Tyres

Magnarc · Guru

Tyres

Peter_n_Margaret · Guru

An AT tyre will use more fuel than a highway tyre. It is also likely to wear faster.
From the sounds of what you have in mind, I doubt you will be any better off or need a more aggressive tyre.

Cheers,
Peter

vince56 · Senior Member

Hi Phil,
45K doesn't sound too great to me, I got 65K out of Bridgestone Duellers.
I agree with Peter above, not much to gain if you are only going off road sparingly, I suggest looking at Duellers.
(Went to Dubai and did the desert trek in a Landcruiser, very soft going in deep sand, they were using normal road tread with 18psi in them, no dramas at all)
Cheers Vince

Magnarc · Guru

Thanks guys, back to the drawing board with highway tyres in mind!

moamajohn · Guru

Phil .really 45 k is ****house I did 70K on grand Duellers But this time I have gone for Pirellis for 90% road and 10% dirt.900$ for four who cares !! John

erad · Guru

45000 km is not good for the original Bridgstones, but it obviously depends on how and where you drive. I got 53000 km from the rear OEM Bridgestone tyres, but they wore out due to misalignment. I had an alignment done by a local firm but I am sure they didn't do a thing to it. I then set off on a 15000 km trip with my caravan, and by the time I got home, the rear tyres were fairly well stuffed. I had rotated the tyres every 5000 km up till this point. I bought 2 new Hankook AT, and left them on the rear until the fronts wore out. Finally, at 91000 km I had 2 more Hankooks fitted. They are quiet, and judging by the wear in the rears, should comfortably outlast the original tyres by a long way. The Hankooks certainly seem to be solidly built and hopefully will offer some good protection against cuts etc during their life.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Hi Phil,

I can't speak about Bridgstone but I had BFG A/T on a Prado many moons back now and thought they were great all round. When I got the Collie I had Cooper A/T 3 fitted but didn't like them from go. Grip not as good and just not happy with them so will be going back to BFG A/T when needed. Just my thoughts.

Keep Safe on the roads and out there.

rockylizard · Guru

Peter_n_Margaret wrote:
An AT tyre will use more fuel than a highway tyre. It is also likely to wear faster.
From the sounds of what you have in mind, I doubt you will be any better off or need a more aggressive tyre.

Cheers,
Peter

Gday...

I am sure you are talking from experience, but I have not experienced what you suggest Peter.

I had Cooper Discoverer H/T on my Discovery when I bought it. They did 45,000Km before I put on another set of Cooper Discover H/T - they did 48,000Km.

Those tyres probably did about 80% on bitumen, mainly towing the 2,600Kg van, and the rest on dirt/unsealed roads ... and some occasional low-range 4x4 tracks.

I would get between 8.2 and 8.7Ltr/100Km highway use, not towing ... and between 13.9 and 14.8Ltr/100Km when towing.

For a 'road pattern' tyre they were very acceptable on the dirt and 4x4 tracks - as long as they were dry.

I am now onto my second set of Cooper Discoverer A/T - first set did 65,000Km (only a set of 4 so only rotated the 4). The Discoverer A/Ts I have on now have done 42,000Km and are not even half used. I now have a set of 5 and rotate the spare through as well. These tyres still do about 80% bitumen, mainly towing the van, and the rest on dirt/unsealed.

My fuel consumption has not altered ... although sometimes I get even better consumption than the H/T. For example, I went to Melbourne last week - 520Km round trip and got 7.6Ltr/100Km - highway/freeway/suburban roads. A few weeks ago I drove from Bairnsdale across the Great Alpine Road to Wangaratta - 680Km round trip. I returned 9.3ltr/100Km over that fantastic, twisty and scenic road - including some driving around Wangaratta. Calculated from actual litres consumed to Km travelled. Both trips not towing the van.

The A/T is a much better tyre on unsealed/dirt roads and has proven excellent, in grip, handling and braking, in wet or dry on bitumen, unsealed/dirt, and even on low-range 4x4 tracks up in the VIC High Country.

Quite often different brands, construction, tread pattern will perform differently on different vehicles ... sometimes even on different models of the same manufacturer.

cheers - John

Magnarc · Guru

Thanks to all who replied. I guess that I must have got a bad batch on the tyres, wheel alignment was done at the time of installation, who knows? I guess it gets put down to luck. I will try the all terrain tyres as we plan on doing some serious off road in the Flinders Ranges later this year. I thought that it was about time that I experienced this sort of driving before I kick the bucket!!!! Will park up somewhere and do day trips from there, SWMBO wants to go to Farina so thats on the itinerary. Going with a mate who has done a lot of this driving so we will be in good company. I am told that the grub at the Prairie pub is a must so will sample that!

Regards to you all,

Phil.

Leo · Senior Member

The 'soft' area where tyres are concerned is lacklustre wheel alignment or not having it checked regularly. Once a poor wear pattern is established it cannot be corrected by wheel rotation.

What is it with wheel alignment? Don't they have their equipment calibrated or is it untrained staff? Although I was recently advised by a service centre that there is new technology that gives a better result and on a hoist.

RustyD · Guru

My Ranger 4DR XLT Auto just ticked over 50,000kms with 27,000kms of it pulling the van. Mostly tarmac. OEM tyres are still looking good for at least another 25-30,000kms (Dunlop GRANDTREK AT22 265-65R17 112T). They appear to be a very hard compound as I can squeal them easily. Don't think I am running them too high a pressure. No sign of uneven wear.

Urban myth has it that OEM tyres are better than replacement tyres. The logic being that if you get a good run out of your originals, you buy the same at replacement time.

-- Edited by RustyD on Wednesday 21st of March 2018 04:50:47 PM