Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

Hi all

I have a TD42 with the standard 265/70/R16 and I'm considering a change for the 285/75/R16 (AT or MT).

I'm aware of the cons but the only thing that really scares me is the loss of power and speed that, as you know, is not abundant on the TD42.

We have a lot of really bad roads up here in Angola, mainly gravel, really bad tar, loads of sand and a lot of river crossings with red mud everywhere. Nevertheless, I drive my Trol to work everyday and I also have to do a lot of tar.

Am I going to punish myself later for doing this or not?

I would greatly apreciate your feedback.

PMC

Shju - Bro - What a question... Sure you can go the 285 route - and sure you will lose TORQUE - but you gain in other areas.
Oompie thinks that if you inflate a bit more [to counter the roll resist] you will be pleasantly surprised -
What pressure do you currently keep in the 265's [average]? - I have seen 3,0 Diesel with 285's on and that owner had no complaints - except on pull away with his caravan on tow - and going very slow up a rock cliff .. but he adjusted his drive style and all was A- O K again.
But I am sure that this is one of those questions that will result in a many different views & opinions .. pick one

I got them on my 4.5 Patrol and does not feel any difference.

I went from 31"to 33" on my 1996 4.2, which is probably even more aneamic than your 4.2D. Unfortunately however the issue is clouded by the fact that I changed brand at the same time.

I certainly have more traction under all circumstances, andI beleive the off-road performance is better under all conditions, with one exception: In deep sandy tweespoor, there is much more resistance from the wider tires. This will affect you much less however as the 33's are very wide. I also beleive that the higher sidewall means that there is much less chance of damaging a tire on potholes. Larger tires are more comfortable on bad roads than smaller ones, but I beleive that tire construction is much more important than size.

Although I have other unique dynamics in my car's equasion, I am definately switching to 285's with my next tyre change. I already changed from 265 to 275 and my experience was only good. My guess is that it will work well for you.

Well, thank you very much Mr. 4.8...

Nevertheless, I do appreciate all your comments and I'm really inclined to go with the 285's. However, I still have a doubt regarding the tread of the new tyres.

If it was for the looks I'd go with the Muddies but I do have to drive over long streches of tar, gravel and sand so...

My wife will also kill me because of the noise.

I've heard a lot of good things about the new BFG's MT KM2 regarding noise levels. I should also say that we are very limited on the tyre options here in Angola. We mainly have BFG's, GY Wranglers, Continentals and the chinese stuff. Cooppers, Mickey Thompsons or Khumos are almost impossible to find.

I know this is an endless discussion but I would really appreciate your thoughts on the treads. AT's or MT's?

Thank you.

PMC
Luanda, Angola

Hello PMC

AT's last twice as long and they grip better on wet tar. However for shear grip off-road they can't be beaten. My feeling is that I would love to get an extra set of rims one day with muddies on, but for general use I have to stick to AT's. I think the manufacturer's guide WRT percentage of use on tar compared to off-road is probably a good guide as to what tires would be best, but could be skewed if you have to drive into remote muddy areas alone, where if you get stuck it will be difficult to get somebody to recover you?

Hi PMC,

I've got a set of 285/75/16 Muddies on and am very happy with them. The size is just right and there is no noticable loss of power or speed on the 3.0 From what I've read and experienced, the increase in road noise is negligable and the handling on tar is almost as good as ATs, although I've found them better in the wet than my previous ATs (Dueller 694s)

Peter Connan wrote:AT's last twice as long

Not so sure about that. Have a look at this thread on the Land Cruiser Club of Southern Africa forum:
96 320 kms on KM2s.

I believe the best type of all terrain tyre is actually something like the BFG MT T/A KM2. The KM2 is not really a very aggressive mud tyre (certainly not nearly like the Mickey Thompson MTZ or the swampers) and is not very noisy. I don't think it is unsafe in the wet either.

I know mr Cunha might have a problem sourcing them - but local in SA we can now lay hands on the Pro Comp Extreme A/T ... it behaves like an M/T with A/T roadholding = And they come with a 65000 km guarantee.
[Ask Willie at Wild Africa for more info on them]
Have a look at them at: http://www.procompusa.com/productlist.a ... tid=100809

But I see on the web that AMS are the distributors .. maybe they can supply in Luanda? [or high up in Nam, then you drive down, fit the new tyres, then drive back ??? mmmmm, just the OLD man dreaming up schemes..]

Oh - before I get ggro with you - WHERE are the pictures of yer Patrol ????