Tyres Question

[ibruceuk]

Hi,

I currently have 205's on my D1 at the moment, but the front two are very borderline so I'm looking at replacing all four with 235/70R16's.

I've been offered 4 new tyres including valve fitting & balance for about £200...

The tyres are Intermoto and BFG AT lookalikes.   Has anyone heard of them, any experience of them?

Cheers,

Ian.

[gords]

I've not heard of them, but i would guess that they are remoulds at that price. Not that I'm saying remoulds are bad - I used to have Colway ATs :)

I would say have more of a look around and wait to see what other people say.

Do you specifically want ATs? Do you do pay-n-plays, laning or just road? Have you considered MT tyres?

Maybe something like the Amazon Mud Terrain - see code AATY7 here

[ibruceuk]

I'd not looked at those, basically I use it for a bit of everything.

I wouldn't mind MT's as I love the agressive look of them, do they hold the road well as it's also my daily commuter, and I like to "make progress" when I drive...

I do a bit of greenlaning and pay & play and also I do a fair bit of towing off muddy fields in the summer for a charity I run.

Dunno what's best really...  any suggestions anyone??

[gords]

Do you have a TDi or V8?

I run BFG MT's all the time and for me, they handle brilliantly! Other Mud Terrains do vary though!!

I think you will find that remoulds will wear out quite quickly. Also, just because the pattern looks similar doesn't necessarily mean that they will perform as well as the BFG (or similar)

My BFG's cost just over £400 - but I have heard more than once that they tend to last around 40 - 50k miles! You may find that a £200 set of tyres won't last half as long.

I would say that if you want to run mud tyres on a daily drive, spend the money on good quality tyres (BF Goodrich or similar).

Hopefully, some others will be along with their experiences / recommendations soon :)

[Skibum346]

I'm running with the Technic Amazon 235/70's...   90% on road so probably a little stupid  :oops:    Bu I don't have any particular problems... though as I drive a V8 they probably make it even LESS ecenomic!

Seriously, I was never that persuaded by Mud's till I tried them off road. A much surer drive and as I said, no particular problems on road.

Kindest

skibum

[gords]

I think most (but not all!) tyres are OK for a Discovery TDi, but you need to check the tyre speed rating if you have a V8.

We have a list here.

[ibruceuk]

Sorry forgot to say it's a V8.

[Range Rover Blues]

Then remoulds are out, they aren't speed rated high enough I think.  It may be borderline on a 3.5 so check your manual but if the car can do over 98 MPH then you can't use remoulds.

I have 235/85 BFG MT and TBH they are no better than my old Machos in the mud, slightly better at some things, slightly worse at others.  On the road I find them a bit lairy.  They are wearing quickly and now that they are run-in the sidewalls have softened considerably, you need to plan well ahead when driving or things can get a bit white-knuckle.  Even they are only Q rated though, so no good for a faster V8.

[ibruceuk]

The book speed is 105mph, but the Amazon remoulds are rated to 110mph so they should be ok..

[Range Rover Blues]

If they are then yes, but that's quite high for a remould.  Good on them if they are, that pattern is very capable off road.

[ibruceuk]

Cheers, what are they like on road?  Is there much noise and do they hold the road ok in the wet?

[Skibum346]

IBruce,

I've not had any problems... they do have a particular sound to them that takes me back to the eighties and my time in BAOR as was.

Not really had to drive them hard in the wet but I've noticed that when I drive through a puddle for fun   (I know you do it too!   :twisted: ) the car is not pulled as much as my RRC wearing colway all terrains.

Basically I drive sensibly and everything is fine.

Kindest

Frank

[Range Rover Blues]

Err, a bit noisey, especially when pulling up to the line.  Grip is good, wear was acceptable, handling was passable.  The worst thing about remoulds is you have no knowledge or control over what brand of tyre they are built onto, and you can't guarantee a matched set.  Different brands of tyre work, well differently, so you have to take this into account.  If it's worth getting MT then yes you can live with them, drive the car accordingly.

Personally I have a set ot AT for day to day use and taking the doags to the park, towing, gentle laning etc and the MTs which are oversized for a Range Rover that I keep for the mud now.

[ChrisW]

This speed rating discussion pops up from time to time - ISTR that the legislation now is that if you fit tyres that are a lower rated speed than the vehicles maximum speed then you must not exceed the rating of the tyre  :?:
(Official line that is - of course none of us exceed the speed limit for the road being driven do we  :lol: )

[Range Rover Blues]

Well given that non of us should be worried about doing 105mph anyway then you could argue that n rated tyres would be fine.  AFAIK the car must be fitted with tyres capable of sustained driving at the manufacturers stated top speed.  However the new RR does have a rider in the manual about fitting lower speed rated tyres and driving at the appropriate speed :?

[ChrisW]

However the new RR does have a rider in the manual about fitting lower speed rated tyres and driving at the appropriate speed :?

THAT's what I'm thinking of - knew I'd seen it somewhere or t'other  :roll:

[jjsaul]

anyone know what 225/75R16 Macho's are rated to...?
ive had 95 out of them (on a private road of course   ) for about half an hour and they didnt feel too warm etc....

[Wolfie]

anyone know what 225/75R16 Macho's are rated to...?

From http://www.cars-gb.com/greenwaytyres_m.htm they are "M" rated, so looking at http://members.mud-club.com/library/?articleid=22 they're good to 81mph.

Regards

Wolfie

[Wireless]

If you've got the time to take the trouble, and can afford it, a second set of wheels is the best solution.  MT tyres used on tarmac daily will deffo last a shorter time than a 80% tarmac tyre, and shoulder wear on MT's from use on tarmac will make them less effective in the mud.  I currently don't do much off-roading, (apart from the occasional crossing of a stream/brook, and grassy fields on Scout Camps), but if I did, I'd invest in a second set of steel wheels, and MT tyres.

Has anyone looked at the fuel savings in using budget on-road tyres for their daily commuting, especially with fuel prices the way they are?  With no tyre wear on those precious, specialised off-road MT's, and better on-road handling, it makes sense.

My own budget road tyres are MAXXIS 235/70R16's M+S, which have given me an average fuel saving of nearly 10% when compared to the Goodyear Wrangler 205R16's that were on it, and that's only a 50/50 tyre.

10,000 miles a year or roughly £1500 of fuel (@30mpg), makes £150 available from the fuel budget for tyres on a diesel, or ~£2500 of fuel (@17mpg), makes £250 available on unleaded.

Mind you, if you're a tightwad like me, you'll already be running on SVO/WVO, or LPG, so the savings could be less, but the tyres will last longer anyway if the mileage is appropriately shared amongst two sets of tyres.

Maybe I'm telling you peeps to suck eggs here...

[defenderdan]

My BFG's cost just over £400 - but I have heard more than once that they tend to last around 40 - 50k miles! You may find that a £200 set of tyres won't last half as long.

If you get BFG AT's then you can double those figures. You'll never have to buy another set. That is unless they bring in that law about tyres having an expiry date on them.

[Wireless]

Regarding dates, I think that France has that Law in place.

I'm being a bit vague here but I seem to remember that tyres over 5 years old are illegal over there.