Outer Limits 4x4 Board

Gday fellow fourbieites,

I have now converted from the weekend warrior type of 4wding, to touring. I have bought myself an 1HD-T 80 Series cruiser with all the fruit. It came with BF Goodrich All Terrains in 33x12.5 (all 90% tread).

So now that I want to go touring (Cape York, Flinders, Vic High Country, etc), I'm unsure if these tyres will do the job in all conditions (even though the tyres I have are "All Terrain").

What tyres do you guys run for touring?
What size is preferrable for touring in a vehicle with 3" suspension and 2" body lift?

Cheers.

For touring I run GoodYear MTRs in 285/75-16 on a 4" lift Discovery2.

I picked that tyre because they had the strongest carcass, were smooth and the open tread pattern meant that I could holiday rather than winch. They also had silica tread compound and the noise isn't too bad.

Today the Cooper heavy carcass and the BFG KM2 carcass are probably the match of the MTR's carcass, but the new MTR with Kevlar has a stronger carcass again - something I would look for in a touring tyre. To me it would probably be a toss up between the BFG KM2 and the MTR with Kevlar - something I've been thinking about as my current MTR's are about 6 years old now (and still going well!) and I tend to think I would get the MTR with Kevlar next time around for the carcass, the silica compound and the tread pattern for a touring vehicle.

People drove Cape York, Flinders, Vic High Country, on BFG AT's for 20yrs.. never a problem. Yes there maybe better now, but there is nothing wrong with them.

I wouldnt consider changing them, specially since anything to replace them with will be $350-400ea.

bogged wrote:People drove Cape York, Flinders, Vic High Country, on BFG AT's for 20yrs.. never a problem. Yes there maybe better now, but there is nothing wrong with them.

I wouldnt consider changing them, specially since anything to replace them with will be $350-400ea.

Agreed. I have a set of Cooper STs in 285/75/16 on the curiser which are all 90-95% tread. Whilst i would love a set of new mud terrains I just can't justify the price when I have six tyres that are 95% that will do the job that I want for touring just fine.

Maybe next year I will get a second set of boots for weekend playing or something aswell.

Thanks bogged and T_Diesel for your honest input. Keeping my original BFG's will be considered.

I tend to agree with what's been posted.

BFG's have had a good reputation for many years, and it's hard to argue against them. However, as bogged noted, the market has evolved considerably in that time, and I don't believe the BFG A/Ts are the stand-out they once were. But, as noted, it's difficult to justify replacing near new BFGs for the work you're proposing.

I've had 31" S/Ts - very happy with them, excellent wear in my shorty. The set (of 6) was looking like it would go past 100k km when I sold them - for 285/75R16 MT/Rs (original style).

The MT/Rs were bought second hand (through Outers ) and worked well both on and off road. Issues were difficulty balancing (the two on the rear were never perfect, but the vibration would only show up on some road surfaces) and they wore faster than I would've liked. They were at 90% when I bought them, and down to about 60% after 15k km.

They were sold for some new STTs (current style - from the first shipment - thanks Ryano ), with which I've been very happy. They're now at about 40k km, maybe 50% worn, and I'm just starting to consider replacing them (while there's still enough tread to make them saleable )

Early considerations:
Cooper STTs (and possibly S/Ts, but I prefer the STT carcass)
New MT/R (for the carcass)
Mickey Thompson MTZ (but probably not)
Toyo Open Country M/T (price is )

Size: My shorty is engineered with 285/75R16, so I'll stick with them. My next 4wd will probably run 265/75R16, because I've heard that is the most common size of 16" 4wd tyre shipped to remote areas - so, if I need a tyre in a hurry, that's the size I'm most likely to be able to find (and it's the size which both my brother and my father run...)

I wouldn't choose to run 15" tyres; a 16" tyre with the same overall size typically has a much higher load rating, which I equate with being "tougher".

-Scott- wrote: I wouldn't choose to run 15" tyres; a 16" tyre with the same overall size typically has a much higher load rating, which I equate with being "tougher".

I couldn't agree more with that. After running 305/70/16s on my GQ and now 285/75/16s on the land cruiser, there is no way I would ever run a 15" rim for a 33" tyre ever again. The load rating and onroad handling from the bigger rim is boggedty billion times better than a 15" rim and worth every cent you pay for it it tyre size and rim size.

I'm also thinking that if eventually I get a set of play tyres for the cruiser in 35s, i'll move to a 17" rim aswell purely for the handling aspects as opposed to the smaller rims.

I have travelled through most of the areas you are talking about with bfg all terrains 33/12.5/15 on a landcruiser 75 series and had nothing but trouble (5 flat tyres on the Gibb River Road, Kimberleys)... I have since upgraded to Cooper ST's on the same vehicle and travelled to Cape York and other destinations - never had a flat tyre.
I now have STT's on my 100 series and have travelled the birdsville track, Strezleki track and lots more rough dirt, but I don't like them much cause they seem to chip alot more than the ST's. Doing these same tracks with me were some friends in a Pajero on Coopers... they had nothing but trouble and SEVERAL punctures. We worked out that their tyres were not LT's (light-truck tyres) so I don't know if my original set of BFG all terrains were LT's but I still steer friends away from them anyway. All I can say is make sure you have LT written on whatever tyre you buy - or have to go travelling with... oh - and have plenty of spares!!

I run 255/85 r16 BFG MT's as my all round use and trip tyres. They have done a lot of weekend trips, and extended ones to Cape York, Simpson Desert, NT etc etc and I havent had a single flat on this set.

When I replace them, I will go for the KM2's in the same size.

Rgds
Pete.

wardy wrote:I have travelled through most of the areas you are talking about with bfg all terrains 33/12.5/15 on a landcruiser 75 series and had nothing but trouble

$hit.....now im even more confused on what tyre to get. I was considering the BFG KM2's. More thought into this will be needed

Badass Bundy wrote:

wardy wrote:I have travelled through most of the areas you are talking about with bfg all terrains 33/12.5/15 on a landcruiser 75 series and had nothing but trouble

$hit.....now im even more confused on what tyre to get. I was considering the BFG KM2's. More thought into this will be needed

The BFG MT KM2 has a stronger carcass than the AT's

keep the BFG AT and with the money you save get some spares. They are an excellent tyre. 33's are a perfect touring tyre size.

Cris

Yeh I would keep the BFG's I rate them as a touring tyre and they last a damn long time too.

Badass Bundy wrote:

wardy wrote:I have travelled through most of the areas you are talking about with bfg all terrains 33/12.5/15 on a landcruiser 75 series and had nothing but trouble

$hit.....now im even more confused on what tyre to get. I was considering the BFG KM2's. More thought into this will be needed

Tyre threads are really really pointless. There are 182309423094+ variables as to why they are good on your truck, and shit on someone elses - even if they are the same truck...

Examples are:
tyre pressures
truck weight
driving style
road conditions on that particular trip
road temps on that trip
ambient
weather conditions
towing
loaded or not
axle weights front/rear
accessories on the truck
rim style
and the list goes on..

You will get 10000 opinions.
5000 will say "BEST TYRE EVER"...
5000 will say "WORST TYRE EVER"...

The bloke above never had a problem with ST's, others would never touch ANY coopers again, let alone ST's.

To me, your mind is already made up and your just waiting for someone to tell you to get KM2's. If thats the case then just go buy them. You will have no problems selling the AT's as they are highly sought after by Nomads and many others who know they are still a good tyre.

YMMV.

^ all true, although there are some tyres that get 99.9% good reviews.

But remember there is one really huge advantage to whatever tyres are already on your car, namely that it doesn't cost a cent to leave them there.

IMHO. Good A/Ts are adequate for virtually any touring conditions, you only really need more agressive tyres if you are going completely off the beaten track. Even then common sense would get you through.