Hi all,

”Rupert” the RRS is going to have earn his keep this winter, by doing some moderate field work along with some forays towing trailers & wood chippers etc in a forest.

So the Stormers are going to have to come off again & the 18ins rims put back on.

I’m looking at what tyres to mount on the 18ins rims, for the winter & really like the Cooper Discoverer H/T as a good mix of road tyre & field tyre. But I would really appreciate any feedback anyone may have on the subject & in particular the cooper tyres.

So how about it guys…………any opinions / advice ???

I'm no expert, but the default offroad tyre choice seems to be the Goodyear MTR.... I'm sure someone will have an opinion on the Coopers. 

2009 Outstanding Contribution Award - Joint Runner Up
2009 'Tech-Head Of The Year' Award - Runner Up

Like it here? Then Donate to RRSPORT!!

Cheers shmoogle I'll look into the MTR's


Edited to add......
Geez......... Just had a look at the MTR's....... they're a bit savage aren't they.

For 60% road work / 40% off road / field work, I mean.

I run on MTR's and they are great! but I'm not sure they do them in 18's. 2005 Zambezi TDV6 - Gone but not forgotten
2009 Alaska TDV8 - Gone and much missed.



WINNER - 2009 �Idler Of The Year� Award
Runner Up - 2009 �Just Doing What It�s Designed To Do� Award


DO NOT CLICK HERE!

Forgot to say - look over on disco3.co.uk they constantly talk about tyres! They even have a section dedicated to tyres! 2005 Zambezi TDV6 - Gone but not forgotten
2009 Alaska TDV8 - Gone and much missed.



WINNER - 2009 �Idler Of The Year� Award
Runner Up - 2009 �Just Doing What It�s Designed To Do� Award


DO NOT CLICK HERE!

Cheers VA

Are your MTR's "very" knotty ???

I have taken to running all the time on BFG MTRs on my Defender, on road I have found that they give a quieter and more settled ride than the BFG TA/KO's that I was running, unfortunately BFG haven't yet developed a tyre suitable for the RRS. Am going through the same thought process as you Rupert after my nasty experiences last winter on the Continentals on my SE. It will be even more important if I go after a TDv8 on 20" tyres which I suspect will be even more road biased. When I ran the FFRR it was on 18" GY Wrangler HP M&S tyres as standard and I never had a moment of heart flutter/ sphyncter tightening driving in snow in that car, it just kept on going. Only time they let me down was on top of the Cairngorms at the summit of the Corrie Yarrick Pass where there was 6" of snow and it was -20C outside and the snow just turned to ice in the treads making them into iceslicks........ made for "exciting" mountain pass driving I can assure you and I ended leaving the FFRR at the side of the track and decamping to a friend's Disco1 on BFG AT's to complete the day out and recovered the FF on the trip back to our cottage in Lagan. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

Tim in Scotland wrote:

............................ Only time they let me down was on top of the Cairngorms at the summit of the Corrie Yarrick Pass........................

Not surprised at all Tim that you had problems, in a place with a name like that

I must have a look at those GY Wrangler HP's.

As the MTR's are a bit savage for what I'm after.

The research continues……..

Edited to add......

Just looked at the Cooper web site & the specs for the tyres are......

Discoverer H/T Plus 255/55R18 109 T

I'm presuming that the 109 T relates to the load rating. The owner's manual lists a rating of 109V for the 18ins tyres. Anyone got an idea if there's a huge difference between a V & a T ????

Rupert - have you considered getting some "winter" tyres ? My Pirelli Scorpion Ice & Snow are brilliant. They are quiet on road, at least as good on tarmac as the Conti's, at least as good off road as an all terrain tyre, and peerless in snow and ice. The only down side is that they are a fairly soft rubber compound designed to be grippy in cold temperatures so would wear out quite quickly if used in the "hotter" summer months (when ever they are ?). RRS TDv8 HSE Rimini
Disco 4 TDv6 HSE Ipanema
Defender 90, 200tdi CSW

I’ll certainly have a look at those “Winter Pirellis” Smarticus……cheers

They could just be what I’m looking for.

There seems to be quite a difficulty in sourcing an 18ins AT tyre these days. A mate of mine has a tyre business & he’s been doing a bit of searching today, but hasn’t turned much up other than the Cooper Discoverer HT-Plus, in a 255/55 18 with a 109 load rating.

I’ll ask him to look into those tyres you suggest, as he has quite a good source for Pirellis.

For an All Terrain Type Pattern try the General Grabber AT2's come in either the factory size 255/55/18 or the Disco3 size of 255/60/18 which gives a small increase in gound clearance,
i have had them prior o my MTR's & they were sensational for an all round tyre.  01 D2 Bonatti TD5
"Wish List" - TDV6 Sport Tonga with Alpaca.

Keep Smilin' Pete.

Thanks for all your suggestions & help.

In the end I've ordered up a set of Pirelli Scorpion STR's 255/55 18 109V.

There not the best All Terrain pattern I've seen, but they were pretty much all we could get in the end, so they'll have to do. It will take about a week for them to arrive, so I'll post my impressions after I've had them on for a while.

Cheers

Rupert

What about all the 285/60R18 all terrain tyres we can now get here in the US, are they also available in the UK? I am thinking about Nitto Terra Grappler, Toyo Open Country A/T, the newly released Cooper Zeon LTZ. They are very quiet and grippy on wet and dry roads, mud and snow rated, and excellent on all but the most extreme off road terrains. 

Has anybody other than VA ever been able to get Goodyear MTR's in the UK or Europe, they seem to as rare as hen's teeth. I have tried Goodyear themselves as well as lots of tyre outlets but they all comeback with the same sad story. 2020 Pangea Green 1st Edition D240 New Defender 110 is here and loving it
2018 Melting Silver Mini Countryman PHEV - soon to be replaced
2015MY Corris Grey SDv6 HSE Dynamic, the best car I have ever owned, totally reliable only a cou0le of rattles in 3 years, now no longer in my care
Also in my garage is a 1996 TDi300 Defender 90 County HT made into a fake CSW

umbertob wrote:

What about all the 285/60R18 all terrain tyres we can now get here in the US, are they also available in the UK? ....................................