help me choose some tyres

[discojmz]

hey guys

need a bit of help choosing some new tyres. i know what i want, but i dont know which tyres can deliver it

ideally a mud terrain, but only a traditional mud terrain style really (bfg mt, kumho 834, insa dakar)

size: 265/75R16, could possibly go a tad bigger but doing the arches and no suspension lift, going on nicely offset 8 spokes

dont want to spend a fortune, im thinking the bfg is a bit out of price range (tax dodging student with time only for a part time job)

which kinda brings it down to the kumho or the insa (or any other suggestions) but i dont know if i fancy a retread?? it kinda just sounds like bad news to me!?

oh yeah, and have to be bearable on the road volume-wise, and do a good mileage for the price. i know im not asking much

discuss

jim

[FridgeFreezer]

People, especially "normal" mechanics, talk a load of balls about retreads. If they were dodgy people wouldn't be allowed to sell 'em.

[discojmz]

that's what i keep telling myself. i think ive just got to get this unease out of my head. the insa's are supposedly some of the best quality retreads about and very hard wearing. just gotta weigh up if i can get them enough cheaper than the kumhos... and for that matter, if anyone runs the dakars and what theyre like on and off the road!

if im honest i dont like the look of the colway MT, the pattern looks a bit untidy and savage, and ive been told theyre really noisy on road. i figure tonnes of people use BFG MTs on the road for long distance, towing etc, the closest i can get to them, the better

dakar's ratings i believe to be 120Q so 99mph (more than enough) and 120 load being over 1360kg so very well rated indeed!

[Ryan]

I can confirm that the Colway MTs are a tad on the noisey side (that's what the volume control on the stereo is for!). I believe the Insa tyres are remoulds as well (or 'recycled' as they describe it). I will admit that the tread on the Colway MTs does look a bit aggressive, but I find they are ok. They were the cheapest at the time, and were also the only affordable option in the size I wanted.

[discojmz]

yeah the insa's are retreads too, well a bit more than that, supposedly a new tyre built on the old carcass and supposedly the best about, but a retread nonetheless

couple of my mates are still goin on at me that the 20 quid a corner extra for kumhos is the better option??

[RRX]

Running Greenway Macho's and they are fine on the road and off it, but you will need to camel cut the rears with 265/75/16's(or attack with hammer )

Very low road noise but they are directional so a spare will have to be something else

[discojmz]

read what i wrote james!! i didnt write it for my own amusement gawd i dunno, some people eh

i said im doing the arches. fitting indestructible arch extensions but not lifting suspension as yet

[T1G UP]

I like the Khumo K71's

[discojmz]

as do I but unfortunately theres no way in hell im paying 96 quid a corner for them, especially not when 35s can be had at 90 a corner!!

plus im still a believer that the bfg style tread pattern offers the best of both worlds, kl71 second

[Orgasmic Farmer]

Do Camac still make tyres? And in that size? Would be right up your street. After all half the farmers in the UK can't be wrong!!

[FridgeFreezer]

Ignore the bull about remoulds, lots of guys round here run them and I've never heard of anyone having a problem. Given my Colways some abuse including heavy towing and probably going faster than they're speed-rated for and they've been fine, dad runs the MT's and can't fault them - especially at half the price of BFG's.

As my dad found out, it's far less painful to rip a hole in a £45 tyre than a £90 tyre at a play day, which frankly is more likely than the thing wearing out or exploding in a shower of death

[BogMonster]

I had a set of Insa Turbos and sold them because I couldn't stand the noise. The guy I sold them to says they are wearing really quickly after only a few thousand miles - such that he has taken them off as well so he can preserve them for more serious use. Don't expect BFG mileage out of them that's for sure... but so far no sign of "Bronco syndrome" (the various component parts of the retread reverting to their original separate form!)

The 834 pattern is no longer made, if you can find any you'll be lucky, we are onto selling the KL71s at work as of a few months ago - and even if you do buy a set of 834s bear in mind that if you bust one in a year's time you will probably not find a replacement. That apart, they are a good tyre and I ran them in 31x11.50R15 size for a while, the only reason I changed was because I wanted alloys on the vehicle and at that time the only option available here was BFG MT's in 265/75R16 so I got those.

[discojmz]

I 'think' i can still get hold of a set. would get a set of 5 anyway. trouble is, I would have the 71s in a heartbeat if they were priced the same. which means Kumho now do not have a mud terrain in line with the rest of their pricing. theyve gone to BFG prices for the kl71 and only seem to want to sell them in big sizes too.

dont know what to do now!

[BogMonster]

Early indications are that the KL71s don't wear all that well either, so that and the pricing means I'd pay the extra and get the BFGs.

[discojmz]

Early indications are that the KL71s don't wear all that well either, so that and the pricing means I'd pay the extra and get the BFGs.

what are the bfg's like noise-wise?

[BogMonster]

Probably one of the best MT's - the noise is there but quite bearable. It does depend on the size - wider ones being worse - my 33x12.50R15's are a lot noisier than the 265/75R16s I run on most of the time. Not sure about KL71's - I have heard some say they are quiet and some say they are noisy! The same is true of off-road performance - some swear by them and others say they are rubbish - I've not tried a set off road.

[Pete Attryde]

I have 31/10.5/15 KL71's on my Disco and I find them fairly quiet certainly no worse than the BFG M/T's of the same size, I had on my old 90. I am very impressed with there on road ability even in the wet and after the laning trip in the lakes I would say they perform very well off-road on most surfaces (wet grass, wet rock, mud, gravel etc (although none of what we did was especially tricky)).

I have done around about 8000miles on mine so far, mostly on road and they are only just showing some signs of wear.

all in all I am happy with them.

HTH

Pete.

[RRX]

read what i wrote james!! i didnt write it for my own amusement

Yeah ya did

If you want just MT's go for BFG imho, no real road noise on the parents T*y*ta Landcruiser with them and they last aaaaaages

[discojmz]

yeah... trouble is, am i gonna be happy with 265s on there for 50,000 miles or so? lol or will i want bigger!?

is beginning to sound like nothing else will do the job as well though lol

[foxminer]

just to put my bit in have you tried Bronco 4x4 they stock retreads in all types and sizes and also do wheel tyre combos, i once got a set of four 8 spokes with all terrain tyres (same pattern as BF`s) for less than £350. They are based in Leek, Stafford but i`m sure they also do mail order. Worth a peek.

Foxminer.

[pinny]

ive got a set of camac terra 205/16 on mine no probs about 10000 miles fronts are wearing but i cant rearly complain 55 a piece and i think thay do up to a 255 can be entertaining in the wet but you cant have the best of both worlds chris

[darthdicky]

I think I've got a set of 265/75 BFG's in the garden - about half worn I think. Took them off to put some 285/75's on which came up at a good price. If you're interested I can ask my brother whether he wants to keep them or sell them on - he was going to see what the gearing was like and decide whether to swap them back or sell them.

Richard

[discojmz]

pm'd

[IainDB]

Not sure what they are like but I have just bought 4 insa Dakar tyres for my disco. A friend highly recommended them to me. From what I hear as well Colway has gone bust so obtaining them is becoming very hard.

The Insa Dakars 265/75x16 cost me £246.76 for four bought them online and it's going to cost £40 to have them fitted and balanced so £280 total not too bad all things considered.

I bought them from http://www.mailorder4x4.com/ if your interested!

[DiscoClax]

I have 31/10.5/15 KL71's on my Disco and I find them fairly quiet certainly no worse than the BFG M/T's of the same size, I had on my old 90. I am very impressed with there on road ability even in the wet and after the laning trip in the lakes I would say they perform very well off-road on most surfaces (wet grass, wet rock, mud, gravel etc (although none of what we did was especially tricky)).

I have done around about 8000miles on mine so far, mostly on road and they are only just showing some signs of wear.

all in all I am happy with them.

HTH

Pete.

My two-bobs worth...

I've now done just on 30,000kms on my KL71s (31") and am still most impressed. Fronts starting to show some wear (largely due to dodgy wheel alignment) but have only lost 2-3mm, rears barely worn at all (1-2mm at most). On-road grip is very strong wet or dry (amazingly so given the good wear), and I haven't managed to bog them off-road yet. I've towed guys up muddy slopes that they couldn't drive up under their own steam, and we're talking 'cruisers with near new 33" muddies! They're a very good digger tyre. All in all I'd have these over ANY other tyre, with MTRs second and BFG or Cooper's third. But I need to have reasonable on-road manners. My experience with remoulds/retreads is that they can be a bit iffy on wet roads, so I spent the extra on the Kumhos and am well pleased that I did. Others I have been off-roading with regularly are switching over to the KL71s and selling their current tyres. They are directional, but not heavily so, and I haven't noticed any traction differences forwards or backwards.