All Terrain tyres

Submitted: Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 10:02
ThreadID: 83566 Views:10860 Replies:13 FollowUps:14
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Hi All,

I'm looking for a new set of tyres for my D22 Navara and i'd like some recommendations. i want a good quality set of All terrains and dont mind spending a few bucks if i'm getting the good stuff!

Going into it, i figured Cooper ATR's were the best bet mainly due to the 90,000km warranty but the more i researched, the more 'get out' clauses i found in regards to their warranty. i also read a few reviews that were not overly re-assuring.

my next 2 choices were BF Goodrich AT's and Micket Thopmson baja AT 5-rib, but again found concerning reviews regarding handling on wet bitumen. people had commented on lacking of stopping power and sliding through intersections.... most concerning considering i'm about to be travelling with a new-born in the car.

i figure the best way to filter through the B/S reviews from people being paid to say what they say is to ask the good people of Exploroz for their opinions / experiences / preferences.

unfortunately, due to time constraints, i'd have to say i'm only an occasional off-roader but with the camper trailer sitting ready in the garage, i'm very keen to get out amongst it.

Any advice or recommendations would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks heaps

Jack
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Reply By: Ruffy-Dan - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 10:10

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 10:10
Pro comp.
Their American warranty surpasses Coopers, it's just not applicable in Australia, although it shows the quality of tyre.
I've found Pro comps to have the best puncture resistance and the Xtreme all terrains are one of the most tractive all terrains i have driven on.

Dan
AnswerID: 441335

Reply By: Nomad Navara - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 10:34

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 10:34
we have a 2004 d22 and recently fitted bridgestone 694 all terrain lighgt truick tryes to it for a 15k trip across nortern and central australia. 9k on dirt and gravel including the darling river run,savannah way,gibb river road,tanami track,plenaty and donoghue highways. we towed a campertrailer also fitted with same tyres and had only one puncture for the whole trip with them,and that was my own fualt for not lowering tyre pressures at the right time. they are also very quiet on the black top.excellent value for money.
AnswerID: 441339

Reply By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 10:41

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 10:41
Have done 60,000k on my set of BFG A/T's and havent slid anywhere even with a 2850kg van on the back.

Would suggest anyone who slid through an intersection would have done so no matter what brand they had on.

More due to stupid driving than the tyres.

My tyres arent worn out yet and most of the distance has been done towing the van.

Wouldnt hesitate to fit another set.

At the moment the garage is a good place for the trailer especially in QLD.

We live 3/4 hour north of Brisbane and all roads out are flooded today.



AnswerID: 441342

Follow Up By: Member - Jack - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 10:56

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 10:56
I'll second the BFG/ATs.Mine don't slip and slide. Mind you I also don't drive in such a way as to make them do that.

Jack
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Follow Up By: Jacko84 - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 11:09

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 11:09
i agree with the stupid driving Graham, if people just took it easy there wouldnt be too much of a problem...

Good luck with the weather, hope all this rain eases of for you soon and the caravan doesnt become a house boat :-)

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Follow Up By: Mick O - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 12:17

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 12:17
Jack.....MUNGO. (Sorry to bring back the trauma)

;-) Mick
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trip would doubtless be attended with much hardship.''
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Follow Up By: Madfisher - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:11

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:11
Got to disagree on this one. Some tyres will go hard if old in this situation they become very dangerous. I threw away two half worn hancocks because of this. Also if you have a long period with out rain you get oil and rubber build up which is also lethal.
Cheers Pete
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Follow Up By: Member - Graham H (QLD) - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:24

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:24
Its called driving to the conditions.

Coming from a place that it rains often I am appalled at the tailgating on wet roads that goes on here.
Also no one slows down and no matter how good your tyres are if you are travelling too fast or too close you are looking for trouble.

Wet weather slow down and keep you spacings

Always leave room to manouver around the ones in front if they stop unexpectedly.
Yes tyres over a certain age degenerate but not to the extent they lose grip all that much.

Modern tyres dont need to be aged like the ones when I was young and retain their life much better nowadays.


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Follow Up By: Kimba10 - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 14:02

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 14:02
I have had bfg's a/t's on 3 vehicles. 2 prados and 1 hilux, now the hilux was 2.8D so was no power house and I can say in the wet going through the bends where I live and Im talking with extreme care the back end would skip out so easily it wasnt funny, ok I no there was no real weight in the back except a 170L fresh water tank I kept full 9 out of 10. Both prados were/is fitted with them and the current prado is t/d the old one petrol, if the road is the slightest bit greay or when you have had just that sprinkle of rain enough to wet it, it is extremly easy for the prado to drift and Im talking with minimal throttle (not forgetting its also AWD), while they are a great tyre for off road, never had a punture and get easily 70thou of them (90 with the lux) and they have been aired down many a time for beach, rough rocky stuff, sharp shale, rutted roads etc they have been great but I certainly dont rate them for been great in the wet. Obviously like any body you slow down in the wet and drive to conditions. Any body that lives close to me is welcome to come and have a drive of mine on a wet day through the bends where I live and Im talking normal driving not excelerating trying to get them to slide or you will end up in the gutter. My neighbour few doors up has exactly same model prado except petrol and I have driven it a few times including in wet conditions coming home from been out and can be certain that his Yokohama Geolanders A/T's certainly hang on and grip better then myn and have even commented to him about their level of grip to mine. but he only uses his for towing onroad van so cant comment what they are like in the rough stuff. Obviously I drive to the conditions but I certainly take it easy in the rain. Regards Steve
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Follow Up By: Madfisher - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 19:23

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 19:23
Well those old hankooks where like driving on ball bearings in the wet. As Steve said their would slide out on round abouts at very low speeds.
Now the 694s are so good in the wet by comparsion I can travel faster in complete safty. I have done wet road braking tests(on very quite roads) and it is hard to get them to lock up.
My mate who has been driving for over 40 years is also complaining about his Cooper sts sliding out on wet roads. He loves them for paddock work, but it is the last set he will buy.He is also a very consertative driver.
Cheers Pete
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Reply By: Mick O - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 12:16

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 12:16
Jack,

Just to throw an entirely different thought…the way you’ve described your current needs, why don’t you have a look at some of the cheaper tyres such as Ironman, Hercules, General, Hero, Silverstone and the likes. I have a set of Ironman Electra LT65s on the Patrol as a “general” about town tyre. I’ve used them on dirt roads and tracks and found them to be excellent. I don’t use these for super tough and off track work but then that’s not what your after. As an everyday A/T tyre they more than meet the mark.

They are some good quality options out there and at a fraction of the cost of the big boys.

Heres a link to Chapel Corner Tyre who deal in a few. Have a look at some of the Ironman and Hercules products.

Cheers Mick
''We knew from the experience of well-known travelers that the
trip would doubtless be attended with much hardship.''
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Follow Up By: Member - Jack - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:19

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:19
: ) You don't mention Mungo and I shall remain quiet on Nissan chassis breaks.

Jack
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Follow Up By: Mick O - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:26

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:26
Ahhh the Navara, now that was going back. Damn alloy bullbars. Got me some extra time in Kununnurra though and that's good.
''We knew from the experience of well-known travelers that the
trip would doubtless be attended with much hardship.''
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Reply By: - mazcan - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 12:32

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 12:32
hi jacko 84

firstly you can skid through any intersection with any brand of tyres
depending on the attitude of the driver --- and/ or

due to the way you approach it fast full on the brakes

or instead a more controlled sensible manner and your not likely to ever skid

unless it is caused by oil and fuel leaks left there on rd from vehicles leaks while waiting for there chance to move on particuly if the rd is wet

bridgestone i have always found to have reliable casings with no failures in 5 sets but the tread never lasted that long

most of the bridgies were on new vehicles thats how i happened to have so many sets of them but my preferred tyre is bfg's

for bfg's a/t's however i did 48000ks around aus towing an 18ft van and then another 30th before selling the vehicle with still tread left on them with out as much as a puncture .
but after trying 2 sets of coopers i had trouble with both sets first set the tread lugs broke up and the next set the casings separated from the tread and in both instances coopers didn't want to know about it and wouldn't put them on a wheel barrow now
i'm now back on bfg's a/t's and extremely happy with them they are a very good tyre and would highly recommend them for what you intend doing
cheers and happy travels
AnswerID: 441351

Follow Up By: Ruffy-Dan - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 12:44

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 12:44
Coopers have a fantastic marketing department. That is all.

Dan
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Follow Up By: - mazcan - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:19

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:19
hi
you nailed itin one hit
yes there effective brainwash depot
cheers
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Reply By: MEMBER - Darian, SA - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 12:35

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 12:35
Not tyres again :-o)....... There are many makes/models that would you do you quite nicely seeing that you are a careful driver, but as you mentioned my current range of products ......
Just took a set of Cooper ATR's off my LC100 at 85.000k even though they had quite a bit of usable wear left - their appearance suggested they had reached their expiry date - overall, tiny cracks and chips throughout, plus one 40mm long sidewall crack (turned out to be outer skin only). I think they would easily have done 100,000k had I been a 'higher mileage' owner. While in the Alice, I bought a set of Cooper ST's - tread a little more aggressive than the ATR's (same $) and comparable to the specs of the BFG AT KO's - I've been on the BFG's for ages but the Coopers were a much better price in the Alice - I've got 5 BFG's on my offroad van and expect them to provide solid, safe service for quite some years. As for Cooper's so-called 'Warranty' ......... I've never bought it - never will.
AnswerID: 441352

Follow Up By: - mazcan - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:24

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:24
hi darian s.a
both my faulty set of coopers were st's the rubber compound would all be the same ?
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Follow Up By: MEMBER - Darian, SA - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 14:23

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 14:23
One can only go on info available (much of that questionable at best of course :-o).............. FAIK, the 'odd one out' Cooper compound is the ST-C... softer than all the others, to reduce chipping - and Cooper state that this will result in much reduced mileage for mainly sealed surface users - assuming the rough road users would expect very low mileage anyway, but with reduced failures. (same for the knobby STT too it seems). I took a gamble with the ST's in the Alice because a) The BFG's were $400 a pop - $345 for the ST's. b) The ATR's that had expired seemed to have such great mileage potential. c) The tech specs for the ST's and BFG's seem line-ball.
In the long run, $ for $, I'd stay with BFG's any day (yet to have a flat). This Cooper thing may one day be seen here as an experiment only :-o).
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FollowupID: 713396

Reply By: Madfisher - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:15

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:15
As a compromise tyre Bridgestone 694s are hard to beat. Not t5he longest lasting but very safe on wet roads, quite and surprising good in mud, and no puntures unlike the ATR rubbish on Sals nullarbor.
Cheers Pete
AnswerID: 441356

Reply By: Member - Lou S (WA) - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:55

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 13:55
Jacko84
I have just put a new set of Goodyear Wranglers -Silent Armour on my LC100 and they are very quiet on the road and handle the medium offroad stuff very well,they are expensive though .
AnswerID: 441366

Reply By: Flynnie - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 18:41

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 18:41
I went for a set of Bridgestone D694 LTs recently. As the area was awash with rain at the time I wanted good wet weather bitumen grip. They work well. In the drought (it was not so long ago) I would have got something else. It is still raining.

I had a skidding through intersection once. It was in my old car when it was very new. The then new tyres were very prone to aquaplaning - as I found out. Soon got some Bridgestone GRIDS and have been partial to Bridgestones ever since.

The way I figure it poor handing in the wet can get you killed. You won't get killed by having to change tyres a bit sooner. That said, I would prefer Toyo M/T when on tour.

Flynnie
AnswerID: 441407

Reply By: RobAck - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 19:59

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 19:59
As you say your are an occasional off-roader then a mud terrain is going to drive you may along with any aggressively treaded AT or LT.

We operate Goodyear Silent Armour and Bridgestone D694LT as our day to day tyres and I would happily recommend both without hesitation. Like all tyres pressure and driving to the conditions are imperatives.

Tyre wear is a fascinating discussion point. I don't care about it. I only care about the performance of the tyre for our operations and we stop using tyres at 60% worn as I would never travel the outback with tyres that worn as the risk of punctures increases to not acceptable at those levels.

The D694Lt's generally give us around 25-30,000km at 60% and the Silent Armours are still looking great after nearly 30,000km and keep surprising us. This is on vehicles used for tours, heavily loaded and towing as well as off-road training

Apart from those brands I suggest Toyo as an excellent option

Regards

RobA
AnswerID: 441416

Follow Up By: Off-track - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 22:10

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 22:10
Hang on a sec Rob, in one paragraph you said you didnt care about tyre wear then the next you praise the wear characteristics of Silent Armours.

I tend to agree with the ~60% idea but a tyre that wears better will still provide longer useage to get to that point...providing it is of similar performance from the outset.
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FollowupID: 713502

Reply By: Member - Sheepie (NSW) - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 21:55

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 21:55
Another vote for the D694LT's - I've had these on my D22 for over 30k and am quite happy with the wear. Ride is great on the black stuff, and am amazed at where they take me off the black stuff :)
AnswerID: 441428

Reply By: Mark Howlett - Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 23:36

Monday, Jan 10, 2011 at 23:36
Our Prado had BFG A/T on it when we bought it (don't know how old) and we added another 75,000km to them, including towing our Trak Shak, 2 kids and all the gear, for 6 months clicking up 25,000kms. Very impressed so went with them again on the Prado and I've just put them on my Triton too. We also have a 10km round trip on dirt to get to our joint, it's either dusty/loose in summer or wet/muddy in winter and they're great for this.

Mark.
AnswerID: 441437

Reply By: Jacko84 - Tuesday, Jan 11, 2011 at 21:24

Tuesday, Jan 11, 2011 at 21:24
Thanks all for the input - greatly appreciated!

much thinking to be done me thinks....

Happy travelling!

Jack
AnswerID: 441528

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