Hankook RT03 or Maxxis MT Bighorn???

[Rog]

Just setting up an SWB RX Prado 90 and are stumped over tyre choice. I've decided to go MT rather than AT even though most of the running will be highway (but not high kms)as the truck has to look the business, you know what I mean.

Just after first hand impressions on either of the RT03 or MT 764 Bighorn in terms of highway handling and mileage. I can put up with the noise and less than brilliant handling to get a better grip on the occasional off-road excursion - after all, its a truck. BTW, my first post - this forum is awesome!! Thanks.

[Heath]

Subscribed.

Same truck as mine and same tyre choice coming up soon. I think price will be my biggest issue, with longevity/wear/usability being second unfortunately.

Have a quick search on here for tyres (heaps on various makes) and peoples findings.

[mud_slinger]

bighorn.

grips better, couple of guys have got 50+ kms and are extremely quiet on the road

[mudbugga]

Kumho KL71's
Just to throw another brand in there

[coxsy]

my two cents no kl71's

[mudlva]

got rt03s on my miss's surf have done at least 50k in the last 3ish years down to 4mm now and are just starting to get slippery when it rains now i will be getting a new set of something before winter

[Rog]

I rather like the look of the KL71 - will obviously do the job off-road. Had a set of Kumho MT Powerguards on my Zuk and they were pretty good. What's the KL71 like on road, handling, expected mileage?

[coxsy]

. What's the KL71 like on road, handling, expected mileage?
handling great mileage low mine 19,000 unusable on most offroad conitions now

[Rog]

Hmm, thanks coxy, I couldn't quite figure out your earlier post - got it now. Geeze, 19k is a bit hard to swallow!

[Heath]

Got a price of 289 fitted for rt03 today. What price are the bighorns?

size 265/75/r16.

[Rog]

The only price I have for the MT762 Bighorn at this stage is $399 inc for the 265/75R16. I'm still not sure how the two tyres compare performance wise but if your price for the RT03's is any indication, they are streets ahead on price......

[Taz]

Just to throw another option in there, Good Year Wranglers are very similar to the Bighorn's.

[playingInTheDitch]

I found the bighorns were really good on and off the road. the problem with some tyres is they get a bit hairy on asphalt roads in the wet. not so much with the bighorns

[4WDbits]

The only price I have for the MT762 Bighorn at this stage is $399 inc for the 265/75R16. I'm still not sure how the two tyres compare performance wise but if your price for the RT03's is any indication, they are streets ahead on price......

Must be near the end of MT762 in 265/75R16, the MT764 Bighorn is the main tyre in that size now. Its pretty new so I doubt there is much feedback around on them. Supposed to be an improvement.
We ran MT762 and then KL71 on the 80 series, both were about the same for road noise, KL71 had a slight advantage on gravel and some mud/offroad conditions. Didn't keep the tyres or the 80 series long enough to know how long they will last.
Currently using MT762 for off road racing, they're pretty good in sand and softer surfaces, could be better on gravel or maybe we just need to let them down a bit more.

[haynzy]

I have buckshots and have done 20k to date and just knocked the corners off, very impressed, tow my boat with them and in the wet still hold on good. bit noisy but hey they mud tyres if ya dont like the noise get stuck

[mud_slinger]

if your after mileage go the nangkang mudstar.
i sold a set of hankook rt03's on a saf and he came back within a week and brought wranglers. the new wranglers are so over priced i haven't even bothered, buying them at my buy price is still so expensive it aint worth it.

i'd stick with the maxxis well known more feedback about them and the rt03 dont move as quick as the maxxis, when i sell my 34's i'm going to be running the bighorn they impressed me at sheffield so i'm going to be using them, running at 15psi they gripped really well and even driving on road at that pressure they handled real well and were realy quiet, no road noise at all.

Heath come see me at work when ya next in chch i'll see what i can do price wise

[COMILUX]

I had Maxxis Bighornes on my d-cab and rated them very high as an all round tire for grip, wear and noise - Prefered them over the Maxxis Creepy Crawlers i went to after the Bighorns got flogged.

New truck has Maxxis Bucketshots on it and seem very good for noise and driving on road - only done one river trip and havnt had them in the mud but seemed good offroad to, dont look as agressive as the bighorns tho.

If i was to buy another set id go bighorns any day.

[Heath]

The only price I have for the MT762 Bighorn at this stage is $399 inc for the 265/75R16. I'm still not sure how the two tyres compare performance wise but if your price for the RT03's is any indication, they are streets ahead on price......

Best price I've got so far is 380ish for the new bighorns.

Not keen on the new ones. Hey, they may be great but I'd rather get the proven ones and let others discover the new ones suck. I can always get them next time round. You may have guessed I dont like taking chances or being aleader and am quite happy to follow along - baaaaa baaaa.

[Drurban]

Hi There,

I have had my Hankook RT03's for over 4 years now, I have not had them on for a while but they still have lots of tread on them, I am currently running my 33" Khumo's KL71's and they are doing pretty good on the road I dont do alot of K's on them road noise is to a minimum.

Cheers

[1hamish1]

I had bighorns on my 80 series, found they handled well in all conditions and were long lasting just very noisy on the road. Ive got kl71's now and find they handle equally as well but with half the noise, have done 15k on them so far with little wear.

[Rog]

Hey team, this feedback is fantastic. A big thank you . Of course I'm more confused than ever but have come to the conclusion that there are no bad tyres within the bunch that we are discussing. This then suggests the price will have quite a bearing on the understanding that "you get what you pay for" - well sort of! Be assured I'm hanging on every word of wisdom in this thread and web searching tyres to death. The Mrs thinks I'm going loopy and the glazed look means, I think, she fully understands what RT03's, MT764's, bighorns, mudders, mudstars and nankang all mean - ha, I'm sure she will be so excited when I finally buy some Keep up the good work guys.

[wopass]

as hamish (Brynlaaden) sugested, if your doing more motorway driving the KL71's would be a nicer tyre.

[Heath]

Trouble with directionals is they only run on one side of the wagon so wear is uneven (my awd produces odd tapering to the tread blocks, although they are old).

I wonder if the work okay on backwards to even things out or if they would be a death trap.

[wopass]

Trouble with directionals is they only run on one side of the wagon so wear is uneven (my awd produces odd tapering to the tread blocks, although they are old).

I wonder if the work okay on backwards to even things out or if they would be a death trap.

does one side of your truck do more miles than the other side??

if you have bad or uneaven wear issues you need a decent wheel allignment

[Bubba]

Trouble with directionals is they only run on one side of the wagon so wear is uneven (my awd produces odd tapering to the tread blocks, although they are old).

I wonder if the work okay on backwards to even things out or if they would be a death trap.

does one side of your truck do more miles than the other side??

if you have bad or uneaven wear issues you need a decent wheel allignment

Jeez Wop, work it out! They are directional!! The right hand side are Right Directional and the left and side are Left Directional Duhhh!

If one side is wearing more than the other then he has bought 4 left directional’s or 4 right directional’s and he needs to ask his tyre shop for 2 left hand and two right hand directional tyres. That’s what I have in my standard Landrover that nobody can follow.

[Heath]

Nah something to do with full time 4wd. the front tyres scrub the tread blocks and wear funny (block tappers front to rear).

I do like my kl's, but just wary of directionals and not being able to swap side to side to even things out. Maybe the new bushes etc up front will sort the issues of wear and if I swap front to rear occasionally it will help.

Of course it could just be because they are near the end of their life and they are stuffed from years of abuse by the previous owner.

Wonder what KL71's are worth for a set, but gotta get a spare unidirectonal (mudstar maybe ) and acover so it's protected from the sun a little.

[mudbugga]

Prado's do scrub the outside edge on the L front tyre due to the camber on the roads, NZ's driving on the left (have a think - which wheel takes the heat going round a round-a-bout etc?), and the fact the Prado is a heavy awd. 100 series L/C's do the same.
We see it all the time at work.
Some times a decent tweake by a proper wheel alignment tech can make a little difference. But most of the time you just end up chasing your tail.
Swapping tyres around to even tyre wear doesn't work well. Radials get a rotational bias in them, after a period of time, and swapping them around can make the tyre wear faster.
Better to rotate front to rear as often as every service (5 - 7.5k's).

[Heath]

Being full time 4wd do I have to replace all 4 tyres at once or can I do one axle at a time (front then rear later)?

[mudbugga]

If you are changing tyre size or even just a brand/type, it's best to do all 4.

If you're going to use the same tyre again, 2 at a time will do.

Put the best tyres on the front for steering etc.

[mud_slinger]

the left side always wears faster especially the left front as it is fighting the camber of the road to keep the vehicle driving straight.

With directionals you can flip them on the rim so the right side can become a left etc etc.

i would not run directionals backwards as they'll be noisy as hell and also have no grip especially in the wet, they will be a death trap and it wont reduce the wear.

if you are replacing 2 i would put them to the back as you want most of your grip in the rear so when you go round the a bend and its greasy the rear wont loose grip and try and make you spin, if you have all the grip in the front, the front will grip and the back will jus loose traction.