Bridgestone D694 and D 693 tyres
Submitted: Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 20:08
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Gone Bush (WA)
Calling all people with experience of Bridgestone tyres.
In a previous thread a comment was made that the D693 is better than the D694 because it is Australian made, whereas the D694 is made overseas.
Any solid confirmation of that?
Reason I ask is the D693 is one of the few tyres that come with the same load and speed rating as the original Dunlops fitted to the LC200. The size us slightly different to the originals but I've used the EO tyre comparison calculator and there is little impact on the speedo.
Bridgestone are really pushing the D694 in their advertising but all info appreciated before I part with the readies (when it comes time). Unfortunately the D694 does not have the same speed rating.
Speed and load ratings are important in insurance company eyes. I have seen documents that seem to support the legality of putting anything down to an N rating, which is usually lower than original ratings, but it would be good to find a good tyre that keeps everyone happy.
cheers
Reply By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 20:17
Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 20:17
There is a report on the new D694 in last months issue of 4WD Action monthly
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Gone Bush (WA) - Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 20:34
Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 20:34
Thanks Graham, I'll see if I can track it down.
Hope it's not as "impartial" as their current
test on the LC200.
cheers
FollowupID:
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Reply By: Member - Hagar (SA) - Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 20:59
Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 20:59
Gone Bush, I am currently running D694 in 265/75 on LC100, came of my GU III, now done 100 000km+ with about 20 000km to go. Noisy as ....... but who can complain. Lots of bitumen travel and towing our camper, equally heaps of dirt as
well. Very happy and trust them in wet, dry and dirt still. Made in OZ as they are LT (an issue back then and still will be), next tyre choice will be exactly the same, so far damn good value.
Hagar
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Follow Up By: T-Ribby - Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 21:37
Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 21:37
I'll go along with that. I have D694 A/T's and they have served me
well in all conditions, on and off road for 30,000km - I don't find them that noisy. Customer service at Bridgestone has been excellent and I'll be back there for a new set if these ones ever wear out !. I also have a set of Simex Centipede 300i A/T. (now called Sime Alpina) these have a very square shoulder and give good grip in the wet.
cheers
T.R.
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Reply By: Steve from Top End Explorer Tours - Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 21:22
Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 21:22
I will put nothing but 693s on my car as they are the stronger Oz made tyre, I would not put a 694 near my car ever.
Cheers Steve.
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member - 'Lucy' - Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 22:59
Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 22:59
Steve
Could you tell me, from your point of view, what the difference is between the 693 and the 694.
And in considering your point of view ( whatever it is) why wouldn't you put a 694 on your vehicle.
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Follow Up By: Steve from Top End Explorer Tours - Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008 at 14:15
Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008 at 14:15
I have been using 693s on my cars for seven years and over 750000 km with 2 punctures and 1 blow out.
My dad put 694s on his then Navara and got 30000 out of them on the black stuff.
If you want to do a search you will find that I have posted about my experience with these tyres on many occasions on other threads relating to tyres.
So after doing over 750000 km on these tyres I would say that my point of view ( what ever it is ) is worth something.
Cheers Steve.
FollowupID:
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Reply By: jdwynn (Adelaide) - Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 21:43
Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 21:43
gone bush
There have been some informative posts on this subject in the past - would be worth checking those too, because I am doubtful about some of the info here (with respect). I am certain 693 no longer made now (chap in our club works at the Oz factory and talked about it). Similarly I am pretty sure 694 now made here.
My 694 LT's are Japanese made - initially I was worried about that knowing the jap 693's were rubbish. Remember also you could only get 693 LT's from Oz so again the comparisons being made here are suspect. You havent mentioned whether tyres you are looking at are LT's so be sure you're comparing apples with apples.
In terms of wear, performance, and no problems out bush (only use my 694's for trips) I can only be complimentary of
mine. The one thing I dont like about them is that they 'bag' a lot, which clearly exposes side walls.
best wishes
JD
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Dave from P7OFFROAD Accredited Driver Training - Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 21:55
Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 21:55
My understanding was that there were Australian made 694s available!
We have the on the Family Jeep Cherokee and have been very happy with them.
The company car has Dueler 673s
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Reply By: Gone Bush (WA) - Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 22:33
Sunday, Apr 06, 2008 at 22:33
OK I'm learning all the time.
The Bridgestone website has the letters LT after some tyres and not others.
It's not after any of the 17" tyres whether D693 or 4.
Can anyone explain the significance of LT (I know it stands for Light Truck)?
cheers
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: Member - bushfix - Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 08:01
Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 08:01
G'day,
as I understand it, LT spec tyres can be run at higher maximum pressures to take a heavier load. In addition, they are generally more
puncture resistant with thicker sidewalls and deeper tread, this in turn sacrficing ride comfort some may feel. The design and build results in more heat generation therefore the speed rating is generally lower than passenger tyres, although my 16 inch 693s are S rated (170km/h) which is good for an LT, but the load rating is at the lower end of an LT at 112 I believe. Incidentally, I read somewhere that although the 693 are two ply sidewalls as compared to the BFG A/T 3 ply, the plies are 1.5 times thicker than the BFG plies. Need to confirm that though.
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Follow Up By: splits - Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 10:36
Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 10:36
I have noticed you often see tyres marked LT when a similar size tyre is available in a more lightly constructed design. This was common in the 14 inch sizes that I used to use on a 2WD ute. The one marked LT was much heavier and had a higher load rating and would have given a lousy ride if you fitted them to the family
sedan.
The 03 Hilux that I bought last year still has the original factory fitted 694s on it. They had 42,000 on them when I bought the car and are now up to 53 with about 10 to 15 to go. That is with four of them. The spare is still brand new.
I won't buy them again for a couple of reasons. First they are noisy on the road and do a lot of slipping and sliding on mountain tracks but I suppose any AT tyre would do the same with a few ks on them.
The other reason is I have decided to use two sets of tyres. I bought a second set of wheels off Ebay and fitted them with mud tyres for occassional use only. They have made the world of difference on steep tracks both wet and dry. When the 694s wear out they will be replaced with HT tyres which will suit just about anywhere from the city to the Outback except steep mountains.
Brian
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Follow Up By: Krakka - Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008 at 19:22
Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008 at 19:22
Honestly, those HT tyres, any brand, are really only good for black top or sand driving. Why leave yourself compromised by not fitting a good AT tyre? Doesn't make sense to me. Unless you strictly use those tyres on blacktop.
Cheers Krakka
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Reply By: Richard W (NSW) - Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 05:56
Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 05:56
Gone Bush,
I had D694's on my 100 series and had plenty of issues. Ran correct pressures for the road conditions. My conclusion was that the cruiser was too heavy for them.
I have used D693's on a Pajero and they were OK.
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Holden4th - Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 06:44
Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 06:44
I had 693s on my old NK Pajero (235/15") and found that they wore out very quickly and were prone to punctures unless you were very careful. To get the best life out of them I had to constantly rotate them.
I have 694s on my NP and apart from getting a bit noisy as they get older, they have performed particularly
well in sand and dirt and are wearing
well at the moment. I've done about 30k on the current set without any really noticeable decrease in tyre depth. Only one
puncture in nearly 90,000 kms of driving over some quite extreme roads. I have to agree about the bagging though.
I don't know where either tyre was made.
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Member - Stephen L (SA) - Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 07:40
Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 07:40
Hi Gone Bush
The D694 on my Prado are Australian Made 265/65R17 and have a rating of 112S. Our local Bridgestone dealer said they are having very good
feedback in our area with people using these tyres.
Cheers
Stephen
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Axel [ the real one ] - Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 07:51
Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 07:51
Had the 694s on the 80series in 31"x10.5x15" ,,definitely NOT a LT construction tyre ,, great on road and sand and in the wet when new to 1/2 worn, pretty useless in mud ,, quiet / road noise is subjective [ my new Maxxis Bighorn are actually quieter in my opinion] got 45,000 out of the 694s with about 1/3 tread left.
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Reply By: Sand Man (SA) - Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 09:07
Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 09:07
I had a set of D694's (made in Japan) which gave me a lifespan of 75,000 k's.
When I chose to replace them, I liked the look of the D693 pattern better. I booked in to get the tyres done at a local Bridgestone Dealer and when I arrived, they told me the BS warehouse would not release any more of the 245/70R16's as they were being "kept" for emergency vehicles. (Rodeo's I assume).
I politely told the manager I would take my business elsewhere as I wanted the 693 pattern. After some ringing around, he found another dealer with a set and they were eventually installed a couple of days later.
Now, the information I was told by the dealer, was that the 693 pattern tyres (at least in the 245/70R16 size) were now only made in Japan and would no longer be imported to Oz.
The D694 pattern tyres were made in Australia for the Australian market and while they were supposed to be a good tyre, they had not been "proven in the field" at the time and thus the Emergency
services that used that size tyre wished to continue with the D693 pattern while it was available and until the D694 had been in use for a while longer.
I am getting a good run out of the D693's (like I did with the original D694's) but I just liked the look of the more "aggressive" tread pattern on the D693's.
This is about as accurate a report as I can give, as explained to me by the Bridgestone dealership and from my own experience.
The D693's are made in Japan and were to be no longer imported to Australia (again, at least in the 245/70R16 size)
The D694's are made in Australia for Australian use. I am unaware if they are also exported, or whether BS Japan also produce the 694 in the 245/70R16 size for use in other countries.
Oh and I was also advised that the tyre carcase is identical for both the 693 and 694. Only the tread compound and pattern differs.
As far as other tyre sizes go in both the 693 and 694 pattern, I have absolutely no idea at all:-))
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Reply By: Member -Signman - Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 10:46
Monday, Apr 07, 2008 at 10:46
From what I can ascertain..The Aussie 693 are a better compound than the Jap..
and in the 694 the Jap compound is better than the Aussie..
Go figure ???
When I wanted a set of Aussie 693s a couple of years back- they had to get them in from Japan !!!!!
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Follow Up By: Paul (WA) - Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008 at 12:39
Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008 at 12:39
Have 694 LTs on the 100 Series. Done approximately 35000 kms.
No punctures, wear
well, very quiet on the road, good in the wet, driven on a number of surfaces from sand to rocky bush tracks. Run 40 psi on the bitumen (as per Bridgestone recommendations) and vary pressures according to track conditions when off the bitumen.
I would definitely consider another set in the future
Regards,
Paul
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Reply By: Paul (WA) - Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008 at 12:41
Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008 at 12:41
Sorry, should have been a reply..............
Have 694 LTs on the 100 Series. Done approximately 35000 kms.
No punctures, wear
well, very quiet on the road, good in the wet, driven on a number of surfaces from sand to rocky bush tracks. Run 40 psi on the bitumen (as per Bridgestone recommendations) and vary pressures according to track conditions when off the bitumen.
I would definitely consider another set in the future.
Regards,
Paul
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Reply By: stocky - Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008 at 18:01
Tuesday, Apr 08, 2008 at 18:01
5 years of D693s and got my first flat last week - very happy :-)
Local bloke as D694's and while wearing
well get lots of "chips"
D693's can be Aussie or jap made -
check the sidewall
Not sure on the D694's yet
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Reply By: Member - Uncle Phil (TAS) - Wednesday, Apr 09, 2008 at 12:37
Wednesday, Apr 09, 2008 at 12:37
I have a set of D693 ( aussie made) on my bravo and have done 35000 ks with no problems. No great wear at this stage and should get eighty thousand plus out of them.
I would certainly recommend them as a all round on road off road tyre.
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Reply By: tukka - Monday, Apr 14, 2008 at 17:20
Monday, Apr 14, 2008 at 17:20
Have been running Bridgestones sinse day one mate and never ever had a problem with them as much as any other brand. I live inthe Kimberleys and we would have to have the worst bitumen roads in Australia and the
Gibb River Road is my favourite road, (not the entire thing just the fishing and camping spots close to
home) and i have only ever seen one flat tyre (due to following the
Grader doing its first cut through some pretty rough and demanding country and with over inflated tyres) which was on a mates car not
mine. All my mates have them and we easily get 80,000 - 90,000kms out of them and thats with regular bush driving. I dont like Coopers at all as i punctured 3 tyres in one day (Father in Laws Prado, whoops) on another dirt road which was as smooth as bitumen. And also in one weekend some other friends did 3 Goodyear Wranglers in one day and then another the next day on two seperate vehicles. Never ever have i ever been so happy with a certain brand of anything. Dont believe anything that Coopers say it cause believe me they are shocking tyres.
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