Bridgestone Dueller A/T D697

[FozzyMatt]

Has anyone tried these? I'm considering spending my tax return (or part thereof) on a new set of tyres, and I'm looking at the D694 and D697. Supposedly the D697 performs better offroad. Any thoughts?

 

[taza]

Ive used Dueler A/T 693 and know many vehicles with them on. They are ok, but not great in mud and don't have a long life span.

I didn't know there was a 697

If you look at the tyre thread on here that will give on an idea of what people are running and how they perform. Just search for it :ebiggrin:

Taza

 

[FozzyMatt]

Yeah i think the 697's are pretty new. They also don't come as high as the 694's, so they would probably sacrifice about 10mm of ground clearance.

 

[mr turbo]

Ive used Dueler A/T 693 and know many vehicles with them on. They are ok, but not great in mud ......

I've heard similar things too.

If you look at the tyre thread on here that will give on an idea of what people are running and how they perform.

Try this thread, there's heaps of info on what others are using & also what they think of them :iconwink:
What tyres are you running on?

Regards
Mr Turbo

 

[waggaclint]

Thought id bump us this thread as im currently in the market for some AT tyres and I've got a good price on the D697 compared to the other brands ive been looking at (yoko & coopers), I've read a few reviews of guys running them on bigger 4wds with good results..

So is anyone running these and what do ya think?

Cheers Clint

 

[thunder039]

I still think there is better out there.
I hear good things from the tyre shop about the toyo open country AT and the general grabber AT2

 

[NachaLuva]

I hate Crapstone with a passion!

OK grip to start with but they go very hard with age/wear so sure they last a long time but grip is very poor later in their life.

IMO Geolanders are a great compromise. Good onroad, good offroad with a factory puncture warranty. Only one member on here has had any problem with them, many others have em & are happy.

Coopers have a good reputation, a few members have General Grabbers & love em.

BFGs are great but way too expensive!

Also, I'd be careful comparing what the big 3ton 4WDs use...we have different requirements. If you want your Subie to still handle like a Subie, go for a tyre that has decent grip onroad with offroad capability.

Also, what are your requirements? 99% onroad with occasional offroad trips? Gravel, sand or serious tracks with rocks/mud? If you're after something with good onroad grip but dont do seriously difficult tracks, then I find it hard to go past the Geolanders :iconwink:

 

[Kevin]

There's a couple of cars in the club running them (and their previous versions) and they luv 'em.

 

[Sarge98]

I have them and absolutely love them! Think I've had them on for just under 30,000kms and haven't noticed much wear. Just a little on the sides which I think could be due to alignment.

Have used them in many situations and they haven't let me down yet! Been on a couple serious mud 4WD tracks and they got me through with ease as long as I avoided getting stuck in the ruts. I found a real muddy/rutted track in Esperance which I just had to have a crack at! Got through with no worries. I was going at a good pace, sometimes a little too much accelerator and the tyres would slip but would then ease off and they would gain traction again immediately (and that was with 35 psi haha). Made it through the first time and then decided to have another crack at it but was going to slow and got the wheels stuck in a rut so got bogged on the diffs. Was going sideways on the track at one point...:ebiggrin:

I've let them down to 12 psi on soft beaches with no problem and they got me out fine. I find especially on sand they excel. They don't bag out as much as other tyres though, which I find perhaps the only downfall of this tyre. On rocks they perform quite well with lower pressures of course.

At speed both on gravel and bitumen, I find I have good traction and also the noise wouldn't be that much greater than standard on the highway.

In saying all this though, I am going to try some Yokohoma AT's next as I like the 'look' of them. If I don't like them I will stick with the duelers as they are great. No chips in the tread I can find either and I have driven on plenty of country gravel roads, sharp rocky tracks etc.

BTW, I am running 205/70R15, 215's will probably be the go for the next set of tyres though.

 

[waggaclint]

I still think there is better out there.
I hear good things from the tyre shop about the toyo open country AT and the general grabber AT2

Yeah ive been looking at the Toyo's as well as ive had few sets of the road tyres on other cars and found them to be very good..

Not really interested in the Grabber as they are a bit to aggressive for what im looking for..

I hate Crapstone with a passion!

Also, I'd be careful comparing what the big 3ton 4WDs use...we have different requirements. If you want your Subie to still handle like a Subie, go for a tyre that has decent grip onroad with offroad capability.

Also, what are your requirements? 99% onroad with occasional offroad trips? Gravel, sand or serious tracks with rocks/mud? If you're after something with good onroad grip but dont do seriously difficult tracks, then I find it hard to go past the Geolanders :iconwink:

Yeah id be looking at more on-road with occasional off-road/sand bush track etc nothing to serious

There's a couple of cars in the club running them (and their previous versions) and they luv 'em.

Good to hear, ive read that the newer D697 has fixed the wear problems etc that the D694 has..

I have them and absolutely love them! Think I've had them on for just under 30,000kms and haven't noticed much wear. Just a little on the sides which I think could be due to alignment.

Have used them in many situations and they haven't let me down yet! Been on a couple serious mud 4WD tracks and they got me through with ease as long as I avoided getting stuck in the ruts. I found a real muddy/rutted track in Esperance which I just had to have a crack at! Got through with no worries. I was going at a good pace, sometimes a little too much accelerator and the tyres would slip but would then ease off and they would gain traction again immediately (and that was with 35 psi haha). Made it through the first time and then decided to have another crack at it but was going to slow and got the wheels stuck in a rut so got bogged on the diffs. Was going sideways on the track at one point...:ebiggrin:

I've let them down to 12 psi on soft beaches with no problem and they got me out fine. I find especially on sand they excel. They don't bag out as much as other tyres though, which I find perhaps the only downfall of this tyre. On rocks they perform quite well with lower pressures of course.

At speed both on gravel and bitumen, I find I have good traction and also the noise wouldn't be that much greater than standard on the highway.

In saying all this though, I am going to try some Yokohoma AT's next as I like the 'look' of them. If I don't like them I will stick with the duelers as they are great. No chips in the tread I can find either and I have driven on plenty of country gravel roads, sharp rocky tracks etc.

BTW, I am running 205/70R15, 215's will probably be the go for the next set of tyres though.

Good too hear mate, yeah ill be gettn mine in 215/70r16..

 

[thunder039]

Yeah ive been looking at the Toyo's as well as ive had few sets of the road tyres on other cars and found them to be very good..

my mate got about 80,000ks out of them on his hilux and took them off with still tread left. said they were very quiet and gripped very well