Road Tyre vs A/T Tyre Off Road

Rally said:
Of all the people on this forum, Kevin is one bloke I know who has travelled extensively, so I respect his point of view. I can only go from my own experience which is itself extensive.
Click to expand...

Why, thank you Rally and back at ya mate because you certainly have covered a lot of distance across the Oz continent for sure and bringing innovation to our little wagons based on that experience!
 
Kevin said:
Why, thank you Rally and back at ya mate because you certainly have covered a lot of distance across the Oz continent for sure and bringing innovation to our little wagons based on that experience!
Click to expand...

Agreed, I believe Rally is a very good offroad driver as well as on the skidpan, related but still different skills. Plus has a lot of experience in a lot of different conditions esp in the Outback.

However, we will have to disagree with tyre choice. I believe if he did a side by side comparison he might change his views on using road tyres offroad. By that I mean doing a difficult section of track in his own Foz, then swapping tyres & rims and doing it again with the same diff settings & tyre pressures.
 
NachaLuva said:
By that I mean doing a difficult section of track in his own Foz, then swapping tyres & rims and doing it again with the same diff settings & tyre pressures.
Click to expand...

I'd like to see this happen. If it does, can someone record it and post it here! Might be a good trial for the new locker :ebiggrin:
(I just like watching videos of subarus doing off roady things)
 
If it could be arranged I would be happy to do it. My bet would be a narrow win to th A/T tyre, assuming it is the Yokohama ATS vs RE 002. While we are at it, why not compare on road braking performance. We would need someone willing to bring their car to the designated test and then swap their rims on to my car. Of course, we would only be comparing grip, not puncture resistance
 
Ben Up North said:
I'd like to see this happen. If it does, can someone record it and post it here! Might be a good trial for the new locker :ebiggrin:
(I just like watching videos of subarus doing off roady things)
Click to expand...

A mate of mine just put a locker in his 100 series and we went off-roading on Saturday in it. What a difference it makes. In one situation climbing a steep hill, he had to steer around something. The front of the car slid, with the car on a 45 degree angle on a steep hill. He engaged the front diff lock and easily drove out.
 
Rally said:
We would need someone willing to bring their car to the designated test and then swap their rims on to my car.
Click to expand...

and a trailer to carry the air compresser, generator and jacks. 16 wheel changes in a day would be a bit tedious. :)

Although, I gues you don't have to put your rims on the other car, so that cuts it down to 12 wheel changes.:lol:
 
^ and don't forget to load the beer for in-between each wheel that's swapped! :iconwink:
 
Mate, i’m Just the driver. I’ll leave the details for the service crew. Want a job? Pay’s terrible, expenses all your own but you do get to see and experience the great outdoors with like minded individuals. Doesn’t get better than that, does it?
 
A wheel swap is pretty easy, just park the 2 cars near each other, jack up each car & swap one wheel at a time. With a rattle gun & a couple of people would take maybe 15-30min max

Rally said:
While we are at it, why not compare on road braking performance.
Click to expand...

This is an offroad forum, we're not testing onroad grip, that's never been in dispute. You're disputing using offroad tyres in offroad situations, that is what I would like to see you test in a side by side comparison. afaic there is no comparison, which is why every person who drives offroad uses AT or MT tyres (except one ;) )
 
MAS reckons his AT's are as good on road as a very good street tyre. Hence why I included it.
One buys P-metric AT tires, like my brand new Conti Terrain Contact AT, for handling and cornering on dirt road coupled with less damage to tires from the ordinary crushed rock and gravel found on such roads. Instead of wondering which exactly street tire might happen to perform on dirt. On road, these mild AT tires behave just as well as very good street tires
 
NachaLuva said:
This is an offroad forum, we're not testing onroad grip, that's never been in dispute. You're disputing using onroad tyres in offroad situations, that is what I would like to see you test in a side by side comparison. afaic there is no comparison, which is why every person who drives offroad uses AT or MT tyres (except one ;) )
Click to expand...

Agree with you Nacha, but most of us spend a lot of time and kilometers on road with AT's, so it would be interesting to compare AT's and road tires on the black
 
To think that an AT tyre is similar to a decent road tyre on tarmac is naive at best.
All tyres are compromises (grip in various conditions and surfaces, wear, noise).

I'm with Rally on this -- 90+ % of most people's driving is on the road, at speeds and with hazards where safety should be the #1 priority. AT or more aggressive off-road tyres are sub-optimal for these conditions.
 
The point Rally made is about street vs offroad tires offroad. On this Rally is alone (or with a couple others) against the world. It is hillarious to even contemplate its basis, one man's experience, against, you know, actual research and the experiences of thousands. Good enough around buddies.

What the average driver should use is an entirely different question. When it comes to traction offroad, the difference AT tires make is an easy variable to measure. When it comes to safety on road, you are opening a pandora box because the variables are many.

Rally can get away with street tires because he has all sorts of mods. This is all there is to the story.
 
If I dare speak for Rally... he neatly summarises his point himself:

Yes, ultimately an all terrain tyre will hold a marginal advantage in off road traction, but nothing like the advantage the road tyre has over the A/T tyre on road.
 
There are 2 points to consider. Traction and puncture resistance. None of the mods I have made affect puncture resistance. I have had no punctures. And the mods I have made offer a far greater traction advantage off road than an a/t tyre has over a road tyre. As such, I have more grip on road and more traction off road. Win win, with no drawbacks. Galileo shunned the establishment but eventually was proved right. Thankfully if I behave myself god (aka Kevin) won’t condemn me to house arrest or ex communication ������
 
That being said, I've only ever had puncture's (3 in a year) when I've run Highway tyres, never had a puncture on my ATs so far. The variables are too broad and many to easily draw a line between the benefits and negativities or either option.
 
Out of the 8 sets of tires (5 on road tires for my Forester and 2 sets of on road plus 1 set AT for my outback), I had 1 puncture on my Forester and 1 on my (only AT tire) outback - and it was a spark plug that puncture my 40000k AT tires!
 
I imagine the RE002 would have a thicker sidewall then most road tyres as it is a performance tyre designed for handling, not a passenger tyre designed for comfort.

When I chose my current HT tyres I wanted something with a thinner sidewall to bag out better on the sand. All about having the right tyre for your personal application.
 
SquiresSquire said:
That being said, I've only ever had puncture's (3 in a year) when I've run Highway tyres, never had a puncture on my ATs so far. The variables are too broad and many to easily draw a line between the benefits and negativities or either option.
Click to expand...
Were these sidewall punctures or through the tread?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top