Which tyres for 90% sand driving??

Post by **finners** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 5:52 am

I'm after some input on the most appropriate sand tyre for my Vitara.

I currently have 205/75/15's bridgestone HT's on the front & Kuhmo A/T's on the rear.

90% of my offroad driving will be on Stockton beach, which is notorious for soft sand, with the other 10% forest trails with hardly any mud driving.

I'm looking to chuck some 235/75/15's all round and are wondering what I should use???

I was all set to buy some AT's until I was talking to one of the local guys at Argy tyres and he recommended road tyres, as AT's will tend to dig into the sand more????

Road tyres???

AT's???

what do you guys think?

Post by **hdn177** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 6:19 am

I always thought that u needed a tyre that could be let down to a 20psi ish amount safely, and one that can dig through the soft sand to the harder stuff. i woulda thought a m/t would be the best.

In saying that a a/t probly be the best outa the 2 choices uve decided upon.

just my thoguhts

Post by **dibbz** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 6:33 am

I've seen plenty of road tyres dig holes in sand, it's not the tread its the driver :) AT's would be fine.

Post by **ronoor** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 7:34 am

road tyres are rated 90% sand 'unlike a mud 20%' but most important is pressure. cheers ron

Post by PK » Fri Oct 20, 2006 7:49 am

The problem with M/T's in the sand is that they act like shovels, digging you in when trying to start off.
For 90% sand, a road tyre is definitely the go, and if you ran it at about 15-18 psi, would be about the best you could get. (In my opinion)

Post by **mistaboz** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 9:44 am

Paddles

Post by **Hekta** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 9:49 am

hahah Fornton

If sand is all you want to drive road tyres will be fine. It's all about the pressure you run 'em on rather than the tread.

Post by **dirtyGQ** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 10:10 am

must be the driver because i run rings around at's on my muddies .

Post by **bogged** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 11:13 am

last 200 times this thread was done, there was no clear cut answer. with some swearing blind that claws, and swampers were better than HT/AT's

But one thing everyone agrees on is THE DRIVER AND HIS RIGHT FOOT AND PRESSURES...

We used to get further out Kurnell sandhills in a HT 186 3 on tree (light weight - no glass, or bonnet/boot etc) than dozens of people in 4wds used to.. yea local knowledge, but 10psi and knowing where to drive and not to drive (reading conditions) helped

Post by **Kempy** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 12:29 pm

yeah it doesnt matter what tyres you have on, when I did a 4x4 course for uni, we had a troopy with standard tyre on it, with full preasure it was useless in the sand but once we dropped the pressure down to 15 PSI we had no drama's getting around.

Cheers
Mick

Post by **dirtyGQ** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 3:58 pm

bogged wrote:last 200 times this thread was done, there was no clear cut answer. with some swearing blind that claws, and swampers were better than HT/AT's

But one thing everyone agrees on is THE DRIVER AND HIS RIGHT FOOT AND PRESSURES...

We used to get further out Kurnell sandhills in a HT 186 3 on tree (light weight - no glass, or bonnet/boot etc) than dozens of people in 4wds used to.. yea local knowledge, but 10psi and knowing where to drive and not to drive (reading conditions) helped

I agree there sand driving is easy when you air down rather than being a lazy hero ..

Post by **RockyF75** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 6:45 pm

My Bridgestone Dessert Duellers love the sand. IMO H/T's wont have enough 'bite', and I've been to stocko with 2 cruiser Utes, one with HT's and the other with muddies, and the muddies performed better where as the H/T's seemed to just gloss over the top of the sand an spin heaps without making the car go forward... YMMV and as mentioned its been done to death + each driver is different, but if i was doing alot of sand I'd be getting A/T's.

Post by **DIDZ** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 8:05 pm

Simex Jungle Trekker 2's - Ultimate Sand Tyre @ 8psi :-)

Post by **dirtyGQ** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 8:09 pm

thats more like it

Post by **mule75** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 8:11 pm

worn old style bfg muds!!!! unfortunately i'm finally out of em. but really it's all in the pressure. i run my tyres anywhere down to 6psi. only seem to peel tyres if i ask for it by doing something stupid.

Post by **HotFourOk** » Fri Oct 20, 2006 11:56 pm

My MTRs go really well on the beach....
When coasting along you can really feel them biting in and causing some resistance, but when you need to get up a dune or drive out of someone else's ruts, they are really good. I run them at 12psi and haven't got stuck yet

My mate also has worn BFG muds, and they worked a treat also.

I agree with smoother treads not biting into the sand... Although they will be great for coasting along the flat stuff, but on really soft stuff or dunes the chunkier treads will prevail... of course with the right driving

Post by **Jeeps** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 12:46 am

I do a fair bit of beach driving and i have run HT's for about a year and a half, then i ran BFG AT's for a year and a bit and now i've got MTR's.

I never got stuck on the HT's, it just powered on but often became a handful in sandy tracks and beach ruts but there was never any feeling of becoming stuck.

The AT's were great, they plugged along and made light work of the beach, but i got stuck towing a trailor once and they didn't flick enough of a rooster tail

The MTR's dig in if you give it too much when taking off but once you've got momentum, they're unstoppable. I've been stuck on an inland track at Fraser because i stopped then tried to take off on an incline.

Post by **dirtyGQ** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 9:27 am

i ran claws now i run kumho muds and both are great never been bogged on the beach except for wathumba creek on fraser.

Post by **HotFourOk** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 5:00 pm

Jeeps wrote: The MTR's dig in if you give it too much when taking off.

So do any type of tyres... HT will spin on the spot and dig down, whereas the MTR dig in a bit, but also propel you forward as the traction is good.

Post by **mule75** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 5:42 pm

if you've never been bogged you're not trying hard enough.

Post by **bastard** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 6:51 pm

44 inch boggers

Post by **Jeeps** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 9:28 pm

HotFourOk wrote:
Jeeps wrote: The MTR's dig in if you give it too much when taking off.
So do any type of tyres... HT will spin on the spot and dig down, whereas the MTR dig in a bit, but also propel you forward as the traction is good.

Agreed, but the MTR's don't take off as easily from a standstill as my HT's, but i have to admit i tried to pull out a pajero & trailor with my BFG AT's a few years ago and got no-where and then a Hilux with 35" MTR's turned up and managed to get it out.

Post by **sudso** » Sat Oct 21, 2006 11:03 pm

I've used Maxxis A/T's, BFG Muddies and Bridgestone Desert Duelers in some pretty soft sand (south east SA coastline) all on the same car and the Duelers were the best, so are tyres pressures adjusted according to the softness of the sand.

I always thought that u needed a tyre that could be let down to a 20psi ish amount safely, and one that can dig through the soft sand to the harder stuff. i woulda thought a m/t would be the best.

There usually aint harder stuff down lower in dunes and beaches to bite on. Just more soft sand.

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Which tyres for 90% sand driving??

Which tyres for 90% sand driving??

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