Tyres Again

Hi Scotti I have just goon down that track and I got the Pirelli's as you said they are great in the wet and very quit as well. The cost made my mind up with bfg at $270, cooper's $250 and Pirelli's at $200 and cooper would only give me a guarantee of 50000k's anyway.

Regards Geoff

Our 78 Series came with Bridgestone Desert Dueller AT tyres and we have been more than happy with them. Quiet, good on road in the wet and dry, OK off road. They are not my first chice in tyre (in fact they were may last choice) but have suprised me as to how they are going.

Tyre wear - too early to tell. Would I replace the tyres with Desert Dueller again, if I had to do 4 tyres, I would probably go for Cooper mud tyres which in my experience in New Zealand are great on and off road.

I also am very happy with the 693 Bridgestone. The only vehicle not to have tyre probs. last years outback trip (all the 'you beaut' bfg & coopers failed miserably), and we were all very concious of pressures. The Bridgestone is a good road tyre- good gravel/sand tyre- not the ideal muddie. But for value for bucks and all round tyre...good. 46000k so far and still looking very good. I do a tyre rotation every 5000k- rear to front...and cross over the ones off the front to the back.A bad days sailing sure beats a good day at work

Contrary to the other respondents, I have had a bleep run out of the Bridges. I will say though, that with constant rotation and balancing I did get a usable 60,000kms out of them as road tyres. But sadly, they prooved too vulnerable to shoulder staking when off the beaten track. BFG's are not the tyre the used to be, I firmly believe that the current crop of AT's are overated. I have had Pirelli's many years ago, again fine on road, punctures all the time off-road. Coopers seem to be the Rolls Royce at the moment, although do not write off the Kelly range of USA tyres, just as tough and average about $50 per tyre cheaper.

Coopers are certainly worth considering because of the guarantee. If you have larger/wider tyres you get the full 80,000 km guarantee and I can assure you that it is genuine. Not sure what they offer on the 31x10.5x15s - give them a call. I've used the guarantee a few times because I have never yet reached 80,000 km from a set (not just Coopers mind you). That guarantee certainly makes the replacement tyres a lot cheaper. However of all the Coopers I've used the STs have been the worst - not from a wear perspective but they lose chuncks of rubber from the edges when off-roading. It's to do with the design and they are aware of it. If you only drive on the road they may be OK (but then you'd be better off with a road pattern) but anywhere off-road where you get any wheel spin they will shed lumps of rubber. I've done about 35,000 kms and they look pretty crappy. Still plenty of tread in the centre but the edges are woeful!

A bought a set of Goodyear MTRs (265/75R16). The BFGs have been chipping out badly. The Cooper S/T have been loosing chunks on the outside of their tread.

Only done a couple of thousand k's so far, but includes 3 weekends of offroading. I'm very impressed. For an aggressive looking tyre, they are very very quiet, and they grip very well when crawling offroad. No tread damage at all from offroading. Supposed to be good for the 80,000km, but we'll see.

They also have the 3-ply construction for puncture resistance.

Phil G

Saw the new Super Swampers AT Catalogue with the Triangular patterns. Any comment on those? How are they priced?

Hi Scotti,
I have the Cooper S/t's on my GU. 265/75/16

They are great on road wet or dry, probably a little noisier than an AT tyre.
I have never been stuck yet offroad with them, sand, mud or rocks
I rotate them every oil change at 5000k's and have the tyre place look them over as well for any alignment probs.

last week the guy at the tyre place had a look at them and said they are about half worn now. I have put around 48,000 k's on them and they are still looking good. I will be using them again next time though i plan to go up to the 285/75/16.
now that i have a suspension lift they look a little strange, kinda like skateboard wheels :)

I have been reading about the bits of rubber that are supposed to be flying off coopers but i haven't had this problem at all. maybe its the driver not the tyres that are at fault in these cases.

my 2 cents worth
happy hunting
wayne

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Ok, you can see from the few follow ups above, 4wd Tyres has become a passion for me...

'What tyres should i get' is along the lines of 'what 4wd is best' or 'is diesel better than petrol' etc etc

It all comes down to finding what is best for YOU , with what YOU want to do with it.

In the last 18 months i have ran the following tyres:

Nissan GU Patrol
BFG Mud Terrain 285/75/16
Cooper ST 255/85/16
Procomp Xterrain 315/75/16 (35")
Interco Super Swamper Q78 (36x10.5x16)

Prado GX 3.0 Tdi (kzj120)
Interco Trxus Mud Terrain (285/75/16)
Goodyear GrandTrek (225/70/17)

All the tyres i would classify as 'good', given that you use them for what they are designed for.

E.g.

The Swampers were NOISEY (you could hear me coming from over 1 km away!) they drove terrible, shake the car and wear FAST (don't expect more than 15-20,000 from a set) and cost then $500 each new. (around $395 now)

BUT they were a true offroad tyre, and aired down to 8-12 psi (were fitted to BeadLocked rims), in the Vic High Country they did their stuff, and worked EXTREMELY well.

I had the Coopers at the same time, and was helping with a Navigation event at the time, helping scout out the course etc, so managed to do the course over 2 weekends, once on the coopers once on the Swampers. I got stuck one or 2 places with the coopers which the swampers breezed through, I also found i had to drive harder with the Coopers fitted to avoid not getting through, the swampers just cruised on through.

The Coopers were GREAT on the road, handling, light steering, and worked well in gravel. I was surprised on a day trip to the woods point area how well they worked in mud and wet dirt roads, the only let down was the Chipping of the Sidelugs...

The BFG's i don't rate too well, they don't seem to work well after the first 15,000-20,000 and i have torn a few sidewalls (which make them VERY expensive tyres to run)

The ProComp Xterrains are my tyre of choise for an All rounder.
Being the best by far for on road handling, in both wet and dry, bgravel / dirt roads and work Really well inthe mud. They also love to be aired down when offroad to get their full potential. They are a bit pricey, but well worth their $$, and Allan Mc won the 2002 Outback Challenge with a set, competing with Simex and Swamper/ Baja Claw shod trucks...

The Interco Trxus are still new, only having done 3500 km's so far. they have been exceptional quiet onroad for a VERY aggressive mud terrain, and the construction is Solid. With strong thick sidewalls, i doubt very much you could puncture one of these easily. The Side Lugs (which most swampers have) are the key to their success, working really well offroad. They are a little slippery in wet roads, but care must be taken with all Mud Terrains. I am yet to try them offroad (they are being reviewed weekend in the Vic High Country fitted to our Technical Editors vehicle for the weekend.)

FWIW, i have Simex Tubes fitted to the Trxus, to allow for running low pressures, and avoid breaking the bead and losing air in a sudden rush. Just atip to fit the tyres with no soap if doing this, as the soap can cause the tyre to spin on the rim.
I will be fitting Secondair internal Beadlocks soon.

feel free to shoot me any questions... steven @ offroader.com.au

enough rambling for now...

I guess it's a case of different stokes for different folks. There is not a tyre (or any product really) that will do everything for everyone- and that includes fridges, vehicles, suspension etc.. My comments on my Bridgestones are what work for me. They heve done the Canning- Central Oz- Simpson- Oodnadatta/Birdsville-Flinders etc etc areas with NO probs. I do not do 'extreme' 4WDing or bashing thru mudbaths just for fun. I do a lot of long distance outback off road genuine touring.
If you are lookin for a good off road touring tyre, check out the pile of "stuffed' tyres behind the Pink Roadhouse or Innaminka Tyre Shop to see wot NOT to use. Heaps of BFGs & Coopers in the stacks....so nuthin is invunnerable.A bad days sailing sure beats a good day at work