Tom.H Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Hi As a few of you may know I am planning to fit a set of unimog 404 axels to a defender 90, pick up. I’ve been contacting a company called ‘portal rover’ which can supply me with a set that have had all the work done to them and will literally bolt onto a land rover. I am hoping to keep the vehicle road legal and use it at challenge events (possibly the howlin wolf) as well as trials events. So far I have only got a standard defender as I am planning everything out before I start any major work. I am currently looking at the different types of tyres available. Like many vehicles running on unimog axels I have decided to go big as the axels should be able to handle the extra size. I am thinking in the region of 38 – 40”. To be honest the only tyre that meets my requirements is the Pitbull rockers, but in my opinion I think it looks a bit tame. I have looked at Super Swamper Boggers but after contacting my club (All wheel Drive Club) they are too aggressive and have an open canter and therefore can not be used for trials. I’ve started looking at over Interco tyres and found the Super Swamper SX. It complies with the tyre rules for the awdc but I don’t know if they are any better than the Pitbull rockers. Just wondering if anyone could tell me how the Super Swamper SX handles on and off road and if anyone can recommend me a tyre that meets my requirements (size 38-40” and acceptable with the awdc) I would be extremely great full Thanks Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizla 1 Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Tom - I still got them brand new 37" pit bull rockers forsale if you want some cheap ones ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Young bobtail Rhys Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 I have the TSL LTB wich is a little more agressive than the sx and I can say that it peforms very well, although in the sandy terrain it will dig big hole quick if you are lacking in forward drive. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom.H Posted July 6, 2008 Author Share Posted July 6, 2008 "Tom - I still got them brand new 37" pit bull rockers forsale if you want some cheap ones ?" Thanks for the offer. If I decided to go for rockers I would defiantly go for 39.5” not just because I can fit them and that they should give me more grip but also that they should increase the overall gearing of the truck. Which is defiantly needed as unimog axels have a very low ratio? I have seen the TSL LTB but the reason why they are no good for what I want is because there maximum size is 35”, when I want a slightly large tyre. Overall it looks like Interco sell quite a few interesting tyres: Irok TSL Super Swamper TSL SX They all have a similar tread patterns. So if anyone has use one of these tyres it would be great if you could tell me what they were like. Also do you think that any of these three tyres would perform better overall than the rocker ??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rizla 1 Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Tom - I went for the 37" rockers as they are 13.50 wide the 39" rockers are 15.50 wide this adds 4" to your truck and for trials in the uk - Its just to wide mate Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 might have some spare Iroks, 39.5 x 13 x 17 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clbarclay Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 One coment about interco tyres and road legal, my super swamper LTBs are not E marked for use in europe. Also not being direction, in damp clay the LTB doesn't self clean too well, but then directional tractor tyres don't fair much better in the same conditions. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Humphreys Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 What size rims are you using? Maxxis Mudzilla and Creepy Crawlers go to 40" I think. Paul Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom.H Posted July 7, 2008 Author Share Posted July 7, 2008 One coment about interco tyres and road legal, my super swamper LTBs are not E marked for use in europe.Also not being direction, in damp clay the LTB doesn't self clean too well, but then directional tractor tyres don't fair much better in the same conditions. I have heard that some interco tyres are not road legal. Basically I need to do some research to find which one are and aren’t. What size rims are you using?Maxxis Mudzilla and Creepy Crawlers go to 40" I think. Paul Well I am getting custom rims made because I need them to fit unimog axels. Therefore I don’t really no what rim size I will be running on. I am thinking a 16” but its what ever suits the tyre I have looked at the maxxis tyres, they look ok but again they many of them look like a rock crawling tyres. Saying that the mudzilla looks ok and has much the same tread layout as tractor tyre, but the tread doesn’t looks very deep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro_Al Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Where abouts are you? There was a set of mog axles on ebay a few days ago - failed to sell with a minimum of 500 quid - not a bad deal. I would seriously get your axles and figure out what brakes etc you're going to want before buying tyres & rims. It could be an expensive mistake if you decide to go for 16s and can't fit disc brakes inside them... Cheers, Al. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom.H Posted July 7, 2008 Author Share Posted July 7, 2008 Yep, I think ‘portal rover’ is going to supply me with the set of axels and modify them so that they fit a Land rover. I have also decided to go for the disk brake conversion that ‘portal rover’ can supply the axels with. This should therefore mean that I can go for a slightly smaller rim, 16” when I would have use a 17” rim if I kept the standard unimog drums. But I am going to confirm this before buy a set of tyres Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pugwash Posted July 7, 2008 Share Posted July 7, 2008 Where abouts are you? There was a set of mog axles on ebay a few days ago - failed to sell with a minimum of 500 quid - not a bad deal.I would seriously get your axles and figure out what brakes etc you're going to want before buying tyres & rims. It could be an expensive mistake if you decide to go for 16s and can't fit disc brakes inside them... Cheers, Al. what he said do NOT under ANY circumstance buy a wheel and tyre package for a mog axle without checking on fitment first. I made that mistake and it cost me a lot of money. If necessary beg, borrow or steal a single 40" tyre to check clearance on the vehicle during fitment of axles! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom.H Posted July 9, 2008 Author Share Posted July 9, 2008 Thanks for your help. I was starting think that I had found my tyre,. super swamper tsl until I started looking at agricultural tyres. I recently found the MPT E 6 http://www.conti-online.com/generator/www/.../mpt_e6_en.html AS you can see from the link above it has much the same tread pattern as the simex extreme trekker 2. The only problem I found with this tyre is that it is cross play, meaning that the tyre won’t flex that much. I also don’t know the diameter (I hope 38-42") they come in, only that they make a 12.5/20 and a 14.5/20 If I go for a tyre like this it should actually cost me a lot less money as in general they are a bit cheaper than other off road tyres. It would also mean that I wouldn’t have to get custom rims made as the wheels would fit onto normal unimog rims and the actual rims will just fit onto my new axels Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro_Al Posted July 9, 2008 Share Posted July 9, 2008 Continental MPTs are well respected by Mog owners. Generally good on most surfaces and not too fast wearing. If you're worrying about the budget would you not be better off buying some cheaper axles from ebay? I wouldn't go beyond 12.50 R20 size wise. Depending on the horsepower/torque and weight of your vehicle. 14.50s are BIG. I just sold some 12.50s - sorry! I'm also not sure you're right about the price difference - Contis are still pretty serious money. Probably last longer than the average Interco rubber I guess though? (Not sure?) I'll be interested to hear what prices you get quoted. Remember your stock Mog rims are 9" wide. You may encounter fitment issues in terms of width on larger tyres. 11" wide rims are also stock products, but carry a high premium for their rarity. Cheers, Al. P.S. Put your location in your profile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticbadger Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 If you're on a bugdet go for Zil military tyres, Dollythelw can give you the number of the Zil tyre man (that seems to actually be his name!) 44" diameter, 20" rim, hard wearing and plenty cheap. If you're spending a bit more money I think SS Irok is the way to go, probably not as good in mud as Bogger or Simex, but flexes well, good on rocks etc, and is available in a good range of sizes. I think all the radial Iroks are road legal. I run 37" Interco SSR and they're more aggressive than they look in piccies, but they clog quickly in the sticky stuff. They do self clean quick, but not so good if you're only in the mud. On the rocks, they, well, ROCK! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dollythelw Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 might be an idea to ring Fieldons wheel and Tyre and get a quote for your wheels there - should save you a few quid. dont forget to look at tye weights when deciding between Ag's and 4x4 tyres, Ag tyres dont flex well and limit speed in a BIG way they as a rule they also increase unsprung mass over a 4x4 tyre. Ag tyres on 20's do look cool though Swampers are a pretty good allrounder - especially if cut. Have you worked out your overall gearing? only asking because you may well want to swap out your transferbox if you plan on doing any road miles - Im sure portal rover would have advised you about that anyhow but bear it in mind. as for road legal in Europe - Ive never met a Euro fed that actually cared the last Zil tyres we had were about £75 a pop, 44x12x20", (ideally they would come with a Zil attached but sadly thats not the case ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro_Al Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Hmmm, can we get a definitive answer on whether this guy still does tyres? I emailed him and never heard back. Is he actually selling these things? Who was the last person to get some from him? Al. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticbadger Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 I spoke to him a month or two ago and he was still selling them then, but we had change of plans (read ran out of money and didn't get the truck finished) and never completed the deal. He was saying £100 each though, but I didn't get as far as whether that was plus vat or not. Still, a damn sight cheaper than Iroks!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro_Al Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Ah interesting. Would you be good enough to PM me his number / details? Maybe the email I sent was wrongly addressed or something (or the reply was filtered out). Since overdrives are not forthcoming, this might sort me out gearing-wise... Cheers, Al. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plasticbadger Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 PM sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astro_Al Posted July 10, 2008 Share Posted July 10, 2008 Right, just spoke to him. His name is Richard. Get this. 12x20 zil tyres were 75 quid in the days of Mr Moglite's order. Now 250 each new... He does 'very slightly used' ones for 110 each plus vat. I said would he do 5 for 500, he said yes - not sure about the vat on that though... He has them 'in stock', so at least the wait is short. Cheers, Al. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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