The ***ALL NEW*** AUSubaru.com.au Forums

G'day all

I'm wanting to pick the brains of those who know their stuff about tyres and particular environments that they suit the best. I ask this after finally watching my first 4wd TV program last night.

What I want to know is what is the best type of tyre for beach type sand 4wd'n (soft stuff)?

And what tyre would be the best all rounder compromise for rock/mud/sand?

I ask these questions as I've got some trips in mind for a plan later next year (most likely) - and since I've got the scorpions with the road ventures included I've now become a true believer that a good tyre choice can make the difference between crawling up that incline in the mud/rock or having to thrash your way up hoping for the best...

Any input would be greatly appreciated!

I can also say that the Kumho Road Venturers are great in the mud and rocks! But they howl along the road at speed!! But I can live with that.

Cheers

Bennie

tyres with less than 20 PSI are good for the beach try not to go below 14 as the tyre has a knack of peeling off the bead if it is too flat.

I use stock standard 215/65/14's street tyres for the beach and they work fine.

TOONGA

So it's more about the pressure used than the actual tyre tread choice?

Cheers

Bennie

I always had good success in sand with totally standard road tyres but the chunkier offroad variety still work well.
The key is low pressure to get a "long" footprint - maximum surface area.

Bennie you very well know im surrounded by beach and san and have much experience on it.

I used to have road tyres on my Foz and on the sand they did good at 16-18psi. But when you went to take off they would just dig in and spin and if it was really soft just bog yourself down due to having no grip.

I now have Yokohama Geolander AT-S tyres and when I let them down to 16psi they just cruise over/through the sand no matter how soft. I can for the most part get around without having to rev the foz over 2200rpm.
They are an excellent allrounder, just as quiet on the road as my highway tyres and for rocks, sand and mud they do suprisingly well.
I will defernately be getting them again

I have been in a few cars with BFG T/A tyres and they do well to for an all rounder too, probably better then my Geolander but are shit on road. I still reckon my geolanders are better in sand though from my personal experience. But that could just very well be the driver or vehicle.

We also have had Bridgestone Dueler 649, 693 and Desert Duulers on our ute and they all do well when lowered to 18psi on the sand and are not too bad onroad but when it comes to mud or rocks they are hopeless.

I only let my tyres below 16psi if im stuck, down to about 10~ psi but as soon as im out I pump them back upto 16. I don't want a tyre comming off the rim

Now If I don't let my tyres down (36psi) at all I can still go on the beach but I have to work the eninge hard and scream the shit out of her (4000+rpm) usually my right foot is at 80-100% throttle since I only have a small EJ20 N/A. Tyre pressure makes probably a 70+% improvement on sand no matter the tyre but an All-Terrain I find to be even better again.

Cheers
Taza

I realise that the pressure of the tyre on the sand is very important, I just thought from this segment on 4wd TV last night that there was a preferred choice of tyre for sand from a comment of one of the guys on the program.

Seems that the road venturers should go well - I'm pretty keen to get them out there and have a go, but will need to wait until I a) have the time and b) have some money to have the time off and afford the food & fuel etc

Looking forward to it!

Cheers

Bennie

well my 4wd experience might not be as comprehensive as some others on here, but i have done a fair bit of beach driving. i have found that on little 4wds the road tyres do as well as anything on sand. with less big gaps in the tread they seem to sit on top of the sand better than off road tyres which chew the sand through and throw it out the back. On the bigger 4wd's that just churn through the offroad tyres do seem more capable.

i would normally run 12-15 psi on sand, but not afraid to throw it back down to 5 or 6 if it is getting tough. with the ej's its probably not an issue, but the ea seems to struggle way less with softer tyres. the bigger surface area in contact with the sand make a big difference. its not just how it feels, but the temp gauge tells me it is working less when the softer tyres are staying on top of the sand. i have never had any tyre rolling of or breaking the bead issues running pressure that low on either my subi or my dads ute when he had it.

i have maxxis MA-1 tyres for now. they were some of the only tyres i could get in the size i wanted and were a reletively aggressive touring tyre. they have been great so far, good compremise for on/off the road. that said, we dont get the same insane mud over here, so i dont know how they would go in those conditions.

At lancelin a few weeks back, i had to pull my mate in a forester out twice, he was running an all terrain tyre could have been a bridgestone dueler from memory. makes me think on sand its not the biggest that wins.

Beennie i was using Bridgstone duelers HT before i got my MT's i found them to be a great all rounder. Great for the sand not aggressive dropped them down to 18 psi with no problems.
By the way i had them on a run at the Glasshouse mountains in the muddy clay and was very happy with them for a HT tyre

Jan

yarney wrote:Beennie i was using Bridgstone duelers HT before i got my MT's i found them to be a great all rounder. Great for the sand not aggressive dropped them down to 18 psi with no problems.
By the way i had them on a run at the Glasshouse mountains in the muddy clay and was very happy with them for a HT tyre

Jan

+1 For a highway tyre that are decent.

FYI I bought a pair of Maxtrax last week since I do so much sand driving. Very pleased with them and will be well worth the $300 when I get bogged for real

The bigger the footprint the better iv always preffered highway tread on sand... but im used to bigger heavier 4WDS

Highway tread make the best tyre for sand but shit when it comes to mud, so what you'll need to work out Bennie is what you'll be doing the most

There is always the option of having 2 sets of tyres

tyres are what makes the difference on any terrain. Think about it, its the last piece of the puzzle when 4x4ing.

ive always ran highway or all-terrain tyres on my subaru 4x4s. Found the all-terrains to be the best for a mixed bag of terrains.

On my patrol i bought it with some crappy all-terrain tyres, the car still went awesome off road, but then i upgraded to 33inch mud tyres (maxxis bighorns) the change of the car offroad was remarkable. On both sand and rocks/mud.

In sand when it got tough i just planted the foot a lil harder and she churned her way out of ANY situation (bulk power from a 4.2l petty motor though)

there tyres were loud on-road and abit of a dog though.

you have to find the perfect balance for all the different types of terrians you drive over. If i were you benny i'd be looking at an all-terrain tyre tread pattern.

i know i will be looking at maybe a yokohama geolander AT type tyre for my outback when the time comes.

oh yeh, i always let my tyres down to 20psi when 4x4ing, on any type of terrain. It makes the bumps and corrugations etc alot more bearable, and youre also doing less damage to the tracks.

if im going on the beach or i know there will be super boggy stuff, i go down to 16psi strait away.

i have let my l-series tyres down to below 5psi before when i was recovery vehicle for about 3 other subis sinking into the surf.

alex

I recently ready 4x4 mag with a tyre comparo test. Between 36 all terrain tyre selections Mickey thompson 4 rib got the best result. with the Geolander A/TS a close 2nd. They recommend the 4psi rule. "lower your tyre psi to wat u think is necessary, if you require more do it by 4 psi at a time'

Cooper Discoverer S/T maxx won the mud, again Geolander 2nd

BF goodrich T/A ko had the best on road braking, with the Geolander in 3rd place.

I would say the geolander is a good allround tyre.

Paul and Alex: That's what I'm trying to nut out now - a good all rounder tyre, but at the same time I've fallen in love with the capabilities of these Kumho Road Venturers after my first outing with them in June... That program just sparked something in me that got me wondering about these tyres and how they'd go in sand as I've seen many big 4wds with what looks like a chunky mud tyre out there that do well but leave tracks virtually impassable for vehicles with tyres smaller than 33s Not much fun when you're following!

Two sets of tyres are great for around home, but not when touring - too much bloody weight!!

Cheers

Bennie

Hey Bennie.. no probs mate, you'll just need to work out how much of each you're planning to do but if you're not sure then the All Terrain tyres are the go. They usually are around 60% road/sand and 40% mud/snow.

on my old swb landy many years ago i used to run aircraft tyres off old dc9s, run at about 10-12psi, they were so soft they would just roll over and fold over rocks and stuff, and just sit on top of the sand.
had to get tread pattern cut in them by the tyre place. they probably woould not do it for you now.
my l series runs el cheapos and does quite well along the beach, half the time i don't let them down because i don't always carry a pump. never been really stuck, the most embarrasing was at Sandy Point got bogged and a couple of female pommy backpackers camping there pushed me out.