Tyre for outback touring

Jackablue,

You will get a lot of different answers on this one, and they will all be what drivers have experienced of the last few years.

I have been running BFG Muddies for about 10 years and have found them to be good. Even the bad batch that came through were still not that bad.

However, I am waiting to fit a set of the new Cooper STT, (aka Bubble Gum Doughnuts).

The trips that I have planned for the next 6 months will cover just about every track condition that is out there, this will give them a good work out.

Regardless of what tyre you run, I think that tyre pressure is more important, and what tyre pressue to run will depend on a lot of factors and again a very personial thing based on experience.

Wayne

If its only the usual dirt track then you can use whatever you fancy. If it's the CSR then don't use "wide" tyres. If doing any cross country or serious off track work use a L/T tyre with as many ply in the sidewalls as you can get.
Arguements about which tyre are a bit pointless in the bush. If you are unlucky then even the most expensive u beaut tyre can become a pile of junk very quickly indeed. There's more advertising hype about 4wd tyres than almost any other part of your vehicle. Yes, some are better at this and that but your choice should depend on what you drive, and the kind of driving you do and how much you're carrying.
The trick is to run lower pressures and slow down.

Hi Willem That comment was based on the ply rating of the sidewalls of wide tyres vs L/T tyres. Staking is a major problem as you'd know. Now maybe I'm a bit out of date, but when you let a wide tyres pressure down it may not produce a larger footprint than a narrow tyre from what I've read. And as you know its all about floatation, tyre pressures (heat buildup) and staking.
There's a couple of great articles on this topic. Ron Guard (CSR Travellers guide pp14-15) and an excellent web page on Beadel's bush tours site. (sorry forgot the url...will be on Google).
Cheers

Its all a comparamise somewhere hence all the different answers if you want sheer puncture resistance then the tyres we use at work are great dunlop dr2 12 ply rag tyres but they are crap in mud and dont float as well as tyres with thinner sidewalls

Wrangler MTR. Excellent traction, good road holding, brake well on the tar, the tread compound resists chipping & the has one of the toughest side walls in a radial. Some all terrain patterns may last longer & be slightly quieter but I rate the MTR as the best all round off road tyre available at the moment.
Cheers Craig................

Well, there ar'nt all that many wide section tyres on the market that have a load range'E', which I have to use to carry the weight of the Nissan when loaded up for a 4 week desert jaunt. Skinnys just won't float the weight, even though they generally have stiffer walls to option from. As for availability, stick to a 32" tall tyre on a seven inch rim and you will be able to use a range of replacment tyres from 750x16(at a pinch) through to 275/70x16. Remember, uncommon sizes are hard to source in the boon-docks, but just about any store will carry a 750x16 to get you home. 265/75x16 is so close to the same height as a 750 that it doesn't matter.All this is pretty academic if you are driving a Diahatsu F10 and have to run 650's!

Most people have said my usual line - its not so much what brand tyre, but how you treat them that matters.

Run low pressures,
don't speed,
don't overload,
use tyres with plenty of tread,
LT construction with a high load index;
Like desert said, 750R16, 235/85R16, 265/75R16 are all same diameter, and are the common sizes out bush.
Tubeless tyres give you much less hassles; can simply plug them if punctured.

I'm very happy using 265/75R16 on 16x7 rims. Been happy with most brands - MTRs are going well at present.

Cheers
Phil

Just thought I would tell you about the tyres used on the 3 vehicles used in my party's simpson crossing.We also travelled the plenty highway and the old ghan.My car,toyota bundera,had31x10.5x15 bridgestone deuler 604(old pattern).I put new ones on for the trip.I was carring about 600kg of gear.tyre pressure,36psi.After 6000km trip,tyres were still in very good condition.Next vehicle,96 model troopy carring upto 1000kg,using 235/85x16 bfg AT about 60% worn before the trip,not much tread left at the end.Lugs were ripped off.(about 60psi)Third vehicle,96 patrol,about 600kg,had 31x10.5x15 dunlop grandtrek AT2,about 60% tread,He had put 2 new tyres on after the plenty highway due to sidewall damage.the tread survived ok.Tyre width didn't seem to matter greatly.We all had a little difficulty at some stage in the sand.Being a mechanic,I see a large range of vehicles and types of tyres.My personal choice of tyre is the bridgestone mainly for the reason if they are your general use tyre ,in my experience,they grip so much better in the wet.A problem I have noticed and heard about with dunlop's is delamination.Over all the decion is up to you.listen to what other people say.If a tyre is going to be damaged it will probable happen regardless of what tyre you have.Also ,the 235/85x16,we needed to replace one due to a puncture on a sealed road after the desert,could not get areplacement until we got back to brisbane.

jackablue
The tyre of choice for the Sydney club scene is the BFG alterain which has 3 ply on the side walls and more on the tread but evan these tyres can sustain cuts on the side wall when they are below 18 or 20 psi mine have 45000 ks and i am thinking about changining them
Snailbait

Jackablue,

How much money do you wish to spend?

I run Bridgestone Dueller 694's on the Jack at present, cost is about $218 per tyre.
But as value for money, you would find it hard to beat the Bridgestone Desert Dueller. Have recently bought 3 for the Camper Trailer and the going price was $168 per tyre, from a Bridgestone Outlet.

A mate runs the DD on his Rodeo. Only got 70,000 from his first set:-))

One of the magazines (4x4 Australia - I think) just did a large expedition following Lean Beadel's route around the CSR area. I seem to recall that they mentioned some of the group were using Indian-made "MRF" tyres ( website here ) and found them to be generally stronger than any of the BFG/Cooper/Goodyear tyres because the MRF's run steel bands right around the whole tyre section including the tread. Apparently much harder to stake. Might be worth a look.