Tyre, Tyres, Tyres

Yep, every one has an opinion on tyres!

I bought my RA Rodeo 2 years ago, it had near new Maxxis AT 751's (245/70/R16). I always thought they were a "cheap" tyre. We have just finished a 40,000km trip including the GRR, Dampier Peninsula and lots of other corrugated, rough and rocky roads towing a camper trailer. The tyres hadnt missed a beat, not one puncture, they werent noisy- cant fault them.
I just thought i would wear them down and just get some better ones. BUT- they are are wearing great!
It got me thinking when im up for new ones i might just replace them with the same type Maxxis tyres.
I have just replaced my Kuhmo LT camper tyres with Bridgestone D604V so will see how they go.

It would be interesting to know what tyres people are using on their vehicles and vans\campers.
What did they have before and what they would go next time- and why?

This is not a sledging match between brands but an interesting survey of what others are using.

Look forward to reading what others say.

Hi Fugs ,
i have BFG AT on truck and BFG AT on the van
ive run coopers ,bridgies, kumo and olimpic on different 4bys
and like the BFG for there 3ply sidewalls i drive alot of rough tracks sidwall stakes have been my bigest problem
havent tried the kevlar bridgies yet
but my last set of BFG the sales man was trying to sell me a set but it didnt say kevlar on the side of the tire
and they only said 2 ply nylon
so i passed
wonder how many sets of non kevlar
kevlar tires he has sold
Alan

Currently running Cooper ATRs on the Patrol. I chose them because they have a good rap for being the strong and silent type of tyre and, for my usage over rough tracks and gibbers as well as those long bitumen stretches, they looked to be ideal.

In brief, they have been excellent tyres at everything I said i would be doing. They grip the bitumen and gravel roads extremely well. They air down well enough (have to drop the pressures pretty low) for sand travel to be smooth and easy as well. They are even wearing really well too.

The only dissatisfaction I have with them is that they are next to useless if faced with any sticky mud or wet clay. I honestly never expected to need a mud tyre as I always thought I would be gone by the time any rain hit a camp site I was on, but life isn't always that simple is it?

So, once these tyres get low enough for me to justify the expense to the Minister for Finance I will be getting a set of the new Cooper S/T Maxx tyres instead.

Tyres are always a compromise and I am hoping that the new Coopers will be a better compromise for me.

Maxxis 751s - I drove a 4WD with a set of those tyres, half worn, fitted to it (not mine, I was helping out a mate) and they were horrible things to drive on. Slippery and with poor feel, changing pressures didn't help.

Perhaps it is the fact that they were half worn, or perhaps they are better suited to some vehicles than others, but they wouldn't be near the top of my list.

Hi Joeker, I'm road testing some tyres for Cooper at present and will be doing another roiad test September or October. Will post results when completed. Cheers!

Well, I will be interested in the results.

If you need any help with te testing . . . . . . . . . . . :)

I’m running Kumho Road Venture AT235/85 R16 and I’m very happy.
No road noise and drive’s great.
I’ve had 2 flats. One was from being spiked by a screw and the other, we suspect, was a poor quality tube.





Still got my split rims.

Take care out there.

Rossco

I had Cooper ST's put on my old GU when i first bought it, no enough grip for me so I got rid of them and got some Cooper STT's, they were great but chipped....maybe it was the way I drove.

On my new GQ I am running BFG Mud/Terrain and love them.

Ah! The new KM2 muddies - they are getting a very good reputation indeed and I haven't heard of anyone that doesn't like them.

Perhaps I will look at them instead of the Coopers - the only things that I have against muddies are the wear rate when used as a bitumen touring tyre (and let's face it, most klms are bitumen), the change in grip levels as they wear and the noise at speed. Still, the KM2 tyre is supposed to have addressed all of those aspects.

running the Goodyear kevlar MTR's on the ute. (265/70/17)
have 60,000kms (rotate through 5) and still have 5mm tread.
great tyre- perform a little better than MTZ's offroad and onroad so much better- in all conditions.

liked them so much I bought a set of the van as well (235/85/16- same size and offset allows fittment on the vehicle if required)
these have done around 30,000kms and would be half worn. But these tyres are so much better than the standard tyres (destroyed on a trip to landcruiser park)

not so happy on the van as they are wearing funny- but I think that is more a function of the suspension not being properly set up (ALKO IRS) due to weight than the tyres.

I have to replace the tyres on my Isuzu MU hopefully in about 10K (meaning hope I get another 10K out of them haha) now I have a set of Mickey Thompson MTZ now 60K. Before these had a set of Cooper STs got 85K, but my problem is I do not use the MTZ's what they are made for (how many of you are in the same boat?) so I am looking at the Maxxis 751 at least $100 a tyre cheaper than the MTZ's or any of the Cooper/MT/what ever. I see a lot of these 751 on 4WD in many car parks.

Just wondering if anyone has heard of Westlake tyres. I know they had a major recall a few years back but we have a few people trying really hard to convince us they are the way to go. They are a lot cheaper that the major brands and we are prepared to pay the bigger $$'s but we would also love to save a bit. Any thoughts appriciated

G'Day....No, have never heard of westlake tyres, only westlake duck....one of my favorites (chuckle). That aside, if they had a major recall I would find out what the recall was all about firstly. But, to my way of thinking if any product had a recall I would be very weary of ever touching it again....as they say once bitten twice shy! Cheers & safe travels

I've never heard of them either - sorry.

All I would say on the subject is that the tyres are the only things keeping your butt off the bitumen at the 100kph cruise and I believe it is worth spending a little extra to stay safe.

We have decided not to risk the westlake tyres. It is worth the extra money for peace of mind. Thanks for the answers. :)

I have Yokohama Geolander ATV on both my van and landcruiser. Have to say, Ive dragged the van over stuff that'd make Mr Millard roll over in his grave, and been over some really rough stuff, sand,mud,water,rocks and it keeps going. No real road noise, comming up to 40,000kms with em and just blew a rear yesterday, 1st issue ever with em. I am looking at the Maxxis for a set of muddies on the Landcruiser in the future but because Ive never had an issue with the Geolanders I'll probably replace with the same all through.

I ended up buying a new set of tyres for the Rodeo. After reading all above and checking prices etc. I decided to go with the Maxxis again. Like i said i couldnt complain about the last set. I really liked the look of the Maxxis AT771. they were just a little more aggressive than the 751's but they were apparently exclusive to Bob Jane (im not a fan of our local store) so i kept looking. I was told the AT 700 were basically the same, checked em out and i cant tell the difference. Our local kmart auto was very helpful and did a good price.
@ $237 a tyre i felt that was a good deal.
So here thet are: