Skinny Splits V Fat Tubless

i may be wrong but i would say its the total area of the footprint that counts

eg i have a 200 series with the standard wide tyres and on one beach i go to i cant get thru at 16psi, 14 is a push but 12 is very good. Looking at the length of the foot print at 16 it is a lot lot lot longer than that at 12psi...its a very much noticable difference

As No1 says, it's total footprint that counts. When a tyre is let down the footprint increases radially far more than axially.

Bigger issue is the availability of good tyres suitable for splits v availability of tubeless. There's far more choice in tubeless. Also tubeless are generally far better on the black stuff than splits.

Even if you go tubeless there's no need to go for big fat tyres. Plenty of slimmer ones around. In reality wide tyres are more about show than go.

Hi Dennis
I have run split rims on my landcruiser ute for years. I finally gave up. Yes they do work well off road and even on sand and can be relatively easier to change a flat. The problem is when they get a bit older you will get rust on the inside of the rim and small bits of rust will cut your tube and cause endless flat tyres. Another problems is they are often poorly balanced as a rim. Over the years I needed to replace a few and purchased second hand ones where I could find them. I soon found out the hilux ones are thinner than the full landcruiser ones and will mostly be alright but hit something hard and they bend. I may be wrong but that was the story told to me.

What makes the difference on sand is the rolling diametre of a tyre more than the width of a tyre. Wider tyres will tend to push a bow wave of sand that can slow you down on the beach. Taller tyres have a longer footprint and this is what counts more.

In general those ultra wide tyres only look good. They also are not very reliable in outback where they get lots of sidewall punctures.

What I did with my previous ute was to change over to sunraysia rims with only moderate tyres - actually the same tyres I had on the split rims - the widest that would fit on a split rim. When I first bought the sunraysia rims the tyre joint supplied these extra wide rims (without asking) 8inch I think - well within 2 months I had cracked 3 of those rims along one of the bends. Each one was replaced on warranty but after the 3rd one I demanded they take the whole lot back and replace them with either speedy or ROH ones that are only 71/2 inch wide (standard ???)

After that small hickup I had no problems. Flat tyres from rust cuts where a thing of the past. Sunraysia rims are reasonably cheap and you can get them in white or black.

Hope that helps a bit.

David

Oh yeah - I now have the new V8 ute that comes with mags - but at $1000 each you might give that a miss.

Hi Dennis.
I think the best combination is 6" sunraysia wheels with 235/85 X 16 BFG A/T's (or similar). They have the same rolling circumference as the 7.50 X 16 splits but when deflated to say 16-18 psi for sand push a narrower bow wave of sand ahead which you have to constantly climb over. That is, the footprint is much longer than wide.
However having said all that I still made the mistake of buying 7" wheels and am stuck with 267/75X16 A/T's. One day I will swap wheels and tyres with someone who wants it my way.
Good luck,
Ian

Dennis, if you excpect to get 3 flats a day, stay with the splits.
If you expect to get one flat a year, go tubeless.

We tour 8 months a year on all sorts of terrain with tubeless tyres. Over 5 years and 130,000km, I have staked 4 tyres. All have been plugged on the spot and patched internally later when convenient. So far they have all been worn out when replaced.

Margaret once pulled both front tubeless tyres off their rims on our F350 and slide-on while trying to climb an 'impossible' sand dune with VERY low pressures, but I have never pulled a tyre of a rim on the OKA, ..... yet ... but splits would probably be better, or tubeless with bead locks.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 Motorhome

It is in my experience with sand driving - and I have done a bit of it, that skill is as important as tyre pressure. I once tried to teach a friend sand driving in a Disco and while he eventually "got it", it was obvious that to both of us that it skill and experience was the deciding factor - I could easily climb dunes in his vehicle and he couldn't.

Don't knock the big tyres too much - my Cruiser, albeit with 285s on rather than standard is quite capable with the right nut - sorry driver - behind the wheel, in fact I think it goes better on sand than the 5.8 litre V8 Range Rover that I had. And the Cruiser has bigger tyres.

It is true though that taller is better than wider - you get a far better footprint at a given tyre pressure.

viz

Up to a point wider tyres in my experience are slightly better in sand. Let down to the same pressure they will have a larger foot print which more than overcomes any additional build up of sand in front. Diff locks at times can be a disadvantage as traction on sand is not really a problem above 5 kph. I'd suggest any superiority between your car & the 100 is the V8 diesel & their lack of experience. A tubless wide tyre will always roll off the rim 1st but 16 to 18 PSI really isn't that low & have yet to see one come off in sand at those pressures. Maybe down below 10 PSI could cause some issues if going too hard. Tyre technology has moved on quite a bit over the past 30 years & quite possibly you should too ;-)

Cheers Craig...............

Just get a set of 16 x 8 steel wheels and a set of 265/75/R16 bf goodrich all terrains and a safety seal plug kit .

Thanks to all for your contribution - much appreciated.
Regards Dennis