tyres, tyres, tyres.....

i've been reading up on tyres lately and am pretty impressed by how much variety, technology and specialist design is out there for 4wd tyres (rockcrawlers aside)
now, im not in need of new tyres and new to the subject so this is more of a conversational post rather then a Q&A post....

how do you guys choose what boots to run? design style, weekend or weekday performance, lifespan, brand name, all of the above???

the basic concept as i understand is muddies for mud and all terrains for assorted terrain but what if you want to do serious mud driving/water crossings AND sand/dune driving? doesn't the design concept of a mud tyre and all terrain tyre (sand biased for arguments sake) contradict each other?

is it a case of missing out on one type of fun for the sake of better performance with the other type of fun......?
bare in mind this doesnt even include tarmac performance, lifespan and braking into the equation....

i've stumbled onto a few dated tyre shootouts but nothing really stands out as the BEST type of 4WD tyre!!

i'd hate to have to buy tyres for different conditions cos they sure aint cheap.

I wanted the most aggressive all-terrain I could find, so I went with a 4 rib Mickey Thompson ATZ, very happy with them so far. They also come with a 80,000 k warranty.

If I didn't get them I probably would have got BFG AT's.

Everyone's requirements are different, which is why there are so many types of tyres out there on the market.

While that might not seem like a helpful statement, think about it for a moment. Look around your local area - check out what people who go 4wding in your local terrain are running.

Personally, I run a mud tyre all the time. It suits my needs. I spend a lot of time on either trails, rocky or shale surfaces. Not too much sand. When I move to Tassie soon the paradigm may change. However for the moment muds suit my needs.

A lot of people talk about how muddies will dig themselves into sand. I've found that on a few different vehicles I've owned (all running mud tyres) that when I have been on sand, I'just dropped the pressures a couple more pounds and the muds have worked beautifully in sand.

Everything is a compromise. Nothing is a certainty.

true...

how low are you talking tho for muddy tyre pressures to be competent in soft sand? from my very limited experience 12psi on my AT's was still very borderline with digging into pretty nasty sand.

with what u said: "check out what other locals are using and where"
is kind of what started my interest.... in WA theres a hell of alot of sand aswell as the gravel and what not in the hills.... but mostly sand and from what i have seen, a fair whack of muddies going around.... hence my curiosity.

im not after an exact answer <directed at the thread not your post<, as theres no real exact question here but curious to see what some of you think on the matter...... not here to judge as i'd probably be the first one to buy tyres on looks, just quietly....heh.

it would be nice if u could test drive different tyres and terrain before you committed...like at the 4wd expo maybe...

anyways too much coffee for a monday morning......

MT atz for sure...there was a write up comparing several top branded tyres and appears most AT's are performing very close to the MudT in last months or 2months prior mag issues...at the end of the day the 4wd action boys chose MT atz...

My current tyre of choice is the Mickey Thompson MTZ. The lowest pressure I have required is 15PSI for any kind of terrain.

It's a tough question, and I understand your frustration.....different tyres will react differently to differnt pressures, depending on how they are loaded etc.

Brand/model "X" when loaded at "Y" kg's per corner at "Z" PSI will react in a certain way and give a certain footprint. No two vehicles will be accessorised/modified or loaded in the same manner.

It's a gamble, no two ways about it.

I'm no expert and I don't claim to be. What I do claim to have is knowledge of how MY vehicle reacts to different types of terrain that I drive on. And what I do is change pressures regularly to suit that terrain. From the experiences I have seen, people that are too lazy (?) to change pressures either (a) get stuck or (b) suffer tyre failures. I'm not too fussy, when I hit the dirt I drop to 25PSI (forest trails, that kind of thing) then I'll drop straight down to 20PSI when needed, or depending on the terrain, further as required down to a minimum working pressure of 15. Any time I have every been required to go below 15PSI I have ALWAYS aired back up to 15 as soon as practicable thereafter. Never needed to go below 15 thus far with my nav though - I'm either getting old, getting soft, picking easier lines, or I've learned to drive in my old age.

I'm not scared of getting the compressor out and airing up if it means I can tackle, say a 20km run along a fast fire trail while putting a little less heat into my tyres. To me it's an excuse to get out, have a walk around, check things out etc.

Been 4wding now for over 20 years. In that time I have suffered 2 punctures in the scrub. One was when I was an absolute newbie. I didn't deflate when I should have. The second was not long after I bought my D40, running the standard COnti's. Again, I didn't deflate when I should have and scored a shale puncture... Lessons in life

In that time I have run a mixture of tyres, depending on who has been the main driver of the vehicle. Where the vehicle has been primarily driven my the other half, it wore all terrains. Mainly because Canberra roads get awful slippery in Canberra winters. When I've been the primary driver, muds were the tyres of choice.

its not a bad idea to go pick up some cheap rims a have a 2nd set handy. ie have tarseal/at for summer running and MT for winter running. thats makes the expensive MT's last a whole lot longer.

our current tire of choice is wrangler mtr's, but i;ll need some new ones soon and they have changed to the new type so i don't know what we will get.
the MTR's are great, one of the most aggressive AT tires around. work great on gravel, ok in mud and enough bite for slimy grass. nice strong sidewalls which makes them great for work vehicles. unfortunately you have to air right down low before they balloon out.

tweak'e said:

its not a bad idea to go pick up some cheap rims a have a 2nd set handy. ie have tarseal/at for summer running and MT for winter running. thats makes the expensive MT's last a whole lot longer.

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thats exactly what iv done..and u can pick up a airgun for $50. iv got 15" sunnys with maxxis bighorns..cheapy muddies but pretty good offroad..shithouse on the highway though...i wack these on when we go to have fun or camping...then at's back on for daily use