Advice on Tyres

Hi all,

I am new and just got my Nav, 2010 D40 St Thai model. It still has the same shit tires on it from new and the first thing I want to do is replace them. I have narrowed it down to these choices in AT tires. I use the Nav for a daily driver but on the weekends I am a fly fishing nut in Tassie so head of to remote locations chasing fish. I also tow a boat around the central highlands here. I will be covering alot of long windy roads which are often damp and lots of gravel that is heavily corrugated. As well as some minor off road work in mud, crossing creek beds etc.

I would like reasonable on road grip in the wet, not too much tyre noise and a tire that looks good. I'm not too worried about tread life although 30-50k would be good. Price wise I am limited to about $300.00 or a touch over a tyre.

1. Kelly Safari TSR (probably my number one choice at the moment, looks great aggressive AT pattern, deep tread only concern would be noise and grip in the wet bitumen) Price $269.00 a tire
2. BFG AT KO2 ( Probably my second choice, looks good, apparently better in the wet than the previous model and they have addressed the stone pickup and slingshot factor) - Price $300-315 per tire.
3. Bridgestone Duluer d697 ( Gets good reviews but a concerned with the fact that it slingshots stones a lot. As I tow a new boat I don't want to many stone chips on the paint work.) - Price $269.00 a tire with $100.00 fuel card
4. Maxxis 980 ATs ( look okay, good price and reviews as far as I can find)
$245.00 a tyre
5. Kumho Dynapro MT ( A mud tire but more like an aggressive AT I am told) good price, look great but would be concerned about grip in the wet on bitumen and noise. $259.00 a tire.

I realise that there is a compromise here on noise, grip etc but I am looking for anyone with real world use and experience with any or all of these tires who could help we decide.

Tyre size would be 265/75/16 or 275/70/16, the latter if they would fit without a lift.

Thanks in advance all.

I have kelly safari TSR. They are good tyres. Not noisy. The dueller at's i had on before them were louder. The safari's are great off road. And pretty good on road grip in the wet

Your number 2 choice is the way to go, have a look at the poll results if you have a search. I have the 697's and whist they are wearing well after 30k they become very slippery in the wet to the point of being dangerous. And the stone discharge is still a low point as is any form of mud. I rate them as a road/dirt tyre only. But very good in soft sand, the LT construction allows low pressure bagging with minimal worry of staking.

Thanks Guys

Thanks Guys,

That is really helpful information, I think I can scrub the dueler D697 for what I am doing. Its great to here the Kelly performs well as I can't find a bad review. Looks like it will be either the Kelly or the BF AT KO2. Would love to here from anyone using the KO2's about grip in the wet and the sling shot factor.


Cheers

Troutnut

Hey mate.. ive got the BfGs. I cant really compare to anything otherr than the stock road tyre so my review will only be half worth its weight. Noise comparison They are great. They might get a little more noise in them after some wear but nothing major. My opinion - they look the goods ( not like a mud terrain but alot more aggresive than a roadie) they are super grippy in the wet and only really pick up and hold larger gravel. I havent been able to fault them yet

Mate the Maxxis Bravo 980 are a great tyre aswell this is the second pair I have put on a Ute and averaging 80 thou out of them great onroad and perform offroad aswell they are a more aggressive at so a little road noise nothing much though

Forgot to mention. My kellys came with a 75,000km guarantee

I just removed a set of BFG ATs that saw 80,000km and were still legal ... and put a set of Yokohama Geolanders on.

Wet road and dry road grip is improved, and the pitch of the tyre noise is a few octaves lower - it's almost like I've taken Bart Simpson off and replaced him with Vin Diesel.

The Yokos are not as aggressive as the BFGs and may not work as well in mud, but they'll perform better on sand. I paid about $250 per tyre - 255/70R16.

Hankooks are worth a look to. I think Korean tyres offer good value for money and performance is up there with the best of them. A Light Truck construction tyre (in any brand) is worth the little extra for better puncture resistance and longevity if a little harder on the backside.

I have only had the BFG KO2 for a week and done about 1,000ks. I don't notice any noise at this stage. Maybe I am deaf? They have only recently been released in limited sizes at this stage, so there probably won't be any long term reviews. Purchased 265/75/16.

It was pi$$ing down tonight and I think I might also be night blind so didn't push it, but there were no issues in the wet.

Hi Mate, I'm looking at the Dick Cepic Fun Country tyres. I haven't heard any bad stories about them and they are fairly aggressive.

Just a note on aggressiveness - while they look good (sorry, they look great!) and they're better in the mud, they will just dig great big bloody holes in sand. If you are doing sand work with an aggressive AT (or any MT) - especially if you're towing - take a (good) compressor and invest in a decent tyre deflator. MaxTraxx (or equivalent - I've seen people use opened-out milk crates) are also highly recommended.

Iv actually found my safaris are great in the sand.. reason being the bag out well compared to any other tyre iv used. Tread pattern is bery similiar to mtz. So they are aggressive! And i do alot of beach driving!

Thanks Guys

Thanks everyone, this forum is great and to get some real life opinions is perfect. I think I will go with the Kelly Safari's over the BFG AT KO2's on price and all the good reviews and opinions here. The money I save can get me a good spare. Next is the bar and lights, underbody protection and a lift from Zordo.

Cheers

Troutnut

Make sure you ring around mate prices vary so much. I got my 265/75/16 safaris for $229 each. Some places quoated me $320 for the same tyre!

Thanks Jased 22

Thanks,

The problem I have at the moment is that where I am from, Kelly tyres seem to exclusively be available through Tyre Power, and there's only one in my area.

Price quoted was 269.00 a tyre will perhaps try other locations as in Hobart or Burnie.

Cheers

Troutnut