split rims

Mate you will get differing opinions, this is mine

When we got rid of them on trucks I couldn't have been happier.

1. Splits are bloody heavy, pick up a steel safety rim and a split and you will see what I mean
2. I have had far less punctures with steel safety rims.
3. They can be dangerous when you have repaired them and are inflating the tyre.
4 Modern repair methods make it a lot easier to fix a punture.
5.You get a good price at Sims for splits

I do not dispute most of what Rock Ape says BUT..........

After running splits for years I conned myself into thinking that wide tubeless tyres were the go. The GQ I bought came with those big alloy 8" rims and looked flash. Unfortunately my travels could be construed to be more adventurous than the run of the mill 4x4-er and it has cost me dearly in tyres over the past 3 years. I now run MRF Super Traction Crossplies on GQ splits for all my 4x4 stuff and still run a set of tubeless tyres on Speedie rims for around town and bitumen trips.

In 40 years of outback travel I have NEVER had an issue repairing a puncture out bush with splits and have NEVER seen one have the rim fly off when inflating. The latter only happens when a whole heap of air is injected under high pressure such as found in tyre reseller places. Skinny tyres could be prone to more punctures but if you cut a sidewall on a tubeles tyre it is unuseable and worthless. Tubless tyres are also a pain to remove from the rim out bush if you have to. Sticking plugs into them seldom keeps all the air in and you have to constantly pump the tyres up after they lkose air overnight. A tyre repair place isn't always handy somewhere in the Gibson Desert.

My experience and my opinion as usual...lol

Cheers

Its pretty simple really
radial tyres sutable for road and tourist tracks are best off on a 1 peice rim to make plugging puntures a possability

crossply tyres suitable for out of the way off the beaten tracks etc are best off on a split rim to make removal and repairs easy

I have never had an issue with split rims, they are my preferred wheel for bush work.

My current HZJ105 came with them as standard equipment.

Good to see Willem and Davoe have taken the bait....sorry I was a bit slow off the mark, but just got home from work :-))

I'm a tubeless convert. Got sick of fixing splits about 10 years ago, and had a couple of near rollovers on an old troopie when tubes let go on the highway.

Other experiences for and against:
- Skinny tyres on splits give better fuel consumption.
- Tubeless tyres wear less (less heat build up)
- Splits can be hard to remove a tyre but are dead easy to repair, reassemble and reinflate. Tubeless are very easy to fix - if you know how, but some sizes can be hard to reinflate.
- Splits on brand new vehicles are usually very good; on older vehicles flat tyres are common - usually from cheap tubes, dirt in tyre, pinched tubes, stickers etc etc
- Plugging tubeless is easy when you've been shown how - theres a learning curve, and using glue instead of that crappy lubricant makes a difference. In my experience, 80-90% of plugs give a 100% seal. If we don't get a seal with a couple of plugs, we put a radial patch on the inside.
- Tubeless tyres can roll off rims at low pressures. Usually happens to the less experienced drivers - cornering too fast on sand.
- Tubes can rip their valve out at low pressures on sand, but usually only if you drive it way too hard.
- Plugging tubeless on vehicle takes 10minutes, then you drive again. Replacing a split takes 30minutes, then another hour fixing it back at camp.

For a GQ patrol, my preference would be to get some 16x6 tubeless rims and fit the 235/85R16 tyres. But thats my bias!!

Interesting to read the advice of the experts above.

Its a question I've considered too.

I hired a car with splits a couple of times and was shown
how to change one. I think it would be easier to
carry a few spare tubes than a few spare wheels and tyres. It comes down to how likely are you to get a puncture, and if you do, will a plug fix it.

I got a bit overconfident with my Cooper STs having done 70,000 kms without a single puncture. I replaced two worn tyres in Kalgoorlie and within 300 km slashed a sidewall so badly that plugs wouldn't fix it.

But have just done 5000 km trip with no drama, including a fair bit ay 18 psi.

I also heard that the blind man at Windorah can repair a puncture on a split rim. I saw him repair a tubeless 2 days ago.

My mind is still open but continue to run STs for the time being.