All Terrain vs Mud Terrain tyres

[DirtBoy72]

All 4 tyres on my 80 series landcruiser need replacement. I'm taking the opportunity for a mild 2 inch suspension lift to get some larger tyres under the guards. Thinking about going from 270/70 r16 to 285/75 r16 so not compromise performance too much.

It will be predominantly a tow vehicle for my dirt bikes, so i'm down to the central north island a bit (from Auckland) - with frequent trips up to the bombing range on Murawai beach, and i'm planning on getting into some good trail and track driving.

I don't really want to buy 2 sets of tyres and wheels, but I'm thinking if I should get a all terrain or a mud terrain tyre. I was reading a review in 4x4 Action on Mud tyres in which some models got rave reviews regarding their performance on the road.

The mud tyres look "the shit" and obviously perform better off road, but given what i;ll be using the cruiser for, should i be leaning towards an all terrain tyre?

Comments appreciated!

[Jerry]

Rob usually has some good specials....
http://www.offroadexpress.co.nz/marketplace?tid=78

He may have some advice/thoughts as well......

[badnuz]

that will all depend on what bias you want from your tires.....

if you want better on road manner :the BFG all terrain are hard to beat, or maybe cooper S/Ts? 285/75/16 is a popular size so plenty of options...

for better off road :i do know guys with the old style BFG mud getting 3 years use ( and thats everyday)i dont think anyone has had the new ones (KM2) long enuf to say how well they are wearing... the cooper STT regularly get 60000+kms on daily driven cruisers...

expect to pay around $400+ a corner, so choose wisely

[coxsy]

''frequent trips up to the bombing range on Murawai beach'' er have you seen heaths posts on use of the bombing range

phraza wrote:
Heath wrote:
Went 4wding at the Kaipara bombing range this week (sand is really soft right now - needs some rain), blew some shite up - 2 tonnes in 300kg piles and drank a little alcohol (not during work but afterwards).

And yes I do love that part of my job - will miss that more than anything else. A blast wave is such a rush

The Maxtrax we got worked well on the stuckages.


Oh wicked, i wanna go up there one day, got any pics?

I get to go there because I work for defence. Anyone else is trespassing and liable for fines, not to mmention the potential for bad stuff to happen - Remember this is a live firing range for heavy ordnance (bombs, rockets etc) and there is shrapnel everywhere just below the surface of the sand waiting to rip you, your kids or your tyres to bits. Did I mention the soft sand with bomb craters below them - drive in and walk away...

This place is best left alone as there is still live unexploded stuff up there (a 1000lb bomb for instance they cant find).

[sig]

i run 305/70.16 (33inch) bfg all terrains on my 80 and i reckon they are the shiz. handle great,wear well and work well offroad (unless you are chassis deep in mud ) .mine have been on for 3 and a half years and its my wifes daily driver and there is still about 8-10mm left on them .I will be buying them again .A bit dearer than others but well worth it imo

[DirtBoy72]

''frequent trips up to the bombing range on Murawai beach'' er have you seen heaths posts on use of the bombing range

phraza wrote:
Heath wrote:
Went 4wding at the Kaipara bombing range this week (sand is really soft right now - needs some rain), blew some shite up - 2 tonnes in 300kg piles and drank a little alcohol (not during work but afterwards).

And yes I do love that part of my job - will miss that more than anything else. A blast wave is such a rush

The Maxtrax we got worked well on the stuckages.


Oh wicked, i wanna go up there one day, got any pics?

I get to go there because I work for defence. Anyone else is trespassing and liable for fines, not to mmention the potential for bad stuff to happen - Remember this is a live firing range for heavy ordnance (bombs, rockets etc) and there is shrapnel everywhere just below the surface of the sand waiting to rip you, your kids or your tyres to bits. Did I mention the soft sand with bomb craters below them - drive in and walk away...

This place is best left alone as there is still live unexploded stuff up there (a 1000lb bomb for instance they cant find).

OK. Haven't been up there for a while, but was planning on getting back up there regularly once i had the new tyres fitted. Didn't realise it was a "no go" zone.

[DirtBoy72]

that will all depend on what bias you want from your tires.....

if you want better on road manner :the BFG all terrain are hard to beat, or maybe cooper S/Ts? 285/75/16 is a popular size so plenty of options...

for better off road :i do know guys with the old style BFG mud getting 3 years use ( and thats everyday)i dont think anyone has had the new ones (KM2) long enuf to say how well they are wearing... the cooper STT regularly get 60000+kms on daily driven cruisers...

expect to pay around $400+ a corner, so choose wisely

nice cruiser. what sort of lift and what rims / tyres you running? Is that a standard ARB commercial bar? What is that sort of bar worth?

[badnuz]

its an ARB deluxe winch bar, they are appx $1800... i have 285/75/16 BFG muds ( old style) on 16x8 -44 rims with 15mm spacers....

i have a 2 inch OME lift with nitrocharger sport shocks, although i am going to fit some 10mm packers as the back tires hit the flares on full compression due to the extra offset

[Fourbyfour]

All terrain tyres covers a very large spectrum of the the tyres available. Some A/T'S such as Dueler694 and Dunlop AT3 are basically an 80/20 tyre where as others such as the B F Goodrich are a true 60/40 tyre, big differences between them.
You have to do research and find out exactly what you want.

[chevrolux]

Nankang Mudstars!!
Also known as Maxxis Buckshot or something like that. Search them on the forum. Awesome mud tyre and last for ages on the road

[NJV6]

Nankang Mudstars!!
Also known as Maxxis Buckshot or something like that. Search them on the forum. Awesome mud tyre and last for ages on the road

Ha ha Mudstars and awesome in the same sentence! I have never had anything as noisy on an 80 series as the mudstars. Chalk and cheese from BFG All terrains. Expensive yes, but they last for a looong time, should see close to 80 - 100k. If you get them you'd be wanting to keep the truck for a while to get your money's worth.

[chevrolux]

Nankang Mudstars!!
Also known as Maxxis Buckshot or something like that. Search them on the forum. Awesome mud tyre and last for ages on the road

Ha ha Mudstars and awesome in the same sentence! I have never had anything as noisy on an 80 series as the mudstars. Chalk and cheese from BFG All terrains. Expensive yes, but they last for a looong time, should see close to 80 - 100k. If you get them you'd be wanting to keep the truck for a while to get your money's worth.

Well if you compare them to road slicks then sure they are noisey. Although i had a chevy powered, unmuffled, leaf sprung hilux and not a smooth sailing 80 so tyre noise was the last noise i was worried about

[skid]

Nankang Mudstars!!
Also known as Maxxis Buckshot or something like that. Search them on the forum. Awesome mud tyre and last for ages on the road

Ha ha Mudstars and awesome in the same sentence! I have never had anything as noisy on an 80 series as the mudstars. Chalk and cheese from BFG All terrains. Expensive yes, but they last for a looong time, should see close to 80 - 100k. If you get them you'd be wanting to keep the truck for a while to get your money's worth.

you will need to search long and hard and then make up your own mind with all the data you have compiled.

case in point from the 2 quotes above, one says mudstars and one says no way to them

I was gonna say mudstars too, best bang for ya buck as far as I'm concerned, as someone else stated, you're driving a big 4wd with mud tyres then you gotta expect some road noise, if ya don't like road noise then buy a sports car or use A/Ts.

Run 33" Mudstars on my 80, done well over 40K now and have only just started to show signs of edge wear, they handle well including high speeds in the wet round corners.

over 3000 members on the forum means possibly over 3000 different opinions.

read the comments, search the site and then after you've pulled all your hair out, you might have made a decision

[Swamped]

Mudstars are good value for money good onroad and off but as skid says def do your research as everyone will have different opinions. My thoughts towards road noise is just to turn the radio up if its really that bad.

[corosafari]

Hey DB72, had same choice to make about 6 months ago, LWB safari with 3" lift, similar use, towing , shiny trips, etc.
I went for Cooper ST 285/75/16 , Because
Slightly more aggressive tread pattern than most AT tyres, have performed well on gravel, sand, easy mud.
Good on road dry and wet.
Deeper tread than most, 8ply construction.
Actual diameter slightly less than 33", about 32.8 from memory so slighly less power loss, with a NA diesel every bit counts, probably no problem with turbo.
I payed 380 each after a bit of shopping around. Not the cheapest around but this was not a priority for me, I normally dont do much more than 10,000km a year so will have these tyres for years, with deeper tread and good wear price is relative.
As above there are several opinions, thought just let you know what I went for and why. US $ about as good as its gunna a get I think. Happy shopping. Oh yeh another thing overlooked, consider things like after sales service, back up ect.