Light truck tyres

NuZo, to go offroad effectively you need a tread other than HT. And to go offroad in sand or seriously rocky roads then LT comes into play as they're much stronger and will cope will sustained periods of lower pressure with less risk of sidewall gashes.

The downside of LT, and AT to a lesser degree, is a harsher ride and more road noise.

The OP was about roads with sharp rocks. It's not uncommon for folk to get two punctures on one leg in the outback and a puncture guarantee is useless out there.
 
The other downside of LT tyres is they have stiffer sidewalls so dont bag out as well when you air down, which reduces their effectiveness offroad, esp on sand.

Another option is getting 14" rims, you will have a much better choice of tyres...
 
Not my experience. They bag out just fine. I recently drove up "Little Red" dune outside of Birdsville easy peasy at 20 PSI.

There were a bunch of 'proper' 4bies at the bottom who weren't willing to tackle it.
 
Sigmund said:
NuZo, to go offroad effectively you need a tread other than HT. And to go offroad in sand or seriously rocky roads then LT comes into play as they're much stronger and will cope will sustained periods of lower pressure with less risk of sidewall gashes.

The downside of LT, and AT to a lesser degree, is a harsher ride and more road noise.

The OP was about roads with sharp rocks. It's not uncommon for folk to get two punctures on one leg in the outback and a puncture guarantee is useless out there.
Click to expand...


What exactly is HT Tread?

EDIT:

Highway Terrain, gotta love google :D

if you head over here, you can see which two tyres i am trying to choose. so far it looks like im heading towards UE-168's because they actually come in my normal tyres size(175/70/r13)

https://offroadsubarus.com/showthread.php?t=3817


Cheers,

Nuzo
 
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Highway Tread.

Down here in Vic the only legal All Terrain tread (AT) for the MY08 and previous is the Geo AT. Good tyre by all accounts but passenger construction, not Light Truck, so not the best option for outback roads.

I use Bridgie Duellers, AT. D693 and the new D697. The second was what I used on the last outback trip and I was very impressed ... on sand, rutted hardpack, some gravel, and bitumen. Well loaded; 5000 km; towing a camper trailer. Birdsville Tk, old Stez Tk and others. Forester X 2008. Epic :-)

In Vic the D697 are marginally oversize (215/65/16) and so are illegal.

Feck 'em. Saves an expensive retrieval if two get blown.
 
I got tired of crappy, unreliable, puncture-prone tyres for my MY05 Forrester and got a set of Brigestone Duravis light truck tyres quite a while back now. This is probably the same model: https://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/treads/r411duravis.aspx

They have lasted pretty well. Second-best tyres I've ever had (after the expensive but simply superb Michelin 4WD tyres you can't buy anymore, which were brilliant).

100% puncture-free at this point (maybe 3/4s gone, nearly time to think about replacing them now).

Ride a bit harsh, not too bad, and much better than having a puncture.

Handling not great, not bad. Very positive, no mush, but tramline noticably, especially in mud or soft stuff. Don't sweat that, it's perfectly OK, you just have to pay a little more attention and do some of the work yourself instead of leaving everything up to the machinery to figure out.

Noise: fair. they sing a bit on some surfaces, something that properly designed car tyres (even off road ones) don't do. But the difference is quite minor.

On-road grip. Who cares? If you need more grip than a Forester can offer with any tyres on a bitumen road, you are going too fast. But with that said, they are fine. I've certainly had better tyres grip-wise, but I've had worse too. Look at it this way - they are better than the factory-fit Squealahamas, so where is the problem?

Sand: about the same as most road tyres, just so-so, BUT you are free of the constant worry about staking a sidewall.

Mud: see sand. Not really what you'd want if you do a lot of serious muddy stuff where there is no substitute for big tread, but no genuine road tyre can do much better. As mentioned, you need to watch the tramlining a bit, but it's not hard. No-one interested enough in going off-road to be reading this is likely to be troubled by that.

Price: medium expensive. They are no bargain.

All up, not a fantastic tyre by any means, but perfectly OK to use and drive on ....... and they have one HUGE advantage: the reliability of a really solid, tough tyre. I have taken them on a variety of pretty tough outback trips, and they just take whatever the road dishes out. If you do bad rocky stuff with sharp edges, I wouldn't even think about any other tyre.

Me, I go on long outback trips and I am happy enough to drive within my limitations and I don't give a bugger about being an off-road hero on a needlessly difficult track. I just want to get from where I am to some other place with a minimum of effort. And that means I just want tyres that work. I have better things to think about than tyres.

Conclusion: happy with my choice, plan to replace them with the same again.

(I've done 250 thousand k in the red bus now, none of it in cities, and besides the light truck tyres I've been through factory Geolanders (rubbish), Pirelli P7s (exact model from memory - quite good grip but very fast to wear out), some other cheap Yokohama things when I needed to buy whatever the bloke had in stock (rubbish), Michelin 4X4s (superb!) and probably one or two others I forget.)
 
Bought a new set of four cheap Chinese Hero Vanteza eight-ply light truck tyres last week. I'm not convinced that they will be any good, but really!? At $150 each fitted, I can't go too far wrong. The tread pattern looks no good at all for mud but might be a bit quieter than the Brigestones are, and they are close to half the price. Sidewalls are a bit bulgy (I like straight sides better, less likely to get spiked) and I'm not convinced that they will be nearly as robust as the Brigestones, which have done a heap of driving in outback Queensland (Birdsville Track, various other things) all without the slightest trouble until just the other day when I got a minor puncture in my own back yard. They are due to be replaced anyway, so I didn't get it mended.

The Heros are manufactured in China by Federal Tire, the big Tiwanese tyre manufacturer which is unknown in Oz but well-established in the USA. I have them on my spare rims right now. When I put them on and try them out (next bush trip) I'll report back here.
 
Good luck. I have always figured that people underate how important tyres are.
I look at it this way....no matter how good your car is the tyres are THE only thing that are in contact with the road and a bad tyre can leave you stranded in the bush or up someones backside in the wet.
Same with engine oil...it is the only thing that protects your motor so why spend 20,30,40 thousand on a car and go to Woolies to buy $10 motor oil.
In general i am a BIG fan of major brands as they are the ones that spend the money on R&D to stay ahead of the pack.
This is not to say that the tyres are no good but you might only find out when you need to stop quickly etc.
As far as 'cheap' goes i'm not so sure.
I finally talked my son into not buying Coopers for his Hilux as i have heard quite a few bad things about them and the warranty is a con act and he got some Bridgestone 697's 31x10.5 x 15 for $225 each.
The 697 is the new version of the 694 and his are a LT construction.
Seem quiet enough and the steering has improved, much more road feel but the ride is a touch rougher but nothing to worry about.
The other thing to consider is that there are Bridgestone dealers all over the place in case of trouble.
That's my thoughts anyway. Let us know how they go.
 
Cheers guys. With respect, I think you are missing the point here. Wet grip is not an issue. Ultimate handling is not an issue. The Forester has heaps of grip on any tyres provided only that it's driven within its limitations. The point is getting a tyre that doesn't get punctured and leave me stranded. (I carry two spares on trips, but I don't like to use them if I can avoid it.)

I don't think the majors have a mortgage on puncture resistance. I'll happily pay top dollar to a major manufacturer if the major can actually deliver me a tyre that works well enough to justify the spend. In fact, I did just that with my superb Michelin off-road tyres, but the mad buggers don't make them in a size to fit Forries any more, not at any price. I'd have paid $300 a corner without turning a hair for quality like that.

But no-one makes a proper off-road tye to fit the MY05 Forester anymore. Well, nobody except Yokohama. I have owned two different lots of Yokohama tyres and they were carp, absolute carp in every way except ride (don't care much) and noise (quite good). My thongs have better puncture resistance. Most of the Yokos didn't make it to honourable retirement, they destroyed themselves on bad roads. Compare with the Michelins, which lasted far longer, had better grip in all circustances on-road and of, laughed off stakes and stones which would destry the Yokos, just worked. Perfectly.

Or compare to the Brigestone light truck tyres I've just about worn out. They don't have the all-round class of the Michelins, they tramline a bit and ride a bit harsh, they are noisy on some surfaces .... but they did maybe 80,000k (wild guess) and lots of it on really, really bad roads, and never missed a beat.

Or compare to the quite expensive Pirelli rubbish I wasted money on. Good ride, good grip on-road and off, easily punctured, and wear so fast that the afore-mentioned thongs are still in their plastic wrappers when you throw the tyres out 'cause there is no tread left on them. (Probably a good city road tyre if you don't care about the price or the mileage.)

Anyway, what I'm getting at here is that toughness doesn't seem to have anything much to do with brands or prices. Mostly, I guess, it simply reflects heavier construction. We will have to see how the Heros go. If they are no good, I'll put something else on the other set of rims and just use the Heros for highways and cities.
 
G'day fella's,
Species major issue is getting tyres that will fit on his rims, and legally fit on his vehicle, that will also handle the terrain he's travelling on. Silver is correct when he states it depends on the spec's for the vehicle. That allows for suspension travel, mud caking, etc; and contact with the body. If you fit oversized tyres to your vehicle, you risk tyre damage against your vehicle parts and the possibility of blowouts at speed, on corners, etc; and none of us want that.
Having said that, my son is running Maxxis on his liberty and has good offroad results working with a rural fencing contractor on all sorts of country (no tracks to follow). He knows if something goes wrong, he has to wear the crap that is bound to follow. He did have to lift the vehicle with springs to avoid the body contact mentioned above.
Good luck Species.
 
You do have a point with Subarus and AWD which does compensate for rubbish tyres but i'm not sure that helps with braking in wet weather.
You also have different driving needs to me by the sound of it. I don't do much offroad stuff at all, maybe 95% on road and 5% offroad so real toughness doesn't come into it with me.
When you are faced with the idiot driving behaviour on Gold Coast roads, rest assured you need to be able to stop quickly in any weather.
I have had experience with rubbish tyres in the wet and it was frightening how quick they let go. My sister has them on her car. $69 specials!!! REALLY scary stuff and an eye opener!!
My mate had Pirelli Scorpions on his Hilux and said much the same as you. He hated them but loves his BF Goodrich muddies. His work involves a lot of farm work and they have been very good for him but not cheap.
I put Yokohama AT/S on my car, for a planned trip to WA that never came off, because of the reason you stated about no choice for legal sized tyres in a semi off road pattern. I have never had to put them to the test in any difficult off road situations but on road, for what they are, they seem fairly good.
My comments are just that,comments, and my personal point of view. I have a mental block when it comes to buying unknown brands and GENERALLY try to buy brand names at the lowest price i can get.
The good thing is that you can now let us know how the tyres go and if you are happy with them.:raz:
 
Cheers Silver. I agree with you on pretty much all points, and if I was doing the sort of driving you are doing, I'd be going for good quality general-purpose road tyres for sure. (People often tell me that Michlein tyres are overpriced and no better than average. I agree about the price, but I reckon they are worth the extra; at least they always have been in my experience. But any good brand would be fine.)

As you say, for me, toughness is #1. I seldom drive in traffic and ultimate high-speed grip is not necessary for what I do (though of course it is always welcome). One thing that gives me a little bit of confidence is that Hero is owned 100% by Federal, and Federal is a major brand in the USA, so they no doubt have a few clues and can provide the Hero factory with their designs and technology. But we will have to wait and see.
 
silver said:
You do have a point with Subarus and AWD which does compensate for rubbish tyres but i'm not sure that helps with braking in wet weather.
Click to expand...

This sums it all up!

When people with big 4x4s claim they don't need snow tires to drive in winter conditions, I remind them of this:

4 x zero traction = zero traction (4x4 with all-season tires)
2 x good traction = excellent traction (FWD with two snow tires)

Maybe we can have a corollary to the above:

rubbish tyres x 4 = still rubbish! :lildevil:
 
tyres...

Escher said:
This sums it all up!

When people with big 4x4s claim they don't need snow tires to drive in winter conditions, I remind them of this:

4 x zero traction = zero traction (4x4 with all-season tires)
2 x good traction = excellent traction (FWD with two snow tires)

Maybe we can have a corollary to the above:

rubbish tyres x 4 = still rubbish! :lildevil:
Click to expand...

I have used all seasons..ok up to 8" snow..ice...no...

A/T's 30" plus in snow ok....ice...no..
.
M/T's 30" plus snow...and that nasty cascade cement(wet/heavy) they claw through great.. ice...no...

A set of cheap cable chains(low profile) always in my rig for winter...
Nothing like a skating rink when the sun goes down...!

All wheel slide instead of AWD...

Dedicated snows are expensive...unless you really depend on them...
Braking is hands down the best...Nokian Hakka's.....
Ice and snow yes!!
I had them on my wifes Mazda 3 (2wd)..She outdrove my outback with a/t's..

As far as big 4x4 and snows...ya really don't need a dedicated tire as they have low range (2:1 or better) also alot of them have lockers..front and rear...Ice is the only exception...!

70% of it is the drivers skill.


Also airing down is the biggest asset to driving in winter...in deep snow over a foot..
This lets your tire conform to the terrain much like rock climbing shoe smearing on rock...

The biggest mistake driving in winter is too much speed....
 
You should always put 4 snow tires, even on a 2WD, because when you brake...the rear wants to take the place of the front, and you spin...
 
I've done a few thousand k on the Heros now and I can report ...... nothing at all. Because my rear suspension is so tired, the old girl handles like a VW Beetle on a bad day, and I don't think that has anything to do with the tyres. The moral of thhe story here is that it doesn't matter how good or bad your tyres are if your springs and shockers aren't keepin' 'em in the right place.

I'm booked in for springs and shockers, so we will see what she's like after that.
 
Going for my second set of AT-S

My 1st set of tyres were the OEM Geosquealers, i ripped 2 sidewalls apart in 100k of gravel, terrible, terrible tyres took them off at 10k

2nd set were Yoko AT2 i wore them out in 30k and they were noisy, but i never had sidewall problems and only one puncture.

3rd set Yoko AT-S nice and quiet, i like the way they handle and they tow my camper well. I hammered them out to Mungo and back recently (you dont wanna know what speeds :lildevil:) and they took it all in their stride, they are coming up for 55k and need a change, and i am yet to puncture one.

So i will go with the AT-S again.

Whats good, better ,best? the ones your happy with :iconwink:
 
Good to hear my04tone.

For 'normal' running I need to revert to std size and prefer AT and LT but you can't have both in Vic.

Been given the run-around in tyre advice by counter jumpers knowing less than I do. But have ordered a set of the Geo AT/Ss.

I tow a CT too. Have done most of the 'tracks' in Central Aus with Dueller ATs and they have performed well. But they're only legal if the Foz is recognised as a 4by.
 
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