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what tyre is best for 4x4 - narrow/wide

G

Guest

Guest
Awh ha - now we get into the "what tyre is best" scenario.
The US boys over here run higher for extra height and climbing over rocks
etc. I like my 33.5" and would "maybe" go to a 35 but certainly no higher.
Issue with 35" is u need to do some mods to get that size to function right
and there-in lies the "rub". How much mods u wanna do and venture away from
a family truck/nice highway cruisin machine is the issue.
They also like to go wide for the snow they endure but rarely see any mud
(at least in Colorado doesn't rain enough).
However my understanding that in Europe and for Africian overlander ventures
that skinny tyres were the order of the day.
Was I misinformed?
I've not run narrow tires or very wide ones to be able to compare.
Theory being that narrow will cut thru the goo and get down to dirt whereas
wide lets u float on top. Now saying that a cruiser is a little heavy so
does that theory hold up?
I've run with a buddy here in another 80 and we've done a lot of snow runs.
I inverably dig down with my tyres (Simex Jungle Trekker II with agressive
thread/lugs) and often bottom myself in the snow, where-as he will float on
top and keep going (running Goodyear MTR in 285).
Now beware that Colorado snow is not the snow my momma knew - not that we
ever got much snow in Ireland - once every 10 years is good. It is very
light and fluffy and its often hard to compact to make a snowball. It will
just disintegrate in your hand. Great for skiers (so I'm told) and know as
'powder/sugar' snow. Very interesting to climb a hill with this stuff.
Lal, always wanting to hear other experiences and to learn !
in Colorado where out 5" of snow is just disappearing (mountains got 10")
-----Original Message-----
From: [Email address removed]
[mailto:[Email address removed]]On Behalf Of toy80
Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 2:36 PM
To: [Email address removed]
Subject: [ELCO] Steel wheels Renate and Sizes JB
Renate,
If you have the choice - and bearing in mind your comments about Michelins
or whatever. Then get split rims, they will allow you to use tyres with a
stiffer sidewall - and that is where quality is to be found. Cheap 8 spokes
or modulars look good but are not too practical on a 'real' 4WD as they
mostly have no split rim.
JB as for size of wheels, I really don't know why people want the biggest
they can fit - in Europe anyway. If you want to go rock crawling with Lal
then I can understand. But in Europe - thinking m u d - then go for
flotation i.e. width of footprint, and not even more height off the ground.
(If you are short then you can't even climb into the driving seat!) Wide
16 inch are better. Its what we use out here and we go everywhere the
peacekeeping force goes with much higher spec vehicles.
Cheers
Jon
'92 HZJ80 ex UN surplus in Bosnia
 
On Fri, 3 Dec 2004 18:41:05 -0700, Brendan Lally <[Email address removed]> wrote:
Hello Lal,
Not at all! 7.50x16 (same diameter as 235x85x16 but even narrower) are
possibly the most ubiquitous size wherever you go in the world. So if
you are a long way from nowhere , you're better off driving on those
skinny tyres that can be easily found in tyre shops than on some
monster truck jobbies that may be OK off road but are a pain to
replace locally.
That's what some people say, but there's no hard science about this.
Sometimes it works, sometimes it doesn't - mud has too many varieties.
However, on loose surfaces, such as sand or snow, there's no
substitute for footprint. Also, less agressive patter that will not
disrupt the surface and dig you in, is just as important as tyre
width.
--
Rgds,
Roman (London, UK)
'92 HDJ80
 
Morning all,
Going back to my rallying days we woul only use skinny tyres with slow, to, as Lal says, cut through the surface fluff to get to the hard stuff. Do any of you recall seeing the big Audi Quattro Sports or Peugeot 205 T16s on skinny bicycle tyres for the Lombard Rally back in the early 80s - rare beautiful beasts.
All the discussions I have seen over the years point to going for footprint as well as height with 285 or 305 by 75 being a good allrounder which don't rub, although I hadn't previous considered Roman's point about availability.
Cheers,
Julian
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