Light Truck Tyres

Coyotte

Coyotte

Forum Member
Joined
Jan 9, 2009
Messages
7
Location
Bowral - NSW -Australia
The local guy I usually buy my tires through tells me that Light Truck tires are just as good as most Offroad tires -- just a rougher ride on the tar and at 1/4 the price
He doe's the bulk of the Farming & Grazing Properties tires in the area so I presume he would have a good idea of what he is talking about

he knows my vechile a Outback 17" Alloy wheels.

just wondering what others thought of this ???

Coyotte
 
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I used to use Light Truck rated tyres on my old Jackaroo (mud runners - had another set of higher speed rated tyres on other rims for general use). Yes, firmer ride. Often they also have a harder compound, which can mean they don't grip as well on wet bitumen, although the tread patetrn can make a bit of a difference in that regard too.

Worth checking if they are legal as well - if they are rated M&S (Mud & Snow) then in most states (from memory) you can ignore the speed rating requirments, but you better check that. Your insurer might have something to ay about it too if you use tyres that don't meet the minimum speed rating on your tyre placard.

Did they suggest a brand/pattern?
 
In some ways LT tyres are better than the off-road tyres you can get for Subies. Most off-road tyres are based on passenger construction casings - ie 2 ply and therefore no more puncture resistant that the ones fitted from new, while LT tyres are 4 ply at least.

I could only find a few LT tyres that would fit my 04 OB (16" rims) but these were always 215/65R16 and not strictly legal. Most of the LT tyres were for vans - 'cargo' tyres. Bridgestone made a LT tyre for the Holden One Tonner and the 4WD ute (DD A/T 693) which looked like a good thing - I would have got some if they fitted in the spare wheel well.
 
light truck tyres are very strong in the side wall (6-8ply i thought) - possibly too strong if you need to deflate the tyres to broaden the foot...not enough give.

I looked into this before settling on some Maxxis UA 603's in standard size... figured 80%+ of my driving time would be on bitumen, so the compromise is off road...in the end ive been such a city slicker it was the right choice...if your really going to be doing a lot of off road, id suggest a second set of tyres on 16" forri rims...
 
I used Firestone Sherpa's on my old Brumby and they were sensational off road. Bit noisy on tarmac but I also had a full set of road rims and tyres for long distances.
These light truck tyres were heaps cheaper than proper off road tyres too.
 
Geoff said:
I used Firestone Sherpa's on my old Brumby and they were sensational off road. Bit noisy on tarmac but I also had a full set of road rims and tyres for long distances.
These light truck tyres were heaps cheaper than proper off road tyres too.
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I got a set of these from a mate that are waiting to be fitted to the rims while the subi is waiting to be fitted with a lift kit...

Apparently they don't make them anymore :(

Cheers

Bennie
 
I searched the WWW today for light truck tyres with an AT tread in the Foz's size and had no luck. 215 - 60 - R16.

Managed to trash two Geolanders within 5 minutes of each other a few weeks back. One sidewall puncture on a rocky track; and a sidewall tear from hitting the end of a splintered log (that one I should've been able to miss).

Have read that LT tyres have much stronger sidewalls.

Added: Grump, those Bridgestone's are available in 60s IIRC.
 
I got a set of Bridgestone Duravis light truck tyres the other week. https://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/treads/r411duravis.aspx

For:
* very tough, vertical sidewalls (at least so far as I can tell)
* quiet
* surprisingly decent ride
* long life (probably)
* puncture resistant (my guess)
* reasonable price (but were certainly not cheap)
* decent handling (decent, not great - better than the Yokosquealers, not as good as the Michelin 4x4 tyres you can't buy now)
* available almost anywhere, and in that weird damn size that Foresters use!

Against:
* Not an especially useful tread pattern for off-road. OK, not great
* Tend to tramline on mud or other soft surfaces (those square corners at work). Requires that little bit of extra care when the going is difficult

Summary:

Not perfect, but good enough, and practically nothing else is. The more time you spend in the outback (as against in or near big towns and cities) the more important puncture resistance becomes, and the less I care about other stuff - because the bottom line is, if it ain't holding air, it's completely bloody useless.

Anyway, I've put less than 5000k on them so far. I'll report back when I've done a bit more with them.
 
Sorry to hijack this topic - I know there are recapped LT tyres can be used on tyres, can you do that on normal tyres once they are un-rwc?
Cheers
AP
 
Tannin said:
I got a set of Bridgestone Duravis light truck tyres the other week. https://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/treads/r411duravis.aspx

For:
* very tough, vertical sidewalls (at least so far as I can tell)
* quiet
* surprisingly decent ride
* long life (probably)
* puncture resistant (my guess)
* reasonable price (but were certainly not cheap)
* decent handling (decent, not great - better than the Yokosquealers, not as good as the Michelin 4x4 tyres you can't buy now)
* available almost anywhere, and in that weird damn size that Foresters use!

Against:
* Not an especially useful tread pattern for off-road. OK, not great
* Tend to tramline on mud or other soft surfaces (those square corners at work). Requires that little bit of extra care when the going is difficult

Summary:

Not perfect, but good enough, and practically nothing else is. The more time you spend in the outback (as against in or near big towns and cities) the more important puncture resistance becomes, and the less I care about other stuff - because the bottom line is, if it ain't holding air, it's completely bloody useless.

Anyway, I've put less than 5000k on them so far. I'll report back when I've done a bit more with them.
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hehehe. Look who elkse has shown up.

I'm surprised you went that option. I'm very pleased with the Yoko AT for on road and offroad. Gave em a few good hitouts in mallee.

Will be interested to see how the LT's go: what did they cost?
 
G'day mate. :)

They weren't my first choice, I wanted the Michelins, but the stupid damn company can't get its supplies in order.

And then, suddenly, it was the Friday before a long weekend and a mate and I were going away into the Sunsest Country and my existing tyres were really, really bad ... so it was take whatever I could get on the day and pay whatever was being asked. These were just over $200 each, which is probably way too much for a light truck tyre. But, as I said, I needed them right away and wasn't in a position to argue.

No matter: they are reassuringly solid, and I don't care about the extra traction and handling nearly as much as I care about puncture resistance. Later on, I'll replace my other set (on the spare rims) and I'll take your advice and go the Yokos for those, unless bloody Michelin have got their act together by then.
 
AlpineRaven - sorry, no idea. But recaps are pretty evil. Stay away from them.
 
Tannin said:
G'day mate. :)

They weren't my first choice, I wanted the Michelins, but the stupid damn company can't get its supplies in order.

And then, suddenly, it was the Friday before a long weekend and a mate and I were going away into the Sunsest Country and my existing tyres were really, really bad ... so it was take whatever I could get on the day and pay whatever was being asked. These were just over $200 each, which is probably way too much for a light truck tyre. But, as I said, I needed them right away and wasn't in a position to argue.

No matter: they are reassuringly solid, and I don't care about the extra traction and handling nearly as much as I care about puncture resistance. Later on, I'll replace my other set (on the spare rims) and I'll take your advice and go the Yokos for those, unless bloody Michelin have got their act together by then.
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yeah, 200 plus is a bit of a sting. You will probably be happy with the sidewalls in them, especially when deflated. No risk of fractures like the G900s.

I'm due for some new rubber for the rear of mine, so will get newies for the front and rotate the tyres. Will let you know about price when I do.
 
I may have been misremembering the price, mate. I think it might have been a bit over $600, not a bit over $800 total. Still a bit steep.

I've done a few thousand k on them now, including a fair lot of gravel and off-road, got to know them pretty well. Really nothing to add to my first impressions, they are as I thought: reasonably quiet (though they sing a bit on certain types of bitumen), very good grip on bitumen, fair grip off it (fair, not fantastic, not poor either: middling-fair, a bit better than most road tyres, not as good as off-road or AT), no hint of a puncture, firm, slightly jittery ride, every sign of lasting a good while .... What you see is what you get.
 
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