KZJ78 widebody Restoration - Update

[Ojey]

In my attempt to restore my beloved 70 series Prado i posted earlier KZJ78 widebody Restoration build
Am finally done with the stripe down, re spray and am now refitting. I went with gun metal grey with a touch of black next stage is interior were am going custom leather trims black on grey.

Am going to need help choosing tyres though, here in Uganda we have 3 main brands BF Goodrich, Yokohama and GT Savero not forgetting the Chinese Linglongs, I recently come across a brand called NITTO that i could easily source from Dubai i loved the look. My land cruiser is on 285/75 r16 i need advice on a good breed of all terrains with as little road noise as possible but with some nice grippy treads driving around in Africa does not allow you to plan one minute your on mud terrain next is kilometers of nice tarmac. Please advice on what you have found suitable for all terrain with not so much road noise in your driving experience. Thank You

 

[renago]

nice metal grey color .
I personally would not make the hood with the grimy paint .
difficult to get clean , and you really don't need to protect the front hood.
if it is for avoiding the glare , use a matt clear paint instead .
ref tyres
I would go Yokohama , AT , had a set on my 78 , they are great on dry ,wet ,gravel , long distance run aprox 70 K km done with them .
very pleasant to drive on tarmac .
can't tell you about them on mud , because I never had the chance .
avoid BFG AT , bad ageing , and very slippery on mud and wet .

bye Renato

 

[roscoFJ73]

I have cooper discoverys and Im happy with them. But I dont have mud here, only sand or gravel. As quiet as car tyres on the highway.

 

[Ojey]

nice metal grey color .
I personally would not make the hood with the grimy paint .
difficult to get clean , and you really don't need to protect the front hood.
if it is for avoiding the glare , use a matt clear paint instead .
ref tyres
I would go Yokohama , AT , had a set on my 78 , they are great on dry ,wet ,gravel , long distance run aprox 70 K km done with them .
very pleasant to drive on tarmac .
can't tell you about them on mud , because I never had the chance .
avoid BFG AT , bad ageing , and very slippery on mud and wet .

bye Renato

I went with rhino lining on the hood for apart from glare also stone chip protection, am going to use the Prado for some serious game drives and some times if not most times we drive in packs and you always have the trucks in front of you throwing gravel at you our dirt road are mostly murum and lose surface. Also driving straight at tall elephant grass is most likely going to put cuts in the paint job. So i put it on the fenders and the skirt the bottom of the car am also planning on have all my bull bars and rock sliders rhino coated in black.

Thanks for the tyre advice

 

[Ojey]

I have cooper discoverys and Im happy with them. But I dont have mud here, only sand or gravel. As quiet as car tyres on the highway.

We do not have these here. Thanks for advice

 

[FJBen]

Mud and All-terrains don't mix. "MOST" all terrains are terrible in the mud. They will get completely covered and are worthless.

Here are my BFG all terrains. I went to turn around in a ditch, that wasn't steep but soft from rain. Got buried all 4 wheels 6" plus, 4wd and 2 lockers couldn't get me out. Our dirt roads cause them to slip all over as well. BFG mud terrains would be better, but I'm not a fan of BFG mud terrains either. This was after I pulled myself out with another vehicle. All 4 tires looked like that or worse.

Here is what I plan on putting on my cruiser:
Yokohama Geolander M/T G003, I've been hearing lots of good reviews on these tires.

 

[Ojey]

Mud and All-terrains don't mix. "MOST" all terrains are terrible in the mud. They will get completely covered and are worthless.

Here are my BFG all terrains. I went to turn around in a ditch, that wasn't steep but soft from rain. Got buried all 4 wheels 6" plus, 4wd and 2 lockers couldn't get me out. Our dirt roads cause them to slip all over as well. BFG mud terrains would be better, but I'm not a fan of BFG mud terrains either. This was after I pulled myself out with another vehicle. All 4 tires looked like that or worse.

Here is what I plan on putting on my cruiser:
Yokohama Geolander M/T G003, I've been hearing lots of good reviews on these tires.

That is the issue Mud terrains are terrible on tarmac and make a hell lot of noise, why i want all terrains is they cover most of the surfaces i will be daily driving on its only on a few rainy day situations that i will need a bit of grip get out of some places... some of our murum roads literally turn into a pile of mud when it rains on them. so i reckon a bit of treads and lockers would do.

 

[FJBen]

That is the issue Mud terrains are terrible on tarmac and make a hell lot of noise, why i want all terrains is they cover most of the surfaces i will be daily driving on its only on a few rainy day situations that i will need a bit of grip get out of some places... some of our murum roads literally turn into a pile of mud when it rains on them. so i reckon a bit of treads and lockers would do.

I can tell you dual lockers did nothing for me with slick tires other than dig deeper. It was embarrassing looking at my dual locked 70 series decked out rig stuck on flat ground with not much mud. I've had plenty of mud terrains before and I don't think they have been that noisy or driven terrible on tarmac. Reviews for the Yokohama show it being pretty quiet for a mud terrain. If you are only in mud every so often, then you will probably be ok. if it's fairly common to be in mud even for short amounts, I would go a mud terrain.

 

[Ojey]

I can tell you dual lockers did nothing for me with slick tires other than dig deeper. It was embarrassing looking at my dual locked 70 series decked out rig stuck on flat ground with not much mud. I've had plenty of mud terrains before and I don't think they have been that noisy or driven terrible on tarmac. Reviews for the Yokohama show it being pretty quiet for a mud terrain. If you are only in mud every so often, then you will probably be ok. if it's fairly common to be in mud even for short amounts, I would go a mud terrain.

My understanding is mud terrains wear out really quickly. Mostly when driven on tarmac more often than in mud or dirt roads

 

[FJBen]

My understanding is mud terrains wear out really quickly. Mostly when driven on tarmac more often than in mud or dirt roads

Some wear quicker than others. There is a balance in tires that you have to decide whats more important to you. Some really grippy, soft great traction M/T and rock tires wear VERY quickly, but grip like crazy. Some M/T's can wear pretty good, the old BFG Mud Terrains always lasted a long time, but maybe weren't as grippy. It all comes down to what you need the tire to do.

How many miles a year are you talking? "Most" people with a good tire rotation can get 40-50 thousand usable miles. With a 5 tire rotation you might be able to stretch that more. The more they wear, the louder they get.

75% road 25% off-road - probably be fine with All terrain
50/50 or greater off road mud - Mud terrain

I think you need to ask how much time will you be in slick mud off-road, and how important is it in that time that I have good traction? Is it a big deal to get stuck or maybe need a tow or help? Or is it not a viable option to get stuck and have the best chance to get through?

 

[Ojey]

Some wear quicker than others. There is a balance in tires that you have to decide whats more important to you. Some really grippy, soft great traction M/T and rock tires wear VERY quickly, but grip like crazy. Some M/T's can wear pretty good, the old BFG Mud Terrains always lasted a long time, but maybe weren't as grippy. It all comes down to what you need the tire to do.

How many miles a year are you talking? "Most" people with a good tire rotation can get 40-50 thousand usable miles. With a 5 tire rotation you might be able to stretch that more. The more they wear, the louder they get.

75% road 25% off-road - probably be fine with All terrain
50/50 or greater off road mud - Mud terrain

I think you need to ask how much time will you be in slick mud off-road, and how important is it in that time that I have good traction? Is it a big deal to get stuck or maybe need a tow or help? Or is it not a viable option to get stuck and have the best chance to get through?

Thank you so much, am probably going tobe doing 75% road, 25% off-road may be even more road could clock 85% road, A local tire dealer yesterday was telling me GT Saveros are the best value for money wise, they are cheaper than Kumho or Yokohamas but offer nearly the some run time of about 70k kms and are just as grippy with little road noise, he also had some tires i have never heard of called Sumitomo ENCOUNTER AT that he talked very highly of apparently its also just as good as Kumho or Yokohamas just slightly more expensive than GT Saveros.

 

[renago]

Those brand tires are not distributed in Europe .
Can't give any comment if good or bad .
Generally they are Chinese or Indian manufactured .
Nothing bad about it .
Just that some brands have developed a high grade rubber mix , against others .
You see the difference in many ways :
On wet surface
On ageing
On balance of the tire
On performance in critical condition, under heavy load ,wet , slippery ground .
The difference in price from a good and mediocre tire over 50-70.000 km is nothing .
Go for a good tire .
You could save the care from crashes , and people injure as well .
Just my experience and 2 cents .

 

[FJBen]

Thank you so much, am probably going tobe doing 75% road, 25% off-road may be even more road could clock 85% road, A local tire dealer yesterday was telling me GT Saveros are the best value for money wise, they are cheaper than Kumho or Yokohamas but offer nearly the some run time of about 70k kms and are just as grippy with little road noise, he also had some tires i have never heard of called Sumitomo ENCOUNTER AT that he talked very highly of apparently its also just as good as Kumho or Yokohamas just slightly more expensive than GT Saveros.

View attachment 1989979

WAY TOO LONG OF ANSWER WARNING
I've heard of sumitomo before, but I don't have any experience with them. I agree if you are doing almost all highway, you don't really want the noise of an MT and want the miles that AT's provide.

I'm always a little leary of tire places or salespeople saying other brands are just as good as brand xyz in all aspects and cheaper. Sometimes it's true, but a lot of the times it's not. I'm not sure what the price difference is on the tires and if thats a considerations or not, but here's what I found in the US which may have NO impact on your tire price.

285/75r16:
BFG All Terrain KO2 $207.99
GT Adventrura AT3 $132.97
Sumitomo Encounter $138
Kuhmo Road Venture $183
Yokohama Geo AT $182

So the question is the BFG KO2 really $75 a tire better than the GT? $300 a set better? Lets find out.

So we say BOTH tires will last 40,000 miles (just to get a starting point here)

The BFGs at US dollar $836 a set will cost you .020 or 2 cents a mile
The GT at US dollar $528 a set will cost you .013 or 1.3 cents a mile

Difference of .007 cents a mile which isn't very much of a difference over 40,000 miles as @renago was alluding to.

BUT.... if the BFG outlasts the GT by 10,000 miles, your cost on the BFG's is now .016 which is only .003 of a difference.
Thats .003 of a cent difference in the most expensive and probably most reviewed and proven tire on your list, over the cheapest priced tire which we aren't sure of and can't find a lot of the information or track record of the GT. Well rotated BFG KO2's will last 50,000+ miles without issue. I personally retired a set with over 50,000miles and tread left because of age.

I'm not telling you to get the BFG's, I'm just saying sometimes the "cheaper" tire isn't alway cheaper at all and over the life of the tire could cost you more. Thats just talking money. Performance, ride, quality, balancing, noise are all other things to consider. You could get a cheaper tire that wears quicker, bad performing off-road, noisy and easier to puncture/flat that will cost you WAAAY more than the BFG. The inverse could be true as well, but the Brand names usually have a good track record.

Personally I go for the brands with known quality and pay a little more up front. In your case of what you have I would lean towards the BFG's on your list as thats the ones I have the most experience with.

 

[Ojey]

WAY TOO LONG OF ANSWER WARNING
I've heard of sumitomo before, but I don't have any experience with them. I agree if you are doing almost all highway, you don't really want the noise of an MT and want the miles that AT's provide.

I'm always a little leary of tire places or salespeople saying other brands are just as good as brand xyz in all aspects and cheaper. Sometimes it's true, but a lot of the times it's not. I'm not sure what the price difference is on the tires and if thats a considerations or not, but here's what I found in the US which may have NO impact on your tire price.

285/75r16:
BFG All Terrain KO2 $207.99
GT Adventrura AT3 $132.97
Sumitomo Encounter $138
Kuhmo Road Venture $183
Yokohama Geo AT $182

So the question is the BFG KO2 really $75 a tire better than the GT? $300 a set better? Lets find out.

So we say BOTH tires will last 40,000 miles (just to get a starting point here)

The BFGs at US dollar $836 a set will cost you .020 or 2 cents a mile
The GT at US dollar $528 a set will cost you .013 or 1.3 cents a mile

Difference of .007 cents a mile which isn't very much of a difference over 40,000 miles as @renago was alluding to.

BUT.... if the BFG outlasts the GT by 10,000 miles, your cost on the BFG's is now .016 which is only .003 of a difference.
Thats .003 of a cent difference in the most expensive and probably most reviewed and proven tire on your list, over the cheapest priced tire which we aren't sure of and can't find a lot of the information or track record of the GT. Well rotated BFG KO2's will last 50,000+ miles without issue. I personally retired a set with over 50,000miles and tread left because of age.

I'm not telling you to get the BFG's, I'm just saying sometimes the "cheaper" tire isn't alway cheaper at all and over the life of the tire This just gave me a whole lot to think of let me hit the shops tomorrow again and do a price comparison as well as some maths... Thanks

 

[roscoFJ73]

We do not have these here. Thanks for advice

Well what do you have? Have you tried a tyre shop for advice. Try more than one.