VW T5 New Wheels All Terrains Need Feedback

[saltd0g]

Hey fellas,

So i am getting some new shoes for the van, previously had Kumhos H/T's and never again, only got about 27,000 kms, and ripped the side wall out of one of them, and terrible wear on the inside of the tyres, almost to bald at the moment (anyone face similar problem?).

So here are my selections and prices, if anyone has used any of the below let me know! This could help other forum uses make a selection on A/T's for there T5's.

I have a 4Motion - LWB with mid roof and plenty of gear inside and out, so sidewall construction is important.
I will travel Australia in these and they will need to handle sand, mud and highway.


This is the order of preference.
1. BF Goodrich - 245/65/R17 11S - $359

2. Pirelli Scorpion ATR - 235/65/R17 - $245

3. Bridgestone Dueller A/T 697 - 235/65/R17 - ????

4. Maxxis A/T 700 235/65/R17 - $259

Coopers dont do my size....

I know Murphenzo has used the Pirellis so would be good to hear back from you mate?

Look foward to your ideas!

[Bryn23]

I have had the 697 Duelers before. I've put them on my last three 4WD's, great tire, never had an issue with them, great all rounder, not a huge amount of road noise, never had any chipping. if i had the choice id throw them on my van now if they had a size that was legal for me.

I have a MY17 LWB Midroof transporter 3200 kg gvm and it came with 215/60 R17 Cargo Vectors 107 load rated, Mud+Snow Tires. only done 600km since I've had it,, so i can't really comment on these yet, but they Seem good so far, but thats on a mixture of highway and hilly windy Tarmac roads, i haven't used these off-road yet, nor do i know how much they are yet, as i need a spare for our trip out to the Rock and Darwin via Adelaide in July.

BFG do a Ko2 in 225/65R17 as well with a high load rating, that would work, if you do lean towards the BFG and want to slightly reduce the speedo difference.

[Seano]

Check out the General Grabber At2 or At3. Mum has the Scorpions on her Discovery...They are quite OK. Had a set of BFG back in the day and was unimpressed but many swear by them these days so who am I to judge?

Personally with these vans I'd not worry too much about the tread pattern, rather the carcass strength. But even so I have Hankook tyres at the moment and they won't be going back on when they are shredded. Going to try Michelin Latitude Cross...

[Murphenzo]

I've now put 35k km on the Pirellis and love them. They probably have another 10 - 15 k in them. Super quiet, grippy and well behaved on road and have taken some solid abuse off road in their stride. Zero flats, zero damage. I'll be replacing them with another set for sure.

[Murphenzo]

Re pressures, I run around 48 front 44 rear to get an even wear pattern.

[saltd0g]

Thanks everyone! I think i will go with the scorpions, but i am going to keep investigating something else first...16 inch rims for 4motions haha seems like a bit tough but i have a 16inch spare which fits so i am sure someone somewhere makes them! I tried some amarok 16inch wheels and they only rubbed by about 2 mm! I have heard i need 3mm from thw calipers?

[transparu]

Thanks everyone! I think i will go with the scorpions, but i am going to keep investigating something else first...16 inch rims for 4motions haha seems like a bit tough but i have a 16inch spare which fits so i am sure someone somewhere makes them! I tried some amarok 16inch wheels and they only rubbed by about 2 mm! I have heard i need 3mm from thw calipers?

saltd0g,
If you have the 132KW T5.1, the 16" wheels won't fit. The brake calipers in these vehicles are too large.
Just in case this is an issue for you.

[Rtee]

Thanks everyone! I think i will go with the scorpions, but i am going to keep investigating something else first...16 inch rims for 4motions haha seems like a bit tough but i have a 16inch spare which fits so i am sure someone somewhere makes them! I tried some amarok 16inch wheels and they only rubbed by about 2 mm! I have heard i need 3mm from thw calipers?

saltd0g, i followed this thread with interest as I was in the same predicament, wanting a higher, tougher tyre for our campervan.
I also chose the Perelli 235 65 R17 Scorpion ATR, I thought I might be able to squeeze the spare into the tray beneath the floor if the tyre was not inflated. This is not possible, so my question is, has anyone any knowledge of a tray that will accept an oversize tyre? I know of Siekel trays in Europe but 450Euro plus postage that's mighty expensive!
I also have read about cutting 2 trays and welding them together to make a longer tray, this is beyond my capabilities but I wonder if anyone else has done this.
Rtee

[Murphenzo]

saltd0g, i followed this thread with interest as I was in the same predicament, wanting a higher, tougher tyre for our campervan.
I also chose the Perelli 235 65 R17 Scorpion ATR, I thought I might be able to squeeze the spare into the tray beneath the floor if the tyre was not inflated. This is not possible, so my question is, has anyone any knowledge of a tray that will accept an oversize tyre? I know of Siekel trays in Europe but 450Euro plus postage that's mighty expensive!
I also have read about cutting 2 trays and welding them together to make a longer tray, this is beyond my capabilities but I wonder if anyone else has done this.
Rtee

I managed to squeeze my spare (same size as yours) into the spare wheel well, it's just not easy. I needed to deflate the tire and I had to jack it into place with my trolley jack. It is possible though.

[Rtee]

I managed to squeeze my spare (same size as yours) into the spare wheel well, it's just not easy. I needed to deflate the tire and I had to jack it into place with my trolley jack. It is possible though.

Murphenzo, thanks for yr reply, I did try to do that today with a bottle jack and plank of wood, not very successful.
I'll have another go tomorrow with a cargo strap and try to deform the flat tyre into an oval.
I see you have never had a flat so you've not had to pull the spare out, I hope it never has to be done out in the bush
Rtee

[Sunny43.5]

Best way I found to fit an oversize tyre is to make sure the rear support strap is on the lowest hole and then put the wheel into place and jack the very end of the rear part until you can start the bolt after that its a breeze .

[Murphenzo]

Murphenzo, thanks for yr reply, I did try to do that today with a bottle jack and plank of wood, not very successful.
I'll have another go tomorrow with a cargo strap and try to deform the flat tyre into an oval.
I see you have never had a flat so you've not had to pull the spare out, I hope it never has to be done out in the bush
Rtee

Yeah! Not looking forward to the day I need to use it! :0

It certainly would be nice to have a better solution.

[Rtee]

Thanks to Murphenzo and Sunny43.5 for the inspiration to stuff this oversize spare into its spot. Two and a half hours it took me, I eventually jacked the van up and then lowered it onto blocks of wood to squeeze the spare up into the well. It was not easy at all and I am not going to do that out in the scrub anywhere. Frontline in Sydney have a method to "modify" the tray to accommodate an oversize tyre, we are having a diesel heater fitted there next month, so I hopefully I can get them to modify ours. The other alternative would be a Seikel oversize tyre tray, but at 450 Euro plus delivery I reckon that's a bit much.

[Sunny43.5]

Is it the diameter that's the issue or the width ?

[Rtee]

Is it the diameter that's the issue or the width ?

I would have thought they are both the same...the tyre is too big in diameter for the length of the tray AND I think the plastic shrouding under neath takes up a bit of room and could be cutaway, this might be what Frontline do, I will find out hopefully, in a month.