Hi Jeremy,

I've had my 80 sideways several time going around roundabouts, pulling out at junctions, etc in the wet due to the crappy Wrangler MTRs - I have found them pretty useless on the road as well as in mud.


Going back to the RTW question, at the end of the day your life will depend on the quality of your tyres, it is one of several areas you should never skimp on.

If you can, see if you can find some BFG Traction tyres - they are a cross between the BFG ATs and then BFG MTs and are well suited to LRs. Failing that go for the BFG ATs

Hi Jules! A roundabout in Cirencester is hardly comparable to the roads in Northern Kenya!

Anyway, why settle for second best? BFG are Michelin's cheap and cheerful consumer brand. Buy XZL or XZYs - both the British and Kenyan Armies use the XZL.

Quick Question
 

Can any explain the difference between XZYs and XZLs?

Thanks

Do I read a contradiction in there?
Anyway. There's planny of tar between europe and SA, sometimes even pretty good tar where you'll find yourself driving at speeds around or in excess of 100kph. That's where good tires matter. More than in sand or mud if you ask me. (things going wrong at 100kph on wet tarred african road tend to be much much worse then getting stuck and having to dig for 16 hours with your bare hands (or reversing out and giving it another try))

I used BfGoodridge AT's 225/75 R16 on my disco for trans africa. Reading the above tread this would be not more then a mediocre tire in the wrong size. I got stuck once, this was going cross country when suddenly the front sunk in the mud with the car resting on the bashplate and the front axle. I don't believe that any sort of mud tire would have made a difference in this situation.

And then I punctured a side wall on a sharp rock that I hit at about 80 kph on a tar road in Angola (that was after nearly 30.000 km on the road). When I hit that rock I knew I was gonna blow the tire. My fault really.

I have no experience with the other tires, but I'm quite confident that a set of BFG AT's will bring you there, and back if needed. And they're quite a bit cheaper then the MT's, which in there turn are quite a bit cheaper then the michelins.

I guess in the end it's really about what you want to spend on it, where I believe that the BFG AT's are a pretty good deal for the money, the michelins might be better, but at a price, and if you don't want, there's no reason to pay that price.

Enjoy!

XZY is a road biased truck tyre.
XZL is a off road biased tyre.

I've had Dunlop Grandtreks, Pirrelli Scorpion ATs, BFG ATs and finally the XZLs and, personally, I have been most happy with the XZL's. I hear that the BFG's are good but am unwilling to go back.

I also hear that the BFG MT is a bit softer than the AT so will wear faster. The XZLs will wear faster than the XZY but are better in Kenya's black cotton soils. At the end of the day it's a matter of personal preference, maybe I'm old fashioned but I just think that BFG's are a bit too bling for me!

Hi Ollie,

Difference between XZY and XZL

The main difference is that the load rating (121L / 14 ply) of the 7.50 size XZY is greater than a 235 or 8.25 XZL (which I think is 108N / 8 ply). The XZY is a skinnier tyre but can accept heavier loads than the various wider XZL's. XZY's are designed for road and site work and are Michelins recommended third world off/on road tyre for trucks. XZL's are more of a short distance off road flotation type tyre with a range of pressure ability to choose from, better in mud and sand but not so durable (softer compound) and with lower loading abilities, and consequently more damage prone. A friend who bought a set of XZL's in 7.50 size said they wear very fast, in less than 10k miles, which makes sense as they are softer.

You can speak to Michelins technical department - they are very helpful.

For your trip I would say stick with XZY's or maybe BFG M/T's if you fancy something wider.

BTW tubes coming soon...!!!!

Andrew.

True, but wet tarmac is wet tarmac, wherever you are in the world.

If you can easily spin on wet tarmac on the Cirencester bypass when unloaded, what is it going to be like when fully loaded on a wet tarmac road in Africa.

OK, you won't get the roundabouts in most of Africa, but having to suddently change direction on wet tarmac when in a fully loaded 4x4 you need to be confident in your tyres as you dodge that local/livestock/vehicle.

On that basis you are far better off with an AT pattern over an MT pattern.

For the average overlander the amount of time they are likely to come across a situation where MTs are an advantage will be a fraction of the time when the ATs are an advantage.

True, true...

Coming back to the XZL / XZY thing: A 750/16 XZL is the same width as a 750/16 XZY which are both near as damnit to 235/85.

(Although a word of warning: a 750/16 rim will fit on a 5 1/2 to 6 1/2 inch rim but a 235/85 uses a 6 incher)

The 750/16 XZL is a 116N tyre, ie: max load per tyre is 1250kg & the max speed rating is 140kmh.

The XZY a 122L: 1500kg & 120kmh.

As to the plies I thought the XZL was 10 ply and the XZY was 12.

Michelin acrually does a small booklet of "4x4 tyre fitments, pressures and tech data" which is a really good piece of reference material. You should be able to get it free from your local Mich dealer (although it says £5 on the back).

Good afternoon

Well I have made my purchase....... I pretty much decided on XZY's, mainly for the side wall strength and the fact that they seem to be pretty widely used by military and plenty of over Landers. I actually purchased 6 of them on rims the other week, got a bit of a deal on them as it happens. They were used tyres but 4 looked as if they had never seen tarmac, they were on pristine 1ton, wide rims, got them off Crook Brothers in Preston. The guy there reckoned they had come off an armoured land rover in northern Ireland, managed to get all 6 for £400. They guy there specialises in ex-MOD land rover gear and is extremely helpful and competativly priced. He was talking about a few people he'd sent off to south Africa overland in 101's with XZY tyres and he reckoned they never had a puncture all the way. I know he was selling, but from what I've heard about these tyres I can believe him.

Anyway thank you all very much for your advice and I'll post an update when we get back to tell you all how they faired.

Cheers

Jason

Glad you made that decision - I don't think you'll be disapointed - I look forward to seeing you in Kenya or Zim some day. If you see a Zebra striped Toyota parked up on the hard shoulder and a fat bloke with a beer in his hand - that'll probably be me!

Go well