Insurance claim with 265/75R16 Tyres fitted in Qld

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

Put in the 265/70/16 and then compare with a 265/75/16, I got an overall diference of 13.25mm

That looks about right, 13.25 mm sidewall increase (5% of 265 mm) for a total 26.5 mm increase in diameter.
Actually that will be my "but officer its only 13 mm higher in the sidewall defence"

Lee

Just tried the link in Croozza's post, poor terminology used as the "Tyre Height" shown is actually "Tyre Sidewall Height" so could confuse us poor illiterate Prado owners , the "Total Radius" is better but you still need to double it for the diameter which is what our regs list.

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

For me there is no option as the LT All terrains and mud terrain tyres all come in a higher profile . There is only a Bridgestone Dueler in LT construction and I am not impressed by its tread pattern ie it may be a big step backwards in grip

I thought BFG had three choices in 17" LT's 265/65, 265/70 and 275/65 so if you can find some to purchase with option 1 or 3 you remain legal (under 15mm overall change) and you get aggressive AT with LT construction

[robbo4451 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close robbo4451]

BFG all terrains are 5 rib and looking at some forum postings they don't seem to self clean in mud very well

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

JoshF only trouble is the 90 series run 16" wheels standard, so a 265/70/17 is already 10 mm over the legal "allowance"

As has been mentioned the issue is finding "aggressive" tyres in the standard (for GXL etc anyway) size of 265/70/16.

[St3veC Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close St3veC]

What is everyone's thoughts then of running 245/75/16? I have seen that there a quite a number of aggressive LT construction tyres available in this size. 245/75's being approx 3.5mm SMALLER than the standard 265/70's.

I guess with this option you retain similar acceleration and fuel economy and also get to choose from LT tyres, but don't gain any ground clearance...

thoughts/opinions appreciated. Cheers.

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

What is everyone's thoughts then of running 245/75/16? I have seen that there a quite a number of aggressive LT construction tyres available in this size. 245/75's being approx 3.5mm SMALLER than the standard 265/70's.

I guess with this option you retain similar acceleration and fuel economy and also get to choose from LT tyres, but don't gain any ground clearance...

thoughts/opinions appreciated. Cheers.

It's hard to answer without knowing your current tyre size, and what kind of driving will you be doing...

I'd only change to those if fuel economy was the priority. From memory I believe it's a bit of a rare size and there's also legal issues with switching to tyres that are narrower than standard. So my thoughts are, stay with standard or go taller.

[wristpin Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close wristpin]

Tyre Choice

In April we went up through the Flinders, Wilpena & Arkaroola, then on to Birdsville, Haddon’s Cnr, Inaminka, Cameron Cnr, Tibooburra, Bourke, Newcastle.
Two adults, two teens, towed a Johnno’s hire camper trailer behind a 2001 TX. A few months previous I fitted brand new Cooper 265 70 R’s to the wagon.
At Arkaroola I had a rear tyre puncture fixed. At Copely I bought a brand new tyre to replace the opposite rear that a rock the size of a large hen’s egg had gone right through and was inside the tyre when we changed it. Destroyed the carcass. Half way from Bourke to Newcastle the tyre that was repaired at Arkaroola went flat and I changed it out for the spare. The tyre repaired at Arkaroola had haemorrhaged so badly around the repair the tyre was no longer useable. When I got back to Newcastle I had to buy another new tyre.
The carcass of the coopers seemed way too thin & weak. I spoke to the local dealer about it, he didn’t say much. At the recent caravan & camping expo in Sydney I spoke to the man at the Cooper stand. He indicated I should have been running 265 75 R’s being a stronger construction as the 75’s were light truck tyres and the 70’s were passenger highway tyres. He went on about the difficulty of recommending tyres for 4WD vehicles as most are driven around town and seldom go off road. So the local bloke punted on selling me the passenger 70’s instead of the tougher 75’s.
To top it off ‘outback’ we were laughed at for our useless Coopers and the mates Mickey Thompsons as they, out there used Kumo’s and Hankooks and only the city types pumped up on 4bee magazines full of Cooper adds bought Coopers.
So, whats the guts on the 70’s V the 75’s?? Are the 70’s passenger car tyres (lighter construction) and the 75’s light truck tyres ( tougher than the previous).........??????????

[St3veC Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close St3veC]

It's hard to answer without knowing your current tyre size, and what kind of driving will you be doing...

I'd only change to those if fuel economy was the priority. From memory I believe it's a bit of a rare size and there's also legal issues with switching to tyres that are narrower than standard. So my thoughts are, stay with standard or go taller.

Thanks glen_ep. Currently riding on Yoko AT/S' 265/70/16 (they came with the truck) and have been pretty happy with them. Rears are however going to need replacing sometime soon, hence looking for next tyre options. We like to get off-road as much as possible. This tends to be every 6 weeks or so. Also thinking more long term for an upcoming trip driving to Perth and back in Dec (see thread in Trip Planning). Fuel economy is probably of some concern.

Just in the last few days, I've been looking at the Bridgestone Deuler D694LT's and have to say I'm quite impressed with the many reviews I read. These come in quite a large range of sizes, and do come in a LT265/70/16 size...

It's an interesting point that you've raised wristpin, thanks for your personal input regarding real world tyre usage.
The marketing of Coopers etc definitely do create a picture that they are the one and only option.

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

Wristpin,

My experience with the Coopers in 265/70/16 is similar and I believe largely due to the Cooper ATR being a passenger tyre carcass in that size.
Some brands have LT (Light Truck) carcass tyre in the 265/70/16 size such as the Bridgestone D694LT, the difference in construction between the passenger tyre and the LT tyres is very obvious when you pick them up.

The fact your tyre failures were rear tyres (the same as mine were) reinforces to me there inability to handle the extra load "offroad" when the vehicle is fully loaded for an extended trip. I have weighed my Prado on a set of load cells and I know the weight distribution in nearly 50/50 front to rear with full fuel but no passengers or bags, fridge, spares etc, so when packed for a trip most of the extra weight will be carried by the rear tyres something the passenger construction tyres don't handle.

With that in mind I believe one needs to look at intended application when buying tyres, if you intend to do long trips off the black top with a packed vehicle you really need to have LT tyres, either 265/70 or the 265/75 with the 265/75 size giving more choice in tyre brand and tread style.

Lee

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

Due to the aggressive tread on my tyres they're a fair bit more than the 13.5mm taller figure that a calculator will give you for a 265/75 tyre over a 265/70. Try 23mm taller overall actually. I've got 265/75R16 Goodyear Wrangler Duratracs (LT const.) fitted and I have to say they're an excellent, hardcore looking tyre. I'd like to get another set when they're up for replacing too. The first thing I noticed when fitting them was the weight difference between them and the passenger tyres I had fitted previously. I can barely lift the Goodyear's whereas the previous tyres weren't that heavy at all. The Goodyear's also have an extra 400kg load rating per tyre over the Pirelli Scorpion STR's previously fitted (1500kg campared to previous 1100kg approx - that's an extra 800kg for the rear end alone). So the reasons why I chose the bigger tyre over the standard fitted size is... Most traction tyres are only available in the bigger sizes and I think the Cooper STT is the only traction tyre available in 265/70 from memory). I wanted something aggressive that gets me up and down steep hills with confidence and with minimal wheel slip. I wanted a cool looking tyre and I found it. I like the hum you get from them when driving on bitumen at 60km/h or more. I like the fact they won't puncture as easily as a passenger tyre. Surprisingly, they grip really well on wet roads. Plus, having the larger tyre means you don't have to air down as much to achieve the same footprint as the smaller diameter tyre. They also grip like hell in soft sand. I used to believe that road tyres gave better traction on sand than aggressive traction tyres but after driving on both, the Goodyear's tackle sand way better.

[mark2859 Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close mark2859]

What is everyone's thoughts then of running 245/75/16? I have seen that there a quite a number of aggressive LT construction tyres available in this size. 245/75's being approx 3.5mm SMALLER than the standard 265/70's.

I guess with this option you retain similar acceleration and fuel economy and also get to choose from LT tyres, but don't gain any ground clearance...

thoughts/opinions appreciated. Cheers.

Hi St3vec, Brett1979

I went through this process myself in NSW when my old tyres wore out. I work in the insurance industry and decided to stick to the rules and NOT increase my tyre size above 15mm for fear of having an insurance claim denied.

Unfortunately I had my heart set on some BF M/T's KM2, unfortunate because they do not come in the "standard" size for my vehicle.

I eventually decided on the 245/75/16 because although I loose a small amount of lift at least they are legal. Whilst I'd have preferred to get a larger size I'm really happy with the 245/75's.

By the way I run a pov pack 90's Prado so going from the 29" up to what's effectively 30" there was a noticeable difference to my gearing so part of me is glad I didn't just ignore the law and go for 33"

[stevensr34 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevensr34]

... They also grip like hell in soft sand. I used to believe that road tyres gave better traction on sand than aggressive traction tyres but after driving on both, the Goodyear's tackle sand way better.

They may work better in sand, but this is NOT because of the tread - it is because of the extra tyre surface area on the sand (because they are bigger), compared to your previous tyres.

Agressive tread just digs in when spinning on soft dry sand, far more than a smooth tyre does. Now you shouldn't be trying to dig in when traversing soft sand, you should be trying to "float" over it as much as possible.

Traction is directly related to the surface area in contact with the sand. That's why reducing air pressure helps so much. Your best tyre for soft dry sand is a big, deflated, bald tyre.

On harder/wetter sand you do need tread, however.

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

Hi Rob,
I understand what you're saying about the digging concept and the advantage of smooth surfaced tyres. But the last few times I've done camping trips at Double Island, I didn't even bother letting the tyres down and had great acceleration and traction in soft sand at 38psi. With my former set that were passenger tyres I had to let them down to 25psi or lower to avoid the car bogging down. And this is carrying the same amount of weight and the sand was soft as it was before. Beforehand I shared the exact same point of view as you do but now think otherwise. I can't really explain it, but pumped up with less surface area they make light work of the boggy sections (even slight soft sand inclines) at 38psi. It's weird I know. I mean no disrespect whatsoever and I do totally understand what you're saying though. What kind of tyres do you have fitted? If you have passenger tyres, like I said, I felt the exact same way you did prior.

[stevensr34 Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close stevensr34]

Brett1979 - Interesting, I can only suggest a possible reason for better traction in sand with the aggressive, larger diameter tyres:

Unless the sand is "desert dry" - something rare along the coast - then there is normally a layer of more grippy, more moist sand underneath the soft windblown stuff at the surface. As long as your tyres get through to this layer, the tread will grip into it and force you along.

In fact it may work better with chunky tyres at higher pressure - the tread will "dig" down through the soft stuff and hit the hard sand more effectively.

As I said, very interesting observation.

I wouldn't try it in a desert however!

PS. Driving in sand for almost 30 years now, in: FJ60, FJ73, Rav4, Prado 90, and now Prado 120. I used to have Bridgestone Desert Dueler 604's on the first vehicles, in the 80's and 90's, then 694's and now Mickey Thompson STZ's...

Cheers,

Rob.