Pirelli Tyres

We recently got Scorpion ATRs in 265/70R16 on the Prado - passenger not LT construction. The size you are after is available in LT.

There has been a model change in the Scorpions recently. The AT (which won the Austn 4WD Monthly A/T test this year "by a country mile") is being replaced by ATR. Pirelli says that the new model has the same off-road capability but is much quieter on-road. The tread pattern is quite different (a bit like Bridgestone's change from D693 to D694). You can still get the older model Scorpion AT at the moment though - possibly on sale too (e.g. Bob Jane).

I can say that the ATR is very quiet and very good on-road. Have only used them for light 4WD duty so far so can't comment on difficult conditions.

We agonised over which tyre to get. Very tempted by more aggressive patterns like Cooper ST or BFG A/T but felt in the end that the proportion of our driving on bitumen didn't warrant them. The 4WD Monthly test showed that those more aggressive patterns were far inferior on bitumen; a bloke I know who has Cooper STs regrets getting them because of their poor bitumen performance (and regrets not getting off the bitumen more often!). We felt that the Pirellis were a good compromise.

A mate who has Bridgestone D694s feels the same about his - they would be another to look at.

Need to think realistically about your own needs. For a 70/30 (on road/off road) tyre, I think the Pirelli is a good choice. For more off-road, maybe a more aggressive tyre.

BTW, whatever tyre you decide on, shop around. There was an astounding difference in price between different retailers. Half an hour on the phone will save you heaps.

I did try these on my Pajero when I had it a few years ago and personally found the compound way to soft and they wore very quickly....think I only got about 50K out of my set. Had BFG prior and BFG since and get 100K out of a set of those, but that is only my experience with them, others may have and seem to have had better longevity than I did.

Richard