Mud <span class="highlight">Tyres</span> On Sand versus road <span class="highlight">tyres</span> and A/T's

As far as tread goes, road tyre and AT will be best (muddies dig in rather than float over)

But as far as tyre construction goes, the ATR are likely to be LT's and therfore the choice

So ATR

Same as CSeaJay. The idea is to stay on top of the sand.

Those two 4WD were not identical. To start with the drivers were different and that can make a heap of a difference. Secondly were they in the same gears and engine revs.

Sounds like someone had a heavy foot. Try NOT to spin and you will get further also.

Phil

Kimba

One answer

Tyre pressure. The lower the pressure the longer the tyre profile on the sand.

Nothin to do with side lugs.

As a side line, if you can drive on Stockton the deserts are easy

Cheers

I have used muddies on Stockton and in the Simpson Desert and they were fine, but like any tyre you choose, you just need to find the right tyre pressures for your setup and that brand of tyre.
But as others have said an AT is probably a better way to go if that is the main terrain you want to travel on

The performance of A/T's & road tyres on sand is very similar. The greatest difference would be due to driver ability, weight, tyres size, gear selection & of course tyre pressure. If you look at the shape of dedicated sand tyres they have almost no side lug at all so doubt that was the reason your car went further on the day.
If looking at tyres for Fraser then any pattern will do as the sand there is generally very easy. I run mud tyres everywhere & even on extreme trips like the Madigan or Sandy Cape have not found them a disadvantage compared to others. Fit what ever pattern you think you'll need the most elsewhere.
Cheers Craig.........

I'm with the general trend of road tyres then AT's then muds as least capable on sand.

But there are other considerations Kimba.

Half of the many times we have been into places like the Simpson its the muddy clay pans not the sand thats the holdup.

In the at's BFGAT in particular are less capable than road tyres and a little below the average AT. However they are my tyre of choice.

The real danger out there is endless miles of gravel roads , where many have lunfortunately come to grie.

BFGAT work the best on that surface and for me its worth sacrificing the best sand performance for the best performance in the real danger area.

I have come to muddies through some experience of pushing vehicles through harsh outback conditions. My particular bent in respect to outback travel sees me hauling heavy loads over the worst of terrains. AT or muddies make no difference in sand IMHO. Regardless of the pattern, it all comes down to tyre pressures! and a bit of skill.Well that’s not exactly true, it does come down to the type of tyre as well which is why I’m not a fan of skinny MRF’s and split rims but that’s me. Others love them and so be it. The difference comes when you’re running your tyres at low pressures consistently in sand country. Here it’s not about the tread pattern and ALL ABOUT SIDEWALL CONSTRUCTION (I shouted that for effect!). Your BFG’s are nice as are your Coopers and your Bridgestones but I’ve seen them all destroyed simply because they’re butter-walled tyres (my description there). Run them low and you’ll get radial cracking simply because their sidewall construction and compound composition are not meant to handle reduced pressures on a consistent basis say in dealing with the constant sand of the Simpson or the relentless sand and corrugations of the Canning.

In my experience the Toyo Open Country M/T is the toughest bleep ing tyre of any nature when it comes to sidewall construction and therefore, load carrying and sand eating ability. Yep it’s a killer of a price tag but I’ll pay it every time for the simple piece of mind the donuts bring me when travelling. My puncture rates dropped phenominally when I shoed the new rig in Toyos. From 50 a week with an A/T of well known brand to one...yep, 1! That's nil/nada in my book!

Word of advice though, the Toyo Open Country M/T 315/75-R16’s are a sexy balloon type tyre, they drop to a “D” load rating (1300kgs per tyre) as opposed to the 285/75-R16’s which are an “E” rating (1700kgs per tyre). Analyse your neds.

Cheers Mick


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gooday Kimba & all :If you swapped drivers that might give you a better comparison .

But my question is what about the tyre width ? when i lived in NT the station owners would remove the wide tyres for std tyres .

Also I have read that in sand a wider tyre has to push more sand in front of it - like a wave in front of tyre - ? i juess thats at very low speed ?

So is there a right size tyre for the vehicles size /weight ?

Its my opinion that the taller the tyre the better , i have notice when travelling on beaches that it doesn't matter about the treads but the taller tyres don't bog as much I.E the lighter vehicles bogging more often with smaller wheels .

regards nick

Its all about contact patch not tread, the contact patch big enough so the wheels don't spin matter the tread. if the muddies spin in sand they are like a back hoe, dig big holes. If the sand tyres spin no big deal no holes, so the trick with either is to let m down enough, bit do your home work first try with 300 - 350mm of tread length before you go, both front and rear see if it works.

generally the 'muddies' need less pressure than A/T's as the side walls are 3 ply not 2 ply so stiffer. Tread lenght tells all. For me I use both, muddies for expedition vehicle, i like the tuff side walls and the grip dirt roads better, for towing, and in mud they are great, AT or similar for general run about, they last longer. Horses for Courses.