In preparation for snow & mud
Dear all,
I am planning a tour of the southern Bulgarian mountains at end of December: a beautiful but rough country with small un-tarmacked country roads. Mud and snow can be expected.
My SWB 05 G500 is equipped with standard aluminium 7,7Jx18H2 ET63 wheels and 265/60 R18 110V tyres.
Excuse my ignorance but can you please recommend suitable sizes of steel wheels and tyres to get for this tour. Two things to keep in mind: a) I would prefer to retain speedometer accuracy and b) around 1,500 kms will be expended on good national roads (there will be no room to carry a spare set of tyres).
I would appreciate any input regarding specific make and type of tyres.
Thank you
Ah, I think I can help,
Recently I had a simillar dillema. Unless you go for Yokohama tyres which are OE and are very expensive what other choices do you have. I was looking for a 50/50 tyre mud and snow but with a "H" speed rating to give that extra safety margin on road.
Initially I was going for my all time favourite the BF Goodrich All Terrain in a 265/65T18. Unfortunately this tyre is still not E marked for sale in Europe despite Mr. Michelins promises earlier this year.
Eventually settled for a General AT2 112H in a 255/60x18. This is as close as you will get to an multi purpose tyre off road and one that won't kill you when driven hard on the road and still utilise your OE rims and not upset your ratios too much.
Hope this is of some help to you.
Regards,
Mike
PS I know the 265/60x18 is made in several other brands both budget and premium but I was only referring to 50/50 tyres for some rough stuff.
If I were you, I would opt for buying a set of second-hand Attiks from German Ebay (see picture), size 7.5J x 16 H2 ET 63 mm, and have a set of decent 285/75R16 MT rubber fitted to it, though I don't know if you would have trouble with the Greek MOT because of speed rating (a friend of mine had to replace the crown and pinion of both differentials so that max spped of the truck would accomodate it! crazy!)
The reason I went with the AT2 Generals was I only had one set of rims which I think look nice on my G wagen. While I was prepared to buy new tyres, I considered new (to me) rims an additional cost I could do without. But there again thats just me. Everyone to their own.
Regards,
Mike
PS. The Generals also have holes in place so they can be studded easily and have a higher snow compatability rating than the BFG A/T tyre.
Hi,
Can I suggest you try eiretyres.com website as they are based in Germany and should ship to Greece. This maybe a wayout of your problem.
Regards,
Mike
I will certainly give them a try.
If transpotration costs are reasonable, I will use them. The reason for not considering importing the tyres from abroad is my past experience: I have a classic car which requires a special tyre size produced only by Michelin on special order: it cost me more to bring the tyres to Greece that the tyres themselves.
I really appreciate your help.
To the best on my knowledge Eiretyres quote incl. shipping and all taxes to your doorstep or your local friendly tyre dealers step. Although I personally don't recommend that last idea.
Regards,
Mike
PS If you have a relationship with your local tyre dealer it might be nice to explain your situation to him and ask him if he would fit them for you and HOW MUCH.
Anakreon:
Something like this:
http://cgi.ebay.de/Winterkomplettraeder-Mercedes-G-Modell_W0QQitemZ19017...
Thank you mortinson.
I will give it a try.
I would like to thank both Tyreman and Mortinson for their help and valid sugestions. The wealth of good information found in this forum (and the number of members willing to share it) is indeed something.
In the end I opted for Mortinson's solution bacause I found it practically impossible to obtain MT or AT tyres in R18 in my country (importing them was way too expensive). In addition, I wanted the long-term option of R16 tyres (MT & AT): much cheaper and plentiful. Had I lived in the UK or Germany, I would probably follow Tyreman's advice.
One more question: how would you rate MTs in the snow? Better than winter tyres?
Thank you.
Glad you reached a decision and I think most on here are happy to help in any way they can depending on what areas they are into.
Personally like you I'm sure being hundreds of miles away from the main bunch in the UK, the forum has proved invaluable as a source of information and cost saving tips.
On your question of winter vrs MT patterns. There can be only one answer. Winter grip tyres for any snow and ice conditions below 7 degrees C will perform far better than any MT tyres especially in traction and braking.
There are a whole lot of reasons for this but here is not the place for that amount of technical babble.
Suffice to say I have seen the proof first hand and to my amazement at what I saw and drove on. (I got out of the vehicle and promptly fell over it was like sheet ice) We were using high powered 4x4 vehicles.
Regards,
Mike
I am only glad I was of help!
This is what the GWOA stands for....
A bit late but here's what I just bought.
Continental Contact 4x4 265/60-18.
OE I was told. a mild road pattern M&S rated. Comes in H &V rating.
The 16" rims are the sensible way to go for the long term option
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Thank you for your helpful suggestions. Unfortunately I cannot easily find neither BF Goodridge nor General tyres in my country. The original dimension of 265/60 R18 (wheel diameter 30.5in) is especially difficult in any type or form unless of course one goes to MB in which case he will get at great expense the original tyres. There goes the otherwise meaninful idea of keeping the original rims.
The only size & type I can readily find is Yokohama Geolandar AT +II 265/70 R16 (diam. 30,6in) or Yokohama Geolandar MT @ 265/75 R16 (diam. 31.6in).