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T-31 all terrain tyres - recommendations, please

8K views 29 replies 6 participants last post by  panel man 
#1 ·
My 2014 T-31 Tekna is fitted with 18" wheels. The tyre size is therefore 225/55 R18. Some months ago, my wife became stuck in a muddy car park (very embarrassing) as the road-biassed tyre treads of course simply filled with sticky mud and resembled slick doughnuts more than tyres! Also, the local council has a policy of repairing potholes with PlayDough, which lasts for ...ooh, 2 weeks, maybe? Even on the X-Trail, some of the pot holes are quite jarring when you drive across them by mistake. I am fed up replacing springs and tyres in my BMW M-3, and all my claims for reimbursement have been roundly rejected. But that's another story.

I determined to replace the current worn road tyres with A/T units, believing they may have slightly stronger sidewalls and certainly a more open tread pattern to save my wife's blushes - or even mine!

I appreciate than 18" wheels do not offer much scope for A/T variety, and I have found Yokohama Geolandar tyres and Kumho eco Solus KL21 tyres on the Net. Does anyone have experience of either of these, or have alternatives I might try to unearth?
 
#2 ·
Be careful picking WHICH Geolandar tyre you choose as there are many styles under that brand, some of which would not be any better than your current road biased tyre.
Obviously look at all the different styles and pick one which has the amount of aggressive tread you desire but know that as the aggressiveness increases, the potential for road noise at higher speeds also increases.

I have the Geolandar GO15 and they are great offroad but still relatively quiet onroad at motorway speeds.
 
#3 ·
I have a 2011 Facelift Tekna with 18" and fitted Vredestein Quadrac 5 - they've been on nearly 18 months and all still have just a tad under 7mm on them after 15k.

They have been nothing short of excellent in all weathers - I even towed a builders van off some very sticky muddy ground slightly uphill and didn't use diff lock. They were brilliant in the small amount of snow we had over winter as well.

225/55 x 18 with M&S snowflake and Mountain symbols on the side. Reasonable priced as well.
 
#4 ·
Revhead Kev said:
Be careful picking WHICH Geolandar tyre you choose as there are many styles under that brand, some of which would not be any better than your current road biased tyre.
Obviously look at all the different styles and pick one which has the amount of aggressive tread you desire but know that as the aggressiveness increases, the potential for road noise at higher speeds also increases.

I have the Geolandar GO15 and they are great offroad but still relatively quiet onroad at motorway speeds.
Thanks, Revhead! It's information like this which is so invaluable. Most tyre retailers (the larger ones, anyhow) have some sort of scoring system to guide buyers as to fuel consumption impact, noise, expected life and so on, but as we use our vehicles for everything from continental tours through dropping the kids at school and ferrying home half the rugby team to meandering through a woodland which the satnav insists is a Right of Way, passable by all traffic, we want our tyres to be generally ok at everything. It's all a compromise.

I'm too old to care about my tyres hinting that I might be some Backwoods maven, who has only nipped into Tunbridge Wells town centre to pick up a month's supply of hard tack - the supermarket bags in the boot kind of destroy that image anyway. The actual distance our X-Trail covers over what might loosely be described as 'off-road' as a percentage of total miles travelled is tiny - but it's blooming embarrassing to be foiled by slightly slippery muddy grass.

On the topic of wear, I remember having a lovely set of Goodyear mud tyres on a Land Rover 110 which I thought were going to last and last and last... Until the garage giving it its annual MoT test pointed out that while there would seem to be loads of tread left, the tyre flexing had worn them into a threepenny bit shape, and '...didn't I notice how much noise they made'? I chuckled and said that it's a Land Rover, so as conversation with the passengers is impossible at speeds over 30mph is impossible anyway, what difference did it make? But I changed them anyway - and went back later, red-faced, to agree that there was a noticeable difference.

The X-Trail is quite a quiet vehicle, so I do have to bear this in mind!
 
#5 ·
Norfolk Jim said:
I have a 2011 Facelift Tekna with 18" and fitted Vredestein Quadrac 5 - they've been on nearly 18 months and all still have just a tad under 7mm on them after 15k.

They have been nothing short of excellent in all weathers - I even towed a builders van off some very sticky muddy ground slightly uphill and didn't use diff lock. They were brilliant in the small amount of snow we had over winter as well.

225/55 x 18 with M&S snowflake and Mountain symbols on the side. Reasonable priced as well.
OOh! Another brand which I recognise. Thanks very much. I'll go looking. On the topic of towing a builder's van out of the goo, you don't suppose it was anything to do with the significant extra torque you have gained from the engine remap?!
 
#7 ·
Ahto42 said:
I am ordering Michelin latitute cross rubbers. According to russian forum, 235/60R18 is the max.
235/65 R17 is popular there, and it is 2mm smaller than the 235/60R18.
It sounds as if these are slightly taller but narrower tyres, so likely better off-road. I think I may stick to the 18" wheels if I can, using whatever rubber I buy for everything. But thanks for the steer!
 
#10 ·
Colster said:
I use Toyo Open Country A/T Plus tyres on my T30. They are excellent and quiet on the road. My offroad experience was limited to crossing a very muddy campsite without even a wheelspin. You would have to go to 235/60 in 18" though.
Yet another choice for me. Thanks, Colster. The taller, thinner tyre might be more robust over the mean streets of Tunbridge Wells as well. :)
 
#11 ·
panel man said:
Norfolk Jim said:
I have a 2011 Facelift Tekna with 18" and fitted Vredestein Quadrac 5 - they've been on nearly 18 months and all still have just a tad under 7mm on them after 15k.

They have been nothing short of excellent in all weathers - I even towed a builders van off some very sticky muddy ground slightly uphill and didn't use diff lock. They were brilliant in the small amount of snow we had over winter as well.

225/55 x 18 with M&S snowflake and Mountain symbols on the side. Reasonable priced as well.
OOh! Another brand which I recognise. Thanks very much. I'll go looking. On the topic of towing a builder's van out of the goo, you don't suppose it was anything to do with the significant extra torque you have gained from the engine remap?!
NO I don't think so as didn't need that many revs - i felt it was down to the tyres and basically a ****** good 4 wheel drive system :)
 
#12 ·
Norfolk Jim said:
panel man said:
Norfolk Jim said:
I have a 2011 Facelift Tekna with 18" and fitted Vredestein Quadrac 5 - they've been on nearly 18 months and all still have just a tad under 7mm on them after 15k.

They have been nothing short of excellent in all weathers - I even towed a builders van off some very sticky muddy ground slightly uphill and didn't use diff lock. They were brilliant in the small amount of snow we had over winter as well.

225/55 x 18 with M&S snowflake and Mountain symbols on the side. Reasonable priced as well.
OOh! Another brand which I recognise. Thanks very much. I'll go looking. On the topic of towing a builder's van out of the goo, you don't suppose it was anything to do with the significant extra torque you have gained from the engine remap?!
NO I don't think so as didn't need that many revs - i felt it was down to the tyres and basically a ***** good 4 wheel drive system :)
:bow: :thumbs:
 
#18 ·
Norfolk Jim said:
Hmmmmm.... but they aren't all weather tyres as they show as summer???? Are they very noisy - that tread looks v agressive.
The noise class is '2' and the seller quotes 71dB under EU testing. I have absolutely zero idea what that means, subjectively. However, summer only tyres won't do for me. I wish I understood more about tyres!
 
#20 ·
Ahto42 said:
Norfolk Jim said:
Hmmmmm.... but they aren't all weather tyres as they show as summer???? Are they very noisy - that tread looks v agressive.
I can hear almost nothing inside
You must be deaf then - lol

Those are pretty chunky summer tyres - not sure how well they'll do when temps drop below zero in winter. O know my Vredestein Quatrac 5 are really good in mud and on snowy roads - think mine are 70dB noise class
 
#23 ·
My Vredestein do have the snowflake and triple mountain on them.

Best tyre I have had for many years was on my Saab 9-3 Aero Estate. they were 225/45 x 18 Nokian WRD4 winter tyres that were incredible in the summer but come the snow wow - how fantastic. Shame they didn't do the higher aspect ratio for my X Trail :(
 
#26 ·
Colster said:
panel man said:
Hello Try Tyres Direct .Lewis will help you and sends post free.New or part worn.Regards Barry
Thanks, Barry. I might just do that, although Tunbridge Wells is a loooooong way from Scarborough - which I am guessing is near to Lewis?
Demon Tweeks will deliver...
https://www.demon-tweeks.com/uk/toyo-op ... e-1172970/[/quote]
Thanks again! Unfortunately the particular tyres you found for me at Demon Tweaks don't come in 18" size - although they may have other A/T options. I'll enquire...
 
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