What size tyres do you run!!

[300bhp/ton]

Bit Geeky I know, but post up what size tyres you run on your 4x4. Make, tread and spec too!




___________________

I run two set of tyres:

-33.11.50R15 (measure about 34") Simex Jungle Trekker II
-235/85R16 (measure about 32") Bronco Dirt Devils

[anomaly]

31" 10.5R15 BFG All Terrains on my Cherokee

[Lionsden]

30 9.5 R15 Kuhmo KL71's

[schmalex]

235/85/R16 Insa Turbo Sahara's. They grip.

[normalbloke]

405/70/20.

[100SRV]

My Bowler now has (for over a year) 235/85 R 16 Kumho KL71, an excellent tyre for green laning.

[SmokinV8]

On my 90 265/75/16 Insa Turbo Special Tracks or when Im doing more road work 285/75/16 Pirelli Muds on rear and same size Fulda Tramp Tour (Couldnt get a spare fulda anywhere!)

[xPOW]

37s. 37/12.5/16s on LR Mods. Look great (but do stick out wheel arches a tiny bit) Maxxis Creepy Crawlers which have a great aggressive tread

[camel_landy]

I know it doesn't look as cool but have you tried narrower patterns??? The wide tyres are st on the road and don't give enough 'bite' off-road as you're getting too much floatation.

As a general all-rounder, 235/85R16 is the largest I'll go to on a Defender but most of the time I'll be running the XZL 750/16.

M

[camel_landy]

Oh and what's with all this "I'm a softy and only run road bias tyres."????

If you're doing a better job off-road with road based tyres, than someone with mud biased tyres... Who's the softie???



M

[pugwash4x4]

315/75 16 Cooper STT Muds

Far better on the road than the old BFG MT, but unfortunately and more importantly, nowhere near as good offroad (aaprt from in snow and ice where they are moderately better). also wear quicker too

[JimexPL]

235/85/16 Goodyear mt on the hybrid
235/85/16 kl71 on the series 3

[300bhp/ton]

camel_landy said:

I know it doesn't look as cool but have you tried narrower patterns??? The wide tyres are st on the road and don't give enough 'bite' off-road as you're getting too much floatation.

As a general all-rounder, 235/85R16 is the largest I'll go to on a Defender but most of the time I'll be running the XZL 750/16.

M

I think the wide vs narrow tread pattern debate will always rage. Different vehicles, drivers, terrain, weather and tread patterns will all dictate what works well.

All I can say is, my Disco ran smoother and handled better (on road) on the 33.11.50's (about 290/90) than it did on the 235/85's or the 31.10.50 BFG AT's I also sometimes run.

Off road I've not yet used a tyre that I feel has out performed the Simex's.

On this day:



My Disco was bar far and away running the biggest and widest tyres. It was also the only vehicle (of about 15) that didn't slide down these slopes. Some others where fine, but even after mine was driven by others, the general comments where how well it gripped and controlled speed. Even more impressive when you consider all the other vehicles where 90's or Series vehicles having a 300-500kg weight advantage.



BTW - don't you find 7.50's vary greatly in size? My Uncle has several sets, some are really narrow and some are wider than 235/85's.

[camel_landy]

Yep, in all forms of motorsport, tyre choice is always going to be about compromise… Off-roading is no different.

However, one thing I notice about a lot of drivers (over and above tyre choice) is the lack of training/ability!! There are a lot of people out there who ‘Bling’ up their cars, big lifts, big tyres, etc… and end up adapting the car’s ability to compensate for the lack of their own driving ability.

Anyway… I personally go for the narrow option, for several reasons:

• Conditions in this country are ‘predominantly’ a slimy top layer with a firm base. The narrow footprint allows the tyre to bite through the slime to the firm base.
• If I want a larger footprint, for driving on sand, snow, etc… I can ‘air-down’. (You can increase the footprint of a narrow tyre but you can’t decrease the footprint of a large tyre.)
• The Michelin XZL gives me the variety I need for my driving. It is a very strong tyre with an aggressive pattern which offers plenty of ‘bite’. The sidewalls give me the strength I need to protect from damage when running at low pressures.

FWIW – I have tried the Simex & I have to admit that I do like them as a tyre but I find them too specialized.

Across different manufacturers, the 7.50s will vary. I only use the Michelin XZL, so the sizing stays constant (The XZL 7.50 is more like a 215.)

M

[pugwash4x4]

camel_landy said:

• Conditions in this country are ‘predominantly’ a slimy top layer with a firm base. The narrow footprint allows the tyre to bite through the slime to the firm base.

its amazing how different people find offroading in the UK

Where "we" (being a group of challenge trucks) offroad tends to be very mulchy, with a lot of deep deep mud- very little slimy clay to cut through- alternatively its shale, rock and flint.

Firm narrow tyres aren't very good in these conditions- hence things like wide BFG MTs (the old ones), Simex ETs and boggers are the order of the day.

we do tend to get shown up in other parts of the country though. If you had the money you'd run more than one set of tyre, but that's lots of cash when you are spending £150-£200 per tyre!

this offroading malarky is interesting

[bigblock]

I use BFG A/T 325x60x15.
A lot of the terrain I have to cover contains peat bogs. These will swallow a vehicle up to its door handles quite easily and are best avoided. However sometimes this is not possible and the only technique for crossing short sections of them is to approach them at speed and hope you have sufficent momentum to take you across before you sink. Hence the reason for the extra wide tyres to help maintain flotation.

[xPOW]

camel_landy said:

There are a lot of people out there who ‘Bling’ up their cars, big lifts, big tyres, etc… and end up adapting the car’s ability to compensate for the lack of their own driving ability.

agreed

though some people just like the look

[camel_landy]

pugwash4x4 said:

its amazing how different people find offroading in the UK

Where "we" (being a group of challenge trucks) offroad tends to be very mulchy, with a lot of deep deep mud- very little slimy clay to cut through- alternatively its shale, rock and flint.

Firm narrow tyres aren't very good in these conditions- hence things like wide BFG MTs (the old ones), Simex ETs and boggers are the order of the day.

we do tend to get shown up in other parts of the country though. If you had the money you'd run more than one set of tyre, but that's lots of cash when you are spending £150-£200 per tyre!

this offroading malarky is interesting

Hence why I used the word 'predominantly'...

Yep, I have more than one set of tyres for each of my cars for that very reason.

M

[camel_landy]

bigblock said:

I use BFG A/T 325x60x15.
A lot of the terrain I have to cover contains peat bogs. These will swallow a vehicle up to its door handles quite easily and are best avoided. However sometimes this is not possible and the only technique for crossing short sections of them is to approach them at speed and hope you have sufficent momentum to take you across before you sink. Hence the reason for the extra wide tyres to help maintain flotation.

Yeah, so if you use a narrow tyre to cut through, you're going to be buggered.

You could also try a lighter car. Freelander is brilliant in those types of conditions.

M

[300bhp/ton]

camel_landy said:

Yep, in all forms of motorsport, tyre choice is always going to be about compromise… Off-roading is no different.

Totally, although in off roading it's probably more varied still. A single off road site can have several different terrain types to cope with, so there probably isn't a single ideal tyre. Even less so if you need to drive there and back on it too.

camel_landy said:

However, one thing I notice about a lot of drivers (over and above tyre choice) is the lack of training/ability!! There are a lot of people out there who ‘Bling’ up their cars, big lifts, big tyres, etc… and end up adapting the car’s ability to compensate for the lack of their own driving ability.

This is true of, well everything. Not just off roading or even motorsport. I don't think its wrong to make a vehicle more competitive or capable, at the end of the day, the vehicle still needs a driver to conquer the terrain, even if the driver isn't the best.

The issue comes more from people performing the wrong upgrades with the wrong expectations and not knowing why they are doing them.

camel_landy said:

Anyway… I personally go for the narrow option, for several reasons:

• Conditions in this country are ‘predominantly’ a slimy top layer with a firm base. The narrow footprint allows the tyre to bite through the slime to the firm base.

The country is small, but the terrain is highly varied as is the underlying Geology. I'd say this is more of a location thing, rather than a nation wide thing.

camel_landy said:

• If I want a larger footprint, for driving on sand, snow, etc… I can ‘air-down’. (You can increase the footprint of a narrow tyre but you can’t decrease the footprint of a large tyre.)

Well actually you can, you can 'air-up'. Same affect, just in reverse.

As for running lower pressures, that's fine if you can. But too low and you'll need bead lockers. Also some non specialist tyres don't like low pressures and can quickly suffer sidewall damage.

You also need a way to re-inflate them to go back out on the road. And lastly if you compete in off road events you are often limited to what tyre pressures you can run, e.g. the ALRC won't allow lower than 22psi for RTV type events.

camel_landy said:

• The Michelin XZL gives me the variety I need for my driving. It is a very strong tyre with an aggressive pattern which offers plenty of ‘bite’. The sidewalls give me the strength I need to protect from damage when running at low pressures.

Can you still get them?? Haven't seen them for years. Occasionally see some old XCL's in use still. I know there was huge hype about the XZL before launch.

camel_landy said:

FWIW – I have tried the Simex & I have to admit that I do like them as a tyre but I find them too specialized.

The Extreme Trekkers I suspect you are right.

I run these:


I've done over 20,000 miles on mine and they are still in fine shape. Some odd height lugs maybe, but I'll be honest I do like to B road bash with them.

The only issue I have with them is the price. They weren't exactly cheap.


As for narrower tyres, the main use I see where I live is for competition. Narrow tyres allow more lock and ultimately a smaller turning radius. This is good for RTV/CCV events. Although looking at most of the CCV guys at last years National Rally, a large percentage (as in most), now seem to be opting for bigger wider tyres. 265/75's Simex copies mostly.

camel_landy said:

Across different manufacturers, the 7.50s will vary. I only use the Michelin XZL, so the sizing stays constant (The XZL 7.50 is more like a 215.)

M

Yep they do vary.

These are also 7.50's, but put them next to a set of 235/85's and they 7.50's are wider and almost as tall.