285/65/18 for mud/snow?
Discussion
Doesn't look like there is much choice.
http://tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/search.php
Does it really have to be that exact size?
Although one has to question wtf are 18" rims doing on a Defender anyhow
But seriously, you'll find loads of tyres this sort of width and height in 15, 16 & even 17" rim sizes. So it might be worth considering this.
http://tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/search.php
Does it really have to be that exact size?
Although one has to question wtf are 18" rims doing on a Defender anyhow
But seriously, you'll find loads of tyres this sort of width and height in 15, 16 & even 17" rim sizes. So it might be worth considering this.
These are about the most aggressive 18" tyre I know of in the UK.
http://tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/product-info.php?p...
Slightly narrower and about 2" less tall.
I think Maxxis offer some nice 18" Mud Terrains that might be worth looking at.
Although depending on how much snow work, you may want something with plenty of sipes in, which not all MT's have.
http://tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/product-info.php?p...
Slightly narrower and about 2" less tall.
I think Maxxis offer some nice 18" Mud Terrains that might be worth looking at.
Although depending on how much snow work, you may want something with plenty of sipes in, which not all MT's have.
A few more choices in 275/65R18:
http://tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/search.php
I'd probably go for the Maxxis MT762 as they look like a pretty mud tyre, but still have sipes for snow and ice. Not as aggressive as the remould I listed above earlier, but probably pretty good overall and better on the road.
The Discoverer STT works well in the snow, but suspect it won't perform as well as the Maxxis off road.
http://tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/search.php
I'd probably go for the Maxxis MT762 as they look like a pretty mud tyre, but still have sipes for snow and ice. Not as aggressive as the remould I listed above earlier, but probably pretty good overall and better on the road.
The Discoverer STT works well in the snow, but suspect it won't perform as well as the Maxxis off road.
Think the op needs to offer a little more info on their intended use and whether it's in the UK or not.
Personally I'd probably opt for the Maxxis MT762:
It has some sipes so will probably work better than something like a classic BGF MT KM2 in the snow, but still capable of some mud plugging while not be horrific on road.
I say this with the assumption that the op hasn't specifically said snow driving, just "Need a proper snow/mud tyre". And in the UK we rarely get prolonged packed snow. So I think this tyre would be more than up to the task.
I would also probably go for it in 275/65R18 as it's only fractionally narrower (10mm) and only 1/2" shorter, but easily available in the UK. As well as reasonably priced @ approx £130/corner.
I think Maxxis does offer a 285/65R18, but it's only listed on their US site, so may not be available in the UK.
Something like this:
I know works quite well in the snow as my Uncle has a set of them. But their mud ability is lower and they are more like £200/corner.
Ultimately it really depends what the op wants from the tyres. If there is going to be more mud work and only for use when/if it snows, then the remould copy of the Yokohama Goelander MT would be a good off road tyre and proven tread. And more than capable of getting about in most UK snowy conditions.
But if they are planning a European road trip and expect to be driving on heavy snow and frequently, then I'd want something more specialised, but that would probably mean a different size rim.
Quite like the look of these (235/85R16):
http://tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/product-info.php?p...
And these for the sipes, although I'd expect a reducing in mudding ability:
http://tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/product-info.php?p...
Personally I'd probably opt for the Maxxis MT762:
It has some sipes so will probably work better than something like a classic BGF MT KM2 in the snow, but still capable of some mud plugging while not be horrific on road.
I say this with the assumption that the op hasn't specifically said snow driving, just "Need a proper snow/mud tyre". And in the UK we rarely get prolonged packed snow. So I think this tyre would be more than up to the task.
I would also probably go for it in 275/65R18 as it's only fractionally narrower (10mm) and only 1/2" shorter, but easily available in the UK. As well as reasonably priced @ approx £130/corner.
I think Maxxis does offer a 285/65R18, but it's only listed on their US site, so may not be available in the UK.
Something like this:
I know works quite well in the snow as my Uncle has a set of them. But their mud ability is lower and they are more like £200/corner.
Ultimately it really depends what the op wants from the tyres. If there is going to be more mud work and only for use when/if it snows, then the remould copy of the Yokohama Goelander MT would be a good off road tyre and proven tread. And more than capable of getting about in most UK snowy conditions.
But if they are planning a European road trip and expect to be driving on heavy snow and frequently, then I'd want something more specialised, but that would probably mean a different size rim.
Quite like the look of these (235/85R16):
http://tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/product-info.php?p...
And these for the sipes, although I'd expect a reducing in mudding ability:
http://tyresdirectuk.co.uk/shop/product-info.php?p...
No, not going to agree on any of them.
With the tyre testing I have done over 38 years I know they will not cut the mustard, give me the AT tyre choice any day.
He needs two sets to work with what he needs and remember the size requested is 285/65x18.Now if Goodyear made the DuraTrac in this size it would do the job.
With the tyre testing I have done over 38 years I know they will not cut the mustard, give me the AT tyre choice any day.
He needs two sets to work with what he needs and remember the size requested is 285/65x18.Now if Goodyear made the DuraTrac in this size it would do the job.
Sarge 4x4 said:
No, not going to agree on any of them......He needs two sets to work with what he needs
Winter tyres will be, "relatively adequate", in mud, mud tyres will be, "relatively adequate", in snow.
The OP needs 2 sets of tyres, snow tyres are brilliant in snow, muds are brilliant in mud, it will be a compromise to use one tyre for both
Am looking for a set of winters myself, I am down to these 2 tyres........
Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT2 285/75 R16 122/119Q , studdable
http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=...
.... or ....
Kumho KC11 285/75 R16 122/119Q 8PR
http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110...
Anyone got any thoughts on which tyre is better......
Nokian Hakkapeliitta LT2 285/75 R16 122/119Q , studdable
http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=...
.... or ....
Kumho KC11 285/75 R16 122/119Q 8PR
http://www.mytyres.co.uk/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?dsco=110...
Anyone got any thoughts on which tyre is better......
A 275/65R18 is pretty close, suspect you'd have a hard time telling the difference by eye. And remember not all tyre sizes are equal, you'll get bigger and smaller tyres, even with the same size rating.
Also if you go for an MT, then they tend to look more chunky than they are anyhow.
That all said and done, it may well be worth considering a 2nd set of rims. You can buy some nice 16" steel rims from £30-50 each. And this may give you lots of alternative options.
Re: mud vs snow.
I don't and never have denied that an MT may be more limited under certain snowy conditions.
But I must admit to having never really witnessed them in the UK. As a rule we don't get deep or prolonged snow. So while there might be localised sections of packed snow, the majority isn't. And any snow on grass means that there will likely be mud not far away and AT's simply don't work as well as MT's in mud.
If your Defender has traction control then you'll find AT's will work better however.
Not that this means much, but just some examples of my experience:
Running a road biased AT M&S rated. They were ok, but worked less well than many of the MT's in the snow and if you ventured onto the snowy grass you quickly reached their limit.
These are an aggressive MT with no sipes and a copy of an Interco tyre. They worked far better in the snow than I'd have given them credit. On packed snow they easily matched the Jeep on AT's and as you can see they worked very well in the deep snow. I don't believe an AT would have let me drive through the drifts the same. I also had to climb a muddy bank into a field where being an MT helped a lot.
These where a narrow 7.50 classic BFG style MT, no sipes. I was not overly impressed with them tbh. The vehicle was quite loose and suffered lots sideways movement in the snow, be it fresh deeper snow or more compacted. That said, they where good enough to allow me to complete a 90 mile trip to an army base, do a days work and another 90 mile trip back home again, all in conditions like this:
And this is sort of my point, while I fully accept that a good AT would likely have served better this day, the MT's allowed me to get about with relative ease and complete two journeys you'd likely not have done in a normal car.
Here I'm running some more extreme MT's, this time some Simex Jungle Trekker II's. In the deep and fresh snow they where unstoppable. In fact this picture is not a paved road, but a green lane. AT's would have struggle on the lane as there was still a lot of deep mud under the snow and water hazards. On the road the Simex's worked well, although they didn't like the slush and I'm sure a more road biased AT would have been better at those points, but inferior at all other times.
I think this example is actually quite relevant for mud and snow. The vehicle on the left was running some BFG AT's to begin with and so long as you drove on fresh snow it could make the climbs up these mounds if you were careful with the throttle. However once we'd been up and down a few times it simply wouldn't go anywhere. The vehicle on the right however is running some Toyo MT's (that have sipes) and it worked perfectly well on the snow or mud. The BFG AT's however performed so badly once the top layer of snow had been driven on, that we swapped on some Recip Maxi 3D extreme mud terrains. On terrain like this picture they were truly awesome.
Also if you go for an MT, then they tend to look more chunky than they are anyhow.
That all said and done, it may well be worth considering a 2nd set of rims. You can buy some nice 16" steel rims from £30-50 each. And this may give you lots of alternative options.
Re: mud vs snow.
I don't and never have denied that an MT may be more limited under certain snowy conditions.
But I must admit to having never really witnessed them in the UK. As a rule we don't get deep or prolonged snow. So while there might be localised sections of packed snow, the majority isn't. And any snow on grass means that there will likely be mud not far away and AT's simply don't work as well as MT's in mud.
If your Defender has traction control then you'll find AT's will work better however.
Not that this means much, but just some examples of my experience:
Running a road biased AT M&S rated. They were ok, but worked less well than many of the MT's in the snow and if you ventured onto the snowy grass you quickly reached their limit.
These are an aggressive MT with no sipes and a copy of an Interco tyre. They worked far better in the snow than I'd have given them credit. On packed snow they easily matched the Jeep on AT's and as you can see they worked very well in the deep snow. I don't believe an AT would have let me drive through the drifts the same. I also had to climb a muddy bank into a field where being an MT helped a lot.
These where a narrow 7.50 classic BFG style MT, no sipes. I was not overly impressed with them tbh. The vehicle was quite loose and suffered lots sideways movement in the snow, be it fresh deeper snow or more compacted. That said, they where good enough to allow me to complete a 90 mile trip to an army base, do a days work and another 90 mile trip back home again, all in conditions like this:
And this is sort of my point, while I fully accept that a good AT would likely have served better this day, the MT's allowed me to get about with relative ease and complete two journeys you'd likely not have done in a normal car.
Here I'm running some more extreme MT's, this time some Simex Jungle Trekker II's. In the deep and fresh snow they where unstoppable. In fact this picture is not a paved road, but a green lane. AT's would have struggle on the lane as there was still a lot of deep mud under the snow and water hazards. On the road the Simex's worked well, although they didn't like the slush and I'm sure a more road biased AT would have been better at those points, but inferior at all other times.
I think this example is actually quite relevant for mud and snow. The vehicle on the left was running some BFG AT's to begin with and so long as you drove on fresh snow it could make the climbs up these mounds if you were careful with the throttle. However once we'd been up and down a few times it simply wouldn't go anywhere. The vehicle on the right however is running some Toyo MT's (that have sipes) and it worked perfectly well on the snow or mud. The BFG AT's however performed so badly once the top layer of snow had been driven on, that we swapped on some Recip Maxi 3D extreme mud terrains. On terrain like this picture they were truly awesome.
I have these on my land cruiser as I they are a copy of BFG Trac Edge tires, which are no longer in production. I like them as they are more aggressive than an A/T tire, but not as aggressive as other mud tires on the market. They are a remould tire and I have never had problems with them, they make some noise as you would expect and they are fine in the wet. Just make sure you don't overload the tires which wont normally be a problem but you mentioned on going on trips across europe.
Edited by TLandCruiser on Friday 22 November 11:52
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