Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Got a spare few minutes so i thought i'd post a tyre topic!

This Tyre Topic is for members to post about Silverstone Xtreme. Post your thoughts on grip, noise, wear, airing down, or anything else you consider of interest to other members.

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I have 33"x10.5" on 15x7" rims Fitted to a Suzuki Sierra. They are a Bias tyre.

Off-road i have found them to be an excellent tyre, particularly on soft surfaces such as dirt and mud. On smaller rocks they are good, you can atually hear the lugs biting in, but on larger rocks, such as boulders sometimes it can be hard to get good traction. (although hardly ever a problem on a sierra with locker). Yet to test on soft sand. Mud is where they really shine. They have great side lugs too.

Basically, my Sierra is almost never stopped via a loss of tyre traction.

Airing-down - I run 8 psi off-road (with tubes) and there is virtually no bagging. Sidewalls seem very stiff. Don't have much tyre flex on rock. Probably would be better on a heavier vehicle.

On-road - Very noisy! They seem to handle very well for what they are, i really have no issue with on-road manners, wet or dry. I have a locked rear diff, and even in the wet it wont lose control/slide unless forced to. Also being such an agressive tyre, they dont chirp/squeal, or bounce around slow sharp corners with the locked diff like more conventional tread pattern tyres do.
Seem to have some vibration at high speed, but could just be my Sierra. Also looks like it took a fair bit of weight to balance.

When used on road the sharp edges of the lugs will wear to a more rounded shape. But it has actually made them a fair bit quieter since rounding off slightly..?

Sizing is also another issue. My 33" actually measure in at exactly 31.85".

Cost - I paid $260 each fitted (w/o tubes)

I would buy them again if i was on a budget, but if had a bit more cash to play with there are probably other better tyres on the market which suit a wider variety of terrains.

Pros - Off Road traction dirt/mud, price, side-lugs, look awesome

Cons - On-road sound, in-accurate sizing, grip on rock, vibration at high speed, hard to find stockist

Mike

Couldn't agree more with your review. I have the same tyres on my LWB sierra.
I find under compression braking the rear end is lighter with these tyres and more prone to lose traction that previous tyres I have used, however this is completely avoidable with a sensible driving style.

In mud, on rocks and regular loose trails though they really shine. The traction is better than any tyre I have previously use.

The lack of bagging is a downside. I run 10psi offroad and the sidewall flex at this pressure is zero. You can't see any visible bagging compared to road pressure.

This, combined with the aggressive pattern makes it a handful on the beach. The car is more prone to digging itself in, and the engine certainly loads up a lot more with these tyres, as now I always have a hill of sand being dug in front of each tyre. That being said, I have been unable to bog myself on the beach since fitting these. I always manage to find enough traction to dig myself out.

How do they compare to the Simex ET? I realise that the Silverstones cost significantly less, and most likely will perform to a lesser standard. I'm very keen on the Simexes, and an trying to find out how much of a performance difference there is between the brands with a view of cheaping out if it seems the Silverstones will meet my requirements.

Cheers,

Dave

TJ DAVE 18 wrote:How do they compare to the Simex ET? I realise that the Silverstones cost significantly less, and most likely will perform to a lesser standard. I'm very keen on the Simexes, and an trying to find out how much of a performance difference there is between the brands with a view of cheaping out if it seems the Silverstones will meet my requirements.

Cheers,

Dave

I just sold my Silverstone 33's and fitted Simex ET Centipedes in a 32"
The Silverstones were absolutely awesome on my LWB Sierra but the size was a little smaller than I wanted, thus the upgrade to the simex's.

I ran the Silverstones at 20psi on road and never more than 5psi, usually 3psi offroad with Staun beadlocks. I found they bagged very well and gripped just about anything but did struggle a bit on wet smooth rock.
Without beadlocks they grip so well that you can easily spin the rim in the tyre. TO GET THE BEST OUT OF THESE YOU NEED BEADLOCKS.

Funnily the Simex's (which I thought were a stiffer tyre) actually bag better at 5psi than the Silverstones did at 3psi.

They are almost identical tread pattern although the Silverstone has a protective bead of rubber between the large lugs to stop rocks cutting into the carcass that the Simex doesn't.
They are very close in price now too.... MT117 = $260 ..... Simex = $300
The biggest difference is that the 32" simex is 32.8"
I would quite happily buy the Silverstones again if they were a true 33" or slightly better.

Jas.

want33s wrote:I would quite happily buy the Silverstones again if they were a true 33" or slightly better.

Jas.

Aren't the 35s pretty close to a 33"?

Does anyone have exact sizing of the 35 Silverstone?

mike_nofx wrote:

want33s wrote:I would quite happily buy the Silverstones again if they were a true 33" or slightly better.

Jas.

Aren't the 35s pretty close to a 33"?

Does anyone have exact sizing of the 35 Silverstone?

My 35x11.5x15 Silverstones on 8" rims are just over 34 across the tyre.

I agree with your review, I had a terrible time balancing them and ended up having them match balanced as well as using Autobalance and they are now acceptable, not perfect.

I chose them as they are speed rated and were much cheaper than the simex's at the time, I was after a narrow aggressive 35 and while on paper they could be passed it was a gamble as to whether they would drive and stop satisfactorily to pass engineering.

Considering there an aggressive tyre they behave on road OK, they do squirm a bit under hard braking and cornering. Off road I have found 6psi suits my vehicle best

i am running the 35x10,5x16s and they are getting down a bit does anyone know if they can be regrooved?

Coogs wrote:i am running the 35x10,5x16s and they are getting down a bit does anyone know if they can be regrooved?

I doubt it but why not give it a try. If you bust through to the cords you can always break out the jigsaw and cut a few pairs of thongs out of it!

Jas.

Thats an awesome idea i will see how i go........

http://www.chagga-tours.com/images/shop ... _shoe3.jpg

Keep your eyes open for some extreme thongs for sale in the Misc items section

just use a wood router like the guy on here did with his simex, youll be right

Ive been running the 35x11.5x16 silverstones on a winch truck over here in NZ for just over a year now ,when new they measured 35 1/2 inch tall,there is approx 1" difference between the 15 and 16 " for some reason ,after a years running 3 comps ,many club runs and approx 2000 km on tar seal they have worn 3mm of the tread ,the outside lugs still have pretty good edges and seem to stay sharper and not tear of hunks like the same size in Simex i ran previously,as it happens i fitted up two new tyres today 35x11.5x16 on 16x8 beadlock rims and at 30 psi they measure 35 1/2 inches ,these are being run on a Nissan mwb tray back weighs appros 2.2 ton..

for some reason we cant get 35x11.5x16 over here in oz
i would love to run that size

Coogs wrote:for some reason we cant get 35x11.5x16 over here in oz
i would love to run that size

I have seen a set of 35X10.5x16!! Ive got 35x11.5x15.. bloody awesome tire!! But mine only measure around 34.4

get it up there wrote:

Coogs wrote:for some reason we cant get 35x11.5x16 over here in oz
i would love to run that size

I have seen a set of 35X10.5x16!! Ive got 35x11.5x15.. bloody awesome tire!! But mine only measure around 34.4

35x10.5-16 was available not 11.5 and it was a touch taller than the 15 and actually measured 9.5 wide from outside of each lug when mounted on an 8 inch rim at 35psi brand new. Awesome zook tyre i reckon. Still waiting on supply of new shipment of which there is no time line available from the importer.

How much would it cost to get the 35x11.5x16 landed here fron nz i wonder?
Would it be a viable option???

Coogs wrote:How much would it cost to get the 35x11.5x16 landed here fron nz i wonder?
Would it be a viable option???

bout the same as buying simex's.

Looks like I'm saving for simex's..........


P.S

Nice Rack Bogge'DD' :D

Has anyone got these recently?

Have the fixed the sizing for a 35x11.5x15?

I haven't run these for a while but I had Silverstone as a sponsor and they worked closely with myself and a few other guys they sponsored to develop these tires. I had the 35x10.5x16 on my GU winch challenge ute and ran them at outback and at the Xtreme International a couple of times. As stated above they are awesome in the mud and the softer compound on the tread gives much better grip on all surfaces compared to the simex. The things that I had problems with were:

Too small for a heavy full sized 4wd

Sidewall was too soft and was easily cut on first generation tire but fixed on later tires.

Terrible in soft sand. They just bite in far too well to be able to drive well on soft sand. Put a lot of strain on the running gear.

Things I really liked about them:

Awesome grip compare to a lot of others and on my truck they bagged up reasonbly well at 12psi. Grip was outstanding in the mud.

Fairly light compared to other tires the same or similar size.

High quality build and inexpensive for the type of tyre.

Would be suited for a small to medium sized 4wd much better than my GU comp truck.

I'd recommend Silverstone tires any day. They rate very well against the big brands they copy like BFG A/T and M/T tires as well in direct comparisons. Like I said I haven't run these for a couple of years so this isn't an add for these tires, just posting my experiences with them.