Mud Tyres that work on wet tarmac!

[Julian Voelcker]

Well here's a good fire starter

I've got BFG ATs on my truck which are great on road and OK for mild off roading, but I would quite like to find something a little more agressive that will be OK for day to day driving and not too bad in the wet.

Some people have suggested Kumhos (not sure which type though), BFG MT KM2 (anyone here tried these?) or Cooper STTs.

The key thing is that I tend not to hang around so road manners are important.

So any suggestions?

 

[24Seven]

Tyre questions are bit like LR vs LC questions

I don't think there is a perfect tyre only compromises, that said I'm running the original BFG M/T's all the time and I would buy another set of the new style when these wear out I don't seem to have any problem in the wet, but you can hear them hum a bit.

 

[Paul]

BFG M/T's always, used to always fit AT's and only put these on as they were a good offer, cant tell the difference between them in the wet

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

we need some popcorn adding to the smiles

 

[Chas]

I have had two sets of Cooper STT's so far and they have been great on and off road, mud, snow, rocks, you name it! They have lasted me for well over a year that included two trips in Croatia 2008(approx 6500 miles) and one in Morocco 2009 (approx 5500 miles) with all the rough treatment they got in the rocky Western Sahara, it is also my every day vehicle.
They had plenty of tread left when I changed them, they were only changed for another overland trip that fell through (but I'm afraid I never kept a record of exactly how many miles altogether)
All my off road and overlanding equipment is kept in the Cruiser all the time so it probably weighs getting on for three tons or so and like you I tend not to hang about, and I've yet to experience a problem with them, they seem very well-behaved in the wet.
AND they are quiet on tarmac, but I am half deaf
Chas

 

[Julian]

Julian
I have been using Hankook Dynapro MT RT03 (stupid name), I have to say I have been very impressed with them, they are kind of half way between an all terrain and a full on mud terrain and seem reasonably tough, I remember doing about 65 across a rocky valley with tyres at 25psi and didn't have any issues
The yanks seem to like them
http://www.offroaders.com/tech/AT-MT-Ti ... ook-MT.htm
They also make a 295/75/16, if its of any interest
And the best thing about them is that they are pretty cheap
http://www.camskill.co.uk/products.php? ... 2422p21587

 

[Julian]

more user reviews
http://www.offroaders.com/reviewbox/sho ... =301&cat=3

 

[Paul_Humphreys]

If it was me buying new tyres and price did not matter then I would go for the BFG MT KM2s. I know 2 mates who run them and both say they are a lot better than the old MTs.

Me myself run Cooper SSTs and do not have a problem with them.

Paul

 

[Andrew Prince]

Julian, nice choice of inflammatory topic Once this one is resolved, you need to ask for opinions on the best engine oil!

I run Kumhos (KL71) on my 80, mainly for the reason you suggest - wet weather performance! I spoke to Andy at AJS and he and his team were quite scathing about the Coopers in the wet (STT, not the SST? like Paul's). My short-list was the GG AT2s, STTs and Kumho and I opted for the Kumho because it offered decent on-road performance with good off-road performance.

My experience so far has been that the Kumhos performance has been really good - they're pretty quiet on-road and the manners have been fine, no aqua-planning or skidding in the wet. Off-road, they have been really good in the slush & mud - in my subjective opinion, better than BFG MTs or Cooper STT. The compound is pretty soft, so I do not expect the longest mileage out of them (I haven't measured wear on mine yet but they have a fair amount of nicks after the Salisbury flint). I have read various reports of the sidewalls being susceptible to cuts but all the reports seem to be secondhand

My conclusion is that Kumhos are good "weekenders" - easy to live with on-road, very competent off-road but probably not high milers if that's what you're after.

Cheers,

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

If you can stand the price just get some Toyo Open Country MT's and smile

 

[Julian Voelcker]

The trouble is my 80 performs well and handles like a car so I tend to drive it hard and I don't want the tyres to slow me down too much for day to day driving.

Permanently at the back of my mind is the thought of getting another set of rims and then getting something extreme in 35"

I would expect to get around 40-50,000 miles out of my current set of BFG AT - what would you expect out of the MTs?

 

[adrianr]

Off topic but what the heck...

"The trouble is my 80 performs well..."

Another typical Julian understatement.

I drove yours, and then drove mine again. You truck would embarrass many quick cars, maybe not off the mark, but in the real world where we all drive 30-70 in motion. She certainly surprised me it is a lot different to a standard VX, and she stops too!

Anyhow, good luck with the tyres. Are you planning on doing more mud work now?

 

[Jon Wildsmith]

Acceptable tread wear on an MT is less than an AT i.e. if you let them wear too low then there's not much point running an MT because the tread is not deep enough to dig. Add that a hard driven MT will have a faster wear rate than a hard driven AT (less rubber doing the same work) and you're probably looking at 25-30k before you should sell them while they still have enough life for someone else. Something like the Toyo hard driven (they're very sticky) might only manage 20-25k, that's the price of good grip / hard driving.

Having a 2nd set of tyres is OK but it can seem a bit of a chore changing them just for the odd trip now and again.

 

[Dave2000]

Over here in Spain the Kumho's are not the tyre of choice, it is not the wet weather it is the sidewalls that let go when in the 'campo'. So IMHO they could be crossed off the list, BFG A/T are the choice of most 50/50 of roaders and the off road rambla (river) racers go for KM2 mud and seem to be very happy. The wet road performance is not normally an issue here but the recent wet weather (highest rainfall since records begun) would I am sure highlighted any issues if there were any and no one has even mentioned them which in itself counts bundles.

just my two cents

regards

Dave

 

[pugwash]

Last set of 285/75 BFG MTs lasted 18k miles before they were 70% worn at which point you can get roughly 70% of the purcahse price secondhand- which is good as you've lost about 60% of the offroad performance! Would buy another set in a shot. On road- really not that bad- just don't be silly silly on slippy roads in a 2.5ton 4x4! quite happy running at

Haven't used KL71s personally but have seen 3 sidewalls buggered at 7 sisters. Seem to to do OK in the deep stuff but wear rates don't seem to have been extensively reported yet.

Cooper STTs do sound good though and come in a nice 315/75r16 size- haven't head anyone say anything bad about them yet!

only tyre i have personally found very scary on wet roads are Simex ETs- but then they really aren't a road tyre, and cost too much for that anyway,

 

[Brett]

I've got Cooper STT's on my 80 & a set of BFG MT's on my Land Rover, the STT's are much better on the road than the BFG's. In the Wet = more grip, dry = less noisy, plus they're cheaper

 

[Julian Voelcker]

Still pondering this one.

Has anyone here any experience of the new BFG MTs, the KM2s?

 

[Gary Stockton]

I've got Cooper STT's on my 80 & a set of BFG MT's on my Land Rover, the STT's are much better on the road than the BFG's. In the Wet = more grip, dry = less noisy, plus they're cheaper

Agree on the STTs.

PS - sorry to hear about your LR problems

 

[Brett]

PS - sorry to hear about your LR problems

What problems are they then?

My Ninety doesn't give me any problems, it's the wife's P38a Range rover that's been naughty

 

[Gary Stockton]

Oh well, there you go then

Sorry - couldn't resist - I spent far too much of my youth pushing bust LandRovers to have anything but surprise when I see them being sold ...

There's even a parking lot down the road from me with piles of broken ones in it - it's the motor pool at Dreghorn Barracks

/HiJack