need advice on best tyres for off roading

steve, this should be good. you will no doubt get a zillion replies. if you have the $ and room to store then leave what you have on for the road and get a set of 15" m/t when playing - as for brand - again if the $ are plentiful cooper are v good, bfg are v good, bridgestone are good, wrangler are ok and the list goes on. if you want only one set and don't wish to change wheels then a set of cooper or bfg or bridgestone a/t will be plenty good enough. work out how much will be around town on bitumen (don't kid yourself - it will only cost money in wasted tyres) and buy appropriately. Also don't get too down on your tyres if stuck in the mud - also a lot to do with technique and other stuff. maybe have a talk to other like minded / vehicle people (i know - that's why you wrote into here) and see what they are using. also m't tyres will 'flick' up heaps of stones, mud etc so be prepared for that. they are also noisier on the road but a 1985 tojo - just wind down the window and enjoy it. welcome to the off road fold. rgds

Hey Steve

My 1989 GXL 60 series Petrol has been shod with BF Goodrich All Terrains for the past 3 years.
Same tyres now with 50,000 on em and going strong. they are on my standard steel 15 inch rims and are 31x10.5's (whatever that is in the new scale). Never a prob in wet dry mud, slip a little on loose stuff in the corners (but what doesnt a little when you are doing 60ks on gravel)

Thought they were pricey at approx $220 3 years ago till we fitted Pirelli to my wifes commodore at $400 EACH!! But at least they dont slip EVER.

Steve,
I bought a old 81 LC ute about 12 months ago, it had a couple of brand new Goodyear MTR's on the front and some half worn Toyo's on the rear. After I'd ripped the sidewalls on one each of the brands and destroyed them I started thinking this not much fun. The MTRs had a 3 ply sidewall and the Toyos only two ply. I could remember when I was a kid on my uncle's property driving the old Landy everywhere & never destroying a tyre & started wondering why this was so. It was because the old cross ply tyres have about a 12 ply sidewall that makes them near to bullet proof compared to radials.
I bought a set of 7.50x16, 12 ply MRFs at $163 each & haven't buggered one of them yet. The old girl is a little less direct in the steering on the bitumen & they are pretty noisy but I can go truly off road now or to put it more precisely off track.
If I was just intending to be an "Aussie Adventurer" and stick to the bitumen and defined dirt tracks I'd probably stay with radials probably (quieter) but these crossplys take a lot of the worry out of going over true rough country full of stakes & sharp rocks. I haven't noticed any difference in the grip between them & the radials & even though they are narrower they are a larger diameter which may account for this. I live in Mt Isa and virtually any place of interest here requires a 4wd so I've given the crossplys a pretty good try out so far. Even getting up a bit of mud up here now.
Paul

In the Otways the best things are Caterpillar tracks...full stop...middle of the summer and you can still be up to your eyeballs down there in Mud!

As to tyres. I used to run 235-85's MT's on my '91 Maverick and they were brilliant in the mud, gave a bit more ground clearance than the 215/75's(?) that were standard on the 6" rims as well as a bit of extra width. They did sap a little power from the rig tho, but marginal.

Fat or thin depends on what your really doing, if you want to play lots in the mud it also depends on the type of Mud, if you want to drive across A Western District paddock to look at your cows then you may need some of the "float" characteristic that wider tyres provide, if its muddy track work then the wideness is not so important as you need to "bite" thru the mud and get under it to something bordering on solid ground to get some grip, so fat or thin muddies are horses for courses IMHO as they'll both shed the mud (i.e. self clean the tread so it doesnt turn into a huge muddy donut.

Mind you once down the Otways when I was being hauled out by the SES in a HUGE 4WD tractor the rear tractor tyres did this muddy donut trick right before my eyes going thru one mudhole.

At this juncture I will be trying Cooper ST's as my next tyres although I just read that someone was on Goodyear MTR's as the Coopers chipped badly, Jemima tells me that Coopers have solved this chipping problem. Ask Truckster about MTR's he's had them on the family wagon and should be able to give you a report.

All the best SteveLaterally Literal
Seriously Cerebral

IMHO... Every tyre is a compromise - just be realistic about how much time you spend in the mud etc?. If you have the time and money two sets are ideal. I have been using 265/75/16 bfg at ko's on my patrol and cant praise them enough as being an ALL terrain tyre having just completed 30,000 km from sydney to perth via cape york, gulf, grr etc etc. No complaints however with all the abuse they have now received i will not risk using them on a similar (often very remote) trip for fear of punctures etc.
They still have 70% tread but with so many scars, scrapes, chips etc and the fact that i have 5mm less tread as a buffer (10/15mm) from punctures I will be going for a set of thin 12ply truck tyres for my next expedition and future general use - they are cheap reliable and bullet proof - no good for mud, ok for rock and the same on sand except you have to use lower pressures because the side walls are so dam thick!!.
For weekend trips and general fun in mud etc I will eventually replace my current at's with mt's or something more extreme.

If you are talking whats best for the Otways
Its 16" Rims, Thin, deep tread, with Large Gaps.
If you really want to get some where bring your snow chains!!!.
The chains bite in to the clay and dont clog up.
It wasn't the Wye Track you got bogged on was it?
I was there 3 weeks ago and only just made it through.

I run 33 x 12.50 R15 mongrels on my L/C HJ60 ....
BEST TYRE I FOUND OFFROAD .... I THINK THE RRP IS $250-00
I RUN A 15 X 8 RIMS..

I THINK THERE IS STILL A SET FOR SALE IN THE TRADER(EXPLOROZ TRADER)