A/T Tyres

[marc59]

Thanks again OJ, plenty of food for thought. It's now time and armed with a much better understanding of tyres, thanks to you and this forum, to talk to a few Tyre dealers and get some quotes

[mortdad]

I have used Cooper AT3's since new and I also thought they were a bit noisy so at the last tyre change I went to Cooper Max which are a step up from the AT3.

I have found them good in the sand and on dirt roads and are not as noisy as the AT3 on bitumen, but they are quite a bit dearer.

[Tingles]

I have had Cooper AT3s on both my Paj’s. NT had 80k on the tyres when I sold it and still good for another 10k. My current NX started with Bridgestone D693’s but I swapped them out at 30k due to excessive wear / noise. It now has AT3 LT 265/65R18 which show minimal signs of wear after nearly 50k of mixed driving.

I always rotate 5 wheels every 5000km and get a 4 wheel alignment every 10000km. This seems to even out wear and keep noise to a minimum as they wear down.

Recently I was told that the 265/65x18 was an unusual size and I may have problems finding one in the bush - does anyone have any experience with this?

[old Jack]

The range of 18"tyres in remote areas is not as good as 16"or 17"but the 265/65R18 is a common size for Light Truck construction tyres and the 265/60R18 is a common size for Passenger construction tyres.

If you have LT rated 5 tyres in good conditions, you reduce tyre pressures and drive to the conditions you will have less problems. If you fit a TPMS then the chance of you ruining a tyre when you get a puncture is greatly reduced. Carrying a compressor and a cold chemical vulcanising plug kit is further insurance. If you are concerned about availability of spares when travelling then carry a 2nd spare tyre and wheel assembly or even just a spare tyre carcass.

On my last Kimberley Trip in 2013 I checked tyre stock in Darwin, Kununurra and Broome before I left because I was running Cooper ST Maxx 245/75R16 and I wanted to replace them with the same if I had a problem. I traveled with 5 near new tyres and a new spare carcass & tube.

Only tyre problem I had in 12,500 km over 5 weeks at GVM+150kg, was I picked up a sawn off spanner in the tread, in a lookout carpark near Home Valley. I changed the tyre, plugged the punctured tyre and several days later when in Kununurra, I had the tyre removed from the rim, inspected and a radial patch fitted internally.

OJ.

[Doowrag]

Hankook ATs are the go and keep an eye out for their "Buy 3 Get 4" Deal

[outbackogre]

Hankook ATs are the go and keep an eye out for their "Buy 3 Get 4" Deal

And you can get them in an LT.

https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=61337&page=2

[brianjamo]

And you can get them in an LT.

https://www2.pajeroclub.com.au/forum...t=61337&page=2

Unfortunately not in 18".

Still a great tyre and my choice without LT construction.

[craka]

The only Hankook Dynapro in a for a 18" diameter is LT275/65R18

The others for 18inch diameter are a Extra Load passenger construction.

[Tingles]

I have just picked up a spare (6th) rim and fitted it with a brand new Cooper AT3 as above, in preparation for a CSR / Kimberly trip. I’m interested in peoples thoughts on 6th rim / tyre ( heavy but convenient) vs carcass plus tyre levers +/- bead breaker (not quite as heavy but more work)?

[outbackogre]

A perennial question. I'm hoping to do my 4th Simpson crossing in August (Madigan Line). Our group has always required a second full spare, but we've had few tyre issues. Some argue (and I agree) that travelling light in the desert is a great advantage and carrying a second full spare doesn't help this, but it's certainly more convenient. If you're proficient at tyre removal and refitting (including bead breaking and reseating) perhaps a carcass is sufficient, though you may be required to do it at an inconvenient time and place. I offset the weight of the second spare by temporarily removing the second row seating. This also allows me to set up my bed in the car.

[old Jack]

I have just picked up a spare (6th) rim and fitted it with a brand new Cooper AT3 as above, in preparation for a CSR / Kimberly trip. I’m interested in peoples thoughts on 6th rim / tyre ( heavy but convenient) vs carcass plus tyre levers +/- bead breaker (not quite as heavy but more work)?

I have 35 years of outback touring experience both recreational and for work, and have had dozens of tyre repairs on 16" split rim cross ply tubed tyre's and 15" Tubeless Radials but with tubes fitted, on steel rims, so I got pretty good at dismounting and repairing tyre's on the side of the track. In those days carrying 2 spares was necessary because you could expect at least one puncture a day when travelling through remote desert country, if you got 2 punctures you just had to stop and repair them before you could continue travelling.

However after moving across to LT steel radial tyre's and lower tyre pressures about 20 years ago I found flat tyre's were rare and I no longer need to carry 2 full spare tyre assemblies + tyre repair gear on trips, so I started to carry just and extra spare carcass, tube and tyre repair kit. In the last year or so I have even been thinking about not carrying the spare carcass unless I am travelling solo and remote. Tyre's have improved enormously as have external repair kits. So I haven't had to dismount a tyre from a rim for about 20 years.

I was still under the impression I could easily demount and repair a tyre on the side of the track.
Last year I thought I would have a go to see if my skills and tools were still up to the task. I had a stuffed 10ply LT Cooper ST Maxx on a 16" alloy rim, it took me a bit of effort to break both beads using a jack under the towbar. It took 3 tyre levers and a huge effort and about 20minutes to get one side of the tyre off the rim. I then tried for another 30mins to get the other side of the tyre off the rim before I gave up knackered or I did damage to the alloy rim.

What I discovered was;
My tyre changing gear ans skills was only suited for steel rims, modern 10ply steel radial tyre's combined with alloy rims make it extremely difficult to repair tyre's on the side of the track with just tyre levers ans a rubber mallet. 20 years ago Inwas also fitter and stronger, in an emergency I could still most likely do it but it would take a lot of time and effort.

Ink the last 20 years all my tyre repairs have been done using external plugs. I use the Tech Cold Chemical Vulcanising system (Top Top Rema also do this system). Coils chemical vulcanising plugs are much better that the brown or grey wax type plugs you get in the common repair kits, CCV plugs use a glue that bonds the plug to the tyre rubber and the plug becomes a part of the tyre rubber. Wax type emergency repair plugs use a lubricant and expand into the hole, problem is they can leak when exposed to high temperatures and tyre flexing. They also make doing an approved internal repair very difficult because the containate the hole in the tyre, so much so that some tyre repairers in the bush will not repair a tyre that has had an emergency wax plug fitted.

So after my realisation that I had been under a false sense of security and my capabilities I decided to fit a TPMS system so early detection of air loss hopefully prevents major tyre damage and I can plug the minor holes if required. On remote trips I will still carry a carcass and a tube when travelling with others if our wheels are interchangeable but if I was travelling solo and remote I would go back to 2 full spare tyre and wheel assemblies.

OJ.

[Tingles]

A/T Tyres

Thanks OJ. That mirrors my feelings. I’ve been manually changing and repairing tyres since I was 14 ( a very long time ago) but I would prefer not to be doing this on the side of the track in the midday sun.

Thanks for the info on the tyre plugs - I wasnt aware of the difference. Where can you get the CCV plugs from?

[lds]

A/T tyres

Re Hankook RF10
I have used Maxxis At and now on RF10 265x65x17 and do not think I will ever use a Hankook again .I cannot believe the noise of these right from the beginning.Even at suburban speed limits they are bad.
So to all those that think they are quite I suggest they have a hearing problem.
Also I emailed Hankook Aust and guess what there was not even a reply acknowledging my concerns .So never ever again

Ray

[guyduncanson1]

I’ve tested them before & they are pretty noisy especially for a a/t. Also the more they wear the louder they get. I’ve got the black bear a/t 2 tyres on my car in a 285/75R16 & I get no road noice plus I’ve had them for 40,000kms cheap tyres Gold Coast




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[old Jack]

Thanks OJ. That mirrors my feelings. I’ve been manually changing and repairing tyres since I was 14 ( a very long time ago) but I would prefer not to be doing this on the side of the track in the midday sun.

Thanks for the info on the tyre plugs - I wasnt aware of the difference. Where can you get the CCV plugs from?

You can order Tech Cold Chemical Vulcanising repair gear through Repco.
Rather than order a kit which has stuff you will never use, simply order,
Insertion Tool. Item No 925
Spare insertion told needle. Item No 926.
2mm Allen key to change needle if you do not have one. Item No 911.
Hand reamer /spiral cement tool. Item No 915.
Box of 40 Permacure plugs, either Item No 206 for oval plugs or 204 for round plugs, I have a preference is the oval plugs.
6x 10ml tubes of Flow Seal Vulcanising Fluid Item 767, once the glue has been opened it goes off so multiple small tubes are better than 1 larger tube.

OJ.