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Andycapper

Member Since: 09 Sep 2007
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 70

2008 Discovery 3 TDV6 SE Auto Atacama Sand

18 inch tyres â€“ a summary of options â€“ updated opinions

Hi Folks, hope everyone had a great Christmas and all the best for a happy and prosperous Discofeverish New Year - mine is due in about a month!! Hope the bâ€¦..y boat doesnâ€™t sinkâ€¦

Having followed numerous threads on tyres Iâ€™m keen to make a decision in time to have decent rubber fitted before delivery - while sticking to the 18â€ for now as I do not like the LR 17 inch alloys.

I was hoping it might be useful to try and summarise the most popular options and see whether opinions have changed on the best compromise tyre - especially now that GGAT2 and Yoko A/T S have been around for a while â€“ and whether there are others worth consideringâ€¦.? Sorry if this is a longer submission than usual!!

For me the ideal is something that performs well on road for work (80% of use) but that will also perform well on reasonably adventurous off-road trips (eg Victorian high country) and is not too fragile. Performance being measured in terms of rate of wear, on road wet/dry cornering/braking, noise, comfort, fuel consumption and ability to cope with and perform in moderate off road conditions such as mud, sand and rocky tracks, with good puncture resistance.

Sadly the Oz magazine report some have referenced, comparing a wide range of tyres, seems unhelpful as it was based on LT tyres tested on a Ute â€“ and commonly not the versions of tyres suitable for a Disco with 18â€ rims.

The following are the most popular options that I have encountered (available in Oz):

Cooper Zeon XST 265/60R18XL 114H
Cooper HT Plus 265/60R18RE 114S
General Grabber AT2 255/60R18 112H
Yokohama Geolander A/T-S 265/60R18 110H
Goodyear Wrangler HP/AW 255/60R18 112V
Pirelli Scorpion A/T P255/60R18 112H
Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor P265/60R18 109T

Pirelli and Goodyear (HP/Aw?) appear unpopular particularly on account of wear, though probably handle well on road and not so good off due perhaps to soft compound and sidewalls (true passenger car construction?)?? Have heard nothing about the Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armor ....?

BF Goodrich, Michelin, Dunlop and Bridgstone appear to have nothing and Kumho and Sumitomo have other sizes - too big or too small?

Coopers seem to be robust without any particular performance recommendations on or off road but good wear and good off road puncture resistance (stiff reinforced construction and hard compound?)

Initial reports on the GGAT2 seemed very favourable (one contact reckons it is the best A/T tyre he has ever had) but various threads seem to suggest that this may be slanted towards those who put off road performance higher than on road, given the reports of noise, relatively poor (a swiss respondent said "...quite dangerous..") on-road wet weather handling and more squirm (seems an inevitable consequence of a deep block type treadâ€¦?).

Some also cite higher fuel consumption with some of the aboveâ€¦.difficult to make a truly objective assessment on this butâ€¦?

Regarding the Yokohama A/T S, one tyre dealer to whom I spoke expressed the view that this just another â€œpassenger carâ€ tyre rather than the reinforced LT type construction of Coopers; another dealer (who sells them) said it is reinforcedâ€¦.. However it does appear to come with a useful guarantee (road hazard protection). Does it wear and handle both the rough and smooth well, with good off-road puncture resistance? I have seen positive reports on on-road handling but little about off-road or wear etc...??

Getting a range of opinions on these tyres â€“ comparing them in one location - would be good and might help others who, like me, are unsure of the best choice for themâ€¦while accepting that such opinions are somewhat subjectiveâ€¦but maybe a consensus is possibleâ€¦. Have my new year Disco..! Atacama Sand, active diff, active headlights, hi-ice, cooler, sliding loadspace floor, window tint, MP3, Mantec plate, roof rails, mud

Last edited by Andycapper on 11th Jan 2008 12:44 am. Edited 3 times in total

2nd Jan 2008 4:08 am

Martin Krutli

Member Since: 17 Apr 2007
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 229

2008 Discovery 3 TDV6 SE Auto Chawton White

Tyres

I've had the BFG AT's fitted by the dealer - new. They work extremely well are a good compromise between on and off road. One of the big advantages is that you pick up approximately 20mm extra clearance from the slightly larger size (265 x 65 x 18), the other is that the 65 profile 'airs down' better for a longer footprint in sand. My last set of BFG At's on my Pajero had given 85K kms without one puncture when I sold the Paj for the Disco. Tyre noise is probably slightly higher than the original Wranglers (but since I've never driven on them with my new car, I have no point of reference).
Worth considering.
Cheers.
Martin MY08 TDV6 SE. White/Alpaca. BFG265/65/18 At's
Autologic, Trackside Dual Battery syst., Remote GME UHF, 4X4 Intelligence rear wheel carrier, Boab removable rear drawer system w National Luna fridge, Mitchell Bros hitch.
Rasta Plate. 110L LRA long-range fuel tank.

3rd Jan 2008 10:19 am

TazDaz

Member Since: 07 May 2007
Location: South East Essex
Posts: 2858

I just recently had the General Grabber AT2 265/60R18 112H's wheels & tires fitted and on a journey to Wales I took a fairly sharp right-hand bend (on a wet road) that I would easily take on standard road tyres (19" Pirelli Scorpion Zero's) and had an extreme brown-trouser moment when the D3 drifted wildy on the tarmac and almost parked me in the adjoining field.
On-road tire noise is hardly noticable, Off road they are better than the Scorpions though

3rd Jan 2008 3:37 pm

Andycapper

Member Since: 09 Sep 2007
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 70

Hi Martin and Taz,

Thanks for the input.

Re the AT2's your comments support those of others - think I shall remove it from my options under consideration!

Regarding the BFG ATs, I think I have found the tyres you mention - the LT All-Terrain T/AÂ® KO...is that right? It is certainly significantly bigger than standard - does the spare fit in the original wheel well or have you left the Wrangler on ? Also according to one of the tyre calculators, it will result in the speedo reading about 5% slow or have you used one of the speedo adjuster systems...? Looks about as aggressive as the Cooper ST (?) but closer size and an interesting option - what is on-road handling like, especially in the wet?

All the best,

Andy Have my new year Disco..! Atacama Sand, active diff, active headlights, hi-ice, cooler, sliding loadspace floor, window tint, MP3, Mantec plate, roof rails, mud

5th Jan 2008 3:36 am

Ken

Member Since: 20 Feb 2006
Location: Here
Posts: 10865

Sorry guys totally disagree the AT2's have superb on-road traction (theres a certain mountain pass in Spain that proves this)

5th Jan 2008 7:02 am

catweasel

Member Since: 05 May 2006
Location: Bundaleer
Posts: 4805

I agree with Ken. i like them.

5th Jan 2008 8:35 am

Andycapper

Member Since: 09 Sep 2007
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 70

Hi Ken and Cat,

Interested in your comments - could it be the pressures at which some people are running them ? What do you use ?

Or could it be the type of wet road surface - gritty mountain roads vs smooth urban....?

Did you see the comments in the thread "Recommended pressures for 18" Grabber AT2"?

Still have a few weeks to decide on whether to stay with Wrangler, go to AT2 or Cooper or Yokohama or...... so all input welcome.

I agree with the ideal to have two sets but not an option at this time.

All the best,

Andy Have my new year Disco..! Atacama Sand, active diff, active headlights, hi-ice, cooler, sliding loadspace floor, window tint, MP3, Mantec plate, roof rails, mud

5th Jan 2008 1:41 pm

catweasel

Member Since: 05 May 2006
Location: Bundaleer
Posts: 4805

I honestly have no input with regards to rain performance (for obvious reasons) but apart from that the only difference I have noticed on road is the increased noise (to be expected) and the swiss respondent sees the sun for two days a year probably so I think being hard they will work better here in Oz although it doesn't get that cold where I live so might make a difference as opposed to the Vic Alps.

5th Jan 2008 2:02 pm

bobbycrispbox

Member Since: 15 May 2006
Location: Where women glow and men plunder
Posts: 2580

I'm a supporter of the AT2s as well. When they were new, I found myself flying round corners at speeds that would definitely have worried me on the other tyres I have used (18" Scorpions, 19" Scorpions, 17" Cooper STTs). They continue to feel every bit as good on dry roads as the Scorpions (to me at least).

In the wet, they aren't so good, but I haven't found a tyre that is. I wouldn't expect any 2.7T vehicle on any tyre to be good in the rain.

5th Jan 2008 2:24 pm

Andycapper

Member Since: 09 Sep 2007
Location: Melbourne
Posts: 70

Hi Cat and others, thanks for the feedback.

Regarding the AT2's, what sort of life do you expect from them ?

Also, have you any experience of the Yokohama's ?

All the best,

Andy Have my new year Disco..! Atacama Sand, active diff, active headlights, hi-ice, cooler, sliding loadspace floor, window tint, MP3, Mantec plate, roof rails, mud

6th Jan 2008 11:17 am

TazDaz

Member Since: 07 May 2007
Location: South East Essex
Posts: 2858

Andycapper wrote:
Re the AT2's your comments support those of others - think I shall remove it from my options under consideration!

Don't remove the AT2's from your options - I just wanted to make a point about my use of them on wet roads - TBH this really was driver error as I should have realised that this would happen considering there's a lot less actual rubber on the road than with normal tires. Having now adjusted my driving in the wet and also allowing for slightly longer braking distances the tires are very good. Smooth ride, no noise, excellent in the dry and great off-road!

6th Jan 2008 12:10 pm

Martin Krutli

Member Since: 17 Apr 2007
Location: Adelaide
Posts: 229

Andycapper wrote:
Regarding the BFG ATs, I think I have found the tyres you mention - the LT All-Terrain T/AÂ® KO...is that right? It is certainly significantly bigger than standard - does the spare fit in the original wheel well or have you left the Wrangler on ? Also according to one of the tyre calculators, it will result in the speedo reading about 5% slow or have you used one of the speedo adjuster systems...? Looks about as aggressive as the Cooper ST (?) but closer size and an interesting option - what is on-road handling like, especially in the wet?

Those are the ones. I believe they don't fit in the wheel well - but didn't try, I didn't want the spare there anyway - useless re having to access it off road which is where one is most likely to find the need. Have installed a rear wheel carrier for the spare BFG. Once the inbuilt reading fast of the speedo is taken into account there is only about a 3% error - so my GPS shows 103KPH when the speedo shows 100. Can't talk about wet weather performance on the Disco as there hasn't been any (they main thing that is wet is the melting bitumen in the 43C heat at the moment), but I've had these tyres on my previous Pajero and been more than happy with the wet weather performance. I must say though that I drive the vehicle for what it is - a 4WD, not a sports car. If I wanteda sports car I'd buy something different.

I can't really compare them directly with the Coopers (ST), but I suspect they are slightly quieter and they certainly have equal off-road performance (asmuch as one can directly compare). Having been exttremely happy with the set I had on the Pajero it will be interesting to see how they go on the heavier, more powerful Disco. I've been invited to join the Toyota LC clubs Easter 'hit out' in the (Victorian) Pyrenees doing some good challenging tracks, so I'll have some more insight after that - so far most of my use (2.5k Km's) has been on-road, so everything is still very virginal:)

Cheers,
Martin MY08 TDV6 SE. White/Alpaca. BFG265/65/18 At's
Autologic, Trackside Dual Battery syst., Remote GME UHF, 4X4 Intelligence rear wheel carrier, Boab removable rear drawer system w National Luna fridge, Mitchell Bros hitch.
Rasta Plate. 110L LRA long-range fuel tank.

9th Jan 2008 11:27 am

muppo

Member Since: 18 Dec 2007
Location: melbourne
Posts: 30

2007 Discovery 3 TDV6 HSE Auto Cairns Blue

I had the Yoko Go11 A/Ts on a 2003 Pajero and they were one of the best tyres I've had but noisey, wear quick, very soft. They are a cross between A/Tand M/T. The A/TS that you have on your list I think are the new Go12 which are alittle more road orientated. ATR Coopers are rubbish for Vic High Country but ST's are excellent. I have had BFG's, good but get noisey as they wear down.
I'm waiting for the new Toyo MTR's in a more suitable size for 18"s to come out later this year. A mate has 285/75/16 on a 100 serires cruiser and they are fantastic to drive on and very quite for a MTR tyre. Live it like it's your last!

9th Jan 2008 1:26 pm

DG
Site Moderator

Member Since: 12 Dec 2005
Location: The Gaff
Posts: 50978

Ken wrote:
(theres a certain mountain pass in Spain that proves this)

21 year LR veteran > D2 GS 2003 > D3 S 2006 > D3 HSE 2009 > D4 HSE 2013 > D4 HSE 2015 > D5 HSE 2018 > DS HSE R-Dynamic P300e 2021

9th Jan 2008 1:34 pm

bgsntth

Member Since: 27 Sep 2007
Location: Marin, CA
Posts: 23

I've had the new A/T-S's on for about 1K miles. I have not had the opportunity for much off-road driving, as yet. Albeit, my wife has been taking the dirt-road short-cut to the house of late, and I can confirm they clear mud very quickly.

Onroad they are smoother and quieter than the OE GY, with much better hydroplane resistance. My ultra-sensitive wife actually confirmed this too. Dry/wet grip is about the same, but I do not test the cornering limits on the LR3, that's what my Cayman is for. The Yoko's are much smoother and quieter than the Revo's I had on our recently sold GX470. Needless to say, I'm very surprised at their on-road behavior considering the aggressive AT tread. The sipes are also grooved inside. I really liked the Advan ST's I had on a previous car, so was willing to be the guniea pig.

9th Jan 2008 6:31 pm