and the best tyre is..............?

My only thought is that I went out on a limb yesterday and bought a set of Goodyeay MTR's and I hope they are worth the money!! ;-)

Have'nt seen many on the road at all, none in the size that I have (31"10.5R15). But from what I can see by resarching on all their websites I think they are the best suited for us. Time will tell hey! Wish me luck.
PS. If nothing else, they look cool! LOL

Its not that simple I have destroyed 4 tres in 2 years 2 saveros,1 kellyawr and 1 toyo And I wouldnt recken any of them was worth the money I paid for them. On the other hand for work I have deen bushbashing over deadfall stumps etc etc with conditions that would destroy the most expensive radial in seconds for genuine puncture/damage resistance there is only 1 choice split rims and rag tyres and if you cant put up with that then accept the compramise that better roadholding/higher speed rating and better flotation that radials give

A mate runs a Safari in the buch on the Cape. He tried out a set of 16 ply radial skinnys and found them to be not as good as his 8 ply rag tyres.
In conditions where there are a lot of stakes etc, brand does not matter, nor ply rating (to a certain degree), all radial tyres will cop it so really you need to avoid those areas or take a second set of rags with you.
Cheers, Mark

Hmmmmm .............Yes

Most travellers on this forum travel on bitumen, good gravel roads, bad gravel roads and some sand tracks. I would also venture to say that most also live in the cities or large towns and a greater percentage of their driving is on well built sealed roads.

Tyre pressures and drivng style contribute to a tyre's longevity. Vehicle suspension set-ups play a big part as well.

We have had claims on this forum of 160,000km out of a set of tyres. We have had claims of averaging 120km/h on the Birdsville Track without punctures. When posting to challenge these theories I have been met with agro.

Recently I replied to a post here that the best offroad tyre for serious bush work was a 14 ply rag. It was a tongue in cheek comment but another luminary on this forum took my views to pieces.

For years I ran 8 ply skinny tyres on split rims (mainly Dunlops). I did a fair amount of serious offroad stuff and buggered quite a number of tyres. Then I went to radials and these days I have conformed to what the majority have, tubeless. I now have the earlier version of Cooper STT's and have done around 5000km. These tyres have seen minimal bitumen, mostly rough gravel roads, endless gibber plains and some rough bush tracks in the Flinders ranges and elsewhere. I run 35psi all round when loaded up and 32 all round when unladen. I run 28 all round on the gibber and rough gravel roads and 15 in the sandy desert or on the beach. I take care where I place the wheels when driving. The tyres are showing small cracks in between the lugs and some scuff marks on the outer tread. I will see how they perform in the next 10,000km trek which is coming up soon.

Like with all items in life there are a variety of tyres to choose from. Outside factors such as weight of vehicle, suspension set-up and driver skills all add up as to how long a tyre may last on a vehicle. I travelled across the Simpson, 500km offroad on BFG Mud Terrains at 20psi. But in a Suzuki. Had no punctures for the entire trip of 800km. A strong tyre shod to alightweight vehicle. A friend of mine did a similar trip and they averaged 5 punctures per vehicle in ten days driving Toyotas and Nissans. I have a mate who runs a station in the Flinders Ranges. All vehicles there are shod with MRF 14 ply tyres. He still gets the odd puncture!

These days the Goodyear MTR's are all the rage especially in hard offroad situations but how far will they travel and how long will they last. It all depends on the factors I have mentioned above.

In the end we keep on experimenting with various brands. It depends on our specific choice and how deep our pockets are.

Thing is we can't do without them!

I'll Pass on this one.

Another Cruiser vs Patrol, Engel vs Waeco post:-)

jdpatrol,

I know this will not help you in the short term but I an going to keep a log of every kilometre that the new Cooper STT will travel. Black top, dirt, sand, tyre wear, flats, tyre pressure and weight of the vehicle
So far they have been on the M4 and a one day trip to the Garden of Stone NP in the Blue Mountians. There was not a problem on that trip as the tracks were dry and there is plenty of sandstone to grip when climbing some of the ridges. I think that there is little road noise that makes it's way into the cabin, but from the out side the Troopie can be heard a mile off.

Over the next few months the tyres will get a real good work out. Saturday I will be off to Bright (VIC) for a 7 day High Country trip, better start packing for that one, then the CRS in June and a run across the Simpson in July. The roads that I will travel doing the trips should just about cover every road condition that there is in Australia.

I hope by the end of the life of the tyres be able to give a good accont of the STT's, and this might help others make up there minds about them.

Wayne.