General Tyre / Tire Discussion

Douglas Ferrier said:
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.
Click to expand...
I'm of the same thinking too. Once the tyres are at the 4 or 5yr mark I also like change mine aswell. Since mine are now at the 4yr mark, I will be changing them soon, probably around Nov-Dec at the end of the year.
It just so happens that by that stage, they will be at the end of their tread life anyway.
So for me the timing has worked out quite well :ebiggrin:

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
On tyre life ...

Gidday Douglas, Mr T

Douglas Ferrier said:
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.
Click to expand...

mr turbo said:
I'm of the same thinking too. Once the tyres are at the 4 or 5yr mark I also like change mine aswell. Since mine are now at the 4yr mark, I will be changing them soon, probably around Nov-Dec at the end of the year.
It just so happens that by that stage, they will be at the end of their tread life anyway.
So for me the timing has worked out quite well :ebiggrin:

Regards
Mr Turbo
Click to expand...

The Yokohamas on my trailer were 30 y.o. when I replaced them with Subaru rims and 215/60 16 tyres.

The last "work" they did was about 2 years ago with multiple trips from Melbourne to Apollo Bay and back (450 kms round trip). On the way back, the trailer was fully loaded. Speeds up to around 100~110 kmh. Zero problems.

OTOH, even the crappy Michelin Certis tyres I removed from Roo1 were nearly 10 years old, with over 50,000 kms on them. Apart from the fact that the compound was actually crumbling (I haven't seen anything like this on any other tyre under about 50 y.o.), they still handled and braked superbly - wet and dry.

I have this wholly unworthy suspicion that much of this information is based on tyre companies wanting us to replace perfectly good, perfectly roadworthy tyres with new ones ...
 
Ratbag you may be right.

Not really a problem for me doing 25,000 to 30,000km / year the tread wears in short time frames.

But on the hand, I had a very scary incident as UNI student with an older tyre (plenty of tread) steel belted about 6 years old blow a sidewall while doing about 70km/hr.

Had me in the drain (was front left tyre) before I could blink, saw my life flash before my eyes, so do not really want to tempt any repeats of that experience, yes maybe unusual but very scary, was lucky enough to not seriously damage the car, myself or passengers.

I am happy to be a bit more cautious, and like you say, many tyres are likely to still be good for much longer, down side is you just can not be sure :)
 
Gidday Douglas

LOTS of things can cause such a blow-out, as I am certain you are aware.

  • Hitting a curb or other such object in just the wrong way/wrong angle;
    Manufacturing defect in the tyre;
    Poor quality tyre/design (as the Michelin tech rep said to me "the Certis is not the best tyre we have ever made ... ";
    Damage caused by something on the road, either at the time, or some past event;

IOW, there are lots of very common, normal explanations for this sort of thing happening. Also very good reasons for buying good quality tyres, and inspecting them regularly.

I have driven on tyres of all kinds without having these sorts of problems. I did have a tread separation on a retread once (back in the days when I just could not afford to buy new tyres ... ).

Having said all that, I am fully aware of the tremendous importance of keeping one's tyres in good condition; and regularly inspecting them.
 
I was quoted $225 a corner fitted and balanced.

One of a number of reasons that I chose to go with Michelin XM2s ...
They cost me $165 a corner fitted and balanced (x4), plus $89 for a full four wheel alignment (caster, camber, toe-in/toe-out; check straightness/squareness of vehicle). The tyre place also fitted and balanced 3 of my old Pirelli P7s onto my trailer rims as part of the deal (going price for this done separately seems to be about $20~35 per tyre ... ). $749 the lot! :). Had I decided on the AT/s, I would also have had to purchase 5, as my current spare is a road tyre - brand new Yokohama 'Geosquealer".

I bought the Michelins as they are very well reviewed generally, and by several members here. Seem to be considerably longer lasting than the Yokohama AT/s (65~95K kms vs 40~55K kms), and very significantly cheaper. I was also concerned by a number of member reports here that they found the AT/s noisy on-road, and not as good for handling/braking as a good touring tyre in the wet on-road.

I also found that Nachaluva's AT/s were just as useless as my P7s when we were at Bunyip SP together. I am sure that the AT/s are better in some situations off-road, but I really don't want to stress my vehicle like that, and it's not what I bought it for.

As to the Michelins, I am very happy with them so far, with about 1,400 kms on them. On-road performance is brilliant (far better than the P7s). They have only been off-road at Lerderderg Gorge, but performed well there. Nothing very startling (I am way past looking for "startling" experiences :poke: :rotfl: ... ), but they were excellent for braking and general handling on the dirt, and we didn't wander off into the scrub at the slightest sign of wet bits and muddy downhill slopes ... :iconwink: :ebiggrin:

Are the AT/s worth $60 extra per tyre for around 2/3 the mileage?
Down to the individual, I guess.
 
Ratbag said:
I really don't want to stress my vehicle like that, and it's not what I bought it for.
Are the AT/s worth $60 extra per tyre for around 2/3 the mileage?
Down to the individual, I guess.
Click to expand...

fair enough ratbag, if i didn't go off road, or not very often i wouldn't consider the geolanders, as they do get less mileage and not as good as a road tyre on road. which is your case i would imagine very similar.

in the 5,000 ks on my at-s they are worth every penny, been through a lot of different types of terrain so far, rock-great, gravel- great, muddy paddock- great, snow-fantastic which is the main reason for the tyres for me.
 
^ I can see both points by Ratbag and Thunder here. I go offroad 3-4 times a week in my free time, either for exploring or just to burn about and have some fun :)

I find that the Geo's were great for that but I'm just not happy with the wear of them considering the price. Thus my reason to go with BFG's next for $50 more a tyre and have them last me 2-3 years rather than just over 1 year like my Geo AT-S did.

While I have looked into other tyres I am yet to find anything for around the 200-250 mark (each) that's better than the Geo's and lasts longer that will fit my car. So I see my only option is going with BFG's for $300 a tyre and having them last between 70-100+k km.

Taza
 
Gidday Thunder

thunder039 said:
fair enough ratbag, if i didn't go off road, or not very often i wouldn't consider the geolanders, as they do get less mileage and not as good as a road tyre on road. which is your case i would imagine very similar.

in the 5,000 ks on my at-s they are worth every penny, been through a lot of different types of terrain so far, rock-great, gravel- great, muddy paddock- great, snow-fantastic which is the main reason for the tyres for me.
Click to expand...

Great that they suit you and your needs so well mate.

On my LC, I ran Goodyear Custom Hi-Milers on the front (for steering/braking and decent mileage), and full bar lugs on the back for their unreal performance in muddy/rocky terrain. I am told by a chap I have known for years at the local Bridgestone shop that there is now a block lugged tyre that will equal or even surpass a full bar lug tyre for this kind of work, and isn't as good at digging ditches in sand ... :iconwink: :twisted:. It is also actually usable on-road ...

For most of my life, the only tread pattern that would clear mud between when it comes out of the ground and when it goes back in again has been the full bar lug design. They will also "walk" over and "climb" on rocks, where any other tread pattern will usually spin helplessly. I had previously tried a couple of "off-road" pattern tyres like the ones one commonly sees today. Olympic used to make quite a good one. Not as good as digging themselves into a sandy grave as the full bar lugs, but nowhere near as good in any other circumstance.

The problem with our vehicles is that they are designed and built as "any-road vehicles", not as off-road vehicles. They are remarkably capable, for all that. Even my Impreza was pretty darn good in evil conditions, even given its rotten clearance and approach/departure angles. However, I reckon the best description one could reasonably assign to it was "a 110 mph, AWD sports car"! :lol: :rotfl:

As I have mentioned previously, I even investigated the path of moving to 15" rims so that I could look at the plethora of LT tyres available in that rim size that would still be legal on Roo2. IMHO, this is really the only route for getting serious off-road tyres on our vehicles. Also IMO, this would cause interference with the primary safety characteristics of our type of vehicle. If I lived at Oodnadatta, I wouldn't hesitate. But I don't ... So compromise is the order of the day for me. A compromise that does not compromise on-road handling and braking in any way whatsoever.
 
taza said:
^ I can see both points by Ratbag and Thunder here. I go offroad 3-4 times a week in my free time, either for exploring or just to burn about and have some fun :)

I find that the Geo's were great for that but I'm just not happy with the wear of them considering the price. Thus my reason to go with BFG's next for $50 more a tyre and have them last me 2-3 years rather than just over 1 year like my Geo AT-S did.

While I have looked into other tyres I am yet to find anything for around the 200-250 mark (each) that's better than the Geo's and lasts longer that will fit my car. So I see my only option is going with BFG's for $300 a tyre and having them last between 70-100+k km.

Taza
Click to expand...

only if they made a smaller size they i would fork out the extra cash, but the geolanders are the only AT in stock size, and there is nothing with out going over the 15mm legal limit
 
thunder039 said:
only if they made a smaller size they i would fork out the extra cash, but the geolanders are the only AT in stock size, and there is nothing with out going over the 15mm legal limit
Click to expand...


True, over here in WA we don't really have to worry as much about that as the rules aren't as detailed and strict. Thus my reason for going the BFG's in 215/75R15 also.
 
Michelin XM1 vs XM2?

Gidday Peter

subyroo said:
Update on my post at #20 on page 2.

I ended up getting 70,231kms out of the last set of Michelin XM1's, I replaced them with another set, great tyres for what I do.
Click to expand...

I chose the XM2s based on other members' reports of good mileage, handling and robustness of their XM1s.

I will be happy as the proverbial pig if I get 70,000 kms out of my XM2s.

I assume you replaced your XM1s with XM2s as well?
If so, how do you feel they compare, road manners wise?
 
No surprise that Grandtreks didn't impress.

They're orig. on a good number of 4bies with factories looking for the cheapest rubber around.

I've never read or heard of anyone fitting them as replacement tyres til now.
 
Thanks for the heads up re tyres taza.

I'll be due for some new boots in a couple of months.
Just have to decide whether I go back to the 60's or stay with 65's.

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
Bumped into a guy in Birdsville last June who'd been driving a newish Prado with Grandtreks. On one of the bitumen sections on the development road into town one tyre copped a big wood screw (yeah, go figure, out there). By the time he stopped his tyre was shredded.
 
Tyre pressures for Yoko Geolander AT/s

I bought some Geolander AT/s tyres (16-inch steel rims) yesterday after 3.5 years of waiting for the stock tyres on my MY2009 Forester to die (I got 58,000 out of them and they had 2000 life left). I had read a million reviews and was very excited after so much positive feedback online.

Did about 50 kays on the new tyres last night and was shocked by intermittent vibration that shook the steering wheel and at variable speeds, shook the whole car. It was so bad, even at 70kmph, that I pulled over in the lay-off of the M2 before King Georges Rd to make sure the wheel nuts were tight. Once the vibration harmonic had started it 'chased' itself to lower speeds when I came off the throttle.

The Forester has always been wonderfully silky at freeway speeds so this was a ghastly moment for me and I know that if I can't rectify the vibration issues, I will not keep these tyres. After a few minutes of moaning gently to myself I went to a servo to check the pressures (they could hardly be wrong straight from the shop having had a balance and alignment could they), and I found that inexplicably they'd put 40 pounds in the rears and 34 in the fronts. Maybe after preparing and balancing the tyres they put the fronts on the back and the backs on the front?

On the spur of the moment I upped the pressures to 40 all round, then put another 25 kays on the car. Doing this my sense was that 40 all round was too much though it did seem to stop that curious variable vibration. At the high pressures the ride was thumpy on slab and on the rubbish city roads here in Sydney. Performance over speed bumps was good, I thought, just a little bouncier.

My initial impressions on the road are that the ride is higher, the speedo is registering truer, the steering is slower and gives less feedback. I am getting some rub somewhere, too, on full lock when 3-pointing. Disarmingly after some light rain I found on roundabouts I was pushing the front end, not enough to engage the ESP but there was definite and completely new squirm and slip up front I never, ever got from the standard Bridgestone tyres.

It was a bit disconcerting to be honest, especially after all the positive comments on the performance of these tyres in the wet. I've always trusted the Forester implicitly on the pavement but I'll need to be more careful in future if this is not just the usual early greasiness of some new tyres. Maybe I'm being unrealistic and an AT/s off road-oriented tyre intrinsically has less grip in the wet than a road oriented tyre, but no reviewers said so.

Noise-wise, there's a little bit more drum but not too much more. If not for the weird monster vibration I'd be fine with it. I've not gone off road yet - I was up country last weekend trying to kill the last of the Bridgestones (500 kays on dirt and trails) - but am looking forward to testing these babies out in the rough. So far, I must admit, I wanted them to be better in town than they seem to be but if they are great off road (and the vibration doesn't come back) then I'll modify my driving and my expectations for the next 3.5 years.

In any case, what pressures are other people running their Yokohama AT/s tyres at? Is 38 front and 34 rear the right way to go? Thanks for any advice.
 
Gidday John

A warm, if belated, :welcome: to the ORS forum.

I have found that running around 34~35 psi F+R on both our Foresters seems to work well. Slightly harder ride than the recommended pressures, but at those Roo2 handles like a canal boat - well, maybe not quite that bad, but not good either.

I am running Michelin MX2 on Roo2, and SWMBO has Yoki Geolandar G95 on RonnyRoo, IIRC. Both seem best at around the 34-35 psi. I wasn't prepared to sacrifice even the tiniest bit of on-road handling etc for some small increment in off-road performance when I got my new tyres on Roo2 a few months back. Anything that requires the very best of off-road tyres to conquer, I am probably too much of a coward to attempt at my age :rotfl:!

BTW, it is wise to run tyres in for a bit. Nothing too excessive up to around the 500 kms mark, IME.
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top