In the Begining...
Tyres Tyres Tyres
Suspension
In the Begining...
Tyres Tyres Tyres
Suspension
The big question was which type/size and what make to buy and fit. As I looked into what other overlanders had used in the past, it seamed to be a hotly debated subject as to which where the best. My problem being that because of the length of my trip I would be covering many different types of terrain. From good smooth tarmac to deep mud and everything in between. After looking at other overlanders websites and other sources there seamed to be two favourite brands, Goodyear and Michelin, and 2 popular types of tyre to use, all terrain or mud terrain. All these tyres had high aspect ratios (80-85), which means a tall tyre for good ground clearance, and a high ply (number of layers) rating (10-12), which means a strong hard to puncher tyre. The high aspect ration also means when the tyre is run at low pressures the footprint (area of contact with the ground) is larger than a shorter tyre. The high ply rating also enables the tyre to be run at lower pressures and slow speeds with out damage. This popular specification seamed to translate into 3 tyres that were on the market. Goodyear G90 (all terrain), Michelins XZL (mud terrain) and XZY (all terrain). Taking into consideration the weight of the vehicle I decided that a slightly wider tyre would be good, to spread the weight over a larger area. Also I figured if I went for the all terrain and found myself in deep mud I could have problems. Were as if I chose mud terrain the only problem would be that the tyres would wear faster on Tarmac surfaces. This lead me to chose the 235mm x 85 R16 TL Michelin XZL (mud terrain) tyres. I also decided I would put these on new Mangle wheels as the original ones that came with the Land Rover were not in great condition. I also went with the popular choice of carrying two spare tyres.
When at low pressures (1 Bar/ 15 PSI) they work well in soft sand and didn't over heat.
After 1 month, 3500 miles on tarmac in Europe (Test Trip) and 252 days, 23,990 miles of taking a battering on this trip (at 26/11/04), my choice proved sound. As I had only 1 slow puncher and no other problems. By this stage though 4 of the 6 tyres are where worn out, and had to be replaced. I chose to replace the 4 worn tires with Continential ContiTrac 235/85 R16 10ply. As they are an all terrain tire and I new I would be doing a lot more driving on tarmac on the return trip north east. This prooved to work fine and the tires preformed faultlessly even in the extreamly rough pistes in north Ethiopia. I did suffer two slow punchers in Ethiopia and Dijbouti but both of these were due to picking up old nails in the tires.
As a comparison another Land Rover I was travelling with for 6 weeks was using Michelin XZY 7.50 x 85 R16. They had had two punchers, one due to the tube being pinched when the tyre was run at low pressure and the other was because of a nail. But they did seam faster through soft sand than myself. But that could be due to a TDI 300 engine with extra large intercooler and rear auto locking diff.
Regardless of the type or make of tyres use choose to use, and good puncher repair kit is essential. Even if you don’t repair the tyre your self, as there are usually a repair shop in every town, you might need to supply the patches, glue etc. to get the job done.