Prado tyres

as for tyres I am running goodyear wrangler MT/Rs 265/75R16 on my Prado TX and though a little noisy on road I have found them to be brillant on and off road. Wear at present after 15000klms is great and after some heavy off road use no visible damage to tread blocks. But asking for tyre advice can open a large can of worms but IMO I strongly recommend the wranglers.

Cheers

My pick would be BF Goodrich All Terrains. My brother has been running these on his GQ for 2 years, covering about 30,000km so far over all sorts of terrain, including alot of bitumen, but also a fair bit of heavy offroading and gravel road driving, and has never had a puncture. They have also handled the bitumen very well, you really have to push to get them to break traction on the tar, even when wet. With the current rate of wear, he reckons they should be good for 70,000km. The only place they have not proven to be brilliant is in the mud, where they clog up quickly, but they are only an all terrain!! Anyway, have fun choosing, and enjoy the trip!! Tristjo.

Graeme,

We run BFG A/T's on 80 series, as they were on it when bought it in '98.
Have never had a blowout, but a few punctures(nails, weld. rods etc), in 120K clicks. We have 190 km of dirt, gravel, stone on road to town. The BFG's handle this okay, though they chip a bit, which may wear them out quicker. Also do a trip to coast once a year, of around 5K kms, and they are good on tar.

We also use Wrangler TG'S, but wouldn't use them on Prado, even if they made a size to suit. Good on 79 series 'cruisers on dirt and in mud.

Bit hard to find a compromise tyre for all occasions, eh ? Hooroo...

I keep coming back to BFG AT's for most modern fourbies. They give you the best of all worlds, are widely sold in Outback Aust and have an excellent reputation for resisting stone damage. I strongly recommend installing an air compressor so that you will not hesitate to deflate to say 25-30psi when you go off road knowing re-inflation will be easy done.

The BFG's are pretty good in mud and rocky stuff if you let them down a bit. Mudders only make sense when you a MOSTLY off road and face a lot of mud driving ... very few of us are really in this situation.

BFG AT's can make a pretty awesome difference to the mid size fourbies. Coopers also have excellent tyres for this purpose, but don't bank on finding a replacement outside major cities and towns, especially in the sizes used by mid size fourbies.

JohnS

The new silica compounds used in the BFG MTs and the Goodyear MTRs make them a very viable alternative to the AT tyres especially in the wet.
Cant fault either tyre as yet but will post some reports in the next month on both tyres in the simpson and on the rocks at sundown National park.
kes

Graeme,

The size you want is probably the 265/75R16 which is a little taller and fits the Prado well. I personally go for the highest load rating tyres (usually 119 or 120), which usually means BFG, Coopers 10 ply or Kellys. I currently run a set of the older BFG mud terrains on the Prado and don't have a problem with road noise (just a quiet hum). I'll probably try the Kellys MSR next as the Kellys are getting good reports from people in our club. They are an AT/MT cross.

Phil
Prado TD

Graeme,

If you don't want to go muddies then consider Goodyear Wrangler AT/S tyres. Very qiet, cgood roadholding, good off road and very high load capacity.
265/75/16We have so little time to enjoy our land

2 trips to GRR in 2002 & 2003 on BFG A/T KO's and I couldn't think of a worse tyre for gravel. Took them off after 35K as they were chewed to bits and had several sidewall splits. Disappointed - you betcha !
Cooper ST's and STT's get a good wrap too.
Currently I am running Wrangler MTR's and can't speak highly enough. Have heard new BFG M/T is pretty good too but I reckon there's more bargaining power in Wranglers as they'd just have to be trying to crash the Cooper/BFG party.
4WD Monthly have just done a tyre comparo and if you can read between the lines there's a bit of good info there but equally as good info here from the people who use them.
My two bob's worth

Pirelli Scorpion A/T's

Everyone talks BFG's , Wrangler's , Coopers , etc.

I don't know whether people out there even know that Pirelli make quite a good 4wd tyre.
I have a set of 31x10.5x15 on me Challenger and when it comes to all terrain tyre with road handling safety In believe this is a great tyre and also competitively priced.I've towed vans and trailers across Aussie and done some serious 4wdriving south of Perth and also on beaches and sand dunes.The Scorpion tyres have never let me down.

I think for everyday driving and touring on road safety with good 4wdriving capabilities definitely worth looking into Pirelli scorpions.

Cheers



Easter fun down Nannup!!

I've had BFG ATs for a long time and been very happy with them. Took them to the desert etc and had no punctures, although the rears got chopped up with the rocky roads around Cordillo Downs/Innamincka. 70,000 km so far and will get over 100,000 km at least, I reckon. They aren't so good in any sort of greasy conditions, so although I do most of my driving on the road, would seriously look at the Goodyear MT/Rs that people are talking about. Apparently they are quite quiet on the road, and perform very well both on and off road. I'm still not sure about this argument that you should buy the tyre according to the majority of driving you do - when I'm occasionally in mud or steep terrain, that argument is sorely lacking, and I think the approach should be one of what is the most you will expect from the tyre, and buy for that, providing the tyre also performs satisfactorily at other times. If you put MT/Rs on the Prado, I don't know how they'll go without a suspension upgrade - touching etc.

I currently have a set of BFG A/T KO's and am looking forward to the day they require replacement. This wont be too far away though, ie in about another 20000km. Mind you that is about their current mileage now. They are chipped and cut to buggery and basically I feel a deep sense of melancholy whenever I think about them.
I wouldn't wish them on my worst enermy.