beach going tyres

[dan2009]

Right, well i pick up the new rig on monday and i am considering some new tyres. My main driving i will be doing will be road driving (duh) and shooting up the beach on the weekends. Given i am in WA there is a fair bit of soft sand on the beaches here so i am wondering what tyres would suit me best. I wouldnt mind something that looks a bit better than the stocks.

If i am kidding myself and should leave the stock tyres for this kind of driving than thats cool as well. Sorry if i have repeated a question asked before but i couldn't find anything else in the posts.

Cant wait till monday

[Buzzy]

dan,
Get some good A/T tyres. Great on sand (dont bight in to much).
Good on the blacktop and good in the dirt.

[darren4570]

dan,

Mate I took mine up the beach at rainbow beach and fresh water with the stock H/T's.
Had no problems at all, only issue was ground clearance on the soft tracks.
I let the tyres down to about 28psi no worries, when we got stuck on a side track at inskip (ground clearance, wrong gear !!!) I dropped another 4psi each corner ,cleared abit of sand in front of the bash plate and it dug it's way out no worries.

[Jitsukablue]

I've had our D694s in really soft stuff at 10-12 PSI. worked a treat. The only problem with stock tyres is when you deflate them you risk dragging the underneath bits. That's why I went for a taller tyre.

[NowForThe5th]

A highway type tread is generally better than an A/T on sand since it has more contact area and floats over the top better. Air down for even more contact.

[dan2009]

thanks guys. a plethora of info as always.

[Homer]

IMHO if you do almost exclusively road and some beach work whenever you get the chance (like me) finding the best highway wet weather tyre is the ONLY priority. It will stop you when you need to stop and turn you when you need to turn. Practically all tyres do this in the dry, it is when it is wet that you end up pointing the other way.
H/T's are generally also the best for the sand so you kill 2 birds with the one stone.

If you have the late model 17" wheels, I think you will find the standard tyres are SENSATIONAL in the wet (go to a new estate next time it rains and flog hell out of it - you will be surprised at the wet grip), so they serve this purpose well.

I find the tyres out drive the crap suspension. That is, I live on a hilly, twisty country road and don't need to reduce my speed by even 1K in the wet - when pushing it - as the suspension limits your dry weather handling to that of wet weather speeds - it is a little more exciting though . Of course they may have changed design and compound etc again so should check.

The only problem I have with them is they are too skinny and not as high as I would like - and not great for off road/bush bashing.

My opinion only.

[Choady]

G'day Dan,

I have the Bridgestone D694 A/T in the light Truck (10ply) 265/75 16 inch rims. they handle extremely well in the wet, great on dry, and just got back from a couple of hours on the sand at 18psi and had no probs. There is no significant road noise, and fuel consumption increase is negligible if you keep them above 34/35psi. The extra inch of lift is a fantastic bonus, and the first time you go off road (not on sand) you will appreciate why.

Added bonus that they are the light truck build therefore with good puncture resistance when compared to factory tyres. if you take your car straight in to the tyre dealer you should be able to get $150 per tyre trade like i did. Cost only $560 for 5 new tyres after that or $262 per corner.

But - I agree with homer - if your not going bush, then stick to the H/Ts. If you do plan to go bush though, the first time you stake the side wall of your H/T, or scrape the bottom of your rig on the stockies - you'll regret not spending the extra cash.

Plus bigger A/T look heaps better........

[Homer]

Hey Choady, good post and recomendation. I also totally agree with the tuff look bit.

That's why I'm hoping to go to 265 x 75's when my stocky's wear out, but I think you'll find like me, Dan will have 17" rims. From what I've read this limits choice at the moment and I think it will be hard to find better wet weather grip than stocky's, at least in this size.

Hoping they come out with more choices as I can see why some are going back to 16" rims to get good A/T's like yours. I would too if I was going bush a lot.
For me I might have to stick to the skinny poxy looking factory donuts - they work on the beach and at least I can hoon in the wet on 'em

[Choady]

Sapient recently got a stack of 16" Factory rims for $120 each. This is a great price. Im not sure where he got em from (probably rang around all the tyre dealers), but for this price its worth it, cause every 16" tyre is about $100 per tyre less than the 17". Pay for them selves very quickly with more choice of tyres too.

You can then either keep or sell the 17" rims. If you keep them, fit the biggest badest muddies you can on them and use them to go bush bashing !

[Homer]

Good point. I've read every thread on tyres and wheels and somehow didn't come to that conclusion First set of tyres covers the rim cost.

I guess I thought the 16's weren't the alloys and that I would also be losing an inch. I need every inch I can get!

hmmm I will def have to weigh up more than just what 17's are out there when my tyres are shot. If I can't get good 265's in the 17's, then 16's with 265's wouldn't make a difference in height to 17's with 245's.

My brain hurts.

[dan2009]

I got the VR which i am assuming only has the 16's. One good thing about getting the poverty pack i guess. Todays the day!!!!!!!!!! Picking the rig up at lunch time.

[dan2009]

I got the VR which i am assuming only has the 16's. One good thing about getting the poverty pack i guess. Todays the day!!!!!!!!!! Picking the rig up at lunch time.

[Homer]

Well if you've got 16's, your factory donuts will be crap in the wet - at least that's everyone on here says about the 16's. So upgrading isn't a problem

[spargo]

Well if you've got 16's, your factory donuts will be crap in the wet - at least that's everyone on here says about the 16's. So upgrading isn't a problem

I really don't think the stock rubber on the 16"-wheeled VR is all that bad. My wife is learning to drive in it, and we've been doing a few cross-town trips on the weekend in the wet over the past month (in Bne), and it has been fine for us with and without loads. I've pushed it myself a few times and the only slippage I've experienced is what you would expect from a torquey ute with no weight on the rear.

Sure, some A/T's might be better on wet bitumen, but I've driven much worse.

As for beach work, we've taken our VR over 75% of Fraser island, both tracks and varied open beach, and they've been fine in all conditions. Of course, the very soft & dry stuff requires experience, as well as caution in the soft and wet stuff. But I didn't feel like I needed A/T's at all on sand with the appropriate driving techniques. Extra height would have been nice, but we never once had a traction issue using the appropriate combination of the Super-select gears (full-time 4wd cruising the beach, 4-hi, & 4-lo in a few spots as insurance against red faces!).

I am told on good authority that once you get the factory tyres into any sort of wet/soft mud, they simply clog up and spin. This is when I'll be making the switch; when I am planning any sort of decent trip on muddy/wet terrain, or stoney/rocky roads which require a higher grade of tyre.

BF Goodrich's are likely our next tyres - 265's I think? 6 of them thanks: 4 on the ground, one on the spare under the tray, and a second spare in the tray itself - still need to find 2x 16" alloys for the spares before we switch rubber. No rush though given the factory stuff does the trick for our needs..

[Sapient]

BF Goodrich's are likely our next tyres - 265's I think? 6 of them thanks: 4 on the ground, one on the spare under the tray, and a second spare in the tray itself - still need to find 2x 16" alloys for the spares before we switch rubber. No rush though given the factory stuff does the trick for our needs..

You might think again when you get yourself a quote....BFG's have gone through the roof in price in the past 3 months

[dan2009]

@ spargo
"as well as caution in the soft and wet stuff"

I always take caution in the soft and wet stuff

[spargo]

BF Goodrich's are likely our next tyres - 265's I think? 6 of them thanks: 4 on the ground, one on the spare under the tray, and a second spare in the tray itself - still need to find 2x 16" alloys for the spares before we switch rubber. No rush though given the factory stuff does the trick for our needs..

You might think again when you get yourself a quote....BFG's have gone through the roof in price in the past 3 months

My last sentence says it all. We've decided to commit to killing the factory ones, rather than doing the trade or swapping them off for A/T's. While there are some places I'd love to hit in the next year or so with some A/T's, they'll have to wait.

@ spargo
"as well as caution in the soft and wet stuff"

I always take caution in the soft and wet stuff

I'm recalling a near rollover incident, while tracking along the eastern beach at fraser, just near Happy Valley - it was mid-tide and going out, driving north and we were ploughing through the soft stuff.. while chugging along at 25-30km/h, all of a sudden the beach-side/drivers side of the car has hit some 'wetter than the rest' sand, has bogged down, and the car started sinking down on that side only, making it feel like we were tipping toward the waves.. i did a little crap in my pants, then quicky shifted to 4-low and down to L gear, we gave it some revs and it dug in and we steered up-beach and away from the water. it wasn't fun. i reckon some nearby fisho's could see the fear in my face as my shiny new truck slipped and slid out of the muck. we stopped a moment later on dry sand and had a quiet moment of contemplation at what could have been.

we went back to camp and i changed my dacks.

[4wd26]

Good point. I've read every thread on tyres and wheels and somehow didn't come to that conclusion First set of tyres covers the rim cost.

I guess I thought the 16's weren't the alloys and that I would also be losing an inch. I need every inch I can get!

hmmm I will def have to weigh up more than just what 17's are out there when my tyres are shot. If I can't get good 265's in the 17's, then 16's with 265's wouldn't make a difference in height to 17's with 245's.

My brain hurts.

you can pretty well get any tyre in 265/70/17" that is available in 265/75/16 (they even end up being the same height as each other ) The problem then becomes the additional cost per tyre (as stated around a extra $100 per tyre).

This then brings up wether you want a multipurpose tyre (one set) or have to change rims and tyre when going offroad (2 sets if rims got cheep factory rims as above- but only a cost effective option if you have 17" rims). You will also get an increase in fuel going to a larger tyre diameter

I've got he MTZ in the 265/70/17 size traded the stock tyres in when the triton was purchased. I have had the vehicle on the beach quite a few times and have had no problems. But I always reduce pressure to 20psi before i'm on the beach and am prepared to go lower if the vehicle is struggling (good guide for this is can the vehicle escape the tyre grooves of the car in front when you try and steer out of the tyre tracks?).

[Homer]

Good point. I've read every thread on tyres and wheels and somehow didn't come to that conclusion First set of tyres covers the rim cost.

I guess I thought the 16's weren't the alloys and that I would also be losing an inch. I need every inch I can get!

hmmm I will def have to weigh up more than just what 17's are out there when my tyres are shot. If I can't get good 265's in the 17's, then 16's with 265's wouldn't make a difference in height to 17's with 245's.

My brain hurts.

you can pretty well get any tyre in 265/70/17" that is available in 265/75/16 (they even end up being the same height as each other ) The problem then becomes the additional cost per tyre (as stated around a extra $100 per tyre).

This then brings up wether you want a multipurpose tyre (one set) or have to change rims and tyre when going offroad (2 sets if rims got cheep factory rims as above- but only a cost effective option if you have 17" rims). You will also get an increase in fuel going to a larger tyre diameter

I've got he MTZ in the 265/70/17 size traded the stock tyres in when the triton was purchased. I have had the vehicle on the beach quite a few times and have had no problems. But I always reduce pressure to 20psi before i'm on the beach and am prepared to go lower if the vehicle is struggling (good guide for this is can the vehicle escape the tyre grooves of the car in front when you try and steer out of the tyre tracks?).

Yes cheers for that mate.
As I said my brain was hurting. I def want 265's, but I meant x 75 not 70 for the extra height. Hence the ramble about the 17's versus 16's if you substitute where I wrote 265 for 75, and 70 for 245 - it is what I was meaning....oh I give up, even I can' understand that last lot of crap.
I will have to deal with it when the time comes....phew feel better already.

[spargo]

As per choady's earlier post - here's what the Googles found me about the D694's: http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/treads/d694.aspx

They look like a good competitor to the BF's for me..

[King Triton]

Dan2009

If you are going to but new tyres you might as well get some A/T's as you will find you will end up using them anyway. And if you trade the Stcok tyres in it will make it more cost effective.
I traded my stock tyres with 13,000km on them and got 5 x BFG 265/75/16 fitted and balanced for $1100

I agree with most of the comments about the stock tyres and highway tyres being good for sand, this is true as they do not have an aggressive tread which is great for sand but
the stock tyres and Highway tyres are not L/T's (light truck) and they are not designed to be dropped down to low PSI levels as they do not have the strength in the side wall.
if you do regular sand driving you will end up weakening the side wall of the tyre and wearing it out, as well you are more likely to roll a tyre of the rim with H/T's because they don't have the side wall strength and can't hold the bead very well at low PSI levels.
For a good all round A/T i would reccomend you look at the Bridestone D694 L/T as these seem to have found a good tread pattern that is not to agressive and do not have sharp edges like the BFG A/T's which is better for on road.
If you go to a larger width tyre 245 up to a 265 even if the tread is not H/T you will find it will grip the road better as you have an extra 20mm (min) of tyre touching the road which makes up for the A/T tread pattern.

Good luck picking your tyres
Also check out the thread called Tyre Survey it has a list of what size, style, brand etc people have bought
http://www.newtriton.net/phpbb/viewtopic.php?f=18&t=1002&st=0&sk=t&sd=a&hilit=tyre+survey

[daryn]

This website has given me plenty of headaches so to help to contribute to Dan's and others, here is my current AT tyre which is great:

Yokohama Geolander AT/S
http://www.yokohama.com.au/ourtyres/tyr ... tyreid=204

I could actually have 4 for sale soon. I am only changing to a more aggressive tyre for dirt reasons not road or sand.

[NowForThe5th]

Curious that the Bridgestone D694's are getting some good comments here. They were the choice I made (against BFG and Cooper) They seem to use a fairly sticky compound so grip (or lack thereof) doesn't seem to be an issue and road noise is up a bit from the stock tyres. It does seem that there is more understeer than before whilst, with a kittle aggression, it is well possible to provoke the rear to slide out, even on dry bitumen. This is very gradual and quite controllable as opposed to the stock tyres

[patto]

My best mate is a salesman for Bridgestone - He knows im big on my 4x4ing and what i need,

I was given a set of 694's at factory cost and they will check my truck out on a monthly basis. Now my truck is in the bush evey weekend, and i drive over anything or drive through everything on my properties. If there is no track i make a track.

My last trip on the weekend was to a property thats is known as a tyre destroyer - back of bathurst and it is all shale/slate quarts and did i mention STEEP!!!!! its all low range work. Most times you will destroy one trye per trip (minimum).

I got to the property drop my tyres down to 28 and i was off - it had recieved a good down pour moments before our arrival but the d694s held there ground and made ease of the steep decents and steep climbs. on the shaley sections through the heavy timbered areas i was awaiting the dreaded noise of a punture but it did not eventuate.

after a weekend of very much non stop driving and spot lighting, munching through and over trees, fallen timber in the search for our game the d694's did a great job.

After we hit the black stuff and the pressures adjusted i went over them and only found 2 small chips 1 little tear and one big F*ck of roofing nail.

But on the road they are quite - but my fuel consumption has gone up