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Hi All.
It's nearly time for me to replace the BFG AT's on my 4WD Hilux and I'm curious what other 4WD owners are using. I've been around nearly every tyre place around here and the general impression I'm left with is that they're only interested pushing what they have in stock. There are a few amongst us that have 4WD's, so lets hear opinions on what tyres you've had in the past.

What will the vehicle be mostly used for. Tyres are a compromise so you need to decide what you need the tyres to do first.

Wiggy, i run the Maxxis Big Horn's and used them for my Cape York trip were i abused them. And use them all the time in the snot mud around Noojee, and love them still on and off road. Are a little noisy. Had the A/T version of the Maxxis before that and they were great on the road and in rocks. But dissapointing in the mud. (Ask Ian) Have driven alot of 4wd's with BF allterains and still have not worked out why people by them? On road they are horride comparied to others and seem to be more of his got them and him and him? So i will get them, but not many people seem to try something different. Next set for me will be Maxxis again. Al

Had the BFG AT's and they are OK for dirt roads very similar to the Cooper ST-C's which are often cheaper.
My favorite all round off road tyre are the Cooper STT Armor-Tek3-20% Road & Sand, 80% Dirt & Mud
The STT is designed for the 4WDriver who wants a tyre with the grip and puncture resistance to drive the most serious of off-road applications may be similar to Maxis Muds.

I have run BFG all terrains in the past and agree they are terrible on the road especially in the wet and also not very good offroad for that matter.
This time i went for the BFG km2 muddies and they're great off road and heaps better on the road as well, go figure?!

I'm no 4X4 guru only having one a few years, mine has BFG AT's on it and I've been surprised at how good a tyre they are on the road, go figure! It may have to do with the weight of the vehicle and there probably are differences between the tyres of different sizes of the same type.
As an example I've done Kilsyth to Abbeyard in 3 1/2 hours going over the top, Mansfield - Whitfield, and wasn't scared by them at all.
Sure the tread fills up quick off road when it’s wet but drop the pressures and they pick up their game.
As for road noise, can't say I've ever noticed tyre noise from them.
I'd go for them again when they need replacing as I think they perform as expected but one thing that any make me look at others is price.
 

I have owned a few sets of BFG All Terrains and have hated them however as Tim says, they work better on heavier vehicles such as Landcruisers and Patrols. I would not buy them again for one reason though. They do not seem to eject stones from the tread and I hate having to stop on the bitumen and dig out stones as the constant ticking of the stones on the road drives me nuts.

David has not responded with the type of use he wants from his tyres but I am guessing he will be using them about 90% on road. If that is the case then an AT tyre is the way to go. I have been lucky enough to have had two sets of tyres in the past and there is a huge handling difference when swapping between my mud tyres and a good AT for road and light off road use. AT tyres are much quieter, wear better and have much better handling and braking on the road. Having to winch up an occasional hill in the bush is a small price to pay for being able to steer and brake well on the road.

Tyres I have been impressed with are Toyo OPAT AT which were very good and lasted nearly 110.000 kms on my Rangie,  and Goodyear Wrangler Silent Armour which lasted about the same, were very good on the road and more than acceptable in the bush. The Goodyears were about $100 a tyre more than the Toyos though. I would also look at the Bridgestone 694 which is getting good reports.

On the Prado I have been very happy with the original Dunlop AT20's. When talking about tyres for our trip round Oz with the van and our intention to tow down the Gibb River Road etc I was told "no way" on those tyres.

The AT20 have just done 66,000ks including 35,000ks towing the van around Oz with 2,000 of that on dirt plus some medium 4WDing in the Kimberly and Cape York without the van and they still have about 4,000 left in them.

The above for info only as I will be looking for something a bit more off road next.

So Wiggy, what do you think of your BFG AT's ? which I am leaning towards after talking to lots of 4WDers on the trip.

I have found BFG good in the past on Patrols, but they cost too much. When i was running 15" i used the old style Bridgestone Desert Duellers (same as fitted original on GQ Pootrols). $160 each, lasted 90,000km gripped ok and did 2 desert trip without a flat. Nowdays i have to use 16" unfortunatly so i am trying Silverstone AT. They are a BFG copy. About $180-$190 each in 145x70x16. I know i am a cheapskate. Heard good things about the Maxxis.

The problem with AT's is you get the worst of both worlds.

They are not a good road tyre ie. increased braking distance (dramatically so in the wet), increased noise, and decreased fuel economy. They also cost a bit. The OEM tyres that come with the car are normally far superior to any AT's, unless of course you buy a Chinese Great Wall.

They are not a good 4WD tyre. They are as good in mud as the OEM tyre, which is useless. They handle dirt roads just as well as the road tyre, and maybe they handle corrugated roads better than the OEM tyre, but thats about it.

If 90-99% of your driving is on roads/dirt roads, stick with OEM tyres, and then get a second set of muddies for those serious 4WD trips.

Come On Wiggy - your thoughts on your BFG's?

My thoughts on my old BFG A/T's  ???
When I bought them for my Hilux back in 2008 they seemed to be what everyone else was using and they were what was on my 80 Series Landcruiser. When they were new and had a bit tread on them they were OK on road and when the tracks were dry. As time wore on they were average at best in clay and snow as they tended to clog up with same. Like Ian has mentioned, when new they did have the habit of picking up small stones that stuck in the tread. 
Personally with the price of BFG's these days, there are better AT tyres around. The Yokohama Geolander is sposed to be pretty good,

Shopping around for tyres I found the BFG's to be rather expensive to comparable tyres.

As for my quest for new tyres, I ended up going for Mickey Thompson MTZ's.
I wanted to find a tyre that was in between an AT and MT. The closest I could find was the MTZ. Past trips into snow/muddy terrain on AT's have been disappointing in the traction stakes. I'm not a hard core 4WDer so I need all the help I can get. ::) I've read about plenty of punters getting 50K out of MT tyres with regular tyre rotation and attention to tyre pressures. If I can get that I'll be happy. ::)


 




 
   

From all reports the Mickey Thompsons are a good choice.

Wiggy good choice. It came down to the Mickey MTZ or the Maxxis Big Horns for my trip. I went the way of the Maxxis as they seem to wear better acording to reports. And they have of both cars i prep'd to do the cape run where they were they deffently tested. The Mickey's work very well on my mates 80.
Good luck Al

I did have a serious look at the Maxxis Bighorn MT 762 and 764. The 762 is the older Bighorn and the 764 is a new pattern. They are cheaper than the MTZ's, but were somewhat difficult to find in the size I was after out here.

So Wiggy how are the MTZ's going, plenty of wet roads for testing.

I recently drove a vehicle with ATZ's on it and was very impressed with them. A little noisier than I expected on the bitumen, noticable but not loud. (200 series Landcruiser)