Recomendations for 4x4 tyres

[CD4Accord]

As an aside, for the last 3 or 4 weeks I been observing SUV's and pickups in the states and I have come to the conclusion that:

Easily the most popular AT tyre is the BF Goodrich A/T.. I see it on so many vehicles..

Surprisingly I'm also seeing the Toyo Open Country A/T around a bit more now, but Toyo seems more popular in M/T than A/T..

On the rare occasion you come across some Mickey Thompson or Dick Cepek mud rubber, but those are for serious serious offroaders only.. The tyre roar is huge on the highway

I find it amusing because neither BFG nor Toyo is particularly popular in car tyres up here, I guess offroaders know exactly what they want...

[bt50]

Michelin ltx at2.....45000kms and halfway worn.....

[3stagevtec]

When my pops bought his B2500, it came with some pretty worn LTX AT2 tyres, they were close but not touching the wear indicators.. To be honest, I really hated them! They were extremely terrible in the wet, massive oversteer barely describes it, and in the dry was understeer like mad..

I dunno if the rubber was just old or past it's time, but those were the worst..

[speedaholic]

wah alyuh tink bout d sumitummo serengetti??

[3stagevtec]

That tyre was discussed somewhere on this forum already I believe. It definitely looks like quite a monster!

[speedaholic]

yess! i saw them on a hilux the other day.. looked meann!!! anywhere selling them?

[venum]

serengetti more M/T than A/T

[speedaholic]

the a/t rated tyres look like MT.. wonder if they have gud highway traction.. hmmm

[lighthammer]

After much deliberation and reading reviews online, asking around... I ended up getting these for the Navara:

Pirelli Scorpion ATR's - 265/70R16








Got it from Automotive Components, who are the authorized dealers for Pirelli in Trinidad. Found out from one of the managers that other places like MasterServ actually gets the tyres from AC, hence if you're looking for these Scorpions, AC in O'Meara Road, Arima is the place to go.

The tyres come with a lifetime warranty against manufacturer defects, which I don't think any other deal gives (AFAIK, but I could be wrong).


From all the reviews I've read online for the Scorpion ATR's, they've all praised this tyre for:
- good dry and wet traction
- very long tread-life (60,000KM and more)
- Manufacturer's warranty
- very smooth ride and quiet on the highway
- more than adequate off-road performance, for trails/gravel/soft dirt/rocks. Not so much in heavy mud or clay - these are definitely more road-biased tyres with off-road capability.


My criteria for choosing a tyre included a tyre that would handle well on the road for both wet & dry, give a long service life, quiet running and yet still have some off-roading ability. I figured that most DB runs would be mostly gravel/trail/soft dirt - and heavy mudding wouldn't really make up a large amount of our runs. Hence for my own criteria, the Pirelli Scorpion ATR's were the best choice.

The next choices I'd have had in line were:
- Kumho Roadventures
- Toyo Open Country.

[civic minded]

how much you paid for them?

[lighthammer]

$1460 each, roughly. That's including fitment fee & balancing.

[civic minded]

ok cool - i really like these -maybe that will be my next set after mines run out of life

[speedaholic]

u not stickin at all dred..! good buy! yuh ready fuh dem sunday!!! now we cud see d tru nissan powahh!!

[gas brainz]

u sellin d dunlops?
what is the prob with dunlop at20?

[badart]

looking good n the price aint bad either..

[venum]

lookin good lh

[3stagevtec]

You're not the only one with new shoes..













I chose this tyre for several reasons. The main reason was that it's overall diameter (235/60R16) closer matched the factory tyres that came with my Grand Vitara. The benefits of this are better acceleration and fuel economy. Also, it had excellent reviews no matter where you looked..

The main downside is that it is very short! Especially when compared to what you guys typically use.. So ground clearance for me is compromised..

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/surveyresults/surveydisplay.jsp?type=ORAT

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Firestone&tireModel=Destination+A/T

It is currently 2nd on that list and has excellent reviews even after over 16million reported miles! You can't really consider the Kumho Road Venture because of the low amount of tested miles.

To summarize all the reviews, it has great wet and dry handling, is very quite and performs above average in most off road situations. It's mud capabilities are about average. I tested them on extremely wet roads, even driving through some deep puddles of standing water at speed and I never aquaplaned! I had no unstable feeling while driving through heavy rain on the highway at ~80 - 100km/h..

Oh, and if anyone noticed.. This is the ONLY 16" AT rated tyre that comes with an aspect ratio of 60! Lower aspect ratio = a better handling tyre

[speedaholic]

nicee!!! i want!

[CD4Accord]

In all that, how much were the firestones and how would they compare to my Firehawk ATX?
Where did you get them?

They are available from tirerack in my prefered 31 x 10.5 x 15 size so i'll have to consider it as an option when i need new rubber

[Smeed]

men gearsing up for de diesel boyz run!!

both choices look mean!

[lighthammer]

Civicminded - yeah I read all the reviews and everyone had nothing but good things to say about the Pirelli's - and they're excellent on-road tyres with very good off-road performance. The only thing people complained about was the performance in deep mud & clay - but it's not a heavy-duty all-terrain like BFG's. I chose it more as an on-road bias, but I'm sure they have more off-road performance than the Dunlops. Let's see if I made the right choice....


Speedy - thanks meng. Time fo you to change them slicks too eh.... Safety first, then performance, my friend..

3stage - great choice man! those firestones fit perfectly on your GV, and you'll def. get improved performance on highway runs. They'll still do well off-road, just be careful with the mud and use more momentum. At least you'll be better able to dig yourself out, like on our last mini-run on the hillclimb . Congrats on your new shoes man


venum - thanks man. Sorry but I couldn't wait for the BFG's, and I was hesitant at their prices. When these wear out and the warranty done, maybe it'll then be time for some BFG mudders or Kumho KL71 mudders


gasbrainz - nah, the dunlops already have a next owner. The tyres on that truck already worn out down to the safety indicators, so the dunlops going on that van. There wasn't any real problem with them per se, it's just that while being excellent on-road and highway tyres (good wet-traction and was difficult to break them loose on the pavement, even with the Navara power), they're around average to below-average off-road. I got stuck twice with them, both times in moderate trail conditions. So it was time for an upgrade.


Time to debut these scorpions on the DB run this sunday... let's see if Wagon_R's planned trails can put these shoes to the test. Rene - please stand by with your new shoes too & the winch in case the big fat girl gets stuck again

[jhonnieblue]

lawd allu not sticking
after carnival ill see about mines and some new accessories
still on my carnival budget
but im liking the price of those pirellies
how is the on the road noise LH???
any reduction
mines startin to wear down already, they will be a year old this month!!

[droppa]

^forr real them men not sticking at all, i cant see new play-time boots for a lil while,

so u guys in the run sunday for sure......

caroni has some reeeel deep spots dred, i not sure if i will make that part....

[lighthammer]

^^ I just hope someone brings recovery equipment...

De new shovel and cutlass coming.


Droppa - yuh bizniz fix with de surf yet?

[droppa]

i hope so.......pulled down the head a second time.......

all is going well so far (knocks on wood)....

[lighthammer]

cool meng - will see joo there boss!

[lighthammer]

Here's why I like Pirelli so much...


A side-by-side comparison between my brand-new Pirelli Scorpion ATR and my dad's 4-year old Pirelli Scorpion STR:



He's got about 45,000 - 55,000km's on those Pirelli Scorpion STR's (which he bought in Pricesmart back in 2007) and he does 99% highway driving. He doesn't drive the L200 hard, and he does the alignment/rotating regularly, roughly every 7,000 - 10,000km.

Every review I've read has praised the Pirelli's for their outstanding tread-life, plus that lifetime manufacturer's warranty.


The Scorpion ATR's have a treadwear rating of 520. I didn't have a ruler or caliper on me at the time but I used a $0.25c piece to show you how deep the treads are:



The outside treads



The center treads



And for comparison, the tread-depth on the Dunlop Grantrek AT20's (highway tyres).


http://www.fourwheeler.com/techarticles/wheels/129_0610_pirelli_scorpion_atr_truck_tires/index.html

http://www.4wheeloffroad.com/techarticles/wheels/131_0706_pirelli_scorpion_atr_tire/index.html

http://www.1010tires.com/tires/reviews/Pirelli/Scorpion+ATR

[3stagevtec]

grabs a 25c and heads off to the garage...

[CD4Accord]

But eh reach back yet... A bes ting passing out the road and capture yuh attention or what hahaha..

I dont really use coin tests generally because the treads on each tyre are designed differently, but its a fair comparison when using the same exact model as he did..

[venum]

LH while your dad is benefitting from long wear time on his Pirelli (which is a really good thing) please inspect for signs of dry rot due to age

plenty ppl do not know that tyres have a shelf life

dry rot comes with age for tyres