Skinny Tyres are scaring me

For a few years i ran 7.5R 16 on a 7.5" Rim on a SWB landcruiser

and ive run 235/85 16 on my Patrol for about the same. would say 7 or 7.5" split.

very happy with the way they rode and drove. much prefer them over small rolling diameter 31x10.5 15s etc.

Your vehicle sounds heavy?? mine never used to bulge out on the skinnies.
(when u let them down they bulge very well) but at 40 - 45psi they are like towers.

Could it be due to ur 6.5" being too skinny a rim? and excess weight?

Rev

Willie,
You have been well advised except for tyre pressure.Ihave used that exact size tyre on my Troopys for many years and have been all over Aus . with hardly any problems.I now use Hankooks in that size as I get mileage (70000km) than the Bridgestones.Idon't know what it is with Bridgestone as when I first put those tyres on they also put 40 lb.in---far too low.When loaded I run 55lb. on the back and 50 on the front.On gravel corrugations I may drop to 45lb and on sand of course you can go down to about 18lb.This is just my experience as I have done this for years and hope it will help you.
Cheers. p.s. you will be glad to have skinny tyres in the rough hard stuff when you see how many people destroy there nice fat tyres by cutting the side walls.

Hi Willie,
I've just put new 235/85's on my 7" wheels. They are the same tyres as the worn ones I replaced (BFG A/T's) and I noticed the same thing as you did. My 80 series is empty most of the time and I'm running them at 32psi which is what I ran the old ones at. I was thinking that it had something to do with other posts I've read about tyre wear ie the first 30k they wear very fast but then the wear rate slows down as the tyres harden/compress? Therefore there might be a fair bit of spongieness in the new tyres which can be felt in cornering?

Mid 50's is not an uncommon pressure for loaded blacktop running with these tyres. You'll also notice the vehicle gets blown around by wind if they are under inflated.

Willie

Used a similar set up as yours for years, especially in the Gibson on troopies and L/C 48 tray tops.

Always ran 50 + tyre pressure but always on splits. You will find second hand splits available, near new, often at some of the tyre outlets near toyota dealers as they often change the wheels on used fleet vehicles, in their used vehicle yard, over to the white 15" jobs to give the vehicle some resale appeal.

I always kept my bush/desert tyres in the shed until I went offroad then changed the city wheels for the bush when I left town.

I never purchased new tyres for the job tho and got 50% second hand heavy lug rags usually for $40.00 a pop. In my experience the tyres never wore treads out before they were trashed by sidewall damage from staking. The only tyres I ever saw that really stood the test were Bandags which had a 14 ply tread and 8 ply wall - they didn't stake but incredibly uncomfortable and like riding on a cart. They were simply hopeless in sand because with no air they still refused to bag.

It must be remebered the Gibson is a Gibber Desert and is really tough on tyres and have had some slow days with 20 clicks in 8 hours of travel and three punctures on each of the three vehicles. Wouldn't fancy doing those hard yards now but it was all an adventure then however if you are on established tracks it will be easier on the hardware.

Whatever you decide take some good quality tubes, valves etc and 12 oz canvas to reline the tyre walls if you badly tear the side wall in any of your tyres.

Sounds like you are going to have some fun. Good Luck

John G

Willie
I ran 235x16's on split rims for years on a troopy. Fully laden I'd run 45 front and 55 rearon the blacktop, let them down about 10lb and drop the speed to no more than 80k on dirt, down to 15 on sand.
Never staked a tyre despite lots of cross country in the desert, but then I'm a relatively slow driver who watches the track rather than the scenery.

Pajero is lighter, but I run 50 front/55 rear on the bitumen loaded with 235/85 '10 ply' radials.
Drop to 32/35 for tracks and gibber country, max 80km/hr.
Drop to 20/25 for sand, but they get really hot at this pressure on the bitumen even at 50km/hr.
Run 40 psi empty and they wear even at this pressure.
Have run Coopers, Firestone, Toyo and Simex in that order, on 16x6 rims.

Roll over on the shoulders is a problem pushing them, they will roll over before letting go, or the common Pajero problem of lifting the front inside tyre with the 75 series.

Did notice that the toyos and forestones bagged more than the others. Also notice that 16x7 rims give more bag.

Max pressure on these tyres seems to be 80 psi, for about 1100kg load.

Willie ol mate
seems your confused about tyres, When i first got my troopie I had to run of down to the tyre dealer and hastily got rid of those awful split rims, It handled like a kids go-cart so I did what every one else does. Put 15x7s on with BF Goodridge, got 105000 with them but the clearance is down a tad and the speedo out by 6 and the revs 200 more at 100kph, so when it was time for newies i went 16x8 with 265-75R-16 Michelins , got 152000 ,cost $250 each but when time for new ones they were $355 so went to Micky Thompsons twice ....no good, mind you never had any problems in the rough but no milage,so Willie yesterday i parted with $920 for 4 265-75R-16 BF Goodridge All-Terrains ,I was once told by the bloke at William Creek pub to keep pressures down in stony country, if they'er to tight the stone can pierce instead the tyre giving a bit so i always run about 28 to 30 psi and 18 in sand ,with the wide wheels it handles fantastic and very predictable on dirt m that could also be the OMEs playing there part too.
Hey when you go out west you have a good run eh.....Uuummm no fish out there is there

Willie ol mate
seems your confused about tyres, When i first got my troopie I had to run of down to the tyre dealer and hastily got rid of those awful split rims, It handled like a kids go-cart so I did what every one else does. Put 15x7s on with BF Goodridge, got 105000 with them but the clearance is down a tad and the speedo out by 6 and the revs 200 more at 100kph, so when it was time for newies i went 16x8 with 265-75R-16 Michelins , got 152000 ,cost $250 each but when time for new ones they were $355 so went to Micky Thompsons twice ....no good, mind you never had any problems in the rough but no milage,so Willie yesterday i parted with $920 for 4 265-75R-16 BF Goodridge All-Terrains They have 3ply walls. ,I was once told by the bloke at William Creek pub to keep pressures down in stony country, if they'er to tight the stone can pierce instead the tyre giving a bit so i always run about 28 to 30 psi and 18 in sand ,with the wide wheels it handles fantastic and very predictable on dirt m that could also be the OMEs playing there part too.
Hey when you go out west you have a good run eh.....Uuummm no fish out there is there

Ahhhh Willie

Better start practising using the bead breaker....lol (You do have one?)

I have decided to run splits on my adventures this year shod with 12ply MRF tyres.

Leaving the STT's at home in the garage for less strenuous treks

Cheers

I dunno (much).......but aren't those 235's a bit big(not too much) for 6.5" rims??

I thought, the recommended rim size is between 7 and 8" for 235/85's (??)

Reason I mention this is because I wanted 235/85's for my Rangie some(many) years ago, and the tyre bloke tells me that they will be no good on my std Rangie steel rims, so I got 7" Disco steelies, but ended up with 215/80's for some reason??(beats me... why?)

Just something to think about too!

Why , whenever anyone types Bridgestone , does it come up as a link ?
Are they an ExplorOz sponsor or what is the go ?

Thanks everyone that answered this post . I looks like I have to put the pressures up and hope for the best .

Willie .