Tyres for bad roads (not off-road) (1 Viewer)

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Apr 16, 2019
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Nigeria
Hi Everybody,

I'm new to the forums but first want to say thank you for all of the great advice and commentary in the past year or so. These online forums have been incredibly helpful, especially for a non-"car person" like me. On to my questions....

Situation: I live in West Africa so got a Lexus/Toyota for ease of repairs, parts availability and durability. However, the roads here are terrible (Link to pics of roads) and have done a number on my suspension and tires so far. The roads are poorly built and maintained so there are massive potholes. In many places the road just breaks down. There is also flooding in the rainy season (more pics), and debris left on grounds can puncture tyres. My last set of tyres had several punctures and patches. I was eventually adding air to two tyres almost weekly until I bought another set. I've pretty much given up on my tyre pressure monitors every giving me a pass and am not sure if these are even working properly.

Problem: I've made other upgrades to the SUV to handle the local conditions (e.g. lift kit for clearance and stronger suspension, lights for road darkness/security, front bumper for crazy drivers and approach angle, rear tire rack for ease of changing the spare and future doubling of fuel capacity), but I'm trying to decide on the right set of tyres. Goals = long-lasting (economical), bit more lift (taller than OEM spec), puncture resistance and ride quality/comfort. The lift kit and rear coil-swap already reduced the ride quality, but it still feels great (love the GX470). I'd really like to keep the ride comfort but am considering switching to LT tyres. Re size, I'm thinking of going 255/75r17 (thinner to avoid any potential rubbing) but am open to a lot of options.

I'm looking for advice and will likely import a new set of tyres. Many tyres sold locally have fake dates but are very cheap (e.g. used BFG KO2 are $70 each and maybe last 18 months if you're lucky).

My vehicle - Pics (link to images on Dropbox)
2007 GX470, 138k miles, no KDSS (to my knowledge)
Mods: Swapped out rear air suspension for coils (after air suspension broke down). Installed medium-load, 2" lift kit from Old Man Emu (after Toyota recommended repairs to suspension). Installed aftermarket front bumper (Metaltech Goblin Stage 1) and a rear tire rack (Hitchgate offset by Wilco). I changed the tires to set of used Cooper M&S 265/70r17 (only temporary).
 
what? nobody replied to this?
what did you end up running/learning?

i also live in west africa, same situation. I have a hzj76 with bumpers winch and long range fuel tank. I've found bfg km2 to be susceptible to chunking, and low end all-terrains get punctures on a monthly, sometimes weekly basis. the best tires I've had yet have been cooper stmaxx 235/85r16. i would recommend them to anyone needing puncture resistance and long life in harsh conditions. also, they get great traction for an A/T. I just bought the bfg km3's in 255/85r16 to go with a 2" lift. I'm hopeful they perform better long term for me here. fingers crossed.
 

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