Willem- Your views on Wide Vs Thin Tyres

Mark,

Whilst not wanting pre-empt the old chap, I just spent the weekend in Robe following him through some pretty soft sand and those Cooper STT's just churned their way through the sand sensationally.

I was really impressed at how he was able to take off from a standing start in the soft stuff with ease. And the way he kept churning through the soft stuff with little momentum was proof of the ability of these tyres.

Eric was running M/T's and it similarly churned through the soft stuff.

I have heard opinions before that agressive tyres simply dig in and bury in the soft stuff. That is contrary to what I saw on the weekend. My A/T's on a lighter vehicle buried themselves far quicker than Willie's STT's on a much heavier vehicle. Could also have a bit to do with driver skill.

I'll be going for the more agressive ones next time.

Cheers,

Jim

Howdy!

I agree with Jimbo. I have been told several times that narrower tyres are better on the soft stuff. I have run the standard cheese cutters and have dropped pressures to 15-20psi. Whilst there is an impressive 'bellow effect' of the tyre which gives you a wider track on the sand, have a look at an MTR or BGF Mudder on the sand running 15psi.

I have since my first 4wd run mud terrains on sand and have never had a problem when aired down. I've seen alot of people get themselves into trouble by leaving pressures up, even on the skinnies. Further alot of people forget to air down trailer tyres causing alot of probs.

It takes a bit of time to learn how to drive on sand, but once you've got it, mudders/wide or skinnies, you shouldn't have too much trouble when airing down.

cheers

Chris.

Hi Mark

Having said my piece and advanced the cause for skinny tyres many times on this forum I now have to admit that the 265/75/16 Cooper STT's are very good in sand, gravel and rocky country. As Jimbo says...the GQ was sitting on its belly. I engaged 2nd low and drove out. On the recent Simpson trip the Coopers performed very well and I made it over the all the dunes without fail. I still have skinnys on my tralier. I am planning the big WA bush trip for next year and will then further test the reliability of the wide tyres where stakes are common. I will be caarying special tubes for the 265's incase I need them.

I also have a set of Kelly Safari AWR 265/75/16 tyres on alloys which I use for sealed roads and they look like they will do good kilometres.

So Yeah, I am a convert to wide tyres. ......LOL