Fitting 33s

[mudgrip4]

Soon to buy next truck - will be a LWB 2.8, set as camper and hunting wagon as well as off-roader. Looking at the moment at one nice 91 'R' spec model, but bit worried re the extended fibreglass flares which normally get wiped off when you have to run truck along the occasional bank.

However does anyone know if 33x12.5 muds extend out from these flares - sufficient to act as a bumper - truck currently running 31x10.5x15s on 8" rims and they are just inside guard line. Will have 2" body lift and 1" suspension lift so plenty of room, but I am not interested in damaging flares again and again. I could have small spacers I guess but the R spec model already has a wider wheel track.

Mike

[geeves]

Take the fiberglass flares off and hide them in the attic and replace with rubber flares. Take a picture of them on the truck beforehand This will help you win any arguments with the wof man.
I should of done this with mine but now I dont know where some of the bits are so the current flairs are made of plastic garden edging

[mudgrip4]

The wider flares do look good, but on reflection might go again with the narrower non R spec truck, with rubber flares. One less problem to face, and never had any side panel damage with this setup esp with the 32s bulging out the side a bit. Also never had any tyre damage though ran plenty of few banks over the years.

One point that bugs me is Hankook finishing their RTO1 line - very good durable mud tyres. Did 120k on sets and never even had a puncture. They have a newer tyre termed RTO3, also a mud but they have chamfered the edges of the cleats and offer it as a less aggressive mud option - not what is needed for 4x4ing. So am looking for another make that doesn't cost an arm and a leg but will still do well off road and give good mileage on road.

Alan - seem to remember you had saveros - how did they perform.

There are also Mudstars (Korean/Chinese?), a very cheap option with quite a good conventional mud tread, but they probably don't last long on road. Maxxis also didn't offer big milage for many club trucks after being flavour of the month 2-3 years ago.

Appreciate some comment here - experience with current tyre makes, off road performance, on road mileage, and costs for 33s etc. Wrangler muds have a good rep but what is the cost for 33s? Won't consider BFGs anymore as batches in the last 2-3 years are way down for clubmates on mileage from the past - now made in Malaysia? and with softer faster wearing compound to suit faster road speeds with modern 4wds - according to dealer.

Another thing to keep an eye on is the actual size of the "33"s - some are quite a bit less than advertised 33 inches, and its well worth lining up different makes next to each other - and with a 31x10.5" - to see exactly what size you are actually buying.

Mike

[geeves]

The glass flairs had about 80mm cover or 100mm total width. Not hard to achieve in rubber and you dont want to break the originals.
The Saveros were good but they have now been replaced by the adventuro which is a virtual copy of the rt03 and the durango which I have just tryed in a 32x11.5. The Durango works well off road Cant coment on life but they noisy. A tyre I would like to try is the Maxis Trempath But I cant see it being very nice on the road. The Durango is a full 32 inches and nearly an inch taller than the 32 inch basic mud

[mudgrip4]

I'll have a look at the durango and maxxis trempath, and will also look at firestone's mud and the one from dunlop. pirelli scorpion seems ok but mate is not getting big miles from his set - a fair amount of space between the cleats.

[tealz]

Has anyone tried the Nankang N889 MT 33/12.5R15 ? They seem to be one of the cheapest out there but it must be for a reason. Only about $220 each.

[geeves]

The nanking is only 7 inches across the tread They also used a very optomistic tape measure to measure the diameter

[quack]

i got goodyear mtrs in 32x11.5, i recon theyr better in the mud over my old buckshots but i was a bit dissapinted on the river beds.

theyr not very old but have a few mates with them and seem to be wearing ok.

they were very cheap as i have a mate in the tyer buiseness, costed the same as my 31 buckshots:)

[geeves]

As an all purpose tyre the Goodyear MTR and the Cooper STT are hard to beat. Both wear well and although neither make best of class in any conditions they are better than most in all of them. They also are as good as any mud tyre on a wet road. The Coopers are quite pricey here but the MTR is only just on the high side or average. If I hadnt been offered the second hand Durangos at a price I couldnt refuse They are the tyre I would of bought

[mudgrip4]

thanks for the comment guys - will enquire about the nanking also - but as noted above - you get what you pay for. Anyone happen to know what the firestone mud is called - and the dunlop?

Mike

[geeves]

Firestone have 2 tyres that could be called muds in NZ The RMT which is fairly mild but works well enough and wears well. On road its probably the quitest 4wd tyre you can buy and does everthing quite well except stop in the wet esspecialy once half worn. The other is the ATX23 which is the original design for the new GT Adventuro etc. Some people swear by them others at them. Overseas there is the destination MT which looks like a nice tyre but not available here
Dunlop have some nice agricutural tyres but not in your size ( a 235/80/16 with blocks you can put 3 fingers between) then There is the MT1 and MT2 The MT2 looks like it would do the job Im not a fan of Dunlop tyres They wear even worse that the Buckshot

[mudgrip4]

Saw the firestone RMTs today - alot of farmers and chippies etc use them as they've got some reasonable offroad capability but still good onroad. The ATXs would be more suitable for me. Good to hear about the dunlops - they look actually quite good but no use investing in something that wears too quickly.

[bighornnz]

what about bridgestone dueler m/t ? iv got goodyear wranglers mtrs at the mo and ill be going back to the bridgestones far beter

[dasnoboarder]

bighornnz said:

what about bridgestone dueler m/t ? iv got goodyear wranglers mtrs at the mo and ill be going back to the bridgestones far beter

Better for grip or wear? Or something else?

[bighornnz]

grip and wear far better ;D

[mudgrip4]

Very good thoughts - will check the bridgestone dueller - if you find it better than the wrangler it must be good. By the way am now actively looking for a very straight 2.8 lwb bighorn with not too many ks if anyone happens to know of one. Can't be battered from lots of 4wding - that's something I like to do for myself..

And a question - vaguely connected to this subject - when doing a 1" suspension and 2" body lift for the bighorn's 33's, is there any alteration to the fuel tank/ feeder hose etc?

Thanks, Mike.

[Tread]

Hey Mike
Just one thing firestone don't do a 33x12.5x15 in the atx or rmt, only 30x9.5x15 and 31x10.5x15. I had some ATX's on my MU they seemed to work ok, good on road and off.
Wear was quite good I did 10,000km on them on and off road still had 10-11mm tread in the centre of the tyre when I sold the truck, new is 11-12mm

[suza]

I used to run 31" RMT on the Bighorn and found they were a great all round tire expect in heavy sticky mud we got 65,oookm total out of them, stopped useing them as a off road tyre at about 30,000km and got a set of ATX 31" for playing

[mudgrip4]

Rang local 4x4 tyre dealer (KATS) today to get some further data, and he mentioned bridgestone, BFGs and wranglers as $300-350 per tyre, with pirelli in at just under 300, and savero and maxxis about $265 for 33s. Nanking Mudstar about $220. Said most measure up ok height wise - uses the BFG as his height standard as they are a genuine 33". But said the Nanking mudstar 33 is small - only about 32" when measured against a BFG. Said the savero GT radial is giving good mileage - better than the maxxis. Nanking unknown.

Tempted to save a few dollars and go with something like savero, but more homework yet to see what deals come up for the wrangler mtr and bridgestone. Does anyone have a special tyre contact for good deals?

Mike

[quack]

if you come up these ways i could take you round to my mates work, when i got my mtrs his qoute was $200 cheaper for 4 tyers than my old tyer shop.