Best M/T tyres for alpine area?

[kzj90nz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kzj90nz]

Hi guys,

I'd like to know what mud terrain tyres would be good for running in an alpine area?

They will be used for ski fields, shingle roads, off-road trips incl river crossings etc.

The BFG KM2s are really expensive here so I'm looking at Yokohama Geolander M/Ts or GoodyearŽ Wrangler
Kevlar MTs.

Anyone have a preference - particularly in the area of dealing with snow & ice?

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

Hi again KZ.
To be honest mate, from my personal experience one LT construction mud terrain tyre is as good as another and I've used them almost exclusively on my car. $200 Summit Mudhogs I've used have been as good as expensive Goodyear Wrangler tyres. I'm currently running the new model Maxxis Bighorns which are a nice quiet tyre on road. No difference in off-road performance as the others though. The only difference is some have noisier road hum than others. But off-road they're all the same dude. There is nothing like the grip of a brand new set of muddies on a wet track. Just lower your tyre pressures for extra traction if needed. They're all siped these days to aid with wet bitumen driving and all have excellent on road manners. I'm not talking Super Swampers here, just normal mud terrain tyres.

I've been on a couple of off-road day trips with some of the SEQ Pradopoint gang in the past and they all ran all-terrain tyres with my car being the only one with muddies. The difference between the two when wet off-road traction is required is like lemons and cricket bats. We descended a steepish slippery wet muddy track on one trip and their cars had next to no traction and watching them slide down this track one after the other like bob sleds on ice with little control over where their cars went was scary to watch. I was nervous going down after 4 cars already had an awkward crack and even got a bit side on at a level hump halfway down but I had no reason to be because my car stuck to the slippery slope like glue and I had 80-90% control over it the entire time and it tracked straight all the way down and my car was the only one with steering on the way down too.

I've used brand new muddies at our infamous Glass House Mtns tracks in the wet a few times where there is a widespread forest growing out of orange clay. Traction with 18 psi was no issue on any of those trips. Half worn muddies on the other hand will slip and slide a bit as the lugs develop slightly rounded edges. So they're really only good in the wet for the first half of their life span.

But that's just from my experiences.

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

I've tried BFG KM2, Bighorns and MTZ's. I prefer the BFG's and MTZ's.

Snow/ice driving experience is limited here in Aus. I'd suggest looking at what people use in more snow/ice prone regions such as north Europe, Russia, America. Any tyres good for ice (ie winter tyres) would melt away very quickly on Aus roads.

Some experienced snow drivers recommend tyres such as Simex Extreme Trekkers. However no tyre can compare to snow chains, they are the ultimate... and that's what I use.

[Corigator Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Corigator]

Screwing in studs also aids in traction on ice.

[Guest Close Guest]

Snow tyres have very dense siping, whereas mud tyres is the opposite. A good AT + snow chains (fitted for icy roads) as mentioned above would be a good compromise for the occasional drive.

http://www.snowtyres.com.au/

[K & M McF Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close K & M McF]

National Parks and Wildlife Service in NSW in the snowfields always used BFG A/T.

[Corigator Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Corigator]

National Parks and Wildlife Service in NSW in the snowfields always used BFG A/T.

That may be because the govt is too tight to buy better ones

[kzj90nz Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close kzj90nz]

No doubt govt consultants would have been brought in to recommended the BFG A/Ts. You should see the gear our state trucks - BFGs would be something to brag about! Sounds like the BFGs be a good choice for the snowfields here too. Thanks guys!