Wheel and tyre advice please

Hi

My 1992 Defender 90 needs some new tyres. It is absolutely standard at the moment and I tend to use it in the winter for a few months when I take my Mk1 MX5 off the road. It rarely goes off road. (I know, don’t judge me..)

Because it is completely standard my original intention was to get some General Grabber AT2s to go on the standard 16” ivory rims. These seem to be coming in at about £450 a set on eBay, and I guessing about £50 quid to get them fitted locally, so probably £500 all in.

Then...in a classic case of mission creep...I started seeing some sets of black modular steels with BF Goodrich A/T tyres which come in at £650. I’m assuming that these are balanced and ready to fit, so for an additional £150 I could get another set of wheels and keep the originals in the garage.

Despite the desire to keep my landy standard, I have always had a hankering for some black wheels. My 90 is red with white hard top btw.

Any thoughts? Comments on tyre choice / current prices welcome too..

I’d check with local garage for a price to do the tyres if you buy them online, some don’t like doing them!

For just a winter choice , I personally would be calling beartown tyres , get some of their remoulds and wheels.

Cheers

If you don’t off road, do you need AT tyres? Something road biased or even winter tyres if you aren’t the sort to tear about in the dry might work better for you.

I admit I personally like the look of a more aggressive tyre on a 4x4. But then I do tend to off road them and happy to accept the compromise.

As for the BFG’s. Big well known name and you pay a premium for this. I like some of their tyres but never really been a fan of their AT. The new version does look better than the old one. But I’ve found them to be pretty poor on the road and rubbish off it. At least for U.K. terrain. Remember BFG is American and their AT’s are built for their terrain. Where undoubtedly they perform very well.

That said. If you like them, then go for it

If I was buying an AT I’d probably go for the Goodyear Wrangler Duratrac. But there is lots of choice out there. Make sure whatever you get has sipes. Will make a big difference to wet and snowy roads.

Whatever happened to the Goodyear Hi Miler?
Probably the best AT (military tread) tyre ever!

Oldseadog said:

Whatever happened to the Goodyear Hi Miler?
Probably the best AT (military tread) tyre ever!

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They are now made by deestone, but do not know what the quality is long term, a friend recently put a set on his series 1. Seem to be very good, but noisy on tarmac.

Many thanks for that. I had them on all of my Series Landies, but when I got my 110 I could no longer find them, so now I'll try and source a set online.
They were a lot quieter on tarmac than the more aggressive SAT's.

If you like the standard look, how about a set of Avon Rangemasters? They were standard fitment for donkeys years, and you should be able to get them for around £110 a corner fitted.

Oldseadog said:

They were a lot quieter on tarmac than the more aggressive SAT's.

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That is very true but they really do howl on the road. They almost drown out the other land rover noises!

Repoman said:

It rarely goes off road. (I know, don’t judge me..)

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If you do not go off road and only want an all terrain for the look of it in my opinion the range master does not fulfill this. It is a very good trye but it looks too mush like a car tyre to give the off road look. In which case the general grabbers will be better.
I have just fitted a set of BFG AT's on my 110 which is on black modulars but I managed to find old stock of the original design rather than the new pattern. The new ones had mixed reviews when I looked whereas the old style they were replacing had lasted me nearly 8 years and 120k miles (still had 4mm of tread and no cracking). I never had any problems with them on the road in the wet but I drive my land rover like a land rover not a lotus! There were good enough for the off roading and greenlaing I do. They are not great off road in the uk due to the mud but they are good enough and an MT is not so good on the road. They may be expensive initially but priced per mile they are quite good value.

Honestly the BFG MT rides as well or better on the road than the AT’s do. The MT moves about on the knobbles a bit. But actual noise and grip levels are no worse. Plus they look better and are much better off the road.

I think the MT even scores better on the official EU tyre ratings for noise and grip.

Thank you all for the informed advice. I am veering towards the black modular steels with BFG ATs. If they arrive balanced and ready to fit it saves hassle with getting mail order tyres fitted, and I effectively end up with a new set of wheels for about £150.

I definitely don't hoon the landy around corners - I have the MX5 and a 73 Alfa 2000 GTV for that ;-)

thanks - I will post a picture up at some point if I can find an alternative to photo-moneygrabbingscum-bucket..