Offroad-Express

Hi all.

My 1990 Safari LWB needs two new tyres for the front. I do 90% road useage but go offroad in the weekends to get to a couple of surf spots.

Have got two prices locally.

Firestone 10R15 604's (I think they had Desert Dueler on the side) @ $266 ea

Tyrepower 31 x 10.5 15 Maxxis MA75 @ $270 ea

Any idea if one of these is better than the other ?

bridgestone 10R 15s used to get over 100,000kms on safaris although I have been told the new ones have different rubber compound and possibly not doing the mileage

which Maxxis ???

is it the 751 coz they do good mileage as well

but all this is irrelevant if you just put them on and dont care for them with regular checks

Thanks for the reply. Sounds like they're both half decent so will go with the more conveniently located shop

Scuse me while I pinch your thread - I bought new front tyres for my Pathfinder not long ago, less than 10 000 k. They're a chinese copy of BFG all terrain tyres, which I bought to match the near new ones that were on the back when I bought the truck.

Anyway they started to scrub and wear noticeably on the outside shoulders, both front tyres. I've rotated the tyres and got an alignment which wasn't far out, and run about 40 PSI all round on the road. Anything else I should look at do to prevent them doing this? My old van did the same thing, and I put it down to the van being a rolly old piece of shit that needed new shocks, but maybe it's me?

you get wear from cornering, more noticeably on tyres with more roll in the sidewall (i have found)

otherwise it could be the camber.

boatwagon wrote:Scuse me while I pinch your thread - I bought new front tyres for my Pathfinder not long ago, less than 10 000 k. They're a chinese copy of BFG all terrain tyres, which I bought to match the near new ones that were on the back when I bought the truck.

Anyway they started to scrub and wear noticeably on the outside shoulders, both front tyres. I've rotated the tyres and got an alignment which wasn't far out, and run about 40 PSI all round on the road. Anything else I should look at do to prevent them doing this? My old van did the same thing, and I put it down to the van being a rolly old piece of shit that needed new shocks, but maybe it's me?

without rocking the boat here

was the alignment done properly

theres a few big name tyre companies that tend to only do the obligatory "toe n go" or only set the alignment to the specs on the screen without taking into account what the vehicle is doing or how the tyres are wearing

if you have the D21 type pathfinder/terrano then it has shims and this seems to scare a few alignment guys away

do you have the printout
can you take a pic and post it, or PM it to me so we are not threadjacking

cheers

Skid

Not sure where you are webfish, but in Auckland I got a mean price on some All Terrains - Should be able to get same deal elsewhere though.
I wanted BFGs which I have had previously (and still consider the best All Terrain), but did not want to spring around $350+ each....

After heaps of looking comparing tyres, reading reviews, and checking tread depths, I got the new Hankook AT-M (note: not the AT), which is a reasonably aggressive tire, but best of all one of the cheapest. Managed to get Tonys Tyre Service to do them for a flat $200 each, fitted and balanced. I found the cheapest retailer (can't recall who, maybe Discount Tyres), and got Tony's to do there price beating deal.
My other short list was the Kingstar ATs, which are in fact an old Hankook AT design, no longer sold under that brand. They are very well proven (read old design) with a nice wide blocky tread at the outsides. They are possibly a little more aggressive, but at the time cost a little more, so I chose the more modern design AT-M.
So far (15-20 thou k's) wear isn't visible. No offroad ks yet, sadly. Only wish they did a 11.5" wide, as they are 'relatively' skinny for a 10.5.

skid wrote:
without rocking the boat here

was the alignment done properly

Thanks Skid, I wasn't clear - the first alignment was the tyre shop that put the tyres on, a low-budget place and I'm definitely suspicious of that one, though as they seem to have disappeared from their site I'm not going to try chasing them.

I had another alignment done with a WoF, after rotating the tyres so that the square back ones were on the front, and that's with a mechanic who's always seen me right so far but I don't have the results of that one either. Should have asked for the paper.

It's an R50 pathfinder, mostly a road/tow car. I'll keep a close eye on what the front tyres do now...