Getting to grips with 35" tyres

[Crushers]

depends on the terrain being tranversed.
low hp and mud with a firm bottom then skinny is the game
if high hp and no bottom (before the diffs bottom out) then fats is the ticket.

me, i like tall skinny since you don't seem to break parts as much

 

[Chris]

With you there. Not sure if I will be able to get skinny as such, but let's just say I don't want 'Wide Boys'.

C

 

[pugwash]

depends on the terrain being tranversed.
low hp and mud with a firm bottom then skinny is the game
if high hp and no bottom (before the diffs bottom out) then fats is the ticket.

me, i like tall skinny since you don't seem to break parts as much

absolutely agreed on this-0 but have found that as cruiser are a good half tonne heavier than say a lr90 the extra width of say a 12" v 9" sectional works in the cruisers favour- 12" tyresd work really well on cruisers i've found- rarely are they too floaty, but are always grippy.

 

[Chris]

Have to say that I was very impressed with Mr Gav and Muxley on what looked like 12.5s. Although widish, but not floatation, they did seem to grip very well. But then Gav had fandango suspenders too. And articulation is everything.

Chris

 

[Ben]

neither of my sets of 35"s measure 35"!

ok there a little worn now, but i cant imagine they were ever a true 35". seems false advertising to me.

one thing i would say about aggressive tyres, is make sure they have an E marking. if caught running tyres without E markings, its 3points per tyre. so you could potentionaly loose your license!

will be interested to see what tyres you end up getting Chris, as i want a new set before i export it.

 

[Chris]

Ben, sorry to say that this is why I didn't buy those tyres in the first place. I measured a brand new set and thought why pay 35" prices for 33" tyres? Still good in 33" though. But I agree they plainly are not what they claim in terms of size. Now where have I heard that before?

Still not sure on what I will get. Sometimes I get a bit lost with tyres sizes. Cool with 265.75.16. Got 35.12.5.16 but now I have to try and decipher 750.16 What the heck's that?

E marking What's a fox hat?

I just go to tyre shop and buy them. Never considered that I might end up with points for illegal rubber. OK unlikely that Plod is going to look that closely, but I shall have to be careful mate if I go down the 'slightly dodgy' route for any tyres. Thanks.



Chris

 

[Julian]

On the other scale Chris 900x16 would be the ticket
The weapon of choice would be the Michelin ZXL, best suited to a 6.50" or 7" rim
I believe Ian's green dragon runs this size which I believe is about 37"

 

[Crushers]

these ex-military Michelin tires were all the rage here about 10 years ago.
very tough
hard to balance
very decent off road
wicked for roads that eat other tires.

i never liked them but some here still love them.
good option.

 

[Chris]

OK looks like the 37's may well be sorted. Not totally in the bag but as good as. Detail later once 100%.

So focus of thread now is really on some road going 35's.

Chris

 

[Rob]

Chris 900x16 means 9" wide and 9" sidewall so technically should be 34" tall however I think they are usually larger for some strange reason. Think of these sizes as 9.00/100r16 with the first part in inches.

Edit, the new Michelin XZL is 255/100r16 which apparently is the same physical size as 900r16

 

[Crushers]

i LOVE my good year ATS, 35 X 12.5 X 15, not sure if you can get them in 16"
http://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/wrangler-ats

 

[sae70]

I've become very fond of my BFG KM2's over the time that I've owned them. They were not my first choice of tyre and if Cooper had supplied the STT in the same size I would have bought them in a heart beat. I owned a set of Cooper STT's over a three plus year period on two different vehicles and used them in all kinds of conditions and at lots of different pressures and apart from the wear rate compared to my m8's original BFG M/T's I'd say that they performed far better. Over this time I met three other users of the STT's who had all used or replaced original BFG M/T's with them and they all said that they would not go back to the BFG's when the STT's wore out. Sad thing is that this is now useless information as the original BFG M/T's are no longer available but it's still valid information regarding the perceived performance of the STT's IMHO Now back to my BFG KM2's they are for sure a harder compound than my old STT's and if pushed to hard in the wet they can become a little lively! So I don't push them when its wet, that is unless I want a little fun They are good and reasonably quiet on tarmac and seem to give fair mpg. I run them mostly at 36psi but when doing a long motorway run loaded up I stick them up to 42psi. They are also fine on wet tarmac as I said previously. They're good in the mud and down the lanes, especially when aired down to 24/28psi (depending upon load) as they make the ride extremely comfortable due to the deep flexi sidewalls. I've used them to drive up rocky fast flowing slippery rivers with no drama and up steep loose rock tracks with confidence. More recently in the snow I found them to be excellent while responding to emergency calls through 6/8" of virgin snow at speeds up to 40mph. All of this though leaves me with a dilemma as I may have to replace them with another set of KM2's when they wear out in forty plus thousand miles even though I do still have a huge soft spot for the STT's

Just a quick point regarding A/T tyres, while planning my next truck a LWB D4D 90. Until this weekend it was always going to have a set of A/T tyres, either GGAT2's or Coopers A/T's (interesting looking tread pattern) or BFG AT's. That was until recently after following a Disco around a few lanes who was on a set of BFG AT's. He got every ware that we did, but there were occasions when he had to have a second bite of the cherry due to a failed climb or one or two times on greasy side slops that his tyres were just starting to loose lateral traction and sometimes forward traction that had me thinking that actually my KM2's were not at all a bad tyre choice if your looking for a good all round performer

Hope I haven’t rambled on for too long, this is just my opinion of the tyres that I run. If you look around the Net you can find plenty of negative things being said about the KM2’s even in this thread, but I like them

Here's some tyre piccys for you;

KM2

STT

KM1

ST

GGAT2

BFG AT

Good luck with your hunt Chris

 

[pugwash]

these could be very very handy:

35x10.5x16

http://www.tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/pro ... -&id=17500

the fedima scirrocco 36" are large- mnore like a 37 and last well too.

 

[Chris]

Handy looking things but a bit off road biased perhaps. Having sorted the off road rubber, I really need something more AT or even motorway. It doesn't matter if these are a little wider as we discussed earlier. Decent price. I guess the road tyres could be the Cooper STT - whilst I realise that they are muds effectively, they have been proven on tarmac. Gary and Graham both have them and seem happy.

Of course what I don't know from the web is if any of these tyres ARE 35". This is why I really need a hands on 'I've had them, seen them' approach.

Never seen any of these before. But your assessment sounds very positive.

Chris

 

[Chris]

Good site is that. These come in at 34.5" - on paper.

http://www.tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/pro ... -&id=17331

Chris

 

[Julian]

Chris
How about these
http://www.tyres-pneus-online.co.uk/car ... 75-16.html
Maybe not the cheapest but a pretty good selection of AT's (buying in France)
or these
http://www.johncraddockltd.co.uk/produc ... t_121n.php
I think you have had some of these before
or these
http://www.4x4tyres.co.uk/3157516-micke ... -1554.html
J

 

[Crushers]

my ATS, when new, sat a hair under 35" tall.
now they are closer to 34" tall.

you also need to realize that some tires when inflated to specified pressure might read the height you want but ride like bricks.
so, even if you do find an actual 35" tall tire, when you air it down to the proper weight to air ratio then you might still be back down to 33/34" tall.

to properly air a tire, you put in the recommended air pressure, take a piece of chaulk and make a number of lines across the face
you drive in a straight line and check the wear on the lines.
if the outside wears off first then you need to add more air
if the inside wears off first then you need to remove air.
repeat till all 4 tires match wear patterns.

usually the front will need more air than the back due to passenger, driver and engine winch etc.

just a suggestion, i hope it helps.

 

[Chris]

Damn! Those Coopers in 315 would do. And as we know, Coopers are a true size. Well spotted that man. I may just be sorted. They will be a shade under 35" but you can't have everything.

Wonder if they actually have stock.

Chris

 

[sae70]

They're a good price, I've always liked the ST pattern as clearly have you Chris. Midway between an A/T & an M/T, now there's an option for my next vehicle

Here's an interesting piccy, vehicle on left 315's, vehicle on right 255's

edit - Or were they 305's Mmmm..........they're phat anyways

 

[Chris]

Not quite sure that this is helping Steve.

They're definitely round and black with a hole in the middle.

Yes, I like the ST and the 255 is a good tyre. But given my need for a larger size the 315 is probably going to be the baby although not quite 35". It's all falling into place chaps. Many many thanks for the advice. Yes even you Steve. Going to ring Craddock in a bit to see if they have stock

Chris