Pajero Owners Club of South Africa

Hi all,

Slightly misleading subject, but it just occured to me that I spend just about as much time to decide on which tyres to buy than I do to choose a car complete with 4+1 tyres!

OK, so here is the situation. My car (Gen 3 V6 LWB manual) has BFG All-Terrain 275/70R16 on. The rear tyres are now not just illegal but downright dangerous in anything wetter than morning mist and needs desperate replacement. The fronts are good for another 40 000km or so.

I like the BFG AT look, I like the offroad ruggedness and I like the mileage (but not too crazy about the road noise and wet grip). The logical choice is to fork out the 5 or 6 (or is it 7?) big ones and get two more of the same. Simple, isn't it? But it is never that simple ...

I am toying with the idea of selling the car. Not in a great hurry but the kids are growing up fast and the rear seats won't do it for much longer ... I need a BUS of sorts. And maybe finish up my Lotus 7 project, sell that and get a nice low mileage Gen 2 for weekend play ....

Now I'm thinking: would a typical buyer prefer a combination of new and half worn BFG to a full new set of lower priced 265/75R16's? And if a lower priced set, what kind? So now I am asking current Pajero drivers what they reckon prospective Pajero drivers would prefer. Your thoughts, please?

Thanks!

Francois

As I said tyre choises are never that simple ... what I dont understand is why

Replace now what I need now. Understood, but complicating factor: no BFG 275/70R16 in stock anywhere! That's why I've been putting the replacement off but I can not wait any longer. In November I was told it would in by Jan, now we're looking at Feb / March availability. So maybe a pair of BFG 265/75R16's now and another pair later? Not the best idea to mix tyres sizs I know ... but it will make my ride legal and safe again.

get a set of 4 hankooks or maxxis A/Ts and use the remaining 2x BFG as spares.

Any new tyres will sell any car quicker than other cars with worn tyres.

Looking at the two sizes, this is the difference:
For new tyres, the 265-75-16 would be 1/2" larger in diameter.
For your situation, the difference would be much smaller (with the fronts having worn away).

It is not advisable to mix tyre sizes (diameters) front and rear, but in this case it might just be acceptable.

(I used this tyre size calculator)

4ePajero wrote:For new tyres, the 265-75-16 would be 1/2" larger in diameter.
For your situation, the difference would be much smaller (with the fronts having worn away).

Actually the worn fronts would make it worse. Maybe the standard 265/70R16 is a better choice ... but then again I like extra ground clearance (and hope the next owner does as well )

So maybe I should avoid the mix and match and go for one size or the other. Options now available for the same kind of cash:

2 x BFG AT 275/70R16 = R 6565 (TWAT Menlyn - said to be the last two in the country for at least 8 weeks)
2 x BFG 265/75R16 = R 4994 (Exhaust & Tyre City Menlyn)
4 x Kumho Road Venture KL78 265/75R16 = R 7000 (Lombard Tyres Gezina)
4 x Hercules Alltrac 275/70R16 = R 6900 (Pick a Tyre Isando)
4 x Maxtrek 265/75R16 = R 6400 (Pick a Tyre Isando)
4 x Goodyear RTSA 265/75R16 (uuurrrghhh!!!) = R 6400 (SupaQuick Kempton Park)

Thinking about the comments about new tyres being "good salesmen" and the possibility that I overestmated the remaining tread on the fronts I am leaning towards the Kumhos at this stage (I'll trust Korean tyres at this stage, not yet Chinese ones). Or should I just get the 275 BF's?

4ePajero wrote:For new tyres, the 265-75-16 would be 1/2" larger in diameter.
For your situation, the difference would be much smaller (with the fronts having worn away).

Actually the worn fronts would make it worse. Maybe the standard 265/70R16 is a better choice ... but then again I like extra ground clearance (and hope the next owner does as well )

So maybe I should avoid the mix and match and go for one size or the other. Options now available for the same kind of cash:

2 x BFG AT 275/70R16 = R 6565 (TWAT Menlyn - said to be the last two in the country for at least 8 weeks)
2 x BFG 265/75R16 = R 4994 (Exhaust & Tyre City Menlyn)
4 x Kumho Road Venture KL78 265/75R16 = R 7000 (Lombard Tyres Gezina)
4 x Hercules Alltrac 275/70R16 = R 6900 (Pick a Tyre Isando)
4 x Maxtrek 265/75R16 = R 6400 (Pick a Tyre Isando)
4 x Goodyear RTSA 265/75R16 (uuurrrghhh!!!) = R 6400 (SupaQuick Kempton Park)

Thinking about the comments about new tyres being "good salesmen" and the possibility that I overestmated the remaining tread on the fronts I am leaning towards the Kumhos at this stage (I'll trust Korean tyres at this stage, not yet Chinese ones). Or should I just get the 275 BF's?

I would get the 4 Kumho's and sell the BFGs here or on 4x4community.
There seems to be a good market for 2nd hand BFGs.

If the main concern is getting the car sold, then fit Wrangler AT/SA. They look good, they run very quiet and grip well in the wet and dry.

Hi Roelf,

Unfortunately the Goodyear price is for the RT/SA, not AT/SA. I read and heard good things of the Khumos, to the point that I'll be quite confortable to use them if I decide not to sell my car. So Saturday it's off to Lombard Tyres ...