Some advice from down under.

[Tommo Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close Tommo]

Fellas,

Hope you can help here. i am a UK Prado owner and frankly they are quite a rare beast over here. I am into my expeditions and will shortly (within the next 12 months) be undertaking a trip to Morrocco and doing the sahara desert thing. My Prado is currently running General Grabber AT2's which are fine for what we generally get here, a combination of smooth concrete, lots of rain and if i go offroad, thick slippy mud and deep water.

However when i get over to Africa i'll be facing hundreds of miles of dry loose gravel, corrugation, rocky trails etc which you guys know a lot more about. What are the general opinions on the GGAT2s and what should i consider replacing them with?? i was thinking maybe Cooper STTs but i dont want to replace them if i dont have to, will the GGAT2s do the job???

Tommo

[zookcubr Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close zookcubr]

Re: Some advice from down under.

Hi Tommo,
ive never heard of these tyres before, maybe someone else can help you on that. Most Aussies seem to be using BFGs, Wranglers and Coopers although there are far more brands out there but these three seem to be the most popular. I met a couple not long ago here in Alice Springs who have a done a simular trip to yours in there 90s Prado and have traveled many thousand of klms starting from the UK, Russia, Africa then to Australia without a major punture on their BF Goodrich All Terrains. The tyres looked knackered but they got home fine. I hope this helps, Zook.

[blackdoggriffon1976 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close blackdoggriffon1976]

Re: Some advice from down under.

BFG All terrain, are absolutley excellent in my opinion. Have them fitted to car and boat trailer, all my mates have them. Costly, but boy do they take some thrashing!

[Schaffer Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close Schaffer]

Re: Some advice from down under.

I've heard of the General Grabber. This is a Continental Tyres tyre. I have heard that some business running remote tours out of Port August in South Australia is running these without dramas but that is only hearsay. Have never seen them and I'm not looking at going near them just because they do not have any real reputation (good or bad). I would say that your comments are probably the best you will get on this forum at the moment. I'm running Mickey Thompson ATZ 4 Rib which are a good tyre altough the first 10,000kms wore the top of the lugs very quickly. Made by and in the same factory as the Coopers range.

Had a quick google and found a few reviews. Havn't read any myself:
http://www.offroaders.com/tech/AT-MT...abber-AT-2.htm
http://yotatech.com/f177/buyer-bewar...r-at2-s-93387/
http://www.elementownersclub.com/for...ad.php?t=31894
http://www.tyretest.com/ganzjahresre...at2/index.html
http://www.fourwheeler.com/techartic...est/index.html

[FlyingBushPig Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close FlyingBushPig]

Re: Some advice from down under.

Hi Tommo, I do recall a thread some time ago on the General Grabbers.

I had them on my Rav4 before I sold it and found them a great tyre - would have possibly bought them again if they had them in the right size for me. They're not quite as open a tread pattern as the STT's or MT4ribs though. I now also have the Mickey Thompson 4 ribs which seem to be a good tyre.

Personally I think you'll be fine with the GGAT2s. As you say, you'll be driving over gravel and loose gravel more than anything so wide open tread isn't as important as good handling and stopping ability you get in the all terrain style the AT2s have. They'll possibly wear better too?

I'd probably be basing your decision on what is more available in the areas you want to visit. If you stake a tyre or two you want to be able to source them fairly easily if that's possible.
Over here the BFGoodrich all terrain's are I would say the "traditional" all terrain 4WD tyre but some would say they're an old design and other brands surely do better. No idea if there's anything in that or not.

I believe the GGAT2s are the standard tyre Landrover have put on their Defenders straight from the showroom at some time - that may be just over here - I'm not sure.

Good luck with your selection and be sure to update us on your trip!

[FlyingBushPig Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close FlyingBushPig]

Re: Some advice from down under.

GGAT2 Thread: http://www.pradopoint.com/viewtopic....eneral+grabber