[Gwagensteve]

Eddy wrote:

Marko_SJ wrote:

Eddy wrote:

Yeah .. I'm referring to a tyre that's usable outside of the swamps. That stuff is great in their place, but then ya gotta go home again ... unless of course they're on a trailer queen.

How much experience do you personally have with 9.5" wide swampers on a Sierra? They're no problem at all to daily, and make a very versatile tyre.

I'd rather drive a sierra on a narrow bias tyre than a wide radial on road. I know this because I've driven my car on both.

Steve.

[Marko_SJ]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Eddy wrote:

Marko_SJ wrote:

Eddy wrote:

Yeah .. I'm referring to a tyre that's usable outside of the swamps. That stuff is great in their place, but then ya gotta go home again ... unless of course they're on a trailer queen.

How much experience do you personally have with 9.5" wide swampers on a Sierra? They're no problem at all to daily, and make a very versatile tyre.

I'd rather drive a sierra on a narrow bias tyre than a wide radial on road. I know this because I've driven my car on both.

Steve.

How many KMs a year did you do on them? I see they have stopped making the 32*9.5 size in TSL bias.

[Gwagensteve]

I put 35000 km on the swampers on my Gwagen, then more on 36 12.5 sx's on the same car.

Whilst I didn't daily my sierra on swampers it wasn't because of the tyres.

[pete_79]

Been reading the tyre advice handed out in here over many years, up until now pretty much everyone that said they where thinking of going with 16" rims on their sierra had been told not to (cost being the most argued point, closely followed by lack of options available).

Now ignoring all of that 'advice' I'm looking at what options are actually available in 16".
I've seen some reasonably aggressive tread patterns in 205/85r16.
They tick the tall and narrow boxes, but (and it's a big but) they all look to be really heavy construction.

I'm still looking......

[Gwagensteve]

I will make a comment about this photo though, because I think it's a bit misleading for those considering 255 85's.

This car has hilux axles and SPOA, which has added quite a bit to the track width. It's also unfinished, as you can see from the lack of a front guard cut.

A Sierra on the most commonly available rim (GV) and that tyre size won't sit anywhere near that wide and will/may have spring contact on lock.

[Gwagensteve]

Check here: viewtopic.php?f=3&t=54049 for plenty of images of cars running 255 85 16 KM2's, 255 85 16 Creepy Crawlers and JT2's on GV rims (near enough the same size)

Note the car running KM2's was on 16" Vitara rims which are making it ~30mm narrower per side. Obviously not ideal

Steve.

[Angus Martin]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Eddy wrote:

Marko_SJ wrote:

Eddy wrote:

Yeah .. I'm referring to a tyre that's usable outside of the swamps. That stuff is great in their place, but then ya gotta go home again ... unless of course they're on a trailer queen.

How much experience do you personally have with 9.5" wide swampers on a Sierra? They're no problem at all to daily, and make a very versatile tyre.

I'd rather drive a sierra on a narrow bias tyre than a wide radial on road. I know this because I've driven my car on both.

Steve.

So swampers are actually a viable daily option, what are they like noise wise and at 100?

[Gwagensteve]

I don't find tyre noise relevant on a sierra- it's not like the car is quiet.

I like the way a sierra handles on road on bias tyres. After all, it's what they were designed to run.

The bigger issue as to whether you daily on them is if you're willing to run any size it's worth running swampers in around town. Most people wouldn't want the attention.

[Angus Martin]

Well I'm getting 33s next set anyway, still as a daily, police don't bat an eye at the things that get around on the road up here so a sierra is no worries.
How do they handle differently exactly?

[Gwagensteve]

Lower lateral grip, very gentle and predictable breakaway. They follow cambers so you can't fight it, you have to "shepherd" the car. They're all traits that Sierras have anyway. Sierras aren't tyre sensitive like something like an eighty series land cruiser.

Just make sure you have plenty of caster or the wandering will send you crazy.

[Marko_SJ]

What do you mean by tyre sensitive?

[Gwagensteve]

Some cars go to pieces on bad tyres. The heavier the car and the more marginal the alignment (think lifted 80 series with noncaster correction) and tyre choice makes an enormous difference. Sierras don't seem to care much what tyre you put under them

[Marko_SJ]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Some cars go to pieces on bad tyres. The heavier the car and the more marginal the alignment (think lifted 80 series with noncaster correction) and tyre choice makes an enormous difference. Sierras don't seem to care much what tyre you put under them

I'm guessing that would include coils sprung patrols as they are known for wobbles.
Do you have a preference in AT tyres? Will be looking at something around 33" once I've killed my duelers.

Edit: this is for my GU. Probably would consider muds too, probably KM2s.

[ZUZUKI]

Silverstone (via Chapel Corner Tyres - wholesale - silverstone - download brochure) do a Simex copy (confirmed shite road holding at speed!) in a 33x9.5R16 - listed as 832mm (32.75") O.D. x 240mm (9.45") wide. Permissable rim is 6.5" to 8.5" wide, rated 112L = 1120kg per tyre.
Probably a little heavy in the ply for a Sierra with that load rating, but a great size - very impressed on my Rangie Classic.
Cheap! - I paid $220 a tyre through a mate, about 5 years ago. Only used for hard core off roading, but holding up well.
Considering running them on my Sierra LWB - if I ever get it finished.
Rgs, Michael

[shep]

gregwatkins75 wrote:

Dueller MTS are shit..... fyi

Soft
Wear quickly
Wear unevenly
Noisy as a 6yr old kid
Very unsure on wet roads..


Don't have white writing in them....

I have them on my work car, they are a tough long lasting tyre as long as you don't drive fast. When I do 150kph or faster the lugs fall off.

[alien]

^^ LOL!

[nick_bj40]

Has anyone heard much of the maxxis 35in bias tyres yet?

I'm on the skinny tyres side of the fence and im in the market for some 32-33 so that I dont need to chop to much so those kr2 32x9.5 look awesome I would love to get my hands on some

[SuziBlu]

Gwagensteve wrote:

I'd struggle to think of a worse tyre for a sierra than a 33 12.5 Baja Claw.
33 10.5 BFG's work very well on a sierra.
I desperately want someone to pony up and run 35 10.5 KR2 race bfg's on a sierra. I can't think of a better tyre.

Wide tyres mostly suck on Sierras. Take this from a guy running 35 13.5's.

Best sand tyre I have ever used, 33x12.5 baja claw, simply stunning. No idea what its like for anything else.

[Gwagensteve]

They're garbage. Tried them on sand back to front yet?

[SuziBlu]

"ever run them back to front", why would I do that ? sounds pretty stupid, run a directional tyre backwards.

Best sand tyre I have used, perfect, albit a bit to heavy construction for the little suzi, but, alls well. I can air down to 2psi no bead locks, no drama, sideways all the time.

Ever run them on sand ?

[tanshi]

i suspect neither of you have run them in the same circumstances on sand. by the sounds of it, suziblu does heaps of dune work, bigger power, hill climbing where wheel speed and digging volume is needed. like the paddle tyres they use duning in the usa. not exactly just driving o the beach.

[SuziBlu]

Wish I could use paddles, but have to street drive it 9k to get to the sand, darnit lol.

[sideways]

SuziBlu wrote:

"ever run them back to front", why would I do that ? sounds pretty stupid, run a directional tyre backwards.

With them in their standard rotation they're basically set to dig, the rotation of the tyre cleares the tread. More importantly, on the road this clears the tread of water so you don't aquaplane.

With them on backwards they hold on to the sand and it essentially makes the tyres a less agressive sand paddle.

I intend to test this with my KL71s but I think the result would be much better with the claws.

[SuziBlu]

most often when I go backwards, i need to set my free wheeling hubs in, they have very little grip, in forward, 2 wd where most get bogged.

[Gwagensteve]

That's not relevant for a host of reasons. No car has more traction in reverse than it has going forward.

You're right Tanshi, I haven't used a 33 12.5 baja claw on a sierra in soft sand. I have used a 35 12.5 baja claw on a Gwagen in a range of other soft surfaces including soft snow, and I can confirm them work much better when reversed on surfaces with yield where there isn't a base to dig down to. So surfaces that respond like sand - flotation is improved, and ironically, the tyre turns in better due to the angle of attack of the side lugs.

I'll note that there are no directional sand specialised tyres available. That's because the reason an off-road tyre will use a directional reread is to dig through a surface with yield to find the hard surface underneath. Sand tyres have a non-directional tread. (even paddles are basically non-directional, being as the paddle is straight across the tyre)

A 23˚tread angle is designed to dig and clean. That's why tractors run 23˚ chevon tread. In those circumstances, the tyres are generally narrow to generate high ground pressure to assist in digging. where they're wide they are intended to dig to sit the lugs into the surface the full depth to provide traction, so they have a very high void ratio.

Then there's the Baja Claw. It has a digging/cleaning tread pattern, but it's wide for floatation, but has low void. It offers no performance advantage over a comparable tyre of similar aggressiveness.

SuziBlu, I don't doubt or question that you're happy with the performance of your claws on sand. I'm just suggesting that from my experience with this tread pattern and my understanding of tyre theory, you might find they perform even better when reversed, especially on the front. I know I did.

Out of interest, what other 33 12.5 tyres have you run on your current car in the sand?

[SuziBlu]

When you reverse a claw, the material you are on does not throw out, it goes in, so, you are piling the soft torn material under the tyre, making for a soft crap that will make you slip.

I have used many tyre styles, nothing compares to claws for soft sand IMO, I have been told repeatedly, a sand tyre is bald, near race slick lol.

These are the most agressive I have used, maybe they are comparable, but, maybe not, and as these will last a very long time in a light weight like a suzi, its a cost I cannot afford, buy a few different types of tyre just to say, oh yea, I have tried these, when I am very happy with what im running.

you once told me I had my tyres on the wrong way round, so I dunno, made me wonder about your knowledge of claws.

[MrRocky]

Believe it or not 31x10.5r15 desert duellers are the best ive seen on a sierra and best ive personally used and ive driven a wide variety of brands and sizes

[Gwagensteve]

So you'd like paddles. You already own them- just turn your claws around. Paddles work more like claws the wrong way around than claws the right way around.

If I was you, I'd be busting to prove how stupid I am by putting those tyres on back to front, getting bogged and posting 1000 posts everywhere about how I'm I muppet- that's the best case. Worst case is your tyres work better.

God knows I wanted my claws to work better when I got them, and turning the fronts around made them quite a bit better in soft surfaces.

[SuziBlu]

I know how they go, read above, when driving forward, I go everywhere in 2wd, if I have to go backwards, I have to put my freewheelig hubs in an select 4wd, because they have no traction going reverse, claws are like that, that's why they are a directional tyre, pretty simple really.

I do not want to prove that im the dumbest cunt ever lived by turning sensational gripping tyres around and making them only have grip in reverse.

Dumbest thing I have ever heard of.

[vet 180]

Strangely over here the best considered sand tire is the BFG T/A KM even though they are very hard to get a hold of these days. They are also a control tire for many comps still. KM2's although much better in mud are considered garbage in comparison. Same deal with the STT vs STT pro. The the BFG all terrains it is opposite as the KO2's are considered a LOT better than the original KO. I put it down to the sidewall design. In sand sidewall bite plays a decent roll in the grip you have in sand. its one reason why snaking through deep sand keeps momentum up when you would otherwise come to a standstill.

Desert slicks are great for sliding around in the sand, great for floatation but horrible for climbing. They are very light for their size though which you feel. Puncture very easy on anything but sand. They do ballon awesomely and with their generally large height the do provide a good footprint.