BF Muddies

Submitted: Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:14

ThreadID: 86195 Views:6001 Replies:13 FollowUps:8

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Kimba10

Hi all, I called in today to order some BF muddies for the prado, $374 each and at least a 3 month wait. 90 on order and only 23 been delivered in the first delivery with the others not far behind so will definately be more then 3 months I reckon. I also want to keep the same diameter tyres that it runs from the factory which is 265/65 17, but they can only supply 265/70 17, which is a bigger rolling diameter.I dont want the bigger size as firstly it will put my low range gearing out (worse off) speedo out by approx 6k (eg speedo will show 100 but Ill be doing 106) I can cope with that my main concern is low range and also extra fuel pushing bigger tyres round and also will have to buy a fifth tyre as been AWD 120 prado I was informed must all be exactly the same size also if I go a bigger tyres I wont be able to fit the cover over spare wheel on rear door. Does any one reccomend a good quality mud tyres that is as good as the BF's in side wall strengh etc and apparantly the BG muddies are supposidly the best on road as far as noise goes ( i no they will be noisier any mud tyre will be but some more then others) Heard some wranglers on a jeep the other day wholy hell they were noisy and that was with my window up. Any help appreciated, dont want to wait 3 months or more but am after quality. (one tyre Im not interested in is the coopers) Dont want to start a war over coopers virsus BF's like nissan or toyota. I am also running a seperate set of steel rims for the muddies and keeping the alloys with road tyres for around town.................Regards Steve

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Reply By: Kimba10 - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:22

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:22

Just found this from doing a search, which straight away will make my vehicle ilegal if I run the bigger tyre size, nice of Bob Jane to inform me of this, NOT. !!!!!!

Only about 27mm difference, but the maximum allowable by the RTA is 15mm...

265/65/17 BFG A/T are 30.7" OD
265/70/17 BFG A/T are 31.8" OD

AnswerID: 453870

Reply By: Member - Mark G Gulmarrad - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:22

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:22

Steve

this might help you with your tyre sizes Tyre size calculator

AnswerID: 453871

Follow Up By: Kimba10 - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:42

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:42

Cheers Mark, that will be extremly helpfull have kept in in favorites. Thankyou much appreciated. Regards Steve

FollowupID: 726696

Follow Up By: Member - Mark G Gulmarrad - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:50

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:50

Steve

i used it when i bought my Goodrich AT's........didnt want to change my tyre size as i tow the Jayco,cheers.

FollowupID: 726697

Follow Up By: ExplorOz - David & Michelle - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 21:22

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 21:22

Suprised that you did not find the ExplorOz Tyre Size Calculator you may want to put this in your bookmarks.

David (DM) & Michelle (MM)
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FollowupID: 726726

Follow Up By: Kimba10 - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 22:19

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 22:19

Hi David, Michelle, wasnt really looking for it to be honest, was only that Mark G put it out there that I realised it would be of some use to me. I also received a reply from explore telling me about the tyre chart as well. Thankyou Regards Steve

FollowupID: 726736

Reply By: Member - Duncs - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:23

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:23

Steve,

I would recommend the tyres I am using but you say you are not interested in Coopers.

I have had bad experiences with both Coopers (back in 1999) and BFG's (2003). I don't believe any tyre is immune.

My neighbour has just replaced a set of Goodyear MTR's after over 100.00km. He is not kind to his Troopie so I reckon carefully driven you woul improve on that.

Duncs

AnswerID: 453872

Reply By: Member - Tezza Qld - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:36

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:36

Hi Kimba

Had the same problem trying to get BFG's so bought Mickey Thompson MTZ'S

Although mine are an easy size 265/75/16 They seem ok at present.

Would I buy them again? yeah maybe . Might try Toyo's next depending on the travel planned for the 12 months ahead.

Whatever I buy they won't be Coopers

Cheers Teza

AnswerID: 453874

Follow Up By: Kimba10 - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 19:08

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 19:08

Funny I was talking tyres today at work and one bloke reckons the mickeys are the ant pants then the other bloke sitting at the table reckons they are the worst tyres he has ever had and will never buy again due to uneven wear, absolute crap in the wet, and ripping lugs off and numerous puntures, was getting quit heated at the table LOL all over tyres. Have heard also Toyo put out a good tyre but havnt read anywhere about peoples opinion of them good or bad ?? Will have to do plenty of googling tonight, mind you some times the more you read the more confusing it becomes LOL, was easier buying my house. Same as wranglers, some reckon the best ever while some reckon they would never purchase again (read a fair bit about them already tonight) due to extremely low wear rate, but the set I heard the other day on the Jeep were extremely noisey, I had a look at them beside me at the lights and still had heaps of tread on them and they say tyres get noisier when they get low, wow he will need ear plugs soon. Regards Steve

FollowupID: 726700

Follow Up By: Member - Tezza Qld - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 20:40

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 20:40

Yep some people get pretty opionated about their tyre selection. The MT's I've got at present are getting a bit noisy. I bought 6 and the two I removed from the rear after 16000 ks at about half worn. Now these tyres have done mostly off track work over shale and rock supporting the rear end of 3.7 tonne. Yes one lug was ripped off and I suffered one puncture. Can you blame the tyre? No way. My previous tyres were Khumo muddies but unfortunately in my size were only 8 ply. Out of 10 tyres , 6 suffered seperation issues. I don't blame the tyres as most of the work they did was off road or off track with low inflation and carrying a heavy load. They didnt chip and wore well. Very noisy when half worn though. Toyo MT's got quite a good wrap from Mick O on this site and because we carry similar weight and cover a lot of off track work I may well try these next.
As you well know tyre pressures play a large part in tyre noise , wear, wet weather handling, and make the shoulders work harder when deflated.
I think you have to look at your intended destinations and the vehicle weight
before you can decide what tyre may be right for you. My truck only gets driven for trips or tours and spends the rest of its life in the shed so a bit of tyre noise on the bituman does'nt bother me. It is also, as I said before 3.7tonne, and as there is 100 mm difference in width between the front and rear axle I may even go to a narrower tyre, say 235/85/16 for our next North Simpson adventure. Ahh will we ever find the perfect tyre ?

Good luck choosing

Cheers Teza

FollowupID: 726718

Reply By: Off-track - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:41

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:41

Try other tyre shops. Recently I shopped around for BFG AT's and was told by Bob Jane and a couple of others that there was no stocks in Oz. Bob Jane said they might be able to get me some in approx 6 weeks at the time. I ended up waiting just 1 week from another outlet (Tyreplus in this instance) who were also about $15 a hoop cheaper.

Search around.

AnswerID: 453876

Follow Up By: Kimba10 - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:57

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 18:57

Interesting point Off-track, he also told me there were none available even in the US ?? Will have to ring around tomorrow. Didnt think it was going to be such a pain trying to pick tyres LOL. I normally run BF A/T's on all previous 4wd's but thought as I am running second set of rims this time I would go muddies instead. Im up for road tyres very soon as well LOL but will just be running the grandtrecks for around town so no worries in sorting them out, missed out on some grandtreck road tyres the other day due to issues with couriers trying to transport them down from QLD but he has sold them now anyway, $250 for 4 of them with just under 17k on them. Regards Steve

FollowupID: 726698

Follow Up By: garrycol - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 20:28

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 20:28

I have been looking at BFGs as well - all dealers I spoke to said at least a 3 month wait - tyres are coming in but filling back orders only.

Tirerack in the US are showing stock though.

Garry

FollowupID: 726715

Reply By: Will 76 Series - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 21:58

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 21:58

Steve,

The Bridgestone 694 All Terrains are one of the most under-rated tyres on the market. I am on my second set as with a few my mates and they are good value for money and you certainly get your money's worth. They are effective in mud, sand and blacktop and very quiet.
I have not used the Bridgestones Mud Terrains but will look into these for the next changeover, perhaps others have comments.
Agree with the comment about the Coopers and would not go near them.
I have heard good things about the MT's but never had them myself.
Interesting about reading the comments for the Goodyear Wranglers Silent Armour's as have read good things about them, but sounds like the noise is an issue?
Good luck
Regards Will

AnswerID: 453904

Reply By: Member - Phil G (SA) - Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 22:31

Tuesday, May 10, 2011 at 22:31

I'm not aware of any Muddies available in 265/65R17.
If you decide to go for an A/T in that size, there are very few with LT construction - my preference would be the Bridgestone D694LT - a good solid tyre but they are not very aggressive.

Many Prado owners are comfortable with upsizing to 265/70R17 - sure its technically illegal, because you're a bit over the ridiculous 15mm thing, but nobody has ever been fined/sprung/banned for fitting that size. The differences are not quite as great as you suggest. If you are fitting a muddy in this size, it will be a heavier tyre, and it will cost you in fuel. If these are issues, then consider the D694LT.

AnswerID: 453907

Reply By: Member - Michael P (QLD) - Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 12:00

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 12:00

Kimba,
As BFG are owned by Michelin, go to a Michelin dealer You will have a better chance of getting the tyres sooner and possibly a couple of $s cheaper. Bob Jane would be buying throug a non regular supplier. Not being critical of Bob Jane outlets.
Mike.

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AnswerID: 453927

Reply By: Member - Bucky - Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 12:10

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 12:10

Steve
Those prices seem a little steep, given the fact that our $ is higher than ever.
Better to shop around
Cheers
Bucky

AnswerID: 453928

Reply By: Member - Matt M - Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 13:34

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 13:34

Hi Kimba,

Just been through a similar exercise for the Prado, although I was after A/Ts in the 265/70 17 size. Order times varied from 6 months to 6 weeks. Beaurepaires ended up getting them in 2 weeks.

As for price..holy cow! With current exchange rates it would be significantly less than half price if we lived in the US. Don't expect any break from a favourable exchange rate. Supply vs. demand I guess, and I understand the issues about supporting Australian businesses when there is only a few dollars difference, but if they were available on-line I wouldn't hesitate as the price difference would be about $1200 all up.

Best of luck with it.

Cheers,

Matt.

AnswerID: 453936

Reply By: andoland - Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 14:47

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 14:47

Steve,

I have a 150 series Prado and have 265/70 R17 BFG AT's on it. I can't make any comment on drop in performance as I had the dealer fit them from new. However I do know that they actually put my speedo spot-on, or perhaps 1km fast, i.e. at 100km indicated on the speedo is 99km on the GPS so this is a welcome benefit.

The spare tyre cover does fit on with this tyre size.

You have to make up your own mind on the legality issue.

I am actually chasing a 6th one as a second spare at the moment and got the standard response of 3-6 months wait but found a place that are expecting a batch in the next week or so.

Ando

AnswerID: 453954

Reply By: Kimba10 - Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 15:34

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 15:34

Hi All, after doing a bit of searching and asking questions the other way around it for me is to get some 16x7 off a 90 series prado then fit up 265/70/16 which will only be 2 mm bigger rolling diameter. Only problem is no one I know of has these fitted up to a 120 series and not sure where or how you work out the offset to make sure everything will be ok. The only other option is an engineers certificate to ok the bigger tyres. The bloke at the RTA said they are clamping down big time on 4wd's running bigger then legal tyres. ( I would presume this would be like patrols and cruisers running 35/37's etc) He said if I was to have an accident and it was noticed I was running bigger tyres then legal I probably would be up the creek without a paddle so to speak in regards to greenslip coverage and also possible charges if anyone was to be killed.....virtually saying my vehicle shoudnt be on the road as it doesnt comply.... Regards Steve

AnswerID: 453960

Reply By: Kimba10 - Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 18:00

Wednesday, May 11, 2011 at 18:00

Found out 16 inch rims will only fit by grinding the callipers slightly, that wont be happening..... Rang the NRMA who I am insured with and they said they go by the RTA rules so if I ran bigger tyres and out of there 15mm rolling diameter they would viod my insurance without fail was his words to me today. There must be a bleep load of 120's running 70 profile tyres and not technically legal on the road and also risking insurance. Rang engineer this afternoon and one of the things I would have to do is get the speedo calibrated to suit the new bigger tyres, I said well what about when I put the standard rims back on for around town ?? He wasnt sure on that one !!! Will ring a few tomorrow. What a load of crap just to go one size bigger in profile, told the RTA that the bigger tyres would be heaps better due to stronger side walls then the grandtrecks they put on from the factory and a whole heap less likely to puncture at higher speeds and with extra weight then standard tyres. There the set rules sir, up to you wether you follow then or not was the reply...............Regards steve

AnswerID: 453982