UK owners opinions on tyres for the Ex

[DaveU]

Well i've got 2mm of tread on one side and 3mm on the other and after a bit of rain the other day the Ex is currently performing like a Hippo on an ice rink so i think i better replace it's boots

Currently got some Goodyear Wrangler 255/70 R16

Been looking at the following All-Terrain tyres:
BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO
Pirelli Scorpion A/T

Anyone got any opinion or tried either of these? Better yet anyone got any other suggestions...

Found quite a reasonable site for getting the tyres: http://www.mytyres.co.uk the BF's are £105 delivered and the Pirelli's are £87 delivered. Should be able to get them fitted for about a tenner a corner i reckon.

 

[Dave P]

I`ve got a set of Goodyear Wrangler MTR`s on mine in 265 75 16. They work out to be about the same as a 32". I don`t get any rubbing at all even on a full lock, and I haven`t fitted spacers or had to do any mods to get them on. I don`t really rate BF Goodrich all that great, my mate has had a few sets on his Wrangler and they just don`t seem to do the job. He`s had the ATR and the MTR variants, they both lose traction in the wet, snow and in the mud. I recommend Goodyears all they way.

I don`t work for Goodyear in anyway shape or form. I`ve driven over/through just about every terrain you can shake a stick at in the X and I`ve never lost traction or had a puncture with the Wrangler MTR. I`ve just got back from a weekend in Wales driving over Sarn Helen and along the Taff Trail and they never missed a beat, even when the supposedly unstoppable Land Rover 90`s in the group were having trouble.

The only downside is that they do hit your fuel economy a bit, I get about 220 miles out of a tank, but when you`ve got a 4 litre engine economy isn`t top of the list. Well it`s not top of mine anyway

 

[Jon Burns]

BFG's for me

I've had BFG AT KO's on my X since I bought it. They last well (50K+ miles)they're relatively quiet and handle well on and off road. They look good and you can choose between white lettering or not by simply changing which sidewall faces out. I drive fairly hard but NEVER get less than 320 miles per tank. Best yet is 379 miles on one tank on mostly on A and B roads in Wales (if that makes a difference). Using fuel at this rate it's not worth fitting an LPG kit.

Hope this helps

 

[DaveU]

Thanks for the feedback so far guys, i don't know how you manage the mpg you do - i only get about 200-250 miles a tank on mine but then i've never got many miles on anything ive ever driven, must be they way i drive or maybe i've got a hole in tank or something (I think i got 350 miles once when i used cruise all the way up the motorway!)

Anyway another option is the Bridgestone Dueler A/T 694 (OR A/T Revo as it's known in the States) which i can get for £90 fitted per corner. Looks like this:
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Dueler+A/T+Revo
Looks pretty good?

Jon - have you taken your's off-road with the BFGs on?

I'm still struggling to comprehend a tyre lasting 50k miles! Is that really realistic? i've had my Explorer for 6 months now and OK the tyres need replacing and it's the first 4x4 ive owned but normally in a car i would be replacing the drive tyres after 15-20k miles!

 

[Jon Burns]

BFG's for me

Yes I would say that 50k is a reasonable life to expect from these tyres. This is the 2nd set of these I've had on this car and they're looking like they'll go the distance as well. I don't baby them and I enjoy driving hard so I suppose I'd get even more mileage if I did. As with all tyres you just need to make sure you maintain correct tyre pressures and get the tracking checked regularly by someone who really knows what they're doing. (Southam Tyres who are the importers for example). After all at ca £110 per corner they're a sizable investment in your ride and I won't get mine done by the local part worn dealer. As to off road yes I have driven the X off road on these tyres and yes they're good given the limitations of having a 50/50 tread pattern (or 60/40 depending on your standpoint). I drive the car in all weathers and all conditions (Real snow, not what passes for it in the UK, read Northern Europe in the depth of winter up above the arctic circle) I've never experienced any "loss of traction" in many thousands of sub zero "C" miles on graded roads, hard packed snow and in the wet at high speed. Every tyre "loses traction" in deep snow/mud. These aren't my "mates" experiences made with some other brand of lesser 4x4, these are mine made with my X. Best of all they handle well in the dry in the heat of the Mediterranean coastal summer and will handle the high speed punishment that German Autobahns dish out. You will not go wrong with BFG's. Dont take my word for it buy a set and see. The only winter improvement you can make is to fit them with studs. (Illegal in the UK tho'). Or a set of quality chains (up to about 20 mph).

While I rate the X off road I find for greenlaning over here something half the size is a much better option. After all a Lada Niva is a lot easier to get unstuck than a 2 Ton X ( or a 2 ton anything else for that matter). Irrespective of what tyres it's on.

 

[EMG7895]

If you can get michelins over there they make a very good a/t that a bit less aggresive than the bfg but is quieter and has very good tread wear, I got 75,000 miles out of mine before I got bfgs because the sidewalls were all cut up and they were dryrotting.

 

[Dave P]

If BFG`s rock yer boat then go for it. I wouldn`t say that my mate has a lesser 4x4 than me or you, his Wrangler has had alot of mods and money thrown at it. It makes the yellow Wrangler in this months Total Off Road look a bit naff. Anyway... what I meant by losing traction is that the Goodyears seemed to have a more aggresive pattern for the sloppy stuff than his BFG`s and in his opinion the Goodyears are better.

Full marks for the Lada though I admire anyone who takes something different off road. That`s how my friend and I got our cars, we wanted to get something different from the usual Landies and Rangies. He chose the Wrangler and I chose my X. It amuses me to hear the usual slanting from the Land Rover boys about the X being a Chelsea Tractor or a soft roader and then watching the smiles turn to open mouths as it covers the same ground as theirs has.

 

[Howard]

It amuses me to hear the usual slanting from the Land Rover boys about the X being a Chelsea Tractor or a soft roader and then watching the smiles turn to open mouths as it covers the same ground as theirs has.

I too have the wranglers at the moment and last time I went off road I recovered a stuck discovery and a stuck rangie. Which surprised both of the owners. I am in the process of deciding which tyre to replace them with. The wranglers have done 50k miles and still have some life left. Maybe time for something a bit bigger than the 255*70*16's that are on there at the moment.

Now that we all will have to pay more to drive our X's I might as well make its presence known.

 

[Jon Burns]

Gordons Good News

Howard,

I take your comment about driving X's to cost more applies to the new £210 road fund licence. I think you will find that this only applies to vehicles first registered after sometime in 2001. That's you and me out of that one methinks.

(As always I stand to be corrected - Tax lawyers form an orderly queue on the right).

Jon

 

[DaveU]

No Jon you are absolutely right, it only applies to March 2001+ registered cars which i think rules all of us UK X owners out

Good job they didn't introduce the 'super' bandings as well - the current maximum tax bracket (based on emissions) is 225 g/km for the £210 road fund license and when i looked up the X, it produces... wait for it... 350 g/km !!!! Ouch! The tree-hugger party were trying to push super-mega Chelsea Tractor brackets of something like £5k for the top emissions bracket - that (although i expect it would have applied to newer cars) would have been absolutely rediculous!

Tyre wise i went for the Bridestone Dueler A/Ts - they look great. I'll post a pic up later when i find my camera!

 

[SmithA]

Wey hey if you guy's are right about the road tax you have just made me one happy chap

Andy

 

[UK Explorer]

No Jon you are absolutely right, it only applies to March 2001+ registered cars which i think rules all of us UK X owners out

Except me

 

[DaveU]

Doh - sorry Bruce didn't realise we had any 2001 cars in Blighty! You must have one of the last ones Ford did!

 

[UK Explorer]

I used to feel good about that

 

[kands]

Hi all
Just quickly getting back to tyres for a mo......
I was lucky enough to get a 98 X as a company car, brand new out of the show room and it was fitted with Firestone Wilderness tyres. Well after the Ford/Firestone debacle they recalled my car and fitted it with new boots at 75K miles. The Firestones that came off were still good for another 75K in my opinion, there was still 4+ mm tread left. They were very good tyres, navigated well in all (ususal) British weather, only went green laning a few times but never had traction problems. Ford fitted Goodyear (cant remember the flavour) and they did 50K and still had shed loads of tread left when the car was sold. The car only really did blacktop miles so unfortunately I cannot comment on real off road capabilities.
I hope this is helpful news for someone

Keith

 

[Bambi41]

Hi UK Explorer

I know this sounds sort of lame but I cannot find reccomended tire pressure anywhere, also where is the switch for the front fogs?

I have the same model as you but a 1999 September model.

Thanking you in advance for your reply


Dave

 

[Dave P]

Tyre pressure is 31 psi front and rear. The fog lights aint They are driving lamps that only come on with main beam. Hope this helps

 

[Bambi41]

Cheers Dave

Thanks for the info I have been running 32 front 36 rear which I got from one of those tyre sensor websites.

Thanks again


Dave