Road Tyre vs A/T Tyre Off Road

yup - they seem to be the best value performance oriented tyre in the right size around..


Tyre manufacturer's are odd - I looked for Yoko C-drives, which I had a couple of changes back; they were great. Don't make them in my size any more. Same with most other manufacturers.. they want to sell you an eco &/or low-noise tyre
 
they want to sell you an eco &/or low-noise tyre

Probably better margins, because most of those are crap from my experience.
I'm putting RE003s back on my SVX (although it does have two almost new ones on the front already). I've heard they do well off road. :twisted:
 
depends what you call off road driving. some sand driving just air down street tires and go on sand a little. mud not so much. rock another different matter, so it depends. for your area who knows what you have there.
 
I'm putting RE003s back on my SVX (although it does have two almost new ones on the front already). I've heard they do well off road. :twisted:

You used the wrong smilie, you shaould have used this one... :raspberry::rotfl:

If you ever plan on taking the SVX offroad on the muddy tracks you get up there, RE003s are the absolute worst possible tyre you could choose. There are videos of a Subaru with a brilliant driveline having no grip because of them, incl one where another Subaru with totally stock driveline & ATs made it through easy as you please
 
If you ever plan on taking the SVX offroad on the muddy tracks you get up there, RE003s are the absolute worst possible tyre you could choose. There are videos of a Subaru with a brilliant driveline having no grip because of them, incl one where another Subaru with totally stock driveline & ATs made it through easy as you please

THe RE003s are to pass roadworthy. the price is comparable to cheapies', so why not get something a bit better.

Once I've worn them down a bit (should be a lot of fun), I'm looking at a D697 (again price is a key factor) in 235/60/16 100H as they are rated a bit higher for speed. Not as high as they should be, but I haven't seen an A/t tyre with a ZR rating. :raspberry:
 
I haven’t seen the video Matt refers to, but I have seen as I have said before where those on all terrain tyres were stuck and me on my RE002’s got through the mud first time, even with a trailer
 
The RE003s are a brilliant road tyre. I have them on the SH and also fitted them to my elderly mothers sport car which I baby sit. They are like a slick and very sticky. Unfortunately the fuel consumption is not at good with them. Ok on made gravel roads but not on unmade roads or tracks.
My neighbour has a different experience having replaced 3 out of 4 in the 12 months since getting them due to sidewall failure.
 
Well, AT tires are not going to make a big difference in mud. But we have covered the topic 100 times already.

In fairness to Rally, we use performance Nitto 420S tires on the Tribeca. They stick like glue and are tough as nails. In fact, the tread area has more plies (6) than my tough P-metric Wildpeak AT3Ws (5). Now, the Wildpeaks have the same sidewall protectors as the toughest E-load AT tires whereas the 420s are completely bold. And the Wildpeaks have mighty tread blocks with the 420S looking like rally tires in comparison. The 420s would have mediocre grip in most off-road terrain (except pure sand or mud which equalize most tires) but there is no question about them being tough. We have not had a puncture on road. They may be the only road tires we have had that have not been punctured around town.

I can see how if you stick to maintained dirt, sand, and occasional mud a performance tire may seem like the best thing overall. But that's not what we do offroad. We need tread blocks and voids that allow the tires to bite loose in different ways terrain with lots of rocks of all sizes and also tires that have strong enough sidewalls to be trusted in the rocks.

And again, the entire debate started because -- if I recall correctly :) -- Rally pitched his claim as a generally valid one instead of something that applies to a specific driver, specific tire, and a specific car.

For most folks, picking a random AT tire is a much better choice than picking a random street tire. If you are as deeply into tires as some of us have become :), then you may find a way to go against the grain and be happy.
 
its enough to look of videos what tires people using off road. not need debate there at all about that. other thing depends where you live and on what ground you drive. there is nothing VS about those tires. AT tires are AT tires. i use them now in winter on snow and they doing fine.
 
It’s over a year since I first posted this thread and I still believe what I wrote then was correct. Since then, I have bought the Ranger and fitted all terrain tyres of LT construction to it. I haven’t driven in the rain since then. Nor have I taken it off road.

I drive the Ranger totally differently to the Forrie. In the Ford, I just cruise along as this seems to suit the car best. I certainly don’t attack corners or go deep under brakes. I don’t gun it off the line or drive it in any form of spirited driving. It’s not that sort of car.

While the Forrie is no wrx, it’s a car you can really enjoy driving on the road. Here’s a car you can embarrass guys on bikes through twisty corners. Or embarrass the odd V8 driver. Then go off road, air down and embarrass all the other Forries on all terrain tyres.

I appreciate better now though that not everyone wants to have a car that can be enjoyed on road through corners. That there are Forester owners who drive their Forrie the way I drive the Ranger. In which case the all terrain tyre, as long as you don’t get punctures like I used to, isn’t the worst thing you could do to your car.
 
its enough to look of videos what tires people using off road. not need debate there at all about that.

Exactly, as far as I'm concerned, there's no debate. Road tyres are the best for onroad, offroad tyres are the best for offroad. It's like debating whether the earth is round vs flat or if gravity exists lol. Kind of a well duh moment :rotfl:
 
Indeed! But the gem in the pile is the idea that performance tires are actually pretty tough.

The rest, yeah, we have covered multiple times.

Btw, I also do not drive the 4Runner like I did the OB or still on occasion drive the TB. I drive it like a limo.
 
and depends where you live. australia off road tracks not same as russian ones. totaly different tires and even cars and mods needed for those areas. rock climbing again you could do on street tires if dry . best tires are those that fits to your area and your roads that you drive best and gives optimal traction same time being strong enough so you could bang them hard and feel safe to do so.
in the end good AT tires will work on almost anything ,where road ones wont. my tires will go from mud to snow, rain to sand in all 4 seasons from -20 to +40 celsious and i dont need to worry about that. they wont be perfect in all that , but good enough sure. road tires is just road tires. as name says.
 
Exactly, as far as I'm concerned, there's no debate. Road tyres are the best for onroad, offroad tyres are the best for offroad. It's like debating whether the earth is round vs flat or if gravity exists lol. Kind of a well duh moment :rotfl:

Just saying, you don't see a mountain biker with Road Bike Tyres 🤷*♂️
 
Well, the proof of the pudding is in the eating. I can’t comment on Russian tracks as I haven’t been there. I know where I have been, and that on a well set up, well driven car the right road tyres will get you there and back. The marginal extra dirt grip offered by the all terrain tyres is more than offset by the far greater grip a road tyre has on road and the substantially better traction offered by decent diffs. Only this set up will allow you to fully capitalise on the inherent benefits of a Forester over just about every other off road car. Great on road, great off road, both environments exploiting the light weight of these cars. Why people insist on trying to make their small off road car into something it can never be by trying to make it a big off road car is beyond me. Jacking it up and putting oversized tyres negates the best things about a Forester. Still, I accept it’s everyone prerogative to do what they want to their car. Maybe I’m the only one in the off-road world who still wants a Subaru to drive like a Subaru.
 
The reasoning I use for AT vs. road is my car usage.

99% is on-road. 1% offroad.

Of the offroad, most would be well graded dirt roads.

High speeds, variable weather, dangerous situations -- all dominate on-road, not off.

Where should I compromise tyre performance?
 
Just saying, you don't see a mountain biker with Road Bike Tyres 🤷*♂️

Funny you should say that, I've got a dual suspension MTB with road slicks on it.

It's my urban assault machine, got a big front cog on it, goes like the clappers.:lildevil:
 
Back
Top