Mud-club
Vehicle & Technical => Defender => Topic started by: smo on March 24, 2006, 12:38:51
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I know that tyres get discussed to death, but the only comment people make other than "this is better" is "noisy"...
Well, how do mud tyres REALLY behave on road, i'm in a quandry as i use my 90 for masses of miles 20+k (hopefully decreasing soon) on road, and yet like to play off road too, nothing majorly serious but definatly in need of mud tyres.
So, is it worth going for muds like the BFG MT's, Michelin OR's or similar traditional mud pattern and if i do is it going to turn my 90 into a wandering beast with no cornering or stopping ability??
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I used to have Road tyres (came with it) and now have swopped to BFG MT's.
There is an obvious difference, but it doesn't put me off, everything is OK apart from high speed cruising (or rather REALLY high speed cruising).
Where are you from? (if you click on profile at the top and add your location it'll stop people asking :wink: ).
If there is a pub meet near to you, head down there and I'm sure there will be a variety of tyres in the car park and willing volunteers to demonstrate :D
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Hmm, what do you class as "high speed" - i do a LOT of motorways and dont want to loose out there, perhaps a second set of rims with MT's on would be better but then its such a pain to jack her up and swap them everytime we want to go and play!
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It depends on what MT you get, some handle better than others, my opinion is that these are the best, based on write up's in the comics and discussions with other MT users.
Some have bad handling at lower speeds, but mine are OK at legal speeds, only getting too noisy and a little more wandering at illegal speeds (not that I do those :twisted: ).
BUT.... some of my bad handling and wandering is due to the fact that it's lifted and has larger tyres, as well as them bing MT's.
I have spare wheels in the garage, I was going to have road tyres on the alloys and MT's on the steels, but I now can't see the point :wink:
Get thee to a pub meet and try some :lol:
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Well if i do change for a "permenant" set itll be BFG MT's or Micheling Off Roads which are near identical, the Michies are not herd of as much due to the massive cost but Costco make them quite attractively priced :D
If i went second set i'd get remoulds, Insa Turbo Dakars probably as they are another BFG-MT pattern but they still need to cope with 1-200 mile road journeys on occasions when we go on hold and plan to go laning whilst there.
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the Michies are not herd of as much due to the massive cost but Costco make them quite attractively priced :D
Tell me more :D How much ?
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Here's my experience of MT's over the years, I've got General Grabbers on the Disco now. :wink:
BFG's: Very good on road manners, even in the wet, no slipage on cornering or a reduction in braking.
General Grabbers: The same as the BFG's only slightly cheaper but on par with the perfromance both on & off road.
Colway's: Good grip but people know you're coming 1/2 mile before you get there!
Tacoma: Don't bother with them, no grip on a wet road, you really have to watch the corners, wheels lock under braking at the slightest sign of rain!
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And my comments on the subject...
I've 2 sets of M/T tyres that I swap and change.
General Grabber M/T's...as Budgie said, excellent in the mud, loads of grip. Locked the wheels on tarmac one too many times for my liking. Lacking in side wall grip when climbing rut walls tho'. They also whirr around 55-65mph which can be annoying. Do yours do this Budgie ?
Pirelli Scorpion Muds...tread blocks can be felt at speeds up to 20mph so you get a vibration. The tread is wider and flatter than the Grabbers so they definately have more on road grip. Far less whirr as speed but like all MT's they can still be heard. The tread depth is less on the Pirelli's and they seem to be wearing quicker. Down to 7 mm on mine and they are becoming pants in sticky mud. The tread just clogs.
I've done similar mileage on both sets and the grabbers have worn much better. I now use the Pirellis for long runs and daily stuff, only put the Grabbers on when I know it's going to be muddy. When the Pirellis are worn out I won't buy another set. Both sets are 235/85/16's
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I have had both BFG MT and goodyear wrangler MTRs
the best on the road were definatley the Goodyear wranglers.
quiet and good handling. Off road the BFG seeminlgy had a marginal benefit
think also about the tyre width as thsi can make a difference on the handling to - the wranglers that were the 265 width handled better than the 235s in my experience.
hope this helps
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Hmm...so possibly go with a mud tyre all the time and switch to 265/75 instead of 235/85??
Somthing to consider :)
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General Grabber M/T's...as Budgie said, excellent in the mud, loads of grip. Locked the wheels on tarmac one too many times for my liking. Lacking in side wall grip when climbing rut walls tho'. They also whirr around 55-65mph which can be annoying. Do yours do this Budgie ?
I don't get any whirring from them, nor have they locked on me. :?
Mind you, maybe your brakes are better than mine and we don't have that may motorways on the island!! :D
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Ive got the 235/85 machos (remoulds) and find them excellent in mud, but tend to get thrown around in the rain on the roads when cornering. If your doing a lot of motorway miles...Dont get remoulds.
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Running 235/70/16 BFG MT's at the moment and except for some road noise they behave much as any other tyre but that really isn't the point because if i had to brake suddenly at a speed over 50mph in the wet and pulling a trailer is when you find out that you really could have done with some more rubber touching that road and with hindsight i wish i had fitted all terrains and bought some cheep MT's for playing in.
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I'm running on 235/85 BFG MT's and they are fine on the road - my v8 will cruise at 70+ on the motorway and they are n't too noisy. Offroad - unless you go for something crazy - they are the dogs.
Go for it - you won't regret it.
David
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ATS have a deal on BFGs at the moment
i got 4 fitted for £345 size 235 70 16 MTs
very pleased with them on and offroad
and they do look good aswell
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that is an excellent price. How much are the michelins at cosco ?
I went for the BFG's and am very happy with them off road and on road. My old tyres were a bit too worn and so when i changed to the MT's i was pleasantly suprised.
I also changed the tyre pressures and that has made the handling a lot better (28/40 i think).
If your doing so many miles i would advise getting some road tyres. Get some grizzly's on steels for playing in. It is a royal pain in the backside changing them - but you do 20k+ miles a year! Your twice as likely as me to get into a scrape where you will need a lot of rubber.
How often do you get off road ? If its a lot, then get the best quality MT's money can buy!
I recommend the BFG's but havent tried any others.
Good luck
Ringo
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grizzly claws beat all of them :lol: :roll: the best i had m/t wise wat the goodyear m/t that the g4 challenge used, brilliant on the road, excelent milage off them, and reasonable grip offroad, but that was then and this is now....bigger and nastier is better :P
danny
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I got some mud tyres yesterday :)
Fitted some 265/75 BF Goodrich MT's on my origonal genuine boost alloys. First impressions are excellent.
I took them off-road yesterday straight after and they are amazing in the mud and water around salisbury where i tried them out and they handle very very well on road, so far i've done nearly 200 miles at all speeds in driving rain and nasty weather on road without any scares so i'm very impressed.
Got them at a cracking price to :)
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yes, i was impressed with there performance, but i moved on as doing bigger and better things, and now moving on agen to some 35" yano wots :wink:
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i thought the goodyears where better on road though :shock:
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Got BFG MT's on this Defender - good road manners, grip in the wet and , at the right pressures, good on wet grass, rocks, mud, sand; you name it.
Had SAG's on the last Defender - f@#&ing outrageous off-road, but the vibration, lack of grip in the wet etc on road was unbelievable!!