[IanH]

Am new here, with a recently acquired s/h 140 000km Gen 4 3.2DiD LWB A/T with traction control. The previous owner only ever used it as a daily runner, so it's fitted with 265/65/17 Bridgestone Dueler HT's. The fronts are worn and are barely legal, the rears are almost new, and the spare I'd guess has about one third life left.

I'm off to the Kgalagadi in 5 days time, with a friend who also has a Pajero, a Gen 3 on 16" Dueler AT's (so can't share wheels). I definitely need new fronts, and have made the decision to switch to AT's all round, (rather than my original idea of putting 2 new HT's on the front for road use, and having a 2nd set of rims with AT's for the overlanding/long-weekend trips).

I've read the "Wow, confusing" thread, and my needs differ slightly from 'mic_zw', in that he wants a tyre on the "more aggressive side" of the AT spectrum, and I'm probably looking at the more conservative side (living in the Cape, performance on wet tar is important to me). My intended future use (thanks andrew.ashton ) probably falls into the 80/20 split bracket similar to andrew, namely to be used as a daily runaround on tar 80% of the time, with 1 or 2 long trips and a handful of long weekend trips per year making up the other 20%.

After perusing all the tyre comments on this forum (thanks Dave), and speaking or emailing with a number of Hankook users (thanks Simon), I had sort of made up my mind to get the Hankook Dynapro FR10's, which I was able to find close to home (Palm Tyres, Maitland) at R2050 per tyre, fitted and balanced (TW&T is R2495). However, I have just found out that I can also get B Dueler 265/65/17's from Tyremart for exactly the same price, and Pirelli Scorpions from the same place (Palm) for R100 per tyre less. So now I'm thinking again . Dynapro or Duelers or Scorpions, or other? Comments and opinions will be appreciated.

I was originally looking for 6 AT tyres, so that I can take 2 spares (still need to find an extra 17" rim), but a seemingly 4x4 knowledgeable gent at one of the tyre shops I spoke to suggested that I only buy 4 new AT tyres, and take my current 'almost-new' rear Dueler HT's along as the 2 spares. His reasoning was that 1000's of farm bakkies run on HT's, and that I would fit the HT spare when absolutely necessary, fix the AT at earliest safe opportunity (I have the repair kit), and put the repaired AT back on. His solution would save me R4k! Does this make sense?

Finally, during my phoning or trawling around the tyre shops, a number of 'salesman' have suggested that I upgrade to 265/70/17's (especially on the Cooper AT3's for R3100 at Tyremart). However, I have seen a number of comments on the internet and this forum warning against doing that with the auto box, as it could result in the box hunting, which makes me think I should just stay with the standard size. Views and comments on that will also be appreciated.

This decision has to be made by Monday morning, so that I can get the new AT shoes fitted before the vehicle goes in on Monday afternoon to have it's new OME (medium) suspension kit fitted on Tuesday (still original standard shocks at 140 000 km, so I chose to change now rather than risk a failure on the trip) . I believe this will give about a 40mm lift, which could influence the opinions on going for the 70 profile over the standard 65 profile, or not.

Enjoy the good weather weekend everybody.

Ian.

[nbosman]

I would go with the Kooks, brilliant tyre with excellent wet road performance.My 3rd set on Pajero
I'd advice against going bigger tyre size as it could potentially have a detrimental effect on the torque converter. Very technical but the TC will go into lock-up less frequently with the bigger tyres resulting in overheating and potential failure of the TC.
Why would replacement shocks give lift? Ride height is determined by the springs and not the shocks.
Replace the shocks if they are suspect for safety reasons, especially if you plan a load and fit riderite airsuspension, quick and easy if you have half an ounce of DIY skills.

[IanH]

Thanks a lot for your input. Much appreciated.

Your recommendation to go with the Kooks pretty much confirms my initial feelings, as I had already decided to go with them. It was just that when I enquired about the Kooks price, I was also offered the Pirellis at R100 less, which put that little bit of uncertainty in my mind. Not knowing whether that was a good deal or not, or even whether the Scorpions were a tyre I should be looking at, I chose to put it to the forum.

You have also confirmed my thoughts on the size issue. I don't want to mess the auto box around, so I'm going to stay standard.

Re the 'lift', I'm fitting the full OME kit (medium), so that includes both shocks and springs, which I am told will give me about 40mm lift. I wanted Stofpad bashplates before this trip, to look after the intercooler and auto box sump, but they are sadly out of stock for my model due to the recent metal industry strike, so I'm hoping the little bit of extra lift will suffice for this trip.

Thanks too for the tip on the Riderite. As I do plan to carry quite a load for the 3 week trip, I'll definitely be looking in to it.

Regards,
Ian.

[Lock]

The 70's are also much harder to find, especially in a small dorpie miles from anywhere. Got stuck in a nowhere town in Namibia once and they offered to have 70's there in 3 days time. If the delivery vehicle made it of course... Most small dealers do however seem to stock the 65's

[IanH]

That's a good point Lock. Thanks.

[KurtG]

Kgalagadi is not going to bother your intercooler in the slightest, it's basically just gravel roads and even the eco trails are just mild to easy jeep tracks. And besides, it's only sand so the OEM plates will be fine. The bashplates are great if you do rocky trails though


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[KurtG]

Oh, and why did you go for OME? Tough dog or EFS is much cheaper and as good, if not better on the Pajero. Do some reading on the Aussie forums and you will see..... My 2cw


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[IanH]

Hi gerbek1

Thanks for that. It makes me feel a lot better now about going without the bashplates.

It's my first trip to Kgalagadi, but my friends' third. We are booked to do the 4x4 routes that link the main gravel roads, and I believe those 4x4 routes are quite sandy, hence my wish for bashplates. This being my first trip, I was going on the idea of rather being prepared for anything rather than being caught short. So I have pretty much been copying what my friend has on his Pajero, and he has bashplates.

Re the OME, I did the research and did come across those Aussie tests, especially the one where the Tough Dog came out tops. So I approached the Tough Dog agents for a quote. SC also gave me a quote on both EFS and OME, with the OME being only R3000 more than the EFS.

In the end I am led to believe that while they are all good, OME tends to give a softer ride when the vehicle is used unladen (driver only) on the road, which is how my vehicle will spend more than half of it's life.

Thanks for the tips though. Much appreciated. Right now it's a done deal however, as my Paj goes in tomorrow morning to have the OME fitted, at the 'old' price (there was a price increase on the 1st Aug, which none of the dealers warned me about), which makes it only R1000 more than the EFS quote I received from SC.

[IanH]

Hi again gerbek1

Further to the above, after taking more time to mull over your question. I completely understand why you asked the question regarding the OME. I thought the same way, after having done a bit of digging on the web. Everyone mentions the "OME is about 30% to 40% more expensive than EFS" issue. I also read that Aussie test, and contacted the Cape Town number for Tough Dog (R&D). It all came down to what I was recommended, and price, as follows:

R&D. I asked for a Price on Tough Dog. They questioned me on how I intended to use the vehicle. I said 80% tar (of which 75% will be one-up) and 20% off-road. They said in that case they would rather recommend OME, as it offers a softer ride when empty, whereas the Tough Dog is still quite firm when empty. Quoted R17653 for OME. Called me on 4th Aug to say OME prices went up by 8% on 1st Aug, and quote now revised to R19065, as they would need to order it.

SC. Quoted R14500 for EFS, and R17654 for OME. Suggested that with it being 'only' R3000 more, they would recommend the OME. Would need to order it in.

4x4MW. I believe they might be the Cape Town agents for OME. Had the required components for my model in stock, on the premises, except for the one set of coils ex JHB. Quoted R15250 complete (same part numbers as all the others). When I called back to place my order and ask them to get the missing coils from JHB, I was told that my enquiry had alerted them that the kit they had on hand was not complete, so they had gone ahead and ordered it anyway, for their stock. It would be in CPT the next day, price unchanged. I placed my order.

So, after being told by the supposed Tough Dog agent that OME would better suit my needs due to the supposed softer empty ride, and then being told by SC that an 'only' R3k difference would warrant going for OME, when I was then able to source OME at only R1000 more than the EFS quote I had received, I went for OME

[KurtG]

Oh well, you've done your homework and I'm sure there is nothing wrong with OME at all as they are very big sellers. I hope it all works out for you so please report back how the ride changes with the OME. Btw - I am getting the EFS in two weeks time (I got a price I couldn't say no to ) so let's see. Enjoy Kgalagadi, it's a very special place.


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