All-terrain tyres

[bowji john]

Ben P

That pic you showed (Kumho Road Venturer MT51 ?) look very much like the old BFG Trac Edge which was a good compromise tyre that went out of fashion some time ago

Don't know the Kumho but the trac edges were OK so I'd be interested in how you get on with them

 

[@theroedeerguy]

Ben P

That pic you showed (Kumho Road Venturer MT51 ?) look very much like the old BFG Trac Edge which was a good compromise tyre that went out of fashion some time ago

Don't know the Kumho but the trac edges were OK so I'd be interested in how you get on with them

Yes that’s the tyre and agree if it’s anything like the old trac edge it will be great.

I am only 36k into my KO2s so got a bit more miles to do before I get them changed.

 

[nun_hunter]

I must be the only one that doesn't rate AT's

I've found them too much of a compromise in all areas

To me they are a glorified road tyre

I had them on a disco then a Toyota troupie

On both occasions I swapped them out for BFG Muds

I remember being at an off road site with our off road club and we were doing a hill climb challenge - a regular member turned up with his brand new Disco on all terrains - he couldn't even make it to the start of the challenge

We were all very sympathetic, with many useful suggestions

Very true, I've noticed no difference in off road capability with my new BFG vs the Geolanders (which were half worn when I got the pick up) but the on road is considerably worse. More road noise, ABS kicks in under braking in the wet and about 3mpg worse off. Around my way on Weald clay it's mud terrains when it's wet or nothing. I've had the BFGs spinning up on a slightly angled damp field as they fill with clay and dont self clean. For those who live where its sandy or rocky and free draining then maybe they work OK. I only bought my last lot as the guy on the phone got the price wrong and sold them at trade cost but minus the VAT!

 

[nun_hunter]

Anybody use Hankooks ????

Yes I had them on a Fiesta St and was impressed on their road ability. Had their At on a Jimny which were great (gained about 4mpg vs the Insa Turbos that it came with) and now have their MT on my pick up. Cheaper than BFG and as good in my opinion for what I've used them for.

 

[hendrix's rifle]

Insa Turbo’s seem to be very popular with Suzuki Jimmy owners. Certainly on the Facebook group I’m in. Not carrying the same weight as my Ranger so hard to say if they compare on heavier vehicles.

Insa turbo's are great, even for a remould. I currently have them on my truck, if you put your foot down on a wet field they DO make one hell of a mess though.

 

[User00035]

Very true, I've noticed no difference in off road capability with my new BFG vs the Geolanders (which were half worn when I got the pick up) but the on road is considerably worse. More road noise, ABS kicks in under braking in the wet and about 3mpg worse off. Around my way on Weald clay it's mud terrains when it's wet or nothing. I've had the BFGs spinning up on a slightly angled damp field as they fill with clay and dont self clean. For those who live where its sandy or rocky and free draining then maybe they work OK. I only bought my last lot as the guy on the phone got the price wrong and sold them at trade cost but minus the VAT!

That's pretty much exactly how I found the Geolanders compared with the Grabber ATs I had on before. Going by the spec sheet they were supposed to be on a par for road performance, noise and economy, but in every department the Geolanders were slightly better. I get far fewer ABS kick-ins now.
The fuel economy may be down to the fact that the tyre fitters inflated the Geolanders at 33 PSI, which is 3 PSI higher than Iwas running the Grabbers. Running dual purpose tyres just a couple of PSI lower than optimum on the road can have an eye-watering effect on fuel economy. If you're doing a lot of road miles you can lose serious money by not checking your pressures regularly.

I've found the Geolanders self-clean better than the grabbers as well. And I think the plethora of little toothy side lugs really helps with low-impact grip and avoiding slewing.

 

[monarman]

Anybody use Hankooks ????

One of our ford rangers runs on the hankooks...dyna pro at ..... the lad who drives the truck reckons they have been brilliant..... hes never been stuck on some crappy surfaces and are lasting very well

 

[Gunner223]

Thanks for that monarman, just what i wanted to hear,

 

[dartmoordog]

One of our ford rangers runs on the hankooks...dyna pro at ..... the lad who drives the truck reckons they have been brilliant..... hes never been stuck on some crappy surfaces and are lasting very well

No matter what you drive, no matter what tyres you run, no matter how well trained you are or how experienced you are, if you have never been stuck..........Then you ain’t been off road much more than a forest track.

That will get them going!

 

[monarman]

No matter what you drive, no matter what tyres you run, no matter how well trained you are or how experienced you are, if you have never been stuck..........Then you ain’t been off road much more than a forest track.

That will get them going!

Funnily enough I've been stuck the most when my vehicles have had bfg mud terrain tyres on!!!!!!!!!!...... been trained and driven off road for for over 20 years........

 

[dartmoordog]

Funnily enough I've been stuck the most when my vehicles have had bfg mud terrain tyres on!!!!!!!!!!...... been trained and driven off road for for over 20 years........

20 years.......Only just finished your apprenticeship!

 

[landkeeper]

No your really only stuck when your simex 35" jungle treks are spinning in liquid mud and the belly of your trucks sitting flat on the ground , the winch ropes snappedfor the umpteenth time and theres no one in the wood with you to help and the mobile signal is non existant

 

[Free range rob]

I had a set of coopers on my ranger from virtually new, and whilst I was impressed with the road handling, low noise and good mpg with them, they wore out incredibly quick (a tad over 20k) and they were ok ish off road, better than roads obviously, but certainly not what I would class as good.

I changed them out for bfg’s, I had them on my disco and they seemed good so gave them another shot.

So far, they are slightly noisier on the road, I have now done 10k and no visible wear on them what so ever, they are much better off road (rangers are notoriously bad on the back end for been too light) but the road manners are not great, I can live with them sliding about in the wet, roundabouts etc, but what I detest, they track, badly, I tow plant around a lot and on the motorways in lane 1 where the lorries always run they always grab the sunken wheelings, which is very annoying as my trailer has the same fault but with a slightly wider track than the truck, so it’s often a case of arse twitching when it suddenly pulls one way unexpectedly and then the trailer tries to pull it the other way, I have learnt to let it go rather than fight it, it never gets out of control, but it makes the un-initiated jump a little
Mpg has gone down slightly, overall I am pleased with the performance from them but don’t like the tracking that comes with them, they are the worst tyres I’ve ever had for it, and that includes my mud tyres on the Landy.

 

[User00003]

I had a set of coopers on my ranger from virtually new, and whilst I was impressed with the road handling, low noise and good mpg with them, they wore out incredibly quick (a tad over 20k) and they were ok ish off road, better than roads obviously, but certainly not what I would class as good.

I changed them out for bfg’s, I had them on my disco and they seemed good so gave them another shot.

So far, they are slightly noisier on the road, I have now done 10k and no visible wear on them what so ever, they are much better off road (rangers are notoriously bad on the back end for been too light) but the road manners are not great, I can live with them sliding about in the wet, roundabouts etc, but what I detest, they track, badly, I tow plant around a lot and on the motorways in lane 1 where the lorries always run they always grab the sunken wheelings, which is very annoying as my trailer has the same fault but with a slightly wider track than the truck, so it’s often a case of arse twitching when it suddenly pulls one way unexpectedly and then the trailer tries to pull it the other way, I have learnt to let it go rather than fight it, it never gets out of control, but it makes the un-initiated jump a little
Mpg has gone down slightly, overall I am pleased with the performance from them but don’t like the tracking that comes with them, they are the worst tyres I’ve ever had for it, and that includes my mud tyres on the Landy.

What coopers?

 

[Free range rob]

What coopers?

I think they were stt, I would need to check

 

[Orion]

I had a set of coopers on my ranger from virtually new, and whilst I was impressed with the road handling, low noise and good mpg with them, they wore out incredibly quick (a tad over 20k) and they were ok ish off road, better than roads obviously, but certainly not what I would class as good.

I changed them out for bfg’s, I had them on my disco and they seemed good so gave them another shot.

So far, they are slightly noisier on the road, I have now done 10k and no visible wear on them what so ever, they are much better off road (rangers are notoriously bad on the back end for been too light) but the road manners are not great, I can live with them sliding about in the wet, roundabouts etc, but what I detest, they track, badly, I tow plant around a lot and on the motorways in lane 1 where the lorries always run they always grab the sunken wheelings, which is very annoying as my trailer has the same fault but with a slightly wider track than the truck, so it’s often a case of arse twitching when it suddenly pulls one way unexpectedly and then the trailer tries to pull it the other way, I have learnt to let it go rather than fight it, it never gets out of control, but it makes the un-initiated jump a little
Mpg has gone down slightly, overall I am pleased with the performance from them but don’t like the tracking that comes with them, they are the worst tyres I’ve ever had for it, and that includes my mud tyres on the Landy.

Have you experimented with the pressures? I've found that the BFGs on my Amarok work best at pressures above the standard recommendation. Might be something to do with the sidewall strength of the tyres, being effectively a commercial tyre.

 

[Free range rob]

Yeah I run them slightly higher as a matter of course

 

[User00003]

I had a set of coopers on my ranger from virtually new, and whilst I was impressed with the road handling, low noise and good mpg with them, they wore out incredibly quick (a tad over 20k) and they were ok ish off road, better than roads obviously, but certainly not what I would class as good.

I changed them out for bfg’s, I had them on my disco and they seemed good so gave them another shot.

So far, they are slightly noisier on the road, I have now done 10k and no visible wear on them what so ever, they are much better off road (rangers are notoriously bad on the back end for been too light) but the road manners are not great, I can live with them sliding about in the wet, roundabouts etc, but what I detest, they track, badly, I tow plant around a lot and on the motorways in lane 1 where the lorries always run they always grab the sunken wheelings, which is very annoying as my trailer has the same fault but with a slightly wider track than the truck, so it’s often a case of arse twitching when it suddenly pulls one way unexpectedly and then the trailer tries to pull it the other way, I have learnt to let it go rather than fight it, it never gets out of control, but it makes the un-initiated jump a little
Mpg has gone down slightly, overall I am pleased with the performance from them but don’t like the tracking that comes with them, they are the worst tyres I’ve ever had for it, and that includes my mud tyres on the Landy.

The cooper compound is softer, it’s not worse, just softer, this equates to quicker wear yes, but it also means a better tyre for wet, snow, ice and freezing conditions. The bfg’s I’ve had have been outright lethal in very wet conditions and on slippery and icy roads - they’re know for that due to their hard durable compound which gives them long life and puncture strength - it’s a trade off.

I know I will never put a set of KO2’s on my car when the heavy late summer rains and the snow/ice approches, recipe for disaster in my book.

I’m happy to trade in wear and lifespan for better grip and a tread pattern which actually clears itself of mud and snow and doesn’t hold on to every pebble I drive over!

This is what has attracted me to the Cooper ST Maxx

 

[Free range rob]

The cooper compound is softer, it’s not worse, just softer, this equates to quicker wear yes, but it also means a better tyre for wet, snow, ice and freezing conditions. The bfg’s I’ve had have been outright lethal in very wet conditions and on slippery and icy roads - they’re know for that due to their hard durable compound which gives them long life and puncture strength - it’s a trade off.

I know I will never put a set of KO2’s on my car when the heavy late summer rains and the snow/ice approches, recipe for disaster in my book.

I’m happy to trade in wear and lifespan for better grip and a tread pattern which actually clears itself of mud and snow and doesn’t hold on to every pebble I drive over!

This is what has attracted me to the Cooper ST Maxx

Yes I agree with all the above, but I don’t buy at’s for water, snow and ice, I bought them for road/mud use and that’s exactly where I find they shine (albeit the tracking), and I am expecting double the life compared to my old ones at much less than double the cost.
If snow, ice and water were the concern I would look for winter tyres.
In my experience of coopers, the grip when I needed it was simply not there, however with the bfg’s it is.
I do agree they are certainly not well behaved in the wet, if only there was a tyre for ALL situations rather than a compromise in everything.......

 

[User00003]

Yes I agree with all the above, but I don’t buy at’s for water, snow and ice, I bought them for road/mud use and that’s exactly where I find they shine (albeit the tracking), and I am expecting double the life compared to my old ones at much less than double the cost.
If snow, ice and water were the concern I would look for winter tyres.
In my experience of coopers, the grip when I needed it was simply not there, however with the bfg’s it is.
I do agree they are certainly not well behaved in the wet, if only there was a tyre for ALL situations rather than a compromise in everything.......

Are you comparing cooper mud tyres to bfg AT? Mud tyres are well known to have little grip in rain and snow/ice. The st maxx is not a mud tyre either tbh