Willem
Joined: 23 Oct 2007
Location: Letsitele
Posts: 17
 
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Did some off-road driving the weekend on the farm that included a rocky stretch, the D3 handled it extremely well in rock crawl mode. I experienced some wheel spin, but noting serious, and my bother in his Disco 2 managed to keep up. To my horror I noticed extreme damage to all 4 Cooper Discoverer ATR (235/70/R17) with whole chunks of rubber being ripped out. Some of the knobs were complete ripped of, exposing the casing, where others showed tears at the back and front of the knobs. No side wall damage was visible, with only the area in contact with the road showing damage. My brother, driving the exact road with a lot more wheel spin, and having Bridgestone Dueler (D694) on showed no damage at all, not even a nick. I contacted Dunlop regarding this matter and they will look into the matter. Any suggestions to what to buy now, what the best choise (make) and what sizes will fit the 17” rims without catching the wheel arches when off roading? See photo's in my gallery.
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 Mon Sep 01 2008 7:34am |
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DiscoDunc
Joined: 08 May 2006
Location: Bristol
Posts: 2787
 
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I'm suprised 
I have Discoverer ST's and STT's, both of which have been recevied pretty harsh treatment and have survived well. My ST's are currently on 30,000 miles and have been used extensivly off-road with no issues.
Perhaps the ATRs are less resilient. I would recomment the ST's or STT's if you want more off-road bias  (245/70 R17) Duncan
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| Mon Sep 01 2008 7:41am |
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heine
Joined: 07 Feb 2007
Location: Midrand
Posts: 2385
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I have put Cooper SST's on the D3 . Found them to be pretty hard wearing on the defender if a bit noisy . BFG now also has a AT and MT that are only slightly larger than standard and seem to fit OK , other than the spare which is a battle . Deondef has gone that route IIRC
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| Mon Sep 01 2008 7:48am |
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norto
Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Location: batemans bay
Posts: 1117
 
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The blokes i spoke to in "outback" OZ said
that they dont sell American tyres because they are too hard
for the stony roads, which means the rocks
chip chunks of rubber off the tyre.
The Oodnadatta track and Birdsville stuffed my Mickey Thompson 247/70-17s Peter
"Global Warming" The religion of the left
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| Mon Sep 01 2008 7:48am |
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Atacama
Joined: 12 Jul 2007
Location: Paulshoff
Posts: 135
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Might this be a tyre pressure related issue?
Did some rock work last weekend with BFG,s on and they where fine .
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| Mon Sep 01 2008 8:29am |
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norto
Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Location: batemans bay
Posts: 1117
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I think BFGs are the exception to the rule.
Mine seemed to chip just as much with low pressures. Peter
"Global Warming" The religion of the left
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| Mon Sep 01 2008 11:02am |
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Andrew van den Heever
Joined: 09 Jun 2007
Location: Cape Town
Posts: 201
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I have AT2's and so far have been fine. Std 18 inch OEM size, i.e. 265/60/18. I know that APMOLLER has the same tyre and had bits of rubber ripped off his AT2's on his last trip.
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| Mon Sep 01 2008 11:14am |
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heine
Joined: 07 Feb 2007
Location: Midrand
Posts: 2385
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Yup tyre pressures came to mind . If they're too hard you will definitely damage an aggressive tyre
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| Mon Sep 01 2008 11:20am |
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norto
Joined: 10 Apr 2006
Location: batemans bay
Posts: 1117
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Heine
Mine are ATZs, not very aggressive, and when i rang the
importer who sold them to me, he wasnt surprised about the damage.
It sounded like he knew that they would chip on stony roads Peter
"Global Warming" The religion of the left
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| Mon Sep 01 2008 11:26am |
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Discoeast
Joined: 19 Feb 2008
Location: Boksburg
Posts: 221
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Willem,
I run 265/65/17 Dueler At'S on my rig, you'll find that the 65
aspect ratio is with in a few mm of the stock tyre OD. And yes deflate
them when crawling over rocks. Tdi 130 conversion-full house, Disco 2, Freelander, D3 bullbar-spots-roof rack with spots-ladder-long range tank-swing out spare wheel carrier- upgraded tow bar-dash console-internal water tank-duel awnings-drawer system & T T.
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| Mon Sep 01 2008 1:25pm |
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Deondef
Joined: 08 May 2007
Location: Randburg
Posts: 373
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The popular BFG 265/65 17" is suppose to be widely available by December , although I have heard of a couple of TWT dealers who can get hold of them now.
I went for the 245/75 17" BFG AT which I am very happy with = just have to run them above 2,5 on tar otherwise it drives like a "vomit comet". Only hassle is the spare that is a b  tch to get in and out of well - although when I recently replaced the brand new spare with repaired punctured one - it went in easier.
Do not know what the BFG mud terrains will be like on the D3 -  D3 S '07. Dual battery system. Upgraded tow hitch. Mantec skid plate. Frontrunner rr.
Defender TD5 110 CSW '00. "With everything"
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| Mon Sep 01 2008 1:29pm |
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heine
Joined: 07 Feb 2007
Location: Midrand
Posts: 2385
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Hello Deon
Welcome back . I gather Vodacom sorted you out
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| Mon Sep 01 2008 1:33pm |
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Deondef
Joined: 08 May 2007
Location: Randburg
Posts: 373
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Thanks Heine
Yes - exactly same experience as with Land Rover dealer - all problems sorted out with SOFTWARE DOWNLOADS  D3 S '07. Dual battery system. Upgraded tow hitch. Mantec skid plate. Frontrunner rr.
Defender TD5 110 CSW '00. "With everything"
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| Mon Sep 01 2008 2:19pm |
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Bushboysteve
Joined: 02 Sep 2008
Location: North west & Jhb
Posts: 23
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Hi guys, Im new to this forum. I just bought a set of 265 65 R17 in the ATR. These I bought as a replacement for 235 65 R17 in ATR that were sold to me as in spec. I later discovered they were out of spec and made the change. Before the change, I used them on some bad gravel (several hundred km at speed) and up some nasty rocky tracks and the tyres after a polishing still look as good as new. (almost  ). either you had a faulty tyre or there were pressure problems. But come to think of it, I have never aired down for that particular track as Ive always been in a big hurry! (goes to the water tanks at our lodge and the wife hates to be without water!  ) Of course we'll make it... were in a landy!
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| Wed Sep 03 2008 1:36pm |
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Bushboysteve
Joined: 02 Sep 2008
Location: North west & Jhb
Posts: 23
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The 235 65 R17 combo did let me down though in the sand. with the lower clearance and smaller footprint I battled on the big dunes and was embarrassed in the end by a bunch of yobs in assorted 4x4 and even a freelander   . I hope these new ones alleviate that problem and restore a little pride  next time I venture onto the dunes /deep sand Of course we'll make it... were in a landy!
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| Wed Sep 03 2008 1:47pm |
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