Tyres & Springs

[Nick V]

Should be picking up my Surf within the next couple of days, but a couple of questions first.

I have read all of the previous posts on tyres and springs -tons of info there - but I just want to know the general thought on two things.

1) There seems to be an opinion that a number of the cheaper makes of tyre, i.e. Colway (I have no problems with remoulds), Kuhmo, are good tyres, and that most people are saying that the mud tyre seems to be preferrable than the all terrain for general use as they seem to be better on the road. Is this the case?

2) If I decide to change the springs/shocks as a matter of course to eliminate any chance of sag before it starts (I will be towing a car trailer with a light race car), would it be best to replace everything with standard stuff or would it be best to go with a spring lift, maybe 2" at most from the start?

Your thoughts and opinions would be much appreciated,

Cheers, Nick

[rusty]

Should be picking up my Surf within the next couple of days, but a couple of questions first.

I have read all of the previous posts on tyres and springs -tons of info there - but I just want to know the general thought on two things.

1) There seems to be an opinion that a number of the cheaper makes of tyre, i.e. Colway (I have no problems with remoulds), Kuhmo, are good tyres, and that most people are saying that the mud tyre seems to be preferrable than the all terrain for general use as they seem to be better on the road. Is this the case?

What are predominantly using your truck for?? - if you are hardly ever going to go off road then there is no point buying an M/T tyre - you would be better buying a road tyre which is say biased 80/20 (Road/Off-Road) - As for makes it really depends on your budget - BF Goodrich have a very good reputation as a long life tyre (I run BFG A/T on my 4runner. For example a mate of mine has just changed his BFG A/T's after 47,000 miles and I have been told by various people that this is about normal) You have to look at the cost implication and decide whether you can afford to buy top end tyres - BFG A/T's retail around £100 each (and at some dealers that doesn't include fitting & balancing) - if you go to a specialist 4x4 tyre company they will possibly do a deal. The down side to the whole thing is there is only 1 importer of BFG tyres in this country and therefore the price to the dealer is not very flexible. There are cheaper tyres on the market and if you do a search on the forum you will find links to other sites which will give you independant advice and info regarding various makes and types.

2) If I decide to change the springs/shocks as a matter of course to eliminate any chance of sag before it starts (I will be towing a car trailer with a light race car), would it be best to replace everything with standard stuff or would it be best to go with a spring lift, maybe 2" at most from the start?

Try loading it or towing with it first then if your truck doesn't handle properly or is sagging then change the springs - you'll have to check to see if you have got adjustable shocks (there will be a switch in the cab to change from Normal to Hard) play with what you've got until you decide that it is not sufficient otherwise you could be shelling out £250 for no good reason.

Your thoughts and opinions would be much appreciated,

Cheers, Nick

Hope this all helps
Good luck

[Nick V]

Cheers for the reply Rusty.

I am going to use it on road and off so at least 50/50. It was that a lot of posts have been biased towards a M/T and the comments have said that they seem to stick to the road better.

Cheers, Nick

[rusty]

Cheers for the reply Rusty.

I am going to use it on road and off so at least 50/50. It was that a lot of posts have been biased towards a M/T and the comments have said that they seem to stick to the road better.

Cheers, Nick

Just remember that it is an 2 tonne, non-aerodynamic bungalow you're going to be driving and weight is a deciding factor in most things. I can't comment for the M/T's but my 'runner still breaks away no matter what tyres I'm using. If you drive like a t**t (no offence intended! ) it ain't going to stick to the road like glue!!!
There are personal opinions regarding tyres and you will have to decide what you want

[Koi]

I had BFG AT's on mine then swapped over to BFG MT's as I wanted a better tyre for off road as well.
All I can comment on is for some strange reason the MT's stick better in the wet than the AT's did, this goes against the grain as they are more biased (70/30) off road, on road than the AT's with a 50/50 bias.
I drive it just the same now on MT's as I did on AT's.

[Nick V]

Cheers again for the replies chaps. The tyres on there are BFG's (A/T I think and have good tread on them), but they are the ones that they were obviously on there from the land of the rising sun.

Do I need to change them straight away, or will those be o.k. to carry on using? (Not sure if there is any differences in tyre due to climate etc).

Cheers, Nick

[Koi]

Cheers again for the replies chaps. The tyres on there are BFG's (A/T I think and have good tread on them), but they are the ones that they were obviously on there from the land of the rising sun.

Do I need to change them straight away, or will those be o.k. to carry on using? (Not sure if there is any differences in tyre due to climate etc).

Cheers, Nick

Would check them out as they may have stood for some time, walls cracked, out of shape lots of wheel wobble etc.
Personally I would replace them, I know its an expense but they are your lifeline and a blow out at any speed could be more costly.

[FlySurfer - Edy.]

yip iidnt do mine and last night in the rain and cold a tyre wall went.
no damge no accident just went.... i am looking for some MT / AT's near liverpool ?

[da SLUG man]

a blow out at any speed could be more costly.

i can confirm that a blow out is not only expensive... (recovery from hard shoulder, new wheel, new tyre, new wheel arch, new repeater, clean rubber from paintwork, lost days work)... but it's also very scary!!...(swerve from inside to outside lane before recovering and managing to steer back to the shoulder! not as easy as it sounds when the wheel rim's disintegrated!...

all in all, there were brown pants all round for co pilot and I !!


(oh, and you've gotta panic till the police get there, cos everyone's swerving round your tyre in the fast lane of the M40 half a mile behind!)

[mart 870]

You can find out when the tyre was made by looking on the sidewall, all tyres (except remoulds) have a "DOT" number moulded on the sidewall and is made up of either a 3 or 4 figure number.

For example 235 on the tyre means it was made in week 23 in 1995 and a tyre with 4502 would be week 45 in 2002. Tyres made in the 80`s (very doubtfull you`ll see one!) would also be 235 for example but like i said there isnt much chance you see any of those.

The biggest problem with Jap import vehicles that they often have been stood for a long time which gives the carcass of the tyre a hard time having the weight of the vehicle on the same bit for ages, perishing and cracks can also occur because of tyres beening stood so its worth giving the tyres a really good look over before you thrash your new pride and joy down the motorway.

Sorry to babble on (i`m a tyre fitter by trade!) but hopefully i`ve been some help.

Cheers

Mart 870

[Linda]

i`m a tyre fitter by trade

Mart 870

Does that mean you can get discounts on tyres for us lovely fellow surfers.......

[marky]

another point is standard rims seem to be in very new condition so the owner may have put the original wheels back on

[mart 870]

Unfortuanatly not, I normally get mine through web based mail order firms and fit them myself, Sorry, worth a try though!

Cheers

Mart 870