There is nothing more controversial in the land of
4wheeling than a man's choice of tyre. Once purchased, and often fueled by the high price paid for these black doughnuts, any red blooded 4wheeler will defend his purchase in a verbal battle not often seen outside
the walls of parliament.Driver's tyre preferences, based on the vehicle they drive and the conditions they drive them in, vary greatly, as does the choice of tyres available. There are road bias, all terrain,
mud terrain, or the new category that could only be described as "jungle terrain". Each has its own niche market.
For the purposes of this discussion, I want to focus on one type of tyre – the mud terrain.
The universally accepted standard of old, against which all other tyres are judged would have to be the BFG Mud Terrain and the Firestone SAT. Both of these tyres have been around for a long time and everyone is
well versed in the stories of their prowess. For some, there is no substitute.
When I first started out 4wheeling I too had a set of SAT's, mainly because that was what was on the truck when I purchased
it. When I set about looking for a replacement, I wanted a tyre that performed well both on and off-road, but I also wanted a tyre that was cost effective. For me, at the time, that choice
proved to be a set of Hankook RT01's. These have a similar tread pattern as the BFG, but were 40% cheaper!
So here is my question – when looking to purchase a new set of mud terrain tyres (not
including the new jungle type tyres which would include the "super swampers") what is the most cost effective purchase?
When contemplating what you get for your hard earnt dollar, there are four main
factors to consider:
1. Tyre performance on and off road
2. Tyre life (a measure of its wear rate)
3. New tyre price
4. The trade in value of your old tyre
Tyre performance and tyre life are two variables that are very difficult to quantify. Different vehicles, driven by different drivers in different conditions will always return different results. It is
however, safe to say that the gap between the have's and the have-nots in the tyre performance stakes has closed up to a very small margin. Driver ability (as always) has a far greater bearing on how far a vehicle
will go in any given situation.
There is one universal factor though – once a mud terrain tyre is 30-50% worn, its performance off road diminishes rapidly, regardless of brand or tread pattern.
So on to the new tyre
price. Tyre pricing varies far more than tyre performance, and you are often paying dearly for a brand name.
For example, looking at 31x10.5x15" approx. list pricing:
BFG Mud Terrain $355.00
Hankook RT01 $233.00
That's a price difference of $122.00 per tyre, or $488.00 a set. In any ones language, that's a lot of money! So what is the trade in value of your old tyre? Well, provided
the tyre is no more than 50% worn and you deal with a good tyre company, you will probably get $100.00 each for them. Any more than 50% worn and their value drops rapidly. Oh, and I should mention that the trade
in value is very rarely effected by the tyre brand. See any patterns developing?
So here is my point – if you prefer to purchase your tyres new, hunt out the good deals and pay no more than $215.00 to $230.00
per tyre. Run the tyre until it is 30-50% worn, which means that you have consumed the best part of the tyre's performance, and then trade up to another new set. Your next set of tyres would then be costing
you as little as $115.00 to $130.00 per tyre.
If you follow this pattern you will maximise your off-road performance, as your tyres will always be in top condition, and you will minimise your expense. You could
save as much as $350.00 on your next set of tyres if you are currently buying BFG's and running them full life!
(Note: These calculations have been done using new tyre list prices and approx. trade-in prices
from Drury Tires, corner Firth St and Gt South Road, Drury, Auckland. Phone 09 294 8139 and ask for Anthony.)
