At or MT what is better in high speed dirt?

[cookiemonster]

What do you guys think? Are aggressive AT patterns (like the BFG and Cooper) better in high speed dirt than MT patterns?

Looking at doing abit of off road racing, hence the question.

[-Scott-]

Some of the "rally" treads I've seen are almost like the classic motocross "knobby" tyres - so I reckon the more aggressive the better.

Having said that, I think some specialist mud patterns (Boggers, Claws) have little lateral grip, so an all-round performer like the BFG/MTR/STT may be a better choice.

But I drive pretty conservatively, so I can't speak from experience.

Cheers,

Scott

[meiamaro]

try "offroad racing australia.com.au"
good site.
For off roading muds would bee a better bet,
as off roading needs abit more aggression to allow for diffrent and
rutted terrain,as apposed to rally style of road with its hard
packed fine gravel.
In say that,we could almost brake just as hard on gravel as if you
on bitumen,with the good tyres?

Cheers Ian.

[Ryano]

http://www.mickeythompsontires.com.au/t ... belted.htm

Cheers,
Ryano

[ISUZUROVER]

You can see from the site Ryano posted that there is a huge variation with terrain. 4 is like an AT whereas 1 is getting near some of the less aggressive MTs.

There is even a wider variation for rally tyres depending on terrain. Hard packed gravel, loose gravel, dirt, sand...

[BJ40 3B]

Just for reference, on the Dakar, almost everyone uses BF MT's.... and they drive fast, over every type of terrain: very soft sand and very hard terrain with lots of stones on the ground!

[Goatse.AJ]

As an all-rounder at speed on dirt the muddy will nearly always crap on the AT.

Having said that, I had a set of Desert Duellers (got 'em cheap) on my Lada (got it cheap) years ago and they were fantastic when driven REALLY hard, but REALLY scary when not pushing hard.

Go the muddies, you won't be disappointed.

[mabsydney]

As an all-rounder at speed on dirt the muddy will nearly always crap on the AT.

Having said that, I had a set of Desert Duellers (got 'em cheap) on my Lada (got it cheap) years ago and they were fantastic when driven REALLY hard, but REALLY scary when not pushing hard.

Go the muddies, you won't be disappointed.

A Lada goes HARD???

[Jeeps]

Although i'd hardly consider them a mud terrain my MTR's perform better than any AT tyre on high speed dirt. My BFG AT's were no comparison.

[ROCKRASH]

CookieMonster.
have used a set of MTR's for the last four years. The tyres have covered about 30000klms of mainly high speed (80kph) dirt fitted to a 79series. The ute is set up as a tourer and tows an offroad camper. All up the combo weighs 4200kg. The MTR's bite hard on firm gravel and firmly packed sandy loam. Since going to the MTR have never had a puncture or sidewall stake but have noticed that they have started to chip and cut. In my mind the MTR's are a mile in front for what i do. Can't say that i have noticed much of a difference in mud or soft sand comared to previous tyres i have used (BFG) The tyres are exposed to mainly cape york/ kimberly/ outback QLD roads. Would not even consider an AT for high speed gravel unless your bitumen transport stage klms far outweighed your race stages. Even then i don't know.

[sudso]

Defintely not JT's

That said, I agree with the others: Muddys, but not with too tall a sidewalls if your'e going high speed around corners, which I suspect you will

[blurredvision]

The choice would be between either BFG's.
When you go to an offroad race and most of the field are using them, their is a reason for this. Track record proves this.
Depending on the surface the choice would be if it is a bit loose go the MT, but otherwise go the AT to reduce the chance of a rock puncturing a tyre between the grip.
As far as overseas offroad racing goes (Dakar, Baja1000) they use a BFG Project, which has a kevlar sidewall and is tough as. I'm guessing that these are not in the price range though.

[cookiemonster]

Thanks for the feedback guys!