Thread: Aggressive AT vs mt vs 15" vs 17"

Vehicle is a 2018 Hilux.
I think it's probably just easier to stick with the current rims as I know they fit and have the right offset.
Current tyres are a 265/65 417 so want something similar.
Am leaning towards an at but definitely open to a mt but it needs to have decent on road performance. Have had some death traps in the past that are lethal in the wet on tar seal

Also consider MT's in the context of towing, with a loaded trailer even the best MT's don't go that well stopping when its wet . . . .

If you are doing more than 75-80% road driving, buy an aggressive decent A/T. About a third of my driving is on gravel roads, forestry tracks and off road. I do 70-80,000km a year.

I used to run only M/T's, new set every year, just before winter. Used to swear by decent M/T's, would get 60km out of them before they were buggered for off road then maybe 80km before they were dangerous on the road.

M/T's may as well be a A/T once they're third to a half worn. For beach driving, an aired down A/T is better than a M/T - check out some 4wd tests in Aussie.

I went to Mickey Thompson A/T's and I've run two sets in 36 months, nearly got 100k out of the last set, done 60k on the latest and not half worn, and I still drive the most of the same places as I did with my M/T's.

Decent AT's have come a long way. Road manners are way better and they last longer in my opinion.

I do carry a set of icebreaker chains in winter just in case I need them.

I’ve just ditched a set of half worn Cooper STT Pro MTs for new AT3. Make no mistake about it, MTs are awesome for NZ mud, especially papa mud, but for the day-to-day? Fucking pain in the arse once half worn.

Drove 1,560km on the new tyres last week - several deep sand E Cape beach fishing trips, up hill and down dale on the farm tracks, couple of hundred kays on the gravel, and of course normal shitty NZ “highways”.

Just compared the last week’s fuel consumption to the log book when the MTs were new. The AT3s give a 12% improvement in fuel consumption, the handling is massively improved and there’s no penalty at all in anything other than the cloying sticky semi-dry papa mud conditions that I’d rather use a quad in anyway. My truck is recreational use only and always loaded the same, with a 160L fuel tank, so the comparison between tyres is reasonable as the usage was very similar.

I have diff locks front and rear and an onboard compressor, so that’s worth a bit when it comes to traction. I always air down when off road and tend to engage the locker(s) as a precaution before realising I might suddenly need it...

Currently 225 75R16 LTs (always LT), 50 psi rear / 40 psi front for loaded bitumen, down to 15 psi all round if needs be. Have run ATs of various varieties through pretty much everything all over Africa / Aus / US / NZ and have learnt that pressures are the determining factor, more so than tread pattern. Just my experience, YMMV. No more MTs for me.

Stick with the 17's in a nice A/T pattern , for what you are doing I can see no benefit in going to a 15 inch M/T combo. There is some good advice on here but I don't think some of the suggestions suit the driving that you are doing ,
Cheers

Originally Posted by madmaori

Stick with the 17's in a nice A/T pattern , for what you are doing I can see no benefit in going to a 15 inch M/T combo. There is some good advice on here but I don't think some of the suggestions suit the driving that you are doing ,
Cheers

This man has never failed to give me good advice about ute tyres. Well worth talking to and sharp deals/good service. Worth me driving up to Napier for tyres and to have them fitted.

I put 265/70R17 TOYO Open Country AT on my Ranger 10k ago. Very pleased. Up hill and down dale. No mud but a lot of rock and gravel. Good on wet tarmac.

Originally Posted by Tahr

This man has never failed to give me good advice about ute tyres. Well worth talking to and sharp deals/good service. Worth me driving up to Napier for tyres and to have them fitted.

Yup, Brad has given me good advice on here too. Really pleased with his recommendation for the new tyres I bought recently. Too far away for me though!

Originally Posted by mikee

the BFG KM2 MT's on my Pajero have nearly 70k on them and still only half worn. My arse puckered when I brought them but ....well seem good value now ecen at $500 each. If I could get there AT's to fit 20 inch rims on the missuses Colorado I might be tempted to "pony up" for them

I thought the same when I brought mine the sl386s are well worth a try as they are a copy of the KM2s tread pattern.

Originally Posted by Remmodel7

Vehicle is a 2018 Hilux.
I think it's probably just easier to stick with the current rims as I know they fit and have the right offset.
Current tyres are a 265/65 417 so want something similar.
Am leaning towards an at but definitely open to a mt but it needs to have decent on road performance. Have had some death traps in the past that are lethal in the wet on tar seal

OK this is in my wheelhouse as I've built up quite a few of these. I drive a Shagger but front end is almost identical bar the brakes. I just built a 2017 and 2018 one for my brother and old man one running 35s with regear and one just running as good a factory setup as possible. There's a few nuances to getting tires to clear lots of people miss feel free to PM me. My old mans a no fluff type of guy. I've done everything in between the more hectic and not so hectic setups for these utes. He's probably 70% Offroad but when we are lucky even to have a good thick layer of green grass ATs are pretty much useless as they are the clay tracks for about a week after rain.

To be fair I swing way more the more modern designed MT but part of that is I now run the Goodride SL386s which are far cheaper than any good quality Aggressive AT that I have found yet.

If money was no object I'd have probably looked at the M/T ATZ or Maxxis Razr At on a set of tires for road and general trips and buy a set of overly aggressive Muds for really intense trips.

I second @madmaori has been blood y good to deal with, well worth a drive to get sorted at his place as his team are awesome

@Tahr , @Flyblown , @Fat ninja.
Thanks for the feedback , really do appreciate the support and kind words......Good Bastards!

Ive heard some seriously good stuff about the wildpeak at3s as a very good AT tyre that does a reasonable job off road and brillant on road.Guy i talked to had a set on
his ranger and done 60000km, lots off road kms and swears by them and reckens he get 90000 out of them before needs replacing and been in some serious mud etc and didnt have a problem.
When i bought my isuzui Mu they had bridgestone AT desert duelers on them.
Was always looking around for replacements, was thinking a MT but they have been good on the road and ive been in some dodgy places where i really should not of been with ATs and they
performed pretty good and havnt been struck as yet.
Im a novice to the 4wd scene really but if doing 70 pcent on road and 30 off a good AT tyre is prob all you need.
Im going run these to the next wof and prob get the wildpeaks, seen too many good reviews on them, number one AT in Aussie and the people that have them recken they abit more tan a basic At
that has good miles and are good price.
Been quoted 245 ea(same as the duelers) so that do me i think.

Just got these fitted today... haven't even driven them yet so cant comment other than they were quite cheap.
Gone to AT from HT (2wd ute) for just a bit more grip on gravel and grass.
Got 33km from the factory HT Bridgestone duelers but I am typically hard on tires. They were nice and quiet on road and stuck well in the wet but started squeeling badly when pushed at about a third to half worn.
Hopefully these arnt to noisy or slippery on wet seal....im sure they will do everything I need off seal.

Originally Posted by veitnamcam

Just got these fitted today... haven't even driven them yet so cant comment other than they were quite cheap.
Gone to AT from HT (2wd ute) for just a bit more grip on gravel and grass.
Got 33km from the factory HT Bridgestone duelers but I am typically hard on tires. They were nice and quiet on road and stuck well in the wet but started squeeling badly when pushed at about a third to half worn.
Hopefully these arnt to noisy or slippery on wet seal....im sure they will do everything I need off seal.

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Ouch x 4, you done 33k already in your bestie?