Real Tyres

[YankeeDave]

ok boys and girls, i need some opinions on tyres,
let me know what ya think.

ones in consideration, 35x13.5 claws, 35.10.5 simex (if they have bigger i'd like to know). 36x12.5 Swampers 35x15 swampers, 35x13.5 mudzillas (similar to claw), Q78 Swampers

i already run 35 muddies and well they just dont cut it anymore. i had a set of 36x12.5 swampers and loved em but they are too warn out now for any use.

i'm driving a turbo diesel GQ. I need a tyre thats tough, and good in pretty much all conditions, and i dont care too much about road handling. And price is a bit of a factor


all these tyres fit on my GQ, and i'm used to the horrible road handling of the swampers, and i couldnt care less about how loud they are.


so any advice would be great. cheers.

[baby_troupe]

Go for Claws or Swampers.
Pretty good in most conditions, but wear heaps on road.
Extreme Treks are very good also, but I reckon the claws sound like a better "fit" to what you want to do.

I dont like the claw on gravel roads, tend to skate over the top, the Q78 is good for Vic mud as it cuts in, but the 36x13 TSL Swampers on 10" rims have been the best tyres I have run, drive nice on the road, much bigger tread section [bigger gaps between the lugs] more stable on side slopes and the best traction in all conditions.

Having tried 38x11 boggers, 37x13 boggers, tsl's, in various sizes, xterrains, trexus, claw, I wouldnt hesitate to go 36x13 on 10's again over the rest.

And of course the TSL isnt directional, like the Simex, drive in, cant back out...

[wooders]

I have 35x12.5 ProComp mudies and they are fine for light trail duties.
But I also have 36x12.5 TSL Bias ply and I can't rave about these enough....Esp on beadlocks....

[308LUX]

anyone ever used the swamper TSL for daily drivin?

Just wondering how bad the mileage would be?

[YankeeDave]

yeah i used my old 36 swampers for daily driving. and yeah handling is shocking but managable, and economy gets worse

on swampers i was getting around 580 kms on the road and about 500 kms in the bush on 1 tank,

just put my muds back on cuz the swampers are dead and now i'm getting 650 kms on road and around 600 in the bush.

I think he meant how the tyres wear, dependin gon the swamper tread design, and type, I would sell mine each yr with about 10% worn off them and buy new ones, but dont ecpect more than 25000km from a set before they become the same as MT's to use.

I only ran my swampers for 4wding, used road tyres in summer, and the 4wd was parked during the week.

[YankeeDave]

ahh you're right shed guy, sorry had a few beers and just let my mind wonder,

anyway, you say you get rid of ur swampers after every year, would that time be coming up soon, cuz i'm looking out for some second hand ones.

I dont run them on the current vehicle, I got rid of my 78 series troopy which i ran the 36x13's on earlier this year.

[DirtPig]

Yep... and guess who owns them now ;)

I am running them on 8" rims and am totally blown away with the offroad performance. They eclipse any other tyre I have run offroad.

[YankeeDave]

i ran my 36x13 swampers on 8 in rims and was happy. but would 10 in rims be better? is it worth the extra money for the bigger rims?

The 10" rims made the tyre much more stable at low pressure, good for side slopes etc, and made them drive on road much nicer than 8" rims.

I had alloys made to suit the 5 stud [78 series same as 100] 16x10with the correct offset.

http://www.offroader.com.au/reviews/lights/troopy-lightforce240blitz.jpg

[baby_troupe]

Hey Darren.
Do you still miss the troopy?

She was a fine lookin' truck mate.

Dont miss the troopy, no, it was good for it purpose, now working on making a vehicle everyone thinks is a shopping jeep, with IFS, work well for what I want.

Currently the new vehicle is no less capable than the last, but nicer to drive, and cheaper to run.

[desray]

Hi try these for real tyres will fit patrol 16" wheels http://www.expeditionexchange.com/michelin/ :o

they wear quickly, and a 9.00 is a 34" tyre [close enough]

I have some similar michi's here in a 38x12.5x16.

[cuttin loose]

was talking to Nick at Mannell Motors.... he reckons the cooper STT's are pretty good for just about everything...
they wear well too apparently... new compound..

probably get them for about $320 fitted for a 35 x 12.5 x 15...

just another idea..

[YankeeDave]

Yeah im running Cooper STT's 35s at the moment.

and i find that they are no where near as good as my old swampers or people who have claws/centipedes

[cuttin loose]

are the STT's better on road than off compared to swampers etc...

guess the swampers and centipedes are in a different catagory to the STT's... ( being better offroad wise..)

[wooders]

You can't really compare the STT or any generic muddie to a specialist tyre like the Swamper/Claw/simex......

IMHO the STT or BFGM/T or MT/R or.....are all competent offroad tyres - but when the going gets really rough IMHO you just can't beat the specialist meats......onraod natuirally the generic muddies are much nicer - but who care about that right :-*

[cuttin loose]

i only like the idea of the STT's coz cooper reckons you get good milage outa them.. for someone like me who does approx. 25,000kms minimum a year, i want something that's gonna hold but still give me good off road abilities...

or maybe it's time to look at a second set of skins... ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D ;D

you can buy original equipment tyres 2nd hand for around $50 ea, and a set of ROH rims are around $115, makes for cheap hwy work, saves your offroad tyres too.

I offload my offroad tyres by 10,000km as the first 10% is the best bit, newer tyres puncture less, and they are very sellable when near new, you also lose very little, more often that throwing a set away and buying another new set, changing them often is a bit like paying them off over a long period.

[cuttin loose]

yeah prolly get a set of the sunraysia's and get some claws whacked on em for good measure....

are the claws legal on road?? i heard they're not..

how do you guys get around this one with getting to your destinations etc??

[YankeeDave]

i've heard that swampers are pretty much the only ones that arnt road legal. i know jungle trekkers are, not sure if centipedes are though


but i used to use my swampers (they are dead now) everyday, as i didnt have far to travel to uni/work, and they are fine going to the bush driving, a few hours. Not as nice as muddies and downright dangerous on wet sealed roads. but 10 times better in the bush.

I basically started this thread trying to find the best hard core tyre, and not really for the road, as i'll use them as my second set of offroad boots.

i'm not going for boggers, cuz i've heard they are really only good for mud, and are shocking on sideslops.


so whats best for victoria
swampers, claws, or centipedes?

IMHO TSLs. I had the 36x13 as fav out of the sizes I tried/ran.

[cuttin loose]

so are the claws that Pat runs on Otis street legal??

[YankeeDave]

i think the tread pattern is legal, ie the tyre construction.

but each state has limits on tyre diameter. So in victoria pats tyres would not be legal

[cuttin loose]

Maybe Pat can help us out on this one....

Pat - are your tyres on Otis Legal??

[big red]

ran the 35 centipedes and found them a very good allround tyre except for the noise.
still about half tread after 25,000 kms
out performed the BFG MT's on road and off.
you can get them in 36" size now.

Sheddy, what were the boggers like compared to the swampers?
got 38 swampers at the moment but need some 37"s for comps, love the swampers ;D

The boggers are like driving with the old bar treads , need to be on the throttle, and they dont have the lateral grip [side slip happens with boggers] that the TSL has.

The 37x13 bogger is a little different with the scollaped lugs, they dig well, but thats not always good.

THose who tried the 36 pede before the outback challenge went back to the 35 for the event, the centre tread is very close together on the 36, and would clog easily, not to mention being directional.........

http://www.offroader.com.au/Procomp030910/thumbs/IMGA0495.JPG

[YankeeDave]

just found out the new 36x12.5 centepede is availble for around $400 per tyre.

with those huge side lugs, i might choose these over a swamper which is slightly more expensive.

although, wondering about the pros and cons of a directional tyre.

any ideas?

I had a friend on my snow trip last week, had directional tyres, would be able to buy his cheap after the reversing troubles he had all weekend.

I would never ever, repeat NEVER run a directional tyre for offroad work.

[big red]

he he, put em on backwards and when you get stuck just reverse out ;D

[big red]

sheddy, i've had claws and didn't like them on side slopes unless i was accellerating, are the boggers as bad? whats the grip on wet rock like compared to the swampers?

[why dont they make a 37 swamper? :'( ]

The bogger is better on gravel than the claw, and dont side slip when the throttle is down, but are the same when not accelerating.

Wet rock is a tougher one, but I still prefer the TSL.....

Dont they make a 37" SSR Swamper radial? [TSL pattern]

[wooders]

Yes they make a 37" SSR - BUT they are VERY heavy, and are somewhat different to the regular TSL.
The 36" TSL is a big 36" - ie it's nearly as big as some 37" tyres.
Anyways back to the question - Vic mud ignoring street manners etc....SX would be probably my pick followed by the TSL Bias.....But overall I'd take the TSL becuase the SX wear SOOO fast & cost too much extra IMHO....

[big red]

i better start a new thread ::)
sorry to hijack this one.