Michelles 2012 150 Prado GXL D4D

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

Oh and before i forget we have also now fitted the complete ARB under vehicle protection kit (bash plates).

And its also been kitted out with the 2" lift medium load OME suspension kit. The vehicle came up evenly on both sides and while it felt a little overly firm at first with an 'empty' vehicle within a week the ride felt 'normal' and the vehicle feels a lot more stable and responsive on the road. Off road there is no comparison.. Michelle is very happy.

Photograph from January in the Gatta - std suspension.




Photograph from a month ago, Michelles 150 with the OME suspension and ARB bash plates.



The clearance under the side steps certainly show the additional clearance now over factory (Note tires are still stock atm).

Travis.

[Black Mamba 2014 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Black Mamba 2014]

Note tires are still stock atm

How many km's have you done with your stock standard tyres?

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

G'day BM,

Std tires have done approx 31,000 - 32,000km thus far. Thats mostly on the blacktop given its Michelles daily driver. Its done 10+ high country trips and the Flinders ranges. We'll be heading out to Central Aus for 3 weeks shortly, thereafter the tires will be certainly stuffed.

Travis.

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

We'll be heading out to Central Aus for 3 weeks shortly, thereafter the tires will be certainly stuffed.

You never know AB, I got something like 83,000kms out of the Grandtreks on the 95 series. Mind you they were driven mainly on the tarmac and didn't have much tread left by the time I swapped them for D694s.

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

The front tires have about 1.5-2mm at best left off the wear bar. The rears have 1mm left. After central oz I'm guessing we'll have around 40,000km on them and my money's on them being down to / into the wear bars. Personally I'm trying to talk the boss into new tires in Alice before we leave the blacktop.

Travis.

[Black Mamba 2014 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Black Mamba 2014]

What mileage are you guys getting in a fuel tank?

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

The front tires have about 1.5-2mm at best left off the wear bar. The rears have 1mm left.

Guess they don't make the Grandtreks like they used to then, mine were only like that when I changed them at 83,000K. It took me about 9 years to do that too and yes the tyres were still fine (not cracked, etc), only changed them as they had begun to squeal going round roundabouts.

I think if your tyres are that worn down it might be wise to swap them out before you see any dirt. Don't know how aggressive you want to go with new tyres but I'm happy with the Bridgestone D697s so far.

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

You never know hey Fido. Ive heard so many differing reports on just about every brand of tires who knows with all the variables some people get 2x the miles then others regardless of brand...

Id like to think i personally get above average wear out of tires as i believe i take good care of them (Not sure about the misses lol) - honestly though she drives very conservatively and im gobsmacked by the very poor millage she has gotten out of the tires on her Prado. My last set of BFG MT KM2's lasted 90,000 with 5mm left all round however they were getting pretty hard and didnt offer much grip when the blacktop was wet. (And ive got mates with the same tires that are very annoyed only getting 35-40K out of their KM2s).

The utes sitting in the garage begging for an outback trip but when the fuel usage is 3:1 in favor of the Prado we could fit it out with new tires and still save over a thousand dollars on what it would cost in fuel alone if we took the ute out there. The utes got a brand new set of KM2's sitting on it. I dare say the next time the utes in the red stuff it will be a CSR boys trip

....................

Im really not sure which tire to fit to Michelles Prado when the time comes. A LT - All terrain for sure. Ideally yes ill convince the boss to get new tires before we head out in May but if i get the timing wrong she'll just as likely try and pull the 'trips off then' reply. If the money is available then i will get her some new tires in Alice before we go bush.

Thanks for the tip re: the Bridgestone Dueler D697. A quick google shows they seem like a pretty good value for money tire!

BM - sorry i couldnt say for sure the fuel economy the Prado gets. I know when i jump in it the display on the dash usually has 9L /100km on it (Thats city driving). Ive seen it down to 8L / 100km when on the highways.

Travis.

[fido666 Banned Find all posts View Profile Close fido666]

Thanks for the tip re: the Bridgestone Dueler D697. A quick google shows they seem like a pretty good value for money tire!

The 18s aren't quite so cheap, paid $370 for the last one I bought but most dealers wanted around the $420 mark. 17s are a lot cheaper though. I do a lot of blacktop driving so the D697 was a good compromise. The Kaka actually had BFGs on it when we got it but had to swap them out due to Victorian size regulations. In the short time we had them on I did find them a bit "slippery when wet" especially when having to navigate tram tracks which I do almost every day. If you do go for the D697s make sure you get the LT version, they also come in a passenger construction version.

BM - sorry i couldnt say for sure the fuel economy the Prado gets. I know when i jump in it the display on the dash usually has 9L /100km on it (Thats city driving). Ive seen it down to 8L / 100km when on the highways.

That's awesome, mine always shows around 18L/100km around town! It is a V6 though.

[Black Mamba 2014 Member Find all posts View Profile Close Black Mamba 2014]

My last full tank of fuel had a total average of 9.7L/100km (highway/urban). I drove for 1382 km's in a full tank of diesel and I was shifting between 2000-2500 rpm. At this stage I have no aftermarket accessories fitted to the car.