to gain too much height. Then again, if I'm getting the suspension worked on anyway, maybe the extra height isn't too much of an issue.

FWIW, the 'theoretical' diameter of the original 205/80 is 734mm, the 225/75 is 744mm and the 215/85 is 772mm - which means an extra 19mm of lift over stock.

I had a set of continentals, cant remember what they were called, had them put on at a shop in Ballarat, bought a car on the net and picked it up in Melb and decided new tires were needed to get me home to Adelaide. They were the best highway tires ever, so quiet, didn't tramtrack, lasted for AGES, reckon I got at least 70,000 out of them and they were fairly cheap from memory all four fitted with an alignment for about $600 about 3 years ago. I have replaced them with a pair of "skypower" which are quiet but wearing fast but were like $100 each fitted, and a pair of khumo's I think.

The classic's off road for a while now anyways but the continentals have my vote - I couldn't get them again easily when I wanted more tires in a hurry. They weren't mud bashing drive up the side of a cliff tires though.

@Vogue:
That seems to be the consensus I've found too, so I'll probably stick to 225/75 - although the 215/85 is tempting and has been recommended to me by a bloke with mud running through his veins, so I'm seriously thinking about it. I'm also a bit of a sucker for that tall-tyre landrover look so I could talk myself into it very easily.

@Colin:
It looks like the 205/80R16 is discontinued, which would make the 225/75 the closest in the Kumho. How do you rate them for wear and highway noise? I've had Kumhos before and have no complaints so they are definitely on the shortlist.

Another contender is the Hankook MT RT03 which I may be able to get for a good price through contacts in the trade. It's a pretty old-school look but apparently a good performer, and available in both the sizes I'm considering. Anyone have any experience with them?

fermenter said:

It looks like the 205/80R16 is discontinued, which would make the 225/75 the closest in the Kumho. How do you rate them for wear and highway noise? I've had Kumhos before and have no complaints so they are definitely on the shortlist.

Click to expand...

Just did a quick Google search and found plenty of places that carry that size in the Kumhos.

I think they are very quiet on the road. I had Cooper Discoverer LT all terrains on before and these are not ANY louder. I can't tell a difference at all. This is our everyday family vehicle and my wife has zero complaints about the tires. As far as the wear, I only have about 6,000 miles on them, but they are wearing extremely well. I purchased these brand new from TireTeam.com last year. I paid a whopping $53 a tire for them. I about fell over when they actually arrived at the door. I really expected an email stating there was a mixup and they couldn't sell them at that price. I wish I would have ordered another set at the time. I just checked and that website doesn't carry that tire size anymore. These can be found now for around $125 a tire at other locations.

Colin

225/75-16s (as you have already identified) and 245/70-16s are your best bet. My all time favorite tire (or tyre as you spell it) is the BFG All Terrain. I have owned them on my Discovery 1, and two sets on two Disco 2s. They are fantastic tires. They are excellent on wet roads, dry roads, sand, and snow/ice. I haven't ever really tried them in mud. As soon as I have the opportunity, I am buying them for my 91 RR. Also with the 225/75s, you can get a higher load range.

Note, we bought General Grabber AT2s for my wife's LR3 because the BFG ATs were not available in a stock, or near stock size. So, the General Grabber AT2s had a similar tread pattern to the BFG ATs, I decided to try them. So far in icy/wet conditions they have been fantastic (of course the LR3 traction control system is great too - so I dont know how they compare otherwise). The General Grabbers may be another option for you if you are looking for a more economical option.

In my opinion, pay the money and get the BFGs, they will last a good long while! Stay way from the Yokohama Geolander ATs, they suck in snow. I have them now.

Hehe - we don't get much snow in the Aussie bush, even in the depths of winter a t-shirt and shorts will usually suffice during the day.

The main problem is that the property is on clay soil and gets really slippery after a day of rain, so as soon as I turn off the highway I have zero traction which gets a bit hairy when towing. Even though 99.9% of my driving is on highway, its mud traction that is causing me the problems.

Probably 8-9 months of the year these tyres will sit in the shed (or more realistically, on the trailer & caravan), but for 3 or 4 months I really need them to be able to dig in so the more aggressive (and the better at self-clearing) the better.

Will look at the BFG's though, that's what my muddy buddy uses but I probably can't get them cheap. I have some contacts in the tyre trade so some brands might work out significantly cheaper for me.

I'll report back when I have some relative costs and see what you guys think of the comparisons then :thumb:

BFG make a mud tyre, or the new KM2's, which are supposed to be very quiet for an MT. I've driven a defender with the BFG MT on, and they are great, they clear very well, and very rarely did I need to spin the tyre up through the High Country. I've got the BFG AT's on my 93, and they're quite frankly amazing on everything! At this rate of wear i'll get 100,000km out of them and the same on dad's 88. Around Bendigo we've got a yellowy very sticky clay, and from seeing the MT and AT's side by side the AT's clog up easier but clear quite quick when spun.
I don't want to 'bash' something but I used to have a set of Kelly open country AT's, which where nothing short of absolutely dangerous in the wet! I can vouch the BFG AT and MT will hold on in the wet.
Now i've just thrown another one in for you to choose from... sorry for that.

Fermer.

I noticed the serious Super Swampers make a 235/85R16 size tyre ! These will fit your Tri-spoke rims at 31.4" tall = 798mm high which is our maximum spec. ?

At least an image attached & references on their web-site http://www.intercotire.com will cope with the load rating and towing duties under higher inflation pressures.

Cheerio,


Vinniman
'88 Highline
Perth, W.A.[attachment=0:1i14wi5t]TRXUS_MT.jpg[/attachment:1i14wi5t]