G
Guest
Guest
JB wrote...
Come on tell us your list of what you concider the best overall tyres are .
Im interested because im changing mine soon and do not want to make a big bo
bo which in my case is likely.
SNIP...
JB, I would never dare to pretend that I knew which tyre was right for the
80. Its a case of what is right for you and the conditions in which you
travel. Julian was right, its best to get another spare set of tyres and
wheels.
My comment on Duellers was specifically about wet conditions on asphalt -
something that Julian appears to have missed in his comment. I have a
strong belief that asphalt is commonly used in UK & Eire also ;o)
It was no wonder our logistics manager did a deal on these tyres as they
could not sell them to others either. When you live in mountains you get
continuous heavy rain at times for 2 days non-stop. As a responsible
employer I cannot send out staff - often of the younger generation - in
conditions in which their tyres cannot cope. We may go up and down mountain
tracks all day in mud, loose rock and deep snow, but to get there involves
travelling for an hour or so on asphalt highways. Its that part of the
journey that is so much more dangerous than the travelling in our field
work where the only danger is finding a rockfall or meeting a wolf, wild
boar or bear! Add to this the fact that the majority of drivers on the
country's roads have never had any form of instruction and 'acquired' their
licences, then you can see that I want my staff to have a set of boots that
can at least stop in all weathers to avoid the other idiots.
Just think of a lot of car tyre adverts especially those you see on TV in
the autumn - they nearly all emphasise their wet grip and their ability to
displace water. And what does the tread pattern look like ? - at least 2
grooves right around the tyre with gaps to eject the water to the outside.
There are good off-road 'AT' tyres that also accomplish this. Not just my
Dunlop Grand Trek TG35's, but also say the Cooper Discoverer AT's that I
recently bought to match the very much road biased Avon TSE's on my Pajero.
Duellers are fine for all-round AT performance, but I would not trust them
on motorway in heavy rain on a regular basis. Remember they (Bridgestone)
are Firestone, a former American company and all their designs are largely
for the US market. Yes, of course it rains there - I have lived in the
country - but the majority of the market is not as wet as in Europe. The
European tyre makers generally have more rain tolerance built-in, look at
Michelin, Nokia, Pirelli, even Dunlops now made in Japan ! All their AT's
have a design to move water.
By the way, it was interesting to see my 80 standing beside Julian's. His
lift makes my 80 look quite dinky beside it. And the tyre comparison was
interesting too, but I seem to get most places with an AT including very
boggy mountain valleys. Even those cissy road tyres on my Pajero got me
all round Salisbury Plain when others in the Paj club were struggling even
when equipped with big nobbly boots. I am still sure that all-round tyre
performance - whatever the make/tread pattern - is something to do with
driver experience.
As for snow, I would be happy to drive in snow with bald tyres - with
diamond pattern chains fitted. Nokia do some nice heavily siped tyres for
snow, but when push comes to shove - or sideways skid - chains cannot be
beaten. But we discussed this at length in the winter.
And leaking radiators ? I would never attempt a repair or removal for
someone else to repair without first putting radweld or similar into it to
try and fix it that way. My 4Runner did very well on it with no overheating
etc in a Mediterranean summer. Just think of those people who drive
vehicles in places where convenient repair is not an option - we all have
to 'make-do'. Convenient repair equipment like radweld, oil sealer
additive, puncture 'glue', etc are all part of the standard toolkit of aid
agencies where a breakdown is the driver's problem and not solved by a
phone call. I think Renate will have had the same experience in her driving
in remote areas. Though there can never be any substitute for careful
preparation, these things like rad leaks do just 'happen'.
Anyway, enough of me.
Cheers
Jon
'92 HZJ80 ex UN surplus from Bosnia, now sharing time between Alfold Surrey
and Tring Herts.
Come on tell us your list of what you concider the best overall tyres are .
Im interested because im changing mine soon and do not want to make a big bo
bo which in my case is likely.
SNIP...
JB, I would never dare to pretend that I knew which tyre was right for the
80. Its a case of what is right for you and the conditions in which you
travel. Julian was right, its best to get another spare set of tyres and
wheels.
My comment on Duellers was specifically about wet conditions on asphalt -
something that Julian appears to have missed in his comment. I have a
strong belief that asphalt is commonly used in UK & Eire also ;o)
It was no wonder our logistics manager did a deal on these tyres as they
could not sell them to others either. When you live in mountains you get
continuous heavy rain at times for 2 days non-stop. As a responsible
employer I cannot send out staff - often of the younger generation - in
conditions in which their tyres cannot cope. We may go up and down mountain
tracks all day in mud, loose rock and deep snow, but to get there involves
travelling for an hour or so on asphalt highways. Its that part of the
journey that is so much more dangerous than the travelling in our field
work where the only danger is finding a rockfall or meeting a wolf, wild
boar or bear! Add to this the fact that the majority of drivers on the
country's roads have never had any form of instruction and 'acquired' their
licences, then you can see that I want my staff to have a set of boots that
can at least stop in all weathers to avoid the other idiots.
Just think of a lot of car tyre adverts especially those you see on TV in
the autumn - they nearly all emphasise their wet grip and their ability to
displace water. And what does the tread pattern look like ? - at least 2
grooves right around the tyre with gaps to eject the water to the outside.
There are good off-road 'AT' tyres that also accomplish this. Not just my
Dunlop Grand Trek TG35's, but also say the Cooper Discoverer AT's that I
recently bought to match the very much road biased Avon TSE's on my Pajero.
Duellers are fine for all-round AT performance, but I would not trust them
on motorway in heavy rain on a regular basis. Remember they (Bridgestone)
are Firestone, a former American company and all their designs are largely
for the US market. Yes, of course it rains there - I have lived in the
country - but the majority of the market is not as wet as in Europe. The
European tyre makers generally have more rain tolerance built-in, look at
Michelin, Nokia, Pirelli, even Dunlops now made in Japan ! All their AT's
have a design to move water.
By the way, it was interesting to see my 80 standing beside Julian's. His
lift makes my 80 look quite dinky beside it. And the tyre comparison was
interesting too, but I seem to get most places with an AT including very
boggy mountain valleys. Even those cissy road tyres on my Pajero got me
all round Salisbury Plain when others in the Paj club were struggling even
when equipped with big nobbly boots. I am still sure that all-round tyre
performance - whatever the make/tread pattern - is something to do with
driver experience.
As for snow, I would be happy to drive in snow with bald tyres - with
diamond pattern chains fitted. Nokia do some nice heavily siped tyres for
snow, but when push comes to shove - or sideways skid - chains cannot be
beaten. But we discussed this at length in the winter.
And leaking radiators ? I would never attempt a repair or removal for
someone else to repair without first putting radweld or similar into it to
try and fix it that way. My 4Runner did very well on it with no overheating
etc in a Mediterranean summer. Just think of those people who drive
vehicles in places where convenient repair is not an option - we all have
to 'make-do'. Convenient repair equipment like radweld, oil sealer
additive, puncture 'glue', etc are all part of the standard toolkit of aid
agencies where a breakdown is the driver's problem and not solved by a
phone call. I think Renate will have had the same experience in her driving
in remote areas. Though there can never be any substitute for careful
preparation, these things like rad leaks do just 'happen'.
Anyway, enough of me.
Cheers
Jon
'92 HZJ80 ex UN surplus from Bosnia, now sharing time between Alfold Surrey
and Tring Herts.