Scenario... would mud terrains have made a difference?

[Arif110]

Hi all,

Toyota Landcruiser 120-Series - slightly oversize tyres: 265/70 R17 - General Grabber AT2s.

Night before - rained a lot.

Situation - slight grassy incline - BUT - is muddy and the grass has been worn away.

Ground is pretty solid, and the tyres are not sinking at all - but filling with mud (not clay), and producing 'melted ice-cream' where the tyres are turning.

Tyres are smooth with mud - and car going nowhere.

The location looked innocuous enough from the cab - and I'm sure it would have been a non-event if the rain had only been slight.


Opinions please - would decent mud terrains have sorted this? Specifially - Cooper STTs (only thing that will fit, apart from KL71s)

P.s. at no point did I allow the wheels to turn faster than idle throttle, on Low-First.

[Sarge 4x4]

You may have been better off in high range and planting your foot, if you were able to, would spin out some of the "melted ice cream"

We have AT2's on my wife's 120, great tyres.

Andy.

[Arif110]

And I'm the first to recognise that the weakest link in the 'vehicle-stuck' equation is the driver/ability to read the terrain and juxtapose that with knowledge/assessment of tyre condition and type, among other things.

Andy - as much as I was inclined to try spinning, I was just too paranoid about losing the one advantage I still had - tyres were above ground-level!

Matt - I'd like to think that M/Ts would have sorted it. I was used to using BFG M/T KMs on my Defender when I had one - and having driven that for 8 years, my mind was still programmed to 'read' terrain risk in a similar way - not taking into account that I had A/T tyres on - but the ground did really loook quite innocuous! I think it would have been a non-event with M/Ts.

I'm sure if the mud was less sticky, it might've worked out okay.

That's swung it, though - will be using Cooper STTs for the next set.


P.s. I got out by way of a friendly, passing Landrover!

[JVaughan]

sometimes, even a Mud Tyre isnt enough ...

this week, I tried everything to climb out of a rut that was only 3" in depth, but extremely slippery and muddy (thanks to forestry comission land management vehicles). In the end, it was full lock and plow forward until enough resistance was infront of the vehicle to aide me in changing direction.

if the mud is sticky enough, and you cannot get the treads deep enough into the ground to get a purchase, your going to get stuck. (I run Diamond Back Mud Race tyres. Normally, these will and do tear up great chunks of earth to get grip)

[Arif110]

Ah - 'only 3 inches' - I came to learn a long time ago on The Ridgeway when I had the Landie shod in new M/Ts, navigating bone-dry ruts - that tyres have less to do with one's ability to get out of ruts - as against having diff lockers. With diff lockers - you can ride in and out of ruts with impunity - without - you need to to plough on and hope that there's a 'stop' somewhere ahead - because you might as well be on a rail-way! On paper, with theoretical good traction on all four corners, having locked diffs shouldn't make that much of a difference - but it's the unique dynamic of a rut that throws a vehicle without diff-lockers, IME.

[JVaughan]

Ahhh diff locks ...yes, unfortunatly the cost of fitting to the jimny actually exceeds the vehicles value ... i agree with you

[Arif110]

Ah - the Jimny! Often the butt of off-road humour - until people find out the fact that it only has 1mm less ground clearance than a Defender! Yes - even with standard wheels. Actually puts Defenders to shame.

[Lefty]

Probably, yes.

I can highly recommend KL71's. I had them on a Shogun a year or two back and they were superb in wet grass and mud. OK in thick snow, not so good on ice. And way better than BFG MT on the road (my pnl;y other M<T experience was with BFG MT).