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Tire Recommendations for Rough Roads

I'm going to be driving our '99 Forester on an old CCC road near the Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, perhaps once a month. Some the the hills are fairly steep and eroded, exposing some pretty sharp rocks and there are some muddy ruts 6-8 inches deep. There is the possibility of snow and ice in the winter, but I may just bag it if it comes to that.

We currently have the OEM Bridgestone Dueler H/T, which handled the first trip in semi-dry weather OK. [BTW, I am amazed at what this automatic transmission Forester can do]. At 32,000 miles the H/Ts are getting a little long in the tooth and I'm looking for an improved replacement. It appears the Bridgestone Dueler H/L is a better tire, while offering a compromise between rough road and highway use. I do not want a soft sidewall, smooth highway cruiser that is just going to get cut up when I smack a few sharp rocks. The Toyo Proxes T1-S are being reserved for my Miata. Searches in this newsgroup and NASIOC haven't really given me any guidance. It seems many of us never leave the pavement.

I want sidewalls that handle the rocks and treads that handle the mud and wouldn't mind the quietest highway ride I can get while doing that. What is out there?

Reply to
Ken Lyons
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Hi Ken,

I've heard that Pirelli make a good off road tyre for the Forester, I think it's called Scorpion SC or something similar. I have friends with a Forrester here in Australia who have them and torture it off road regularly without any probs. They're not bad on the beach either although a little on the noisy side on the freeway.

Sounds like a fun drive you've got there - with serious mud a set of chains sometimes comes in handy for a little extra traction when it gets really mushy.

Gerard...

Reply to
Gerard

I've done some mild offroading with my WRX wagon. The Michelin Arctic Alpins I was using seemed to work well on typical Rocky Mountain backcountry trails; rocky, loose gravel, relatively dry, steep sections. They are not suitable for mud; they pack up and become useless way too easily, and are slow to clean out. My usual offroad car is a beat-up old GL wagon. I have used the Nokian Hakkapilitta (sp?) tires on it, with very good results. As the Hakkis have become popular, and hence more expensive, I have been using a no-name mud-n-sno tire sourced from the guys at Peerless Tyre. We found one in a 185/80/13 size that has the advantage of providing a bit more ride height, but it doesn't work as well as the Hakkis on loose surfaces. Basically, you want a somewhat taller, narrower tire than would be the optimum choice for pavement, with an open block tread pattern. You will probably find that a "real" mud and snow tire from most any manufacturer that will work reasonably well, or you might look into a dedicated gravel rally tire such as one of the Michelin offerings (pricy) or perhaps the Kumho rally tire, which I am told works very well. A tire that fits this description will tend to be pretty squirmy (that a word d'ya suppose?), and loud on pavement, but anything less will compromise offroad performance, particularly on soft or muddy ground. Tradeoffs. Sigh.

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB Laboratory Manager Microelectronics Research University of Colorado (719) 262-3101

Reply to
S

"Gerard" wrote

Thanks Gerard. I haven't looked at Pirellis since my used '63 Mini-Cooper came with a set. The Scorpion ST looks pretty agressive for an on/off road tire, but unfortunately looks to be available only in 16 inch in the U.S. My '99 is on 15 inch wheels and I don't plan on changing that. The STR appears to be the only one in the on/off road group that is available in the

205/70-15 size I need. I'll have to stop by the local Sears/NTB store and see if they have it.
Reply to
Ken Lyons

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