Mud Tyres

In message , Julian Pollard writes

Any particular reason for that size? They will murder your turning circle. I prefer 235x85

I topped the string from Hugh so repeat my reply

No reason as such for size except that that is what the Handbook says (I have Freestyle Alloys fitted and this was the applicable size - I think the rolling circumference is 31.8" for 235/85 and 32.0" for 265/75: I am not worried about turning circle)

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Think about how you intend to use the vehicle. Unless you are looking for flotation (and inferior performance on slick surfaces) you may be better off with a narrower tyre and gain some comfort from a higher aspect ratio tyre into the bargain.

Presumably you intend to keep your existing rims and that may limit your options - how wide are they?

Thanks to Dougal for his input - and apologies for a long response

First, (grammatical and BBC common error - not "firstly"!), my Freestyles are (I believe), 6.5 J

Secondly, which are the best tyres on a performance/cost basis - Goodrich or Cooper (road noise is a factor as in my late sixties (!) I am too old to think about wheel changes)

Thirdly, most of my off-road is between September and January on the Sussex Downs when in wet weather it is like driving on soap but the rest of the year is on wet and (mostly) dry clay or simply pigeon shooting or taking the dogs for a walk

Secondly

I'd check that, Julian - that's not very wide and smaller than the usual recommendation for a 265/75-16.

Have a look here for some numbers:

general information I don't think that you can get this full table on the UK/Europe version of the BFG website. You get this by claiming to be in North America.) You'll also notice that the 32/31.8" figures are for overall diameter (useful if you're thinking about wheel arch clearance) and not circumference. The 235/85-16 and 265/75-16 are almost the same in terms of revs. per mile

I can't comment. Some people are very suscepible to noise - I'm not. I also occasionally would like something aggressive but couldn't justify using something like these all the time. I have seen reports suggesting that there's not much to choose in performance terms between your two possibilities.

That sounds like a situation - something soft on top of something hard - for a narrow tyre. Baked clay which is moistened on the top is a horrible surface almost demanding chains! Wide tyres on this sort of ground will put you in the same boat as the majority of modern car drivers in the snow - wide tyres, no axle weight and an inability to grip anything.

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Interesting and informative - thank you very much Dougal

Out of an annual mileage of about 8500, I suppose something of the order of

8 months (3000 miles out of 8500) is on the road or dry clay or similar with the rest of the time and mileage on somewhere between dry clay and Palmolive soap

I got stuck (could be my fault !!) three times and needed a tractor to get me out on one occasion (the ultimate shame !!) and so made the decision to "upgrade" from my All Terrains to Mud

I am prepared to abide by this decision and simply need to decide on Goodrich or Cooper although I do appreciate there is a need to think again about 235/85 against 265/75

No, there's worse - but I'm admitting to nothing!

I'll heartily second those comments - my father's SIIa on 205R16 ATs happily follows my SIII on 235/85R16 MTs through moderately muddy/slippery conditions far better than it deserves to.

The only time I can see an advantage in a tyre wider than a 235 is driving on very soft surfaces (sand and the like) with the pressure dropped to ~15PSI

In message , Julian Pollard writes

Any MT will be noisy on road and also give pretty poor grip on tarmac in the wet.

I used to have a 200tdi on 235x85 and they were good. I bought a 2nd hand 50th Anniversary fitted with 265/75 MTs. They did about 60k and still had lots of tread left but by that time they were horribly distorted beyond balancing.

I've always had BFGs so can't compare with others.

On my last Landy (sadly stolen after 12 years of ownership) I had Firestone SATS which were awesome in mud but like driving on cobbles on the road

It was against this background that I asked for advice on "modern" mud tyres such as Goodrich and Cooper

Great post.

Whats wrong with it?

;o)