[RedBasil]

Hi all. I have been loitering around this website for a few years now. I have found it to be a great source of information. So thank you to everyone that offers up their advice. This is in fact why I am writing in for the first time. For some advice.

Here's my situation:

I live in Australia on a small aboriginal community in the Northern Territory. I drive to town (about 140 miles each way) 6-8 times each year. This road is paved. The rest of my driving (in search of barra) is done on gravel/dirt/sand roads that turn to soup in the wet season or out on the surrounding cattle stations where you often create your own roads.

I own a 1991 80 Series Landcruiser with a Factory Turbo Diesel. It currnetly has 31/10.5/15 BFG AT which are nearing the end of their lives. I was going to replace them with 33/12.5/15 Mickey Thompson MTZ. Due to the original rims being 15x7, I will need to replace them as well if I increase the tyre width. After speaking to the local dealer that was going to fit them, I came away with too many options and not enough information to make a decision.

This is where I hope the good people here on IH8MUD come in.

My original thought was to get the 33/12.5/15 M.T. MTZ and fit them to a set of 15x8 steel rims. The local dealer suggested going up to a 16x8 rim because the 285/75R16 (33" equiv.) has 2 more plys. This made sense to me but the 16" rims are about $50 more per rim. Unfortunately, this is where my wife enters the picture. I had convinced her that it would be good to have a bigger and more aggressive tyre out here. But with the extra cost and the fact that we will probably only be here another 16 months, she thought it would be better just to save the money and get another set of stock size BFG AT. This makes sense too but certainly isn't much fun. I have been dying to get some bigger tyres on the vehicle ever since we got the OME suspension. The 31"s look too small.

My friend, who is a local and a bit of a Landcruiser junky, added another option when he suggested making the new tyres really big and aggressive and keeping the current tyres and rims for those trips to town. He suggested something like the Mickey Thompson Baja Radial Claw in a 35". I like the sound of that. He has 35" muddies on his 60 Series and it looks great.

So here are my options:

1) save $ and get another set of 31/10.5/15 (BORING!!!)

2) get a slightly bigger and more aggressive tyre (like the MTZ) but on a 15" rim

3) same as above but on a 16" rim (two more plys each tyre, $50 more each rim)

4) get something like a 35" Baja Claw and keep the current tyres for the trips to town

There are many other options but it starts getting too confusing if I list them all. For myself anyway. My questions would be these:

- What are the benefits of a 15" rim or a 16" rim?

- Is an 8 ply tyre that much better than a 6 ply tyre?

- If I am not going to regear, would the traction gained from a 35" tyre be cancelled out by the loss of power due to the bigger/heavier tyre?

- Those that know Mickey Thompson tyres...would the Baja Claw be a better choice than the MTZ for out here?

- Do I need to worry about stripping the studs by changing tyres 6 to 8 times in a year? (purchase a torque wrench?)

I hope I have included enough information for a few people to give me some advice/opinions. I also hope that I haven't rambled on so much that everyone stopped reading half way through my write up.

I appreciate any advice people can give me. And I expect a bit of abuse, being a "newbie" and all.