TYRES - whats best , whats affordable

[old_mate_china]

Hi all - need some new tyres for 2003 Nissan Navara (STR). The crappy Bridgestone Dueller 809 road tyres have just about had the dick after only 24,000km mostly highway work. :P :P :P

Have had a quick look at Coopers AT's ($269), Bridgestone Dueller 689 ($289) and Goodyear Wrangler AT/R. ($267).

Coopers (cairns supplier) and Wranglers (Atherton local) will also throw in the free 10,000km rotation and balance.

Whats the feedback on any of these tyres ??.

I will be sizing up at 265/70 R16. I want good road holding in Tablelands wet and good milage (given the price !!). Driving is 90 % Highway but the 10% off road is usually hard rocky gravel roads- chillagoe / Mt garnet style. Cape York corrugations may also be on the cards in the 12 months or so if the boss give s me the all clear ?? ;) ;)

[Heath]

I've had Coopers HT's on for over 25000km now & they hardly look warn. Like you my car is 90% road & 10% offroad. The times I have been offroad I havn't had any issues ( not that I do a lot of offroad), but on the beaches I have been on no issues what so ever.

[tonyp]

I have a set of the Cooper AT's on my Prado and have only done about 13,000 KLms and found them great, Mostly on the Highway but when i do go on gravel and sand and mud banks with the boat they do there job. I got mine from a place called Signiture tyres and the free Rotation every 5,000 Klms. hardly and extra road noise from the Grandtrek ones that come on the car. I never drive very fast and in the wet towing boat I slow right down.

[mackmauler]

Had the LT cooper put on the rover about 5yr ago, since been superceded by the AT they tell me...recently 2 of the original LT have gone bang (shredded) and now got 2 AT on, done plenty of gravelly tracks up around cooktown and plenty of beach and highway though not on a daily basis. the originals seem a bit worn considering theyd of done less than 50,000 but thats just my opinion, draw straws for it ;D

[BS]

Having done a fair few of the miles in the now mackmauler landy up around cooktown and being a fan of the coopers, I reckon that if your doing more rocky and gravel work than beach (but 90% highway), you'd be better of with BFG A/T's.

They seem to have a bit stronger side walls than the coopers and are less prone to sidewall damage on rocks. But the coopers belly out better for beach work because of this..... these are the two options I would look at.

[isaac]

Yeah cant go wrong with BFG AT's or even the new brgstone dueller AT 694, if its 90/10 your doing, should be cheaper than those you were quoted aswell. Have your tried K-mart tyre and auto in Cairns, as they usually match or better prices and you get a free lifetime tyre package ie balance and rotation every 10000km free, not just the first. Cheers, isaac

[SNELLY]

China,

If you want BFG's - I have them on my 80 series and am quite happy with them and have plenty of mates who use them all the time.

Best place Cairns Tyre Specialists 40 511 115

Cheers Snelly

[old_mate_china]

Thanks all for the advice

I have a bit of a community flavour for supporting the local blokes, and they will throw in the free rotation as well. The BFG's are ticketed at $300 + each. So need to ensure mileage and track was exceptional over and above the others. I am hearing theyre OK but nothing exceptional from anyone on any particular tyre.

I will check out the Cairns Tyre secialists and see what they have to say. $1200 for tyres is a big outlay for me so will need to be right choice

Thanks Lee

[SNELLY]

Lee,

I'm sure you will be under $1,000- if you make that call

Snelly

[CHRIS_aka_GWH]

coopers - very impressed with the HTs on my landy - but my only offroad is beach.
we DO NOT put bridgeys or goodyear on our hire cars as in our experience (much more than a dozen times) they have a nasty habit of slipping belts on hot weather - not a good thing with paying customers.

The guy who fitted them (my coopers) & visits this board on occasion fitted them (he runs a tyre shop) & he runs AT Coopers himself - he sees a lot of feedback & could choose from a lot of brands & he chose them.

chris-

[charexblue]

:)yeh chriss and add dunlop qualifiers to that slipping tread list
did 2 the other day / a lot of offroad work this way
running hankook at's on the front yokahama super diggers rear
/ full set super diggers on dual cab rodeos not nice at all on full brakes emergency and sh*t happens/ end up sideways across bitumen, in the soup of gravel roads the digger keeps the rodeo straight. cheers peter

[Daintreeboy]

China,

If you want BFG's - I have them on my 80 series and am quite happy with them and have plenty of mates who use them all the time.

Best place Cairns Tyre Specialists 40 511 115

Cheers Snelly

Lee definitely give this bloke a ring, his prices are great. I have BFG's and they are a great tyre and will suit your needs.
Cheers, Mark.

[Fishin_Dan]

Lee - I run BFG Muddies on a 60 series Cruiser, and couldn't be happier! The best grip on ALL surfaces! And was reading in a 4x4 mag, that they beat all the other tyres as the best Muddies on the market. Are slightly pricier than some brands, but you do get what you pay for!

[old_mate_china]

Bloody hell - Wouldnt you know it - the only time I want to get some BFG's and the bloody supplier cant get any. :P :-[ :P I rang Cairns tyre spercialists and that poor bastard reckons he's losing $50,000 a month in trade as the supplier cant supply any to him / Australia.

Well that leaves it over to the Cooper AT's. :)

I will be in Cairns tomorrow to check out the Hancooks at Jax tyres etc. ..... Megafish ran those very happily on his 70 series for a number of years. They are also a good price RFO3 at $230 and RFO4's at only $195.

At the moment Im leaning on $40 more each to the Cooper At's with an 80,000km warranty vs a 50,000 on the Hancooks. But I'm still taking votes ??? ???

Anyone else out ther used Hancooks ?? Whats the history :-/

[Fishin_Dan]

Old Mate,

Try looking at the Goodyear MTR's as well.... Would beat the Hancooks hands down! Came in 3rd in the Tyre test by 4wd Monthly the other week.... And should be very easy to get. Beurepairs often do good deals on them.

[Barrymundi]

I am on my second set of Coopers, never changing to another brand.

In ten years, no puntures, no side wall damage and they pull the Hilux up quickly and under control. I put then on the work cars in my old job, improved the handling of a F150 V8 351 and Suberben 6.8 litre Turbo Diesel.

Yes, they have been off road, sand, mud and rock.

Al

[Lucky_Phill]

Coopers. end of story.

Why. ?

a couple of reasons, and one being, they ( Cooper Tyres ) store thier tyres for a while to " cure " them.

Talk to trucking companies etc about, the ' cured ' tyre.

Had H/t's on Jackaroo and now run A/T's on the Nissan,

Coopers, end of story.

Phill

[old_mate_china]

Looks like the 2 horse race is gonna be won by the Coopers in this instance due to 1) being bloody good tyres (it appears) 2) a supply issue with the BFG's , 3) some very happy customers and 4) Great mileage......... Now what style ??

...Coopers is stocking a new model .... the AT/R ... anybody know anything about these yet ??? They look like a typical all terrain centre pattern with a bit more of a highway / snow lean on the outer tread which may also give it a quieter run on the bitumen. Looks classy but will it work.

[BS]

sounds like the ATR might be the pick. Haven't seen it.

I wouldn't go looking at any mud or rock patterns unless you want to go playing in the stuff - they're noising on the road and will bury you in the sand in no time if you start getting a bit stuck ;D.

only good thing about muddies on the beach is watching them bog fully decked out 4bees 8)

[bruce4x4]

Tyre Power Toowoomba.

Toyo Opat $194 fitted and balanced.

Kellys $200 gauranteed 80.000 kilometers.

[old_mate_china]

Thanks for the offer bruce but a little far to Toowoomba (my old stompin grounds) for a refit unfortunately.

I have chosen the new Cooper AT(R)'s in a 265/70R16 pattern . Had them fitted last week for $279 each (inc free rotation and balance every 10,000km) and have driven to Townsville and back since.

The road holding is excellent (although no wet stuff yet) but the tread pattern looks like it will really eat up the wet roads. I have a feeling they are not going to like the hard gravel too much but only time will tell on that one. Lesser mud should be a problem but realyy deep mud I am unsure about . The block pattern has reasonable gap widths so should perform mid range in this aspect.. There is no percievable road noise which I was a bit wary of (well my wifes reaction anyway), ingoing up to an All Terrain style.

The only other thing is that they seem to require a fair bit of lead with the balancing where as the old Dueller HT's didnt seem to take much at all. ...dont know if thats a problem but we will see. They reckon with my driving patterns I should see 80-90,000 km out of the tyre. Thats about 4 years for me, and I'll be happy if thats the case...(thatll be nearly 4 times the life of the crap that it came fitted with).

Anyway all thanks for the advice.It gave me a lot to think about.

Cheers Lee

[ANT_MUDDE]

I have Coopers AT on my MQ patrol. Had them 12 months plus, they still look like new. They've been to Rover Park, On the Beach and plenty of Mud. More than Happy. Will be Getting a set on the new GU 2002 Patrol as soon as I can!

[Daintreeboy]

A bit of an old post but... Lee are you aware the mileage warranty is not honoured outside Capital cities? It absolutely sucks but that's the fine print.
How are they going anyway mate?
Cheers, Mark.

[old_mate_china]

Hi MArk

Just posted a reply on the other Tyre query on the site. To sum up after 10,000km the Coopers still look and handle like new. I am pretty sue they will last the distance that I want to achieve from them. I think the real test will however be past 18 months and 35000 km's, when age may affect the rubber compund or a bit more tread wear is evident.... but for now cant fault them.

I hear that you caught a few Mother in laws, a chinaman, some sharks, a few trevors and a couple of paddletails the other night when out with Megafish. Im glad to see that my spot on the boat was well cared for and your training is now complete young padwan. If Ron was true to form I bet you yanked the bloody anchor all night as well froom 200 ft. O h well I guess the conselation is a few fish in the freezer and a few for a feed... plus I guess at least you were out there catching them.

See ya Lee.
PS Ron was most impressed with your skill on the knife.... I may never get another trip.

Cheers Lee

[Daintreeboy]

I think I set a new record on the vermin mate. The amount of sharks I hooked was amazing considering the other blokes hooked bugger all. And the species of shark was impressive too!! The fellas had a good laugh at my expense in the morning when we were chasing trout, it was unbelievable!
Cheers, Mark.