Why ar BFG tyres so well respected?

I am shortly in the market for 6 tyres.

265 x 65 x 17 BFG or prefered (265 x 70 x 17) All terrain.

I have heard that the side walls on the BFG are stronger than most.

What else sets the BFG apart from the rest, or are there other makers of all terrains that also have a good tyre construction.

I have heard reports of over landers driving from UK to Cape Town, and not having a single puncture with the BFG.

Graham

Hi Graham,
There are better tyres around then BFG ATs - Michelin XS for sand or XZYs for long distance overlanding with a much better sidewall.

Where the BFGs score is they are a good allrounder - the ATs do well in sand and on snow(to a point) and are good on asphalt - they also wear pretty well and are fairly quiet, also being tubeless means they will run cooler when aired down and the sidewalls are flexing.

Mud Terrains - again there are better mud tyres but they are good allrounders with ok grip on asphalt (not great in the wet) and when part worn quite good in sand - tougher than the ATs but noisy and on long asphalt runs not good for fuel consumption.

they have Triguard sidewalls 3 plys - but I have seen the sidewalls on ATs ripped out - its down to your driving style/route/load/heavy right foot and also how many rusty nails/bolts you run over on a trip to SA that determins how many punctures you get

out of interest what vehicle are you fitting them on and for what purpose ?

Cheers
Grif

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Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

Hi Grif, Thanks for a very interesting reply.

The vehicle is a 2005 Land Cruiser.
D4-d

The standard size is 265 x 65 x 17
however,
I feel I may want to widen the tyre base, to 275 x 65 x 17 or 265 x 70 x 17 in order to protect the aluminuim (sp) rims.

If thats the case, then there is more risk of side wall damage,

So I would be sticking to the tarmac, most of the way, and just now and then, venture onto the sand.

Hi again,

Who are the distributers for Michelin XZY tyres here in UK, or here in the North West, Manchester.

Or is it a mail order?

graham

I think XZY are out of production now, at least here in Scandinavia you can only buy XZL (which I think it's the same tyre with different name)
they only come in 7.5x16 which made the Land Cruiser look a little narrow but they are great.
I used them twice in Africa and never had a puncture (25000 km in east africa and 20000 km in west)
On my last tour in South America I used Pirelli Scorpion (made in Brazil) and they were great tyres too (29k km with no punctures but mainly tarmac)
ps.: I've heard that BFGoodrich is owned by Michelin

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Mario T. - southing

Yep BFG is owned by Michelin

the XZY is different to the XZL (now Michelin O/R) - the ZL is an open tread mud -which replaced the old XCL - the ZY is a high mileage closed tread tyre which years ago used to be OE on Land Rovers - the proper square ones:

4X4 O/R


Google Image Result for http://www.toyota-gib.com/images03/accessories2003/michelinXZY.jpg


Graham
you didnt mention your intended use - a Trans Africa trip I guess you mean as you refer to sand ???
im pretty sure you wont find XZY in 17 inch

a couple of points -

MY preference would be to ditch the 17in alloys IF POSS and use steel 16in rims - not sure if you can get some to fit that stud pattern ??? - alloys are not a good choice for long distance overlanding - as they cant be welded - they also make your vehicle even flashier - attracting even more kids asking for cadeau....

Using 16in rims gives you a better choice of tyres and you will be able to buy tyres en route if required- there are not many places that sell 17in tyres - especially in WA where the popular sizes you will find is 7.50x16 or maybe 235 85 16s - if you find a good dealer in a major city/port - you MIGHT find 17in tyres......

If however you have to go down the 17in route then you want the taller sidewall - better ground clearance, better over rough ground as the taller sidewall takes more impact, it also creates a longer footprint when aired down - so go with the slightly taller 70 profile

the extra width isnt an issue - as the BFGs (AT or MT) have a built in 'rim protector' - a thicker band of rubber protruding out beyond the rim edge.

id stick with the 265s - the overall height is more important than the width for aired down performance
going wider will just increase your rolling resistance.


hope that all makes sense

__________________
Cheers
Grif

'11 KTM 450 EXC
'09 Suzuki DR650
'00 Discovery Series 2 V8
'95 Defender 90 300 Tdi Overlander
http://gipperstravels.blogspot.ca

Graham,

I have run BFG's on my LR Dicovery for a few years, the only problem I have found with them is the rubber compound is soft and chews out with sharp gibber (small rocks) the tread becomes badly affected.

I also run XZY's on my Land Cruiser ute. These are recommended by a number of experienced overlanders. They are more like truck tyres, very robust. We need to order them through truck tyre outlets not the usual fare in car tyre places. The only negative they have is a tendancy to track along cracks in the road.

For our international travel I will be using the XZY's for sure.

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Chris

We set off with BF Goodridge Trac Edge around Africa and they preformed v well - very durable, I think the rubber may be a bit harder more of a commercial 4x4 tyre hence their replacement name - Commercial Traction T/A which is the newer model. Anyway, we managed over 35k miles with loads of thread left and only 2 punctures from nails. I will say one stretch of road in sudan did take a few chunks out (it was like someone attacked the tyres with an axe) but the thickness saved us. Our friends were not so lucky - 14 punctures on half worn Yokohamas - ouch! Met a farmer in SA that swears by storing tyres in the garage for 2-3 years to "harden up the rubber - any truth in this?

LW vass used to stock loads of part worn XZY's (ex army, virtually new), mind you, not in 17". Witham SV might stock them, they do quite a range of ex mod tyres pretty cheaply I think - I reckon they'd cost quite a bit if ordered new.
I ran XZY's on my 90 for a while - very heavy, but very strong. They weren't bad off road either for a closed tread.

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www.simba4x4.com

The BFGs just work well. I've tried others before but stopped when I got to the BFG MTs as they do exactly what I want them to do. I run 265/75/16s on a LR110 and sankey trailer and they are great. We have been trans africa, scandinavia, balkans, sahara as well as offroading in the UK and they are a good all round tyre. There probably are better tyres / tread patterns for specific conditions (my Unimog runs tractor style tyres and has massive traction in mud by comparision but I don't think they would work well in most other conditions such as sand). I find the MTs a much better all rounder, I previously ran BFG ATs and they weren't as good all round. I've now been running the BFG MTs for about 6 years. I don't notice much in the way of a noise difference over the ATs although I guess you might notice it more in a more insulated 4x4, (there is a lot of noise going on in the LR).

We spent last summer driving 10,000 miles around southern Africa (SA, Namibia, Botswana and zambia) in a land Rover 110 complete with four people and all our gear. We were running on BFG MT's. Fantastically strong. We did not have not have one puncture despite some really crappy roads. They can be used in sand just fine (just deflate and go easy).

Oh, and before I forget. We took the same vehicle on the same tyres for a quick thrash around the pistses of Morocco this Christmas. Plenty of dune bashing, some rubbish tracks. No punctures and no problems.

Finally I' am still using the same set of tyres here in North Devon on the farm. As yet no punctures and I reckon there is a good 3000 miles left on each. Big thumbs up. These are the best tyre around. Tried AT's, great for motorway cruising, and taking granny out for sunday lunch... Enough said

Hi everyone,

My son has BFG mud's on his Toyota Surf 3.0 Liter.

In the wet he often tells me they are very slippy.

I must say, they do look very robust, and almost look too tough to be a tyre !

hense my thoughts on using BFG all terrains.

Most of my trip from UK down to Cape Town, would probably be on tarmac roads.

Now, tarmac roads do vary, as we all know.

So woul BFG muds still be the choice, or BFG A/T.

My Toyota Land Cruiser is a 2005, and is already rather quiet, just the way I like it !

MT's fine on roads and have not found them slippy, just check pressures

We have used BFG ATKO and love them a good alround tyre for overlanding by far.

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www.landroveradventure.co.uk
Land Rover Discovery 2, Yamaha Super Tenere

Hello all,

Well after reading back my posts on all the forums, it looks like, for my use, the BFG A/T are the ones.

I will be mostly on the tarmac, say 80% the rest will be hard sand and tracks.

The size I went for are 265 x 70 x r17
.
.
.Graham