New tyres for 2002 GXL 95 series?

[Bickies Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bickies]

Hi to all,

This has probably been done to death but here goes anyway! I will be looking shortly to upgrade from the standard Grandtreks on standard rims ( 265x70x16 highway terrain) to a more aggressive AT tyre. I think it would be overkill to go for a MT tyre as we dont get much rain over here (Perth) and besides I wish to keep road noise down to a minimum and also most of my driving is done on sand and/or the occassional dirt tracks with a smattering of rock strewn through.I am looking at possibly 3 contenders so far. As I dont do alot of kms (not my daily drive and only used on a weekend a month) I would expect to get a decent run for the new tyres. Am looking at the LT 265x75x16 size tyre as I have a 2" lift so shouldnt have any problems with clearance. As stated before am looking at these tyres:- Cooper ST Max, Mickey T's AT's, or BFG AT's. Price wont be an issue so was wondering what tyres you guys (and gals!) would opt for or have purchased and been happy with. Your responses and advice will be much appreciated. Thanks in advance!

Cheers Paul

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

Which mickey Thomson ATs? ATZ 4-rib or ATZ 5-rib? If 4-rib, they would be my pick. As an off road tyre, I think the BGF A/Ts are overrated. They only things they have going for them are strong side walls (which all the others you mentioned also have) and the show pony white lettering if, you're into that. In terms of off road grip, I have never been impressed with their performance over Grandtrecks, sure they're better but the difference isn't huge.

If noise is a major concern, you may be disappointed with all of the above. Its a trade off with noise vs off road grip. My MTZ's can be heard at anything above 30kph and they absolutely howl at 100kph, but they are amazing in mud and rocks.

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

I would recomment the Cooper AT3.
Great on & off road, very little tyre noise and did not chip at all on a recent High Country trip.
Also, the understeer in the wet has been nearly eliminated, compared to the Grandcraps.
Tyrepower were the best price, service and a spot-on wheel alignment

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

I have the ST Max at 265/75 and reckon their great. Noiser than road tyre but very capable off road..

[Drj Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Drj]

I'm currently running Yokohama geolanders a/t and find them a great tyre on the road in the high country (mud and rocks) and in the sand I've had many mates surprised at what I have been able to get through and also they are long wearing currently on 75000 ks with about 10000 left but I've been saying that for around 15000 ks

[Playdoh96 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Playdoh96]

Hey Paul,
I dont think you have to much problems with ether tyre brands you are thinking about, As long as you run the correct pressures for what you are driving on. I run the MT ATZ 4 ribs and cant say a bad thing about them. Have had them on the car for 3 1/2 years and done 55000ks on them. Just messured how much they have left on them ( all around 8mm above wear marks) so should easily see 80000km + with rotations every 10000km. On the black top at 100kph you can hear them, but its not offensive like the howl of muddies!!!
Hope this helps with your choice in tyres
Kris

[Bickies Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close Bickies]

Thanks for the replies everyone.When you're spending up to 2 grand on 5 tyres you really want to be making the right choice, so this decision is a difficult one and everyone has their story and experiences, so please keep 'em coming!! Thanks again.

Paul

[Snaga Wishing I was lost Find all posts View Profile Close Snaga]

One thing that I was told when last chatting to a tyre dealer was that no matter how good a tyre is, rubber, construction, tread depth warranty etc...
Rubber has a shelf life...
Even if after 5 years you have 60% tread depth the tyres are going to start slipping around and not performing as well as they should.

Compounds harden over time so if they aren't going to be used very often I would consider the fact that maybe a cheaper tyre replaced more often would be better.

Just a thought...

My situation... I do about 30000 k's a year so I went with the Cooper brand.
I got 96000 k's in just under 4 years from the original ST's and have now put 23000 k's on the ST Maxx since Aug last year.

I personnaly think the original ST Coopers handle better on road but off road I would go the ST Maxx for sure.

[matt-rice Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close matt-rice]

I purchased the cooper AT3's a few months ago and would recommend them. Very little road noise but still a capable AT tyre.

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

I (and a couple friends) have had great experiences with Mickey Thompson MTZ's, so I'll assume the Mickey Thompson AT 4-Rib and 5-Rib's are great tyres as well.

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

I have had many sets of BFG AT's and have found them to be excellent. Very hard wearing with minimal gain in road noise. They handle well on road, and are very robust off road.

I have also had two sets of Cooper ST's. They are a great tyre too IMO with all of the good points mentioned above, except slightly noisier on road when new.