General Tyre / Tire Discussion

Rally

Rally

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Joined
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Sydney
Car Year
1999
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WRX
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6 Speed
50 series tyres offroad- I thought I was the only one silly enough to do that!:)
 
All else being equal, the longer they last, the less grip they have
 
Barry said:
Are they grippy or not?--------------------------------[/B]'Stick like poop to a bl@nket' - to quote a traditional Aus saying.
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I couldn't help it, I have to ask, does this mean they stick real good?
I know my dogs poop sticks real good to shoes, I have not tried it on a blanket.:rotfl:
 
Rally said:
All else being equal, the longer they last, the less grip they have
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The addition of silica to tyre compounds is a game changer. For a similar tyre type and use on my motorbike it added well over 50% to the life.

AFAIK the only AT tyre in suby sizes to have it is the Geolandar AT-S.
 
Indeed- which is why I said all else being equal

Sigmund said:
The addition of silica to tyre compounds is a game changer. For a similar tyre type and use on my motorbike it added well over 50% to the life.

AFAIK the only AT tyre in suby sizes to have it is the Geolandar AT-S.
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Rally said:
Indeed- which is why I said all else being equal
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Sure.

But silica in some compounds now means we are comparing oranges with apples.

To add to apples/apples data: with the Dueller AT 693 IIs on the Foz, they're now at about half the new tread depth after 38k km. That includes a fair amount of camper trailer towing, many k's around mountain blacktop and about 3k km of outback dirt roads (towing).
 
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Tyre/tire size limits in OZ

Have seen thread after thread about size of tyres/tires.

Here in OZ not all the states over the years have been consistent, however we have overriding rules at a federal level that the insurance mob refer back too (I doubt any of us would want to take the debate up with them if it goes wrong in an accident and are looking for coverage :twisted:)

The states have effectively given way over recent times to the common consistency based on the ADR Australian Design Rules, there is a document that defines the limits before needing certificates:

https://www.infrastructure.gov.au/roads/vehicle_regulation/bulletin/pdf/NCOP11_Section_LS_Tyres_Suspension_Steering_V2_1Jan_2011%20v3.pdf

This puts our modern subies and such, into the softroader category, if we like it or not - now where is that middle finger when you need it ...

In short (take a read for yourselves) is that:
No more than 15mm diameter increase on wheels (see section 4.2.4)
Or you are running illegal ( or at best in dubious territory )

As mentioned before, of course you can choose to debate, but when push comes to shove I doubt any of us would be wanting to take up a debate over interpretation and definitions with insurance companies and teams of lawyers.
The rules are pretty clear (at least in m mind :) )


As for other countries, best you check carefully, make sure you are not exposing yourself to liabilities. I would very surprised if our mates in the USA, UK do not have equivalent rules.

Not wanting to preach, but do take care in your choices/advice if lawyers get involved there are normally some nasty witch hunts undertaken, and it would not be healthy to have this great forum put under the microscope.
 
great right up. thanks for that. its great that you have given us an actual figure of 15mm in diameter.

this is actually one issue i did not think of when buying a subaru is tyre size, another reason why other soft roaders such as the grand vitara are better due to already having a larger tyre size stock.

i would say from this research some on this forum would be running an illegal size
 
Im pretty tired (pun?) but I got from that 15mm is allowable without certification. Does that mean 15mm+ could be approved with an engineers certificate? I, ahemm, may or may not be one of those members.
 
thunder039 said:
i would say from this research some on this forum would be running an illegal size
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Sssshhhhhh :rotfl:

stilson said:
Im pretty tired (pun?) but I got from that 15mm is allowable without certification. Does that mean 15mm+ could be approved with an engineers certificate?
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It does but some engineers may not want to. Admittedly it was many moons ago but I've had 14" wheels/tyres engineered on my old RX3

I, ahemm, may or may not be one of those members.
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Again...ssshhhhh :rotfl:
 
Yep tyres do tire, as did my digging around for details.

Notes of interest:

Yep you can get engineers certificates, as long as all the appropriate tests and checks and documentation are put through the appropriate authorities.

There was an actual listing in a separate document (can not locate currently on the web) that specified each make/model/year for which grouping it resides, that was where I got the final bit of confirmation that the foz was definitely in the softroader category, for ADR rulings.

Get my new AT/S set tomorrow arvo, will be a happy man again, old ones were a bit slippery on the snow a few weeks back.

Hope you all are a bit more certain about what the limits are going up in size.
 
Got my new set AT/S, running smoother and instant 5mm lift :rotfl:

Wahoo for extra tread.

As for being too tight to buy new snow chains, they are just as effective in the mud, use to use em on an old late 70's Honda accord to get down to some out the way surf beaches in NZ years ago, always fun to see hard core 4WD hilux wagons with muddies on looking at you sideways when coming up a muddy track:monkeydance:

Would recommend a pair to all those in the states less well endowed with snow

FYI I had to cough up $225 AU for each geolandar AT/S, stock size.

Expect to get 75,000km out of this set too, albeit was on the wear indicators on the set that just came off with 76,500km on them.
 
Douglas Ferrier said:
Got my new set AT/S, running smoother and instant 5mm lift :rotfl:

Wahoo for extra tread.

As for being too tight to buy new snow chains, they are just as effective in the mud, use to use em on an old late 70's Honda accord to get down to some out the way surf beaches in NZ years ago, always fun to see hard core 4WD hilux wagons with muddies on looking at you sideways when coming up a muddy track:monkeydance:

Would recommend a pair to all those in the states less well endowed with snow

FYI I had to cough up $225 AU for each geolandar AT/S, stock size.

Expect to get 75,000km out of this set too, albeit was on the wear indicators on the set that just came off with 76,500km on them.
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Nice. I'm up for new tyres but I only got 45,000km out of my Geolander AT-S. I'm not impressed! Probably going BFG's next so I get over 100,000km out of them :iconwink:
 
$225 was through Gob Jane T Mart

Was just under 3 years ago I got the other set, have been diligent in checking pressure and rotating.

Always would run them up to 38psi when loaded for long highway runs on the blacktop.

Keep in mind when going for longer life tyres, the tyres are subject to aging even if not being used, the rubber does go brittle over time and side walls weaken, hence the general rule of thumb I have often heard quoted, is to plan for max life of 5 years, have to say it seems real when I look at how dodgy the tyres on my trailer are now with lots of tread left and 8 years under them, but only 5,000 to 10,000km done.

How much are a set of BFG's going for?
 
thunder039 said:
$225 good price i got mine cost price through a work shop for 218.
what size bfg are you going taza?
im hoping to get 60,000 out of my geolanders up to 5,000
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I got 45,000km from my Geo AT-S which are 215/70r15. Stock size being 205/70r15. My new bfg's will be 215/75r15.

Douglas Ferrier said:
$225 was through Gob Jane T Mart

Was just under 3 years ago I got the other set, have been diligent in checking pressure and rotating.

Always would run them up to 38psi when loaded for long highway runs on the blacktop.

Keep in mind when going for longer life tyres, the tyres are subject to aging even if not being used, the rubber does go brittle over time and side walls weaken, hence the general rule of thumb I have often heard quoted, is to plan for max life of 5 years, have to say it seems real when I look at how dodgy the tyres on my trailer are now with lots of tread left and 8 years under them, but only 5,000 to 10,000km done.

How much are a set of BFG's going for?
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Just over $300 each. My geos were 225$ each before. I need 5 too so that's $1500 :(
 
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