All terrains for a Cali 4motion?

[scubadoo]

Can anyone advise on a good all terrain tyre to replace the 235/55 R17 dunlop sports on my 4motion California?

There seems to be no one making a tyre in this size.

The Yokohama Geolander come close but are slightly bigger.

What's the largest tyre I can get away with?

I just want something that can handle wet muddy grass.

Cheers

Dave

 

[choplee]

My conti sport contact 3's seem ok ... If your after off roading get a land rover fella and don't ruin the love of your life ...

 

[KernowLad]

Our Dunlops coped very well in wet grass and mud last weekend.

Not sure which tyres would fit - I've looked!

 

[scubadoo]

My conti sport contact 3's seem ok ... If your after off roading get a land rover fella and don't ruin the love of your life ...

I'm not planning on going green landing

Just want something more aggressive than the Dunlops which have zero grip in mud and slide all over the place. We occasionally end up doing down the odd muddy track and across muddy fields.

Makes me long for my old T25 syncro, that thing was an off-road beast!

Anyway, the best thing I've seen so far is a Bridgestone dueller 693 in 235/60 R17 102H.
very slightly wider.

There's also a Toyo Open Country A/T, again not the exact same size.

I do think VW missed a trick by having a 4motion camper with such a tricky wheel size and such awful clearance compared even to the Transporter or Caravelle.

Maybe I should send it off to Seikel :lol:

 

[MickyBlue]

I wouldn't call them an AT tyre, but these Goodyear's are what I'm going to put on ours next if I can get hold of them.

I had some very similar on my old FL2 which were a good 95/5% road/field(winter) sort of compromise.

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m56b0s218...R_HP_ALL_WEATHER_-_235_55R17_103H_XL_TL_Vw_T5

 

[KernowLad]

I wouldn't call them an AT tyre, but these Goodyear's are what I'm going to put on ours next if I can get hold of them.

I had some very similar on my old FL2 which were a good 95/5% road/field(winter) sort of compromise.

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m56b0s218...R_HP_ALL_WEATHER_-_235_55R17_103H_XL_TL_Vw_T5

Yep, they look like the right sort of thing!

 

[scubadoo]

I wouldn't call them an AT tyre, but these Goodyear's are what I'm going to put on ours next if I can get hold of them.

I had some very similar on my old FL2 which were a good 95/5% road/field(winter) sort of compromise.

http://www.camskill.co.uk/m56b0s218...R_HP_ALL_WEATHER_-_235_55R17_103H_XL_TL_Vw_T5

Yep, they look like the right sort of thing!

I can't imagine they'd handle mud very well though.

The closest I can find in an all terrain are these:

cooper discoverer ATR in 235/60 R17 102T.
Bridgestone Dueler A/T 693 235/60 R17 102 H
Toyo OPEN COUNTRY A/T 235/60 R17 102H
YOKOHAMA G012 GEOLANDAR ATS YOKOHAMA G 012 - 225/60R17 99H TL

The 235/60's are 24mm bigger in diameter. What i need to know is if that is ok without a lift, will they rub or cause any mechanical problems.

The Yokohama in 225/60 are a better match, just 12mm bigger diameter, but the load/speed rating is probably too low.

there's loads of choice in 235/65 R17 typically, but i imagine that's too big. I'm waiting to hear from the aftersales guy at VW on the max size and load ratings.

Cheers

Dave

 

[MickyBlue]

I can't imagine they'd handle mud very well though.

If you are not 'greenlaning' I think you may be surprised how well this sort of thing works 'off tarmac', but I think you would find them infinitely better than a true AT 'on road'

More info here- http://www.goodyear.eu/uk_en/tires/wrangler-hp-all-weather/index.jsp

I have used BFG AT2's on road extensively on 2 vehicles, and although they wear well (40k + miles a set), they are very noisy, and general tarmac grip levels are lower than tyres like these, but if a true AT is what you want I hope you find something.

 

[scubadoo]

I can't imagine they'd handle mud very well though.

If you are not 'greenlaning' I think you may be surprised how well this sort of thing works 'off tarmac', but I think you would find them infinitely better than a true AT 'on road'

More info here- http://www.goodyear.eu/uk_en/tires/wrangler-hp-all-weather/index.jsp

I have used BFG AT2's on road extensively on 2 vehicles, and although they wear well (40k + miles a set), they are very noisy, and general tarmac grip levels are lower than tyres like these, but if a true AT is what you want I hope you find something.

Thanks Micky, They do look like they might be a good compromise as realistically it's going to mostly on road use. How do they handle a bit of mud? I've been doing a bit of wild-ish camping and get through muddy field gates with the Dunlop sports was a bit scary.

I have BFG A/T's on my hilux, love them and found them fine on road, mind you i wasn't shifting as much as in the 180 Cali!

Cheers

Dave

 

[MickyBlue]

Thanks Micky, They do look like they might be a good compromise as realistically it's going to mostly on road use. How do they handle a bit of mud? I've been doing a bit of wild-ish camping and get through muddy field gates with the Dunlop sports was a bit scary.

I have BFG A/T's on my hilux, love them and found them fine on road, mind you i wasn't shifting as much as in the 180 Cali!

Cheers

Dave

I think anything with more open lateral grooves will 'handle a bit of mud'. I cannot speak directly of these tyres on this vehicle, but on a FL2 they handle a wet grassy muddy field fine. The FL2 does have very good electronic grip management (4x4 system called Terrain Response) so it's hard to tell directly how they will do on a Cali.

Modern Landrover 'road cars' I think do better on similar tyres to other manufacturers cars due to this system, although they are all trying to play catch up.

I think the only tyre that handles mud well is a MT but you definitely don't want them on a Cali that will spend 99% of its time on tarmac :grin:

Did you lock the diff on the Cali?

 

[scubadoo]

Thanks Micky.

Yes, i locked the diff. Trouble is the treads on the Dunlop sports get filled with mud and they don't clean themselves at all.

A guy on the T4/T5 forum reckons that 235/65/17 will fit but i would have thought they'd rub on full lock.

Maybe those Goodyears are a better option. I just fancied AT's as it'd be nice to know that I could handle a bit of med when needed.

Cheers.
Dave

 

[MickyBlue]

Whichever way you go on replacement tyres I would be interested to hear how you get on.

I also had looked for an AT for the Cali, as its my daily driver I would have put them on + the start of the year when we first got it 'if' there had been a straight forward swop. The more I thought about it I didn't want them on for motorways etc.

My plan is to get best use out of these Dunlops & swap to the Goodyears later in the year unless a more interesting solution appears. Or punctures (I've had a couple :-( ) etc force tyre replacement

Keep this thread updated with you findings if you can it'd be much appreciated ;-)

Best Regards
Mike

 

[awatson]

Unsure if I am too late on the post/thread but we have a 4motion with 17 inch standard VW rims

We have the Goodyear Vector Mud and Snow tyre with a 215/60/17 size - as recommended by VW

They are as tough as old boots, an aggressive tyre pattern, the snow grooves and correctly speed and weight rated at 109 - ie not a car/4x4 tyre

They can be a bit of a hard ride though as there is that much reinforcing/rubber in them - I have driven vans on a 16inch rim with 65 profile snow tyres that give very comfortable ride......but the rims look weedy

Hope it helps

A

 

[scubadoo]

Unsure if I am too late on the post/thread but we have a 4motion with 17 inch standard VW rims

We have the Goodyear Vector Mud and Snow tyre with a 215/60/17 size - as recommended by VW

They are as tough as old boots, an aggressive tyre pattern, the snow grooves and correctly speed and weight rated at 109 - ie not a car/4x4 tyre

They can be a bit of a hard ride though as there is that much reinforcing/rubber in them - I have driven vans on a 16inch rim with 65 profile snow tyres that give very comfortable ride......but the rims look weedy

Hope it helps

A

Thanks, I've actually just heard back from a service tech at VW who recommended those exact tyres. I don't suppose you'd have a photo of the van with them on would you? How do they handle muddy fields?

The guy at VW told me that the currrent size is already the largest circumference allowable.

These were the options :

235/55 R17 103W XL fitted to 7Jx17 ET55 wheels (current option).
255/45 R18 103W XL fitted to 8 J x 18 ET50 wheels.
215/60 R 17 C104/102T fitted to 7 J x 17 ET55 wheels (winter tyre option).

They recommend the Goodyear Cargo Vector in 215/60 r17.

There is also a Yokohama Geolander All Terrain in that size but the load rating is lower. I'm waiting to hear back if it's too low.

Thanks for the input.

 

[shambly]

A Quick google found this VW brochure...

http://www.volkswagen-zubehoer.de/pdf_e ... 1_engl.pdf

 

[MickyBlue]

A Quick google found this VW brochure...

http://www.volkswagen-zubehoer.de/pdf_e ... 1_engl.pdf

Blimey is that 419 euros per 17" wheel & tyre for a Cali/transporter?? :crazy

 

[scubadoo]

A Quick google found this VW brochure...

http://www.volkswagen-zubehoer.de/pdf_e ... 1_engl.pdf

i'm not quite sure how that helps?

 

[shambly]

Indeed - distracted by winter tyres rather than m+s. Sorry!

 

[awatson]

Unsure whether this thread is still live but I cant recommend the Goodyear Cargo Vectors 215/60/17 highly enough - and they are relatively easy to source in UK or europe

We have been spending the past 3 winters in the alps and they have been great - never needed the chains once - though they are not as soft as real snow tyres

They are however great on muddy fields - seem like the right compromise - and importantly correctly load/weight rated

Will try a picture - but this always gets me on this forum

Hope this helps

A

 

[KernowLad]

Sounds ideal Cali 174 - will seek them out when it's tyre change time (or maybe before?!)!

 

[scubadoo]

Thanks for the pictures, very useful and glad to hear that you like the tyres. I think they'll have to be what I go for then.

Cheers

Dave