I have been running 285/75r16 Cooper AT3's on my 80 since 2015 and have just begun replacing the wheels and tyres as the cooper's are now hard and worn and have done at least 100 k km's.
I now have four factory 16 x 8 steel wheels with 1 brand new iLink brand 285/75r16 tyre and three 7 year old (but basically zero wear) Hero Dynastorm of the same size. The Dynastorms were on my box trailer but fitted on Toyota factory rims and the iLink is on another matching factory rim I obtained last week. All the Coopers are fitted to aftermarket ROH rims but one is a different offset to the other four as I discovered quite by chance recently.
Anyway, there is a big contention of using cheap(er) brand tyres vs really expensive known brands.
The Dynastorms were a brand made by Federal but aren't made anymore. The iLink brand is Chinese. The Dynastorms have a lot of good reviews - shame they're NLA.
In 2015, five x cooper at3's cost about A$1800 fitted and balanced.
The iLink tyre I bought last week and cost A$250. The equivalent known brand tyres are pushing A$400 to $500 per tyre.
I know all the Cooper's are at end-of-life now and I have never been happy with them so won't get them again.
So here's the rub - the iLink tyre looks just as good as the expensive brand ones like Bridgstone's, BFG's, Coopers, etc. in the AT tyre segment.
I do mostly on-road driving now so could have opted for non-AT's but AT's have the best bang-for-buck overall durability for a heavy vehicle like a 2.5 tonne 4wd. I don't do hardcore 4wding any more so find it hard to justify (or even save up for) buying five big-brand AT tyres.
If I had unlimited funds I'd get a set of D697 Bridgestone's since they are what get fitted to all my work's vehicles (which get a lot of off-road use).
What are you views on lesser-brand tyres vs big name ones in the AT (not HT or MT) market segments?
I now have four factory 16 x 8 steel wheels with 1 brand new iLink brand 285/75r16 tyre and three 7 year old (but basically zero wear) Hero Dynastorm of the same size. The Dynastorms were on my box trailer but fitted on Toyota factory rims and the iLink is on another matching factory rim I obtained last week. All the Coopers are fitted to aftermarket ROH rims but one is a different offset to the other four as I discovered quite by chance recently.
Anyway, there is a big contention of using cheap(er) brand tyres vs really expensive known brands.
The Dynastorms were a brand made by Federal but aren't made anymore. The iLink brand is Chinese. The Dynastorms have a lot of good reviews - shame they're NLA.
In 2015, five x cooper at3's cost about A$1800 fitted and balanced.
The iLink tyre I bought last week and cost A$250. The equivalent known brand tyres are pushing A$400 to $500 per tyre.
I know all the Cooper's are at end-of-life now and I have never been happy with them so won't get them again.
So here's the rub - the iLink tyre looks just as good as the expensive brand ones like Bridgstone's, BFG's, Coopers, etc. in the AT tyre segment.
I do mostly on-road driving now so could have opted for non-AT's but AT's have the best bang-for-buck overall durability for a heavy vehicle like a 2.5 tonne 4wd. I don't do hardcore 4wding any more so find it hard to justify (or even save up for) buying five big-brand AT tyres.
If I had unlimited funds I'd get a set of D697 Bridgestone's since they are what get fitted to all my work's vehicles (which get a lot of off-road use).
What are you views on lesser-brand tyres vs big name ones in the AT (not HT or MT) market segments?