Bridgestone 694 question

Hi Johnny,
No noise from mine, they are on a Hilux. I run 32 all round unloaded and 32 front 40 rear loaded.
Regards
Scooby

They were my last set of tyres and were as quiet as HT's. Now have BFG's which are just as quiet.

No significant noise from mine (mine are LT's). There seems to be a bit of scrubbing noise when turning at low speed but assume that's just the fairly square AT pattern compared to the previous rounded HTs I had.

My 694 LTs in 245.70x16 are the quietest AT tyres I have ever had and much quieter than my last 60% worn BFG AT KOs.

Regards Philip A

Re pressures !!
Start with the vehicle recommendation then play from there.
When I fitted 693s to our Rodeo, it tended to understeer a bit. I played with pressures and got it set up veryy good.
Same with off- road. Try different setups. there can be no set rule for every vehicle/ conditions.

Hi Jonny I ran them on my hylux and on my landcruiser they are a quiet tyre and seem to be resonable as far as punctures go but I find they are are not a milage tyre I managed about 75 000 on the Hylux but I think 60000 will pull them up on the cruiser so I am looking for a better milage tyre at around the same value.

Johnny,

Make sure that the tyre you buy has a load index that matches or is higher than land rovers recommendation.
Does your car have a full size spare or just an inflation kit ? It would be worth having a matching spare so long as it fits in the spare tyre well.

Regards

John D - Defender 110 2.4

Hi Johnny,

I have the LT 245 on the Jackaroo and the tyre people said I can run up to 42psi they are quite and I run 40psi on them.


Geoff

Very quiet tyre, i did a trip around Oz with them in a Prado and they were very good. No noise at all and excellent in all conditions. Even on Tassies wet roads they felt safe as. I previously had the LT693 to these and prefer them but there nor available in my new size.

There is just one worry though, as the 693 and 694 Bridgestones used to be made in Australia and also i think japan, there was a difference in the compound. The Aussie made tyres lasted longer and were stronger, and an alround better tyre. The others were a little softer and didnt get as high a mileage. But now the Australian factory has closed down, im interested to see what the quality is like. BUT, im talking about up here in The Kimberley were its better to run a harder compound tyre due to heat and road construction. I used to go through 2 sets of tyres a year in my SS Commodore, Top Brand tyres too at $300 a pop back then. Changed to a harder compound and cheaper tyre and was getting 2 years out of them easy. Im extremely happy to get 60,000kms out of my 4wd tyres, as i replace them when they get done anyway, less chance of flats or blowouts. Plus more traction. Mates get 80,000 out of there LT693/LT694s. See people can get 100,000ks out of there tyres if they drive on bitumen, but i bet if they drove them offroad anywhere after 75,000 they would be 90% more vulnerable to getting flat tyres. I am offroad every weekend just about so the tyres get a good workout.

Thanks Everyone! Much help. The 694's are on sale for $239 right now, that's about $100 cheaper than say the Scorpions, which I've heard is a soft tyre.

Very quite tyre, I run them at 35 normal or 40 towing.
Cheers Pete

Hi Johnnie,

They are quiet as. I run them on my work vehicle (Pajero) and they are prob as good as the HT's on road. I run BFG at's on my Rodeo and consider them better then the 694's offroad(though not by much).

All in all they are a good tyre.

Cheers Wilko

Have just completed a 8500km trip on a brand new set of 694 L/T's on both gravel and bitumen and I can't say that I once noticed any road noise, so they must have been quiet and handled beautifuly to.

A year ago an engineer from Bridgestone was kind enough to send me the following information.
As to how noisy?
I can't tell the difference from the previous Cooper ATRs and depends what type of vehicle you drive.
I'm due for new tyres and I will be putting LT 694s on again.

Below text is from Bridgestone, the Table has got out of alignment, but you should be able to work it out. The tyre manufacturers don't recommend the low pressures most bush travellers use. However most bush travellers should not be driving at high speeds either, so probably explains how we get away with it.
.............................................................................................................

Inflation pressure will really depend on the weight each tyre has to support. I have included the table below for your reference:


LT265/65R17 116S

Size, load index, speed symbol

36Psi
44Psi
51Psi
54Psi
58Psi
65Psi


8PR
820kg
930kg
1030kg
1085kg
1140kg
1250kg




The table shows the minimum cold inflation pressure for the relevant load in kilograms per wheel. Please note that 36 Psi is the minimum inflation pressure for this tyre and Bridgestone does not recommend using a pressure lower than this even if the weight is lower than the weight listed above.



I would suggest using the relevant cold inflation pressure for each wheel according to weight for each tyre as a starting point and if required (changing dynamics e.g. sidewall flex, high speed etc) increasing in 1 -2 Psi increments but not exceeding 65Psi.

The damage that can result from running tyres below minimum recommendation is mainly heat related. When the tyres flex or over deflect past design limits the excess flex/deflection causes excess friction and heat which can break down the rubber components– but also causes stress to internal construction (steel belts and body ply) which can in a worse case fracture and break. Over flexing and over deflection can also cause damage to the bead area through heat and excess movement.



In some cases people may be using pressures 20 – 25% above the minimum cold inflation pressure required to carry the specific load – this can sometimes cause confusion. Due to heavier construction LT tyres generate more heat than a “passenger construction” tyre. Hence, for a given load LT tyres require more inflation pressure than a “passenger construction” tyre. For example:



The LT265/65R17 116S requires a minimum cold inflation pressure of 36 Psi to support 820kg per tyre.

The “passenger construction” 265/65R17 112S requires a minimum cold inflation pressure of 24Psi to support 825kg per tyre. 24 Psi being the minimum for the “passenger construction” 265/65R17 112S.



The main areas of Puncture resistance can be seen as:

The tyres construction strength – e.g. tread depth, under tread gauge, heavy steel belts, nylon cap layer. The D694 LT has heavy steel belts, Nylon cap layer, thick under tread and relatively deep tread depth (when new)

The other being the tyres ability to envelope the object as much as possible without the object penetrating through.

Altering driving to the conditions E.G. lowering speed on sharp rocks etc.

Hi, I own a 1998 Toyota Hi Lux and I have on a set of Bridgestone D693Lt. I've had them for about 5 years, and I have now travelled over 100,000 on them. There are a great all rounder and good in the wet. Unfortunitly they do not make these any more. Today I priced a set of six D694LT 265/70/16 at a price of $230each, and these are the last ones that are made in Australia. I will be buying these for sure. I'm about to travel around the top half of Australia for the next three months, so I hope they are as good as my D693LT set.
.
Has any one else have them on their 4wd, and if so what do you think of them.
.
Thanks
Dave.

I put a set of 694 LTs on about 18,000 ks ago. Certainly not noisy and although not been severely tested on any major scramble or pot-hole abuse, I am happy with them.

I run them at 40 psi around town and up the pressure to around 48 when towing.

I have just been around a few tyre dealers, including Bridgestone dealers and have got varying stories about the availability of 693 and 694 for my vehicle. One Bridgestone dealer said the 693 was made in Adelaide and is no longer available.
Another Bridgestone dealer said they were available and when I asked if they were made in Aus, he looked on the computer and said they were imported.
So, I have got the choice of 693 and 694 at the moment.
I also asked if the 693 was to be discontinued and in his opinion it would still be available.

Dave