Land Rover 4×4 Off Road Tyres
Sep 4th, 2007
At the moment, if you buy a Land Rover Defender and don’t specify a tyre - you’ll probably get a Michelin tyre, excellent for on road use, also pretty good over rocky terrain. They cut through thin grass and mud, but they’re not ideal for extreme off roading. If you don’t need a really aggressive tyre, then stick with them, they really are an excellent (and above all, safe) option.
The question you have to ask is how urgently do you need the off road tyres? For most of us a 70% on/30% off road tyre is an ideal balance between on road safety and off road aggression.
Anyone who has snaked down the road under braking with MT (Mud - Terrain) tyres on will understand this problem. Most accidents in 4×4’s actually happen on road, so on road safety needs to be taken into account - only the most extreme of offroading requires MTs.
—————————————————————————————–
Kumho (often mis-spelt Kuhmo, by me at least) Tyres are getting some good write ups on the forums - the AT (All - Terrain) looks good, and some of the competition guys have started using the MTs.
—————————————————————————————–
BF Goodrich ATs have been a leader in the market for years. Though slightly lacking on heavy mud and loose shale that we get a lot of in the UK, they’re ideal for road use, not bad on grass and good in sand and light mud. The MTs are pretty universal for the rough stuff.
—————————————————————————————–
Insa Turbo’s Sahara have also had some rave reviews as a good and aggressive MT tyre for off road use, with reasonable (and quiet) on road manners, though as always with MT’s on road, be very careful when braking and cornering at speed and especially in wet weather.
—————————————————————————————–
Maxxis have a good reputation with some of the overland guys, esp through Africa (where you need to be able to rely on them) and though they may be a little noisy they are reliable and affordable, and have some good useful tread patterns through the range.
—————————————————————————————–
Colway retreads (and their 4×4 brand Greenway) have also got a good reputation among users - specifically for their Machos. Unfortunately their reputation among tyre fitters is not so great, reports of problems with wheel balancing have been heard. Braking on road won’t be so good as with more expensive tyres, but if your main use is off road, and you drive sedately in between site visits, or even better, chuck your truck on a trailer - these could be a bargain buy. (Edit: Even more of a bargain - recent reports suggest that Colway tyres are now in administration. Being aware of this may help you negotiate a better price with your dealer!)
