[jono165]

So I know someone who is able to get a set of 255/85/16 maxis creepy crawler. According to the maxis site these are about 33.5" tall and 10" wide. I thought they seemed like a good Suzuki size tyre is there a reason why people don't run them (other than they are hard to get) I noticed quite a few Japanese guys run them.

[SierraDan]

Too hard to get. I tried to get them a while ago. They also have the Creepie crown and in my opinion a less than impressive tyre.

[Gwagensteve]

I reckon I'd give them a go if the price was right. How's the load rating?

Dan - I know creepies came in and out of popularity, but we have a set on a car down here now and they seem to work really well. Vic conditions favour a square shouldered tyre with lots of edges so I think they might work quite well with the added ground pressure a narrower tyre can provide.

Steve.

[SierraDan]

Ive only ever seen sticky creepies work well up this way.

Under the weight of an average Sierra i reckon you would be silly not to run a beadlock and no air in them.

[jono165]

Load rating is 2470lbs but they have an 8 ply sidewall rating. Compared to saw a 35" krawler which is 2600lb and 6ply. Interestingly the 35x12.5 creepy is 2535lbs and a 6 ply rating which seems like a better construction but obviously much wider.

I'm all for trying something different, I've got a set of ltbs to use but they're probably past their best. I saw these on Daz7's ute in a 7.00-16 and they looked pretty cool but that's not tall enough for some people. It'd be nice if they came in a q78 size.

But the creepies still aren't a cheap tyre at the end of the day. Is there really any benefit over a 33x10.5 km2 other than a little bit of extra height?

[Gwagensteve]

i reckon a 33" km2 wouldn't see which way the creepy went. They're a completely different tyre - one is a radial carcass tyre designed primarily on road and the creepy is a dedicated bias ply off road tyre. The sidewall tread alone would carry a car further on creepies than on KM2's, let alone the tread conformity and much heavier lug.

Bias tyres are a bit tricky to compare with radials - whilst the apparently stiff sidewall looks like it would be terrible, bias tyres have a very flexible tread, so the end result is a more compliant tyre than the numbers indicate.

I just checked the Q78's on the tug, and they're rated load range C, 6 ply, but at 2750lb. They flex fine at around 5 psi. They are clearly stiffer in the sidewall than, say, a Krawler, but it comes down to the tread flexibility as well.

The obvious disadvantage will be road manners, but your car isn't a daily, and rarity - if you were to have a failure, you need to find a whole set of tyres to replace them, on an unusual rim size.

As to your initial question - the only reason people don't run them is how hard they are to get.

Steve.

[jonfromhamilton]

Jon you are welcome to borrow my wheels and try them out if you want some time
they don't work too well on rock but go really good in clay and mud

[nick_bj40]

Km2 come in the same size

From memory they are the same size as 285/75/16 or 275/75/16 so a od equivalent is available

[got_bar_work]

Heaps a of the guys in the Zook club run the 6.00 on their lj and love them

[sideways]

got_bar_work wrote:

Heaps a of the guys in the Zook club run the 6.00 on their lj and love them

You really need to get some pictures of those LJs.

[SierraDan]

Ive got photos somewhere.

[leafs4lyf]

SierraDan wrote:

Ive got photos somewhere.

cool

[bohuler]

Just got off the phone to Maxxis. No 255/85/16 creepy crawlers are being made, only in the bighorn. Wholesale price is $275 a tyre.

Dave

[jono165]

Does that mean that what's available from Japan is likely I be old stock?

[Gwagensteve]

I don't imagine it will be old enough to bother you. In any case, bias tyres seem to be able to be broken in almost regardless of how old they are.

Steve.

[Gwagensteve]

Ps bohuler, how many are available?

[bohuler]

No being sold in Australia doesn't mean they have stopped making them, just they are not being imported probably due to lack of demand.

Gwagen, plenty of stock is what I was told on the bighorns.

Dave

[Gwagensteve]

Oh, sorry for the confusion, I was asking about creepies.

Steve.

[bohuler]

As far as I can find out there is none of the creepies left in stock in Australia. A tyre shop may have them but Maxxis have told me they have no stock.

Dave