The AUSubaru.com.au Forums

Ok in recent years there has become many different brands / style of 27" Tyres.

1. What brands of tyre in the 27x8.5 R14LT do you run?

2. Why did you choose that brand / tyre?

3. How well has it worn? (How many Kms before replacement)

4. How tough is the tyre? (Good strong side wall etc)

5. How much did the tyre cost?

I'm just trying to get a general consensus of what people use.

1. What brands of tyre in the 27x8.5 R14LT do you run?
Maxxis MA-751

2. Why did you choose that brand / tyre?
Heard good reports about Maxxis - Originally wanted Kumho.

3. How well has it worn? (How many Kms before replacement)
Haven't had them that long - but have been told they wear well

4. How tough is the tyre? (Good strong side wall etc)
Haven't used it that much yet - survived some evil offroad work near Logan Village with Yarney and crew

5. How much did the tyre cost?
Can't remember - was pretty good though

1. Toyo Open Country

2. They were cheap / 2nd hand, though near new. Also recommended by good friend.

3. Dont know - prolly only done 5000kms on them

4. Ive ripped off some of the white writing in rutts etc

5. I paid ~$500 plus wheels and fitting (4 tyres and 2nd hand mind you)

I changed to the Nankangs from Dunlop Adventurers (26" size or 185R14's- bloody stiff and long wearing... around 50,000ks mainly on-road - bought for $145ea 4 years ago) and I've found the Nankangs are nowhere near as stiff in the wall in comparison and wear much faster - around 15,000k's I predict - for $115ea a year ago. However, while it took a little while to get the hang of the tyre walls 'giving' so much more, the grip is far better in the wet and they bag out beautifully offroad (at 20psi) to provide comfort as well as great grip. For the size and weight of the L-series, they are a great choice. I say that because they don't need a whole lot of weight to bag out properly, unlike some of the more heavy vehicle (ie. 2tonne+ weight 4x4's) brands available that are just too stiff - eg. the Dunlops encouraged you offroad with the thought that they were inpenetrable but they are infamous for being a poorly built carcass and aren't able to be balanced properly (say hello to wheel shimmy on-road.) With the 'bagging out' of the bigger Nankangs I found that the softer ride was great and, remarkably, they aren't showing signs of abuse having gone over lots of rocky fire-trails. At the same time, though, they reduce the ground clearance to about the same as the smaller Dunlops that used to be a little bit better with the low-range gearing.

Consider the terrain you intend going over. If offroad a lot then the Nankangs are a great buy for the money. If outback and/or long range travel then I'd go something stronger and longer lasting like the Toyo Open Countrys (double the price). Other than that, the Kumhos are apparently hellishly risky on wet tarmac so I'm not considering them myself - the problem there is too great a tyre void considering the weight of the car - not enough rubber in contact with the road in relation to the weight. If I was going off into mud more often than road then I'd definitely consider them. All that said, I'm looking forward to hearing from those who have tried other brands. Personally, I'm considering getting another batch of rims to put some road tyres on and keeping the all-terrains just for offroad trips so I'm not wearing them out for nothing than visual appeal (they do look great).

Sorry for the long-winded reply, I can't help it since I'm always considering more tyres myself. By the way... all the above mentioned tyres are still readily available.

1. What brands of tyre in the 27x8.5 R14LT do you run?
Nankang Super Trippers/Wild Conquerors (N829?)

2. Why did you choose that brand / tyre?
All the eastern states dudes seemed to have them, heard they were good on sand which i do alot of.

3. How well has it worn? (How many Kms before replacement)
pretty badly. really soft compound. admittedly there were a few skiddies done. lasted about a year, coz they are due now.

4. How tough is the tyre? (Good strong side wall etc)
soft firewall ive heard. havent had a puncture tho, not one i can mention anyways.

5. How much did the tyre cost?
good price $120ea maybe cant remember, they were the last set.

BFG AT is the only one I've run in that size. They are at the bigger end of the scale of 27 as I'm thinking BFG measure tyres on case, not tread.

Why, because I hate punctures, wanted a name brand AT and they fitted.

Very well. Was on the RX, then the RS, then back onto the RX, sold to subaman, then sold to someone else. So I never ran them until the death but I'd be annoyed if they didn't get over 60k

Good. One puncture from a screw at work.

>$150 but <$200. I can't remember. Was about 6 years ago now.


Only thing with them is they were understeery on the RX when it rained, and oversteery on the RS.

Spoke to Wayne @ Fourbys - They recommend the Kumho KL71. They had them fitted to a Hilux & took it to cruiser park every second weekend & trashed the hell out of the car & tyres. No punchers or side wall tears, 45,000Kms before replacement. So in Subaru Kms that about 25,000 to 32,000Kms Around the $180 ea fitted & balanced.


Hmmmmmm.........

Keep the comments coming!!!!!!

It's great to hear positive results from people who've tried the tyres out... However, a Hilux is significantly heavier than an L-series and Landbruiser park is seriously offroad stuff so horses for courses... what terrain?? On-road/off-road mix? There's no doubting that the KL71's are going to be excellent offroad, it's the reviews that I've seen about them that say forget it if you want to drive around on wet roads. With a heavier car you get more weight per square inch of tyre on the road... but our little things weigh nothing so the harder compounds of some tyres tend to make us skate on wet roads - you can't get good wet road handling and good tyre wear really... especially when we also want them to be inpenetrable offroad. Front wheel drive makes the difference bigger on the older part-time 4WD systems (If only they were RWD on-road). Geez, this is a great discussion I'm having all on my own isn't it.

Make sense to you, fellas?

Xtreme_RX wrote:Spoke to Wayne @ Fourbys - They recommend the Kumho KL71. They had them fitted to a Hilux & took it to cruiser park every second weekend & trashed the hell out of the car & tyres. No punchers or side wall tears, 45,000Kms before replacement. So in Subaru Kms that about 25,000 to 32,000Kms Around the $180 ea fitted & balanced.


Hmmmmmm.........

Keep the comments coming!!!!!!

They do look nice, but when they first came out a friend (who actually buys from fourbys) trialed a set. Two punctures doing exactly the same work as your just described. They were fitted to a 4runner. His words were, they seemed to work well, but the wear rate could be a problem if they are for a daily driver.
Are you looking for cape tyres ?

Yes I am looking for some tyres for the cape trip. But I don’t want to spend a million dollars on them.

If I did I would Buy SSL Swampers

Nankang aka Maxxis buckshots or Maxxis Bighorns (if they are available here). Anyone I know who has run bighorns though, has commented on their less than desireable wear rates. Buckshots seem to be alot better and would imho make a semi decent value touring tyre.

When I was shopping around for tyres earlier this year I definitely wanted to check out the Buckshots but after extensive phone calling BobJane T-marts (importers for Maxxis) and Maxxis head office I got the clear message that there isn't enough demand for the Buckshot in 27" size to warrant them importing them. So that was the end of that dream.

im runing kl71s havent had them long enough to see much wear but they surprised me offraod and dont get too skatey in the rain on road but running awd i probley wouldnt notice as much

paid 185 a tyre fitted

[quote="Xtreme_RX"]45,000Kms before replacement. So in Subaru Kms that about 25,000 to 32,000Kms Around the $180 ea fitted & balanced.QUOTE]



Why do you get less on a Subaru? I would have thought because Subarus are lighter than Hilux/Patrol/etc that they would last longer...

Probably because you can push them harder through corners and stuff that you do exactly that and it tears up your tyres. Oh and speed wears them out quicker too.
I have trouble getting more than 25,000kms out of any Subaru I've owned.

As the man above said......

what about 14" light truck tyres that you see on small trucks, some of them have an aggressive tread pattern.

in regards to the post above this one. I,m a tyre fitter at Kingaroy, and have been taking a great deal of notice at what the light truck range has to offer. the most appropriate size for most being 195R14 there are some teriffic tread paterns on these and they are ussualy inexpensive as mentioned earlier in the thread toyo open country, very strong, good A/T style tread patern, but on the pricey sde for a light truck tyre. the new kelly pattern, also a very strong tyre and rather aggressive zig zag pattern. there are also a great range of cheaper tyres in this catagorie. nexen good luggy pattern but still sutle enought for the road. Triangles are an agressive zig zag but could probably be opened up i little with a groover for the stickier stuff although its now hard to find a 14" "4WD" tyre ther are still plenty of good reliable options

bump, id like to see some more brands up here. if theres any more

Just to drag this post back up.....

I will need new tyres soon...

I was looking at:

1. KL71 - http://www.offroaders.com/tech/AT-MT-Ti ... T-KL71.htm

2. MT 834 - http://www.offroaders.com/tech/AT-MT-Ti ... MT-834.htm

3.Maxxis Buckshot Mudder - http://www.offroaders.com/tech/AT-MT-Ti ... Mudder.htm


What do people think / recommend...