Quiet A/T tyres

[Gusmck]

Hi everyone,

I am about to do the Gibb River Road and Bungle Bungles and so need to upgrade the highway tyres on my NW (17 inch wheels). I will not be towing anything offroad and will be relatively lightly loaded (just two of us with a tent, will remove 2nd and 3rd row seats)

To be honest, after this trip, I dont anticipate doing too much offroad stuff, perhaps the odd beach and a few gravel roads, but mostly highway stuff.

So I'm looking for an A/T tyre mainly for puncture resistance with sharp rocks. Not that fussed about performance in mud or sand. And I want something that wont be too noisy on the bitumen.

The other choice to make is LT vs Passenger tyres.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks.

[rgrubby]

Can't advice on quiet tyres, but my Maxxis AT980 make a fair bit of noise, so you could safely cross those off your list.

[Merts]

I wouldn't do the GRR on passenger construction tyres. LT construction will be far less likely to suffer punctures or sidewall damage.

Any LT AT tyre will be more noisy than a passenger construction, particularly a highway tread tyre.

I can advise that the BFG KO2s I was running up until recently were surprisingly quiet for a relatively aggressive all terrain. Before them I was running Cooper AT3s on a gen 4 Pajero and they were reasonably quiet too.

[DaKaptin]

I can confirm to NOT but the hankook ats lol.

Good luck.

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[Nab]

Something like the Maxxis 771 will do the trick. Its a mild AT with LT construction. Pirelli Scorpion ATR used to be very popular, not sure if they still make them.

[wanderay]

I would recommend Bridgestone 697's, we are on our second set with no punctures from the Flinders , Cape York, Gibb River etc. Much quieter than our son's BFG KO2's on the same model Pajero.
They last about 60,000 km's and cost less than KO2's so $ per kilometre is similar and fuel economy is good as well.

[Paj11]

I have been looking at Opats and Cooper At3, with the Opat the front runner, but then I did some research on the Pirelli Sorpion AT Plus, they supersede the ATR, they are really getting good wraps. Jax have them for 305 a tyre for 265/70/17 at the moment, Bob Jane 325. They will save me 300 over the Opats and 400 over the Coopers, they are also a nice looking tyre.

[old Jack]

All AT tyre's will be noisier than a HT tread pattern tyre, there is only 1 HT tread pattern tyre I am aware of that is availble in tough/strong light truck construction.

It is the Cooper HT 3 in a LT 245/70R17 10 ply 119 load index (standard diameter) and
a LT 265/70R17 10 ply 121 load index (26mm greater in diameter).

Whaypt everyone tyre you choose I would strongly suggest you fit a Tyre Pressure Monitoring System, this will give you early warning of tyre problems so you can stop ASAP and change the tyre which can then be repaired rather that write the tyre off because you did not notice the problem in time. DigOptions have 4tyre external systems starting from $150 so this is cheap insurance.

OJ.

[Country Cruiser]

I reckon every tyre bloke I have ever spoken to has praised the Bridgestone 697... I run them on my trailer on Pajero steel rims and they’ve been great. In some remote locations of you need a replacement tyre, that’s the one you get. They’re less aggressive than most so I’d expect them to be quieter when on the car.

I have had the old and updated version Cooper AT3 on the car, the old design ones were getting noisy around 60,000km and it was a dream going to the new model. All Terrains do seem to get noisier with time, I’ve only done 10,000 or so on the new ones so time will tell what they are like.

[old Jack]

The Bridgestone D697 is a great on road "AT" that is suitable for light duty off road work, in LT construction it is only available in 8 ply load rating in 17" and 18" sizes to suit Pajero, Triton, Challenger and Pajero Sport.

3 SA forum members that I know, ran these but after a series of punctures through the tread, shoulders and sidewall in mild off road conditions they have all replaced their tyre's with something different.

OJ.

[geopaj]

The Bridgestone D697 is a great on road "AT" that is suitable for light duty off road work, in LT construction it is only available in 8 ply load rating in 17" and 18" sizes to suit Pajero, Triton, Challenger and Pajero Sport.

3 SA forum members that I know, ran these but after a series of punctures through the tread, shoulders and sidewall in mild off road conditions they have all replaced their tyre's with something different.

OJ.

Yep... I was one of those 3.

In the past 4 and a bit years I've had 3 sets of tires on the NT-

1. Bridgestone D697s - constantly got punctures in what I'd class as mild off-road conditions (3 unrepairable sidewall punctures in 40,000km!). I had so much trouble with punctures with these that I ended up cutting my losses at about 50,000km and threw them away. Extremely quiet though. I would recommend these for maybe a tarmac caravan tower only.

2. BFG ATs - overall great tire with good offroad and good onroad grip, great puncture resistance (over various vehicles, I've done over 200,000km with no 'offroad punctures'), but noisy on a Gen 3-4 with a monocoque chassis.

3. Cooper AT3 LT (10ply) - MUCH quieter than the BFG ATs, more onroad grip (especially in wet), but slightly less grip offroad as they are slightly less aggressive than the BFGs. These are my current tires and to date no punctures.

As the OP wants a strong tire that is quiet, I personally would suggest considering the Cooper AT3 LT but would STRONGLY recommend avoiding the the Bridgestone D697s.

[johnandcass]

I have just changed from Hankook rf10 to Mickey Thompson Deegan 38 in the 265/60r18 size.
The Hankook handled really well in the wet and dry on road and was fine for tracks and beaches I drive. They were not much noisier or heavier on fuel than the old HT Dunlop and lasted 90,000 so very happy with them. Excellent value for money.
Changed over to a LT construction in preparation for an upcoming trip and done less than 1,000 km so far. Initial thoughts are positive, bit time will tell.


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[old Jack]

The Hankook ATM RF10 AT is availble in an extra load passenger construction and is a good replacement tyre for those wanting an AT tread pattern, doing mild off roading and carrying or towing loads regularly.

Once on corrugated dirt for extended periods, then it is LT construction tyre's at lowered pressures that give you the most reliable performance. On every trip away I come across many people with tyre failures, most common is passenger construction tyre's followed by 6 and 8 ply LT and then there is 10 ply LT. It is not only the construction of the tyre but also the age, wear, condition, and pressure of the tyre and the speed that you drive as well as the suspension setup and loads being carried that all effect how reliable a tyre is off the bitumen.

OJ.

[Miner]

Can't advice on quiet tyres, but my Maxxis AT980 make a fair bit of noise, so you could safely cross those off your list.

This forum needs a like function.... [emoji1][emoji1360]

Similar logic you can add the Yokohama AT-S.


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[old Jack]

This forum needs a like function.... [emoji1][emoji1360]

Top right hand corner of the first post per page is a "rate thread" function.


OJ.