How roadworthy are MT tyres?
Discussion
Depends on lots of things I would think....
I had some fairly aggressive Bronco Grizzly Claw tyres for my old 88" series 3 which were amazing off road but frankly terrible on it - very poor on wet tarmac, and so so noisy above 30mph. Steering and ride etc. felt fine but they're hardly a series LR strong point in the first place.
On the other hand, this weekend I borrowed some Wrangler MTRs for my L322 to go and play in the mud; they were also great off road but while also pretty noisy on-road they seemed more "acceptable" in terms of general manners. Definitely worsened steering and handling to an extent, but if you were doing lots of off road driving and fewer normal road miles I'd say they would be perfectly acceptable although you might get fed up with the whining noise on a long road journey. No idea how long they'd last either I'm afraid.
Could you borrow some to try, or buy a cheap 2nd set of wheels so you can swap between road tyres and MTs as required?
If in doubt, just get some decent ATs - it's amazing how good they can be in 90% of off-road conditions while still being great road tyres.
Have fun
Ruari
I had some fairly aggressive Bronco Grizzly Claw tyres for my old 88" series 3 which were amazing off road but frankly terrible on it - very poor on wet tarmac, and so so noisy above 30mph. Steering and ride etc. felt fine but they're hardly a series LR strong point in the first place.
On the other hand, this weekend I borrowed some Wrangler MTRs for my L322 to go and play in the mud; they were also great off road but while also pretty noisy on-road they seemed more "acceptable" in terms of general manners. Definitely worsened steering and handling to an extent, but if you were doing lots of off road driving and fewer normal road miles I'd say they would be perfectly acceptable although you might get fed up with the whining noise on a long road journey. No idea how long they'd last either I'm afraid.
Could you borrow some to try, or buy a cheap 2nd set of wheels so you can swap between road tyres and MTs as required?
If in doubt, just get some decent ATs - it's amazing how good they can be in 90% of off-road conditions while still being great road tyres.
Have fun
Ruari
Hi,
I used to swap between 205 R 16 AT tyres and 7.5 x 16 Super Mud Pluggas when I had my Series One - the mud pluggas were crossply and terrible in the wet.
I now only run MT tyres as I go fed up with never having the right tyres on e.g. if I found myself doing unplanned green-laning en-route to an interview / wedding!
Radial MT's are acceptable on road as long as you realise the grip limitations, I have some Kumho KL71's now and I cannot fault them either on or off road.
Wear rate is comparable to AT tyres too - my Diesel Series One (part-time 4x4) used to get about 30,000 miles out of the remould ATs - the V8 Bowler (permanent 4x4) got very very similar mileage out of quite aggressive MT tyres (Greenway Chacos, again remoulds). The bit where you lose out is economy - MT tyres are very draggy and if you go for a larger diameter they will obviously affect economy if you do a lot of stop-start driving (besides making the speedometer incorrect which may be illegal depending on magnitude of error).
Hope that helps
100SRV
I used to swap between 205 R 16 AT tyres and 7.5 x 16 Super Mud Pluggas when I had my Series One - the mud pluggas were crossply and terrible in the wet.
I now only run MT tyres as I go fed up with never having the right tyres on e.g. if I found myself doing unplanned green-laning en-route to an interview / wedding!
Radial MT's are acceptable on road as long as you realise the grip limitations, I have some Kumho KL71's now and I cannot fault them either on or off road.
Wear rate is comparable to AT tyres too - my Diesel Series One (part-time 4x4) used to get about 30,000 miles out of the remould ATs - the V8 Bowler (permanent 4x4) got very very similar mileage out of quite aggressive MT tyres (Greenway Chacos, again remoulds). The bit where you lose out is economy - MT tyres are very draggy and if you go for a larger diameter they will obviously affect economy if you do a lot of stop-start driving (besides making the speedometer incorrect which may be illegal depending on magnitude of error).
Hope that helps
100SRV
In my opinion it depends entirely on your expectations and the allowances you're prepared to make. I ran a 300Tdi Disco for 6 months as my daily driver with a 2 inch lift, anti-roll bars removed and running on very aggressive remould M/T tyres (Insa Special Tracks).
Did it wallow about, make a hell of a racket and lack finesse - absolutely. Was this a problem - no because I was happy to drive in a way that accomodated the deficiencies in the tyres.
If you seek decent, modern Mud tyres (BFG, Khumo etc) then with a degree of consideration in your driving style I don't think you'll have an issue.
Did it wallow about, make a hell of a racket and lack finesse - absolutely. Was this a problem - no because I was happy to drive in a way that accomodated the deficiencies in the tyres.
If you seek decent, modern Mud tyres (BFG, Khumo etc) then with a degree of consideration in your driving style I don't think you'll have an issue.
I agree. I had MT remould 205 R16s on the Range Rover for years, Olympics I think - bet you can't get them anymore. Used it weekly and for the Wye & Welsh LR club RTV competitions. They were noisy but I loved that, sounds like a proper Land Rover should, and they weren't great at stopping, so I never used to exceed 60 on the motorway and leave lots of gap to car in front. It's not a sportscar, it's a Land Rover.
Matt
Matt
Edited by taylormj4 on Monday 30th November 14:16
I would use what ever floats your boat in your price range and for your needs.
Remember to get used too new MT tyres as some can be very slippery in the wet and generate noise.
Nine times out of ten we find customers going for MT tyres just for looks, do you need them or will an AT tyre do what you want, always sleep on your decision it may save you money.
Andy.
Remember to get used too new MT tyres as some can be very slippery in the wet and generate noise.
Nine times out of ten we find customers going for MT tyres just for looks, do you need them or will an AT tyre do what you want, always sleep on your decision it may save you money.
Andy.
Edited by Andy Sargeant on Wednesday 2nd December 14:40
BFG All terrain every time. unless you are serious off roading and can live with severe compromise
On the face of it the BFG looks expensive by about £30 per tyre compared to budget brands. my experience is that they are good for 60k miles though and outlast a budget tyre by a factor of 2:1
An all terrain is still pretty good off road and very good on it.
a M/T is horrible on road, noisy, and don't forget lower speed rated, I used to switch to M/T's in winter on my L200 for snow driving (i live high up in the hills) i often used to egg the M/T tyre when on the motorway going to work when I forgot which tyres I was driving on.
N.
On the face of it the BFG looks expensive by about £30 per tyre compared to budget brands. my experience is that they are good for 60k miles though and outlast a budget tyre by a factor of 2:1
An all terrain is still pretty good off road and very good on it.
a M/T is horrible on road, noisy, and don't forget lower speed rated, I used to switch to M/T's in winter on my L200 for snow driving (i live high up in the hills) i often used to egg the M/T tyre when on the motorway going to work when I forgot which tyres I was driving on.
N.
I agree with H/S about the BFG AT, only thing is the Freelander has not got the weight to make them work well on all surfacies, I think you would be better of with General AT2, mind you it depends what size wheel, as there is next to nothing available for 17" and 18" to suit the Freelander, I do have some secondhand 16" alloys and some 15" steels if that helps.
Andy.
Andy.
BFG MT's 35x12.5's and 400bhp:
http://www.mez.co.uk/graphics/ppc_dak_corner.jpg
Not bad considering the power at hand.
http://www.mez.co.uk/graphics/ppc_dak_corner.jpg
Not bad considering the power at hand.
BFG MTs if you like to play in the deep mud. They are excellent off road without ripping the ground up under you like certain tyres do, they last a very long time even with road use. They aren't THAT bad on the road although be careful when its greasey under wheel as you can slide a bit but it tends to be when I push to hard.
My Dad runs BFG ATs on his 90 as he doesn't play in the clay pits
and he has never had a problem with them in any conditions on the road.
It is certainly worth the money for a good brand over cheap ones. What sort of off roading do you do with the Freelander? If it is not that extreme I would go to the BFG AT.
My Dad runs BFG ATs on his 90 as he doesn't play in the clay pits
and he has never had a problem with them in any conditions on the road. It is certainly worth the money for a good brand over cheap ones. What sort of off roading do you do with the Freelander? If it is not that extreme I would go to the BFG AT.
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