tyres for the goldfields..

Geez I see heaps of vehicles from the east who have no idea of the subject of tyres for the goldfields..

One of the worst tyres are the mud terrain tyres--bulky and they bulge too much --just inviting everything and anything to come out and bite u.

Next are the extra wide tyres most people put on their car for a bit of bling like 31x10.5r15 --complete waste of time and they r only a 6ply tyre great for the beach not the goldfields..

Mind u a lot of vehicles have sizes that r not suited tp prospecting and well they will just have to run the gauntlet. Sorry but that cant b helped.

Don't get fooled by Kevlar side wall protection or a Cooper guarantee on their tyres--there is no protection and there is no guarantee out in the bush.

my advice is to find a size of tyre that is at least 10 ply without a buldge--Silverstone and BFG make a good tyre.
Cooper r over rated same as mickey Thompson in our type of bush.

If u r lucky enough to have split rims --take that either way--then 14 ply tyres are the minimum--Linglong are a good hardy tyre.
If u have split rims on yah vehicle and they haven't been popped for a couple of years then its a good idea to take them in to a tyre dealer and tell him to break the bead, lubricate the bead and reassemble them and also get them re balanced.

The method in my madness is that if u get a puncture in the bush and u don't carry 3-4 spares then u can easily break the bead. U will have a very difficult time trying to break the split rim bead of an old tyre that's been on yah car for over a year.

Think smart and life is easy.

Make sure there is no rust on the ring befor it goes back on..the rust will work its way into the tube and well--- the rest is back breaking.

If u own a Kluger well don't even bother--they don't make A/T tyres in 19"--these r a real wank car for the city and that's were they belong...on the bitumen. Also u wont find an outback garage with 19" tyres in stock.

If u own a OKA just be carefull coz the wheel base is wider than a normal 4by--one wheel in the rut the other on the crest of the verge..and u will have a bugger of a time controlling the mother on dirt tracks--slow and easy..

hope this helps someone..

regards
oneday

Wise words indeed Ray.  
Now, if only we could educate the masses about other requirements for outback survival  

Robert

Yes Ray, if you're banging around the bush you're going to bang a tyre or three.
One idea we contemplated but never followed through was to fill our scrubbers with silastic like they do for bobcat tyres. (back then it was $60.00/tyre.)
Think the idea originated in the forces to stop getting the tyres shot up in a fire fight.
We settled for a few spare sets of split rims and old 7.50/16's from the local tyre shop.
When we got to our camp we would take our road wheels off and fit the 7.50's, we could then bush bash without the worry of popping a $300+ tyre.
Some mongrel low life did a raid on our camp while we were away, apart from our genny & fridges and cooking gear they took 28 split rims & tyres. Took us a long time to build up spare sets again because split rims had become scarce in the city.

Hi Pete
u can get 12 ply tyres to go on solid rims these days --I think KENDA make them. I don't like the V steel Bridgestone tyres coz they never wear right..Rio must b slow learners.

as I said I use 14ply and so do the fellas I run with...the only difference is they both have 5 stud rims and I have 6 stud (old School) rims..

Last season we done over 4000 ks and no punctures.

U r really wasting money if u get 8 ply tyres..but it is horses for courses..remember most 4x tyres are 6ply and a Kevlar side wall is a load of dribble--don't get tyres with knobs on the side wall coz u want anything that is going to give u grief to slide straight of not get caught in the lugs and b forced into the side on your tyre. Muddies are notorious for this.

If it happens to rain then u shouldn't b going any were for at least 4 days--let the tracks dry out before u stuff them up . More wind the better.

regards
oneday

All good advice,as good / right tyres may be the difference in getting back to town.Thanks oneday you have just prompted me to check my splits.

Cheers

Phil

Thanks for the advice Ray   
So i have the BF LT235 85/R16's AT's on my Troopy, so how many ply are they ? I looked at the sidewall to check but i don't understand how they are rated, do you add the tread to the sidewall etc to get the final ply rating or ?
I was going to buy another rim and use the two worst ones as spares and buy two new ones for the trip over but when i come to see you about a 5000 i will pick your tyre brain as well.

cheers
Darren

Hi Darren
on the side of the tyre u will see a heap of numbers associated with the tyre size.. the tyres u have on are usually rated at 10ply it does say the ply rating on all tyres brought into Australia.
It will also tell u the side wall rating as well usually 2 but maybe a 3 ply.

tyre pressure is usually around 36-40psi.

buying tyres--once u r ready to go bush i would take the good tyres off and run with the 2 worst ones...u will get peed off it u do a good tyre and all u have is a dodgy brothers to put back on.

i gather u have solid rims on.

regards
oneday

Hi Darren.After reading Rays thread the other day I checked my tyres for the ply rating.You should see a number with PR written after it.Like 10PR 12PR etc.I assume this number is the ply rating.

Cheers

Phil

hi Cruiser /Ray, yes I checked the sidewalls yesterday with great interest after I found a link to a BF Goodrich memo from 2012 announcing a recall on these tyres with a particular date code but it looks like I missed out and maybe its only the US market affected, I was rubbing my hands together thinking some new tyres for free but alas it wasn't to be.
But I was a little confused how they get their total ply rating, it has tread 3 polyester, 2 steel, 2 nylon and sidewall 3 polyester, so i'm assuming they add both tread and sidewall to get the total ply rating ?
Yes solid Sunraysia's Ray.

cheers
Darren

toyatas working underground used Michelin 13 ply radials 750 -16 pumped at 50 psi , nippers pounded them over wet sharp rocks & that was the preferred tyre , after different trials at a place I worked at ,nowadays how ever after tyre changing incidences with split rims I hear all mines go with steel rims now , no chance of d heads not seating the lock rings properly that the spit rims have ... I know which shoes id rather wear when doing any burk n wills type prospecting .