Tyres for off road
I am hoping there is one or more tyre experts on here to advise.
I want to fit something like what I would call "semi off road tyres" to my Citroën berlingo multispace XTR 65 plate. I often have to park on fields generally wet and muddy ones and I need all the grip I can get. Having witnessed a friends discovery also
getting stuck on Saturday I have concluded that decent tyres are possibly mire important than 4x4 with road tyres.
so the question is which tyres to fit.
any comments regarding my theory also welcome
Comments
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What size?
If it were a 4x4 any AT or ATR tyre - I have General Grabber AT2's as my road tyre on the 90 (and these as off road tyres), but I doubt they are available in all sizes.
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I have Vredestein Quatrac 5 all season tyres on my Octavia Estate 4x4, they have the M&S and 3 peaked snowflake symbols on, never had any problem getting my unit on and off muddy rally fields and 5 van sites, do have to turn off traction control.
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The problem is, a tyre designed to grip mud (ie less rubber on the deck), is not as good on smooth road surfaces as a road tyre which has a smoother tread with channelling to get water away. You will probably spend most of your time on roads and I guess
you'd rather risk getting stuck in the mud than sliding into an accident on the road. The best compromise is an 80/20 tyre but it is a compromise So you have to be a bit more careful on wet roads. There are websites which compare them, taking into account,
noise levels, grip on different surfaces,, wear rate, cost etc.Tyres do play a big part in gripping mud but ideally you also need a good driver; a 4x4; a low ratio gearbox and; a diff lock on the front.
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Any effective 'off road' tyre will be noisy on tarmac. If it doesn't have any knobbly edges to grip with, it isn't going to do a lot in mud. Mud, of course, comes in different consistencies with consequent amounts of 'grip'.
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Have a search for mud and snow (m&s) tyres in the size you need most tyre sites have reviews to help you choose, My Shogun has arctic claw mud and snow tyres excellent grip in a ploughed field with a trailer full of cow muck, oh fiesta has budget mud and
snow tyres that just got replaced after 4 years around 50,000 miles they are slightly noisier but grip is great0 -
Another fan of Goodrich AT's(Town&Country) here
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i have a 4 x 4 with all the necessary features and I reckon I'm a good driver but I still avoid sites where those skills and features may be useful because I can't be doing with wet pitches and I hate rutting sites but it is reassuring to know I can get
out of most situations if I get caught out. The worst was in the lake district when the site, with grass pitches, disappeared under 300mm of water. It was a bit of a challenge packing up but getting off was straight forward.I use General Grabber UHP tyres by the way. -They have proved to be a good all rounder but I do have 4wd, a low ratio box and I can lock the front differential.
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I have had General Grabber ATs fitted to a Discovery because I do go off road on rough tracks. At first I was delighted with them as road noise was muted. However after 15,000 miles they became increasingly noisy at 60 mph. Despite them showing little signs
of wear (they looked like they would be good for 50.000 miles) I changed to Pirrelli Zeros and the road noise was reduced considerably. I still go off road but the 4wd copes well enough.0 -
I use winter tyres (Nokian SUV3) on my Disco and they are brilliant on wet roads/tracks and in snow. However, they're no better than a normal road tyre when it comes to mud. To have any chance in mud you need very knobbly treads - and those will not be
very good on roads, as others have pointed out. Better to invest in some
waffle boards.0 -
I will consider some mats in the meantime I have ordered some goodride winter tyres off mytyres, £44 each incl delivery my current tyres are beginning to feel a bit slippy on the wet roads anyway so even if they prove useless on the mud there not wasted.
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I have experiance of 'All Season' M&S tyres on my Merc C Class. The original Energy tyres were hopeless for traction on grass.
I have since used both Goodyear Eagle Vector 2 M&S (now replaced by 4 Season) and Pirelli Cinturato All Season M&S on the rear axle. These are both directional tread designs ideal for traction but I would be wary of using on front wheel drive axle.
I have a pair of Vredestien Quatrac 5 M&S on my front (steer only) axle. These have an assymetric tread pattern with circumferential grooves ideal for steer axles. They provide exceptional grip in both dry and wet conditions. A previous post expressed concern
regarding grip levels. I can honestly say that there is no such problem throughout the temperature range experianced in the UK.Good luck on your budget Goodrides. I personally will stick to premium/quality brands.
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Budget doesn't mean lower quality as the tyres have to pass the same tests to be sold in the uk, the tread may be 1mm less on new budget tyres than on more expensive tyres but may also last longer than premium brands as we found out on oh fiesta with the
nangkang m&s budget tyresDoes anyone remember when khumo tyres were sold as budget tyres? Now there in the top rankings
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Yes Jamie. I have used both Khumo and Hankook tyres on minibuses and 11 tonne coaches. In both cases they only managed half the mileage of Bridgestone or Firestone. OK they cost two thirds of the price but overall they are not cost effective.
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I have had General Grabber ATs fitted to a Discovery because I do go off road on rough tracks. At first I was delighted with them as road noise was muted. However after 15,000 miles they became increasingly noisy at 60 mph. Despite them showing little signs of wear (they looked like they would be good for 50.000 miles) I changed to Pirrelli Zeros and the road noise was reduced considerably. I still go off road but the 4wd copes well enough.
I had the same experience with General Grabbers fitted to my last Touareg and thought it was just my imagination - but they definitely seemed to get noisier as they wore. My preferred choice would have been BFGs which I always fitted to my Discos, but they don't make them in Touareg sizes.
Another point for the OP to consider - off-road tyres have a greater rolling resistance and therefore fuel consumption will increase by at least 2 or 3 mpg.
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update
my winter tyres have been on for a week. Road noise seems less than the original tyres. I parked on the field on sat the place I usually end up either just getting off with lots of wheel spin o being pushed out. This time straight off no wheel spin at all no problem so they have proven to work very well and saved me having to buy a 4x4 additional vehicle
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