Tyres in African heat
 

Hi everybody,

I was out to buy tyres today, for the Suzuki Jimny. Getting set for the Atlantic route in W-Africa. I could choose between Michelin, Bridgestone (which was originally under the car) and Dunlop.
Michelin is everyone's favorite, but there was one story that worries me. It was said that the Michelin steel inside the tyre can't stand too much heat (the rubber will get loose, or something like that). And it will surely be hot in the Western sahara in July... That's why some prefer the nylon instead of the steel, which is supposedly inside the Bridgestone and Dunlop.
Sales men tales?! Ignorance on my part? You name it, but can anybody help me choose?

Thanx!

Mana

Make sure you get brand new tires. I live in the Southwest part of the US on the border with Mexico. We have extreme hot summer temperatures here (i.e. 40-48 C) and I help many travelers (often from Mexico) on Interstate 8 who chose to install re-treads, which get torn up from the intense heat.

Bonding between the rubber and the case (metal or whatever) will be effected by heat. Having said that I don't think you'll have a problem with whatever tyre you decide on. The important things are;

Have the correct inflation pressures - highter is probably better than lower for tyre life. If you need to decrease the pressure (sand etc) then reduce your speed until the tyres are reinflated.

Not to travell at high speed - that increses the heat.

Tyres in the Heat
 

I am planning A trip to timbuktu in jan, I was told that any time march to Oct is a NO NO! are you sure your going July? maybe Im wrong, perhaps others can shed light, Dave (Not Heat, just light)

absolute twoddle
 

Hi

Sorry but lol on this one. Salesmen for you. We came back from 80,000 km through west and east africa on one set of michelin xzy tyres . Never a problem and they outlasted every other tyre. These tryres underwent extreme condicitons see www.duksjourney.net and even with 3 inch gashes in the side wall they still got us all the way home.

For the desert an all terrain is good and whilst before out trip I firmly believed a deflated high side wall slim tyre was better in soft sand, after our trip I am of the opinion that the wide bridgestone AT also worked extremly well.

The main issue is tyre pressure and for desert driving we found it better to use tubed so that we could get the pressure right down to 0.8 bar in the very most extreme conditions. However this is exceptional

FWIW, our Michelin XZY tyres last 65.000km thru Africa with lots of tread to spare in the end. And we had them deflated down to 0.6 Bar without tubes quite often! I seriously doubt that the steel wire in the Michelin tyres will have any adverse effect as long as you use your compressor as often as you should. And don't drive too fast when the tyre pressure is low.

Erik

www.dunia.no

West Africa in mid-summer
 

In response to SaharaDave's post:
I rode from Lagos to Dublin between the first week of July and the last week of August. I had Bridgestone TrailWings on a Honda Dominator, not for any particular reason, rather they were (one of) the manufacturer's recommendation(s). Nor were they brand new when I started out, but I can't say how much mileage I put up on them before the trip. The rear tyre was as bald as a duck-egg by the time I passed through Madrid, where I replaced it! Certainly the roads were abrasive, but I can't say how much of the pretty high wear rate I experienced was attributable to the heat.

Temperatures were hot, even at night. (I didn't experience any of those 'cold desert nights' you sometimes hear about. Certainly no need for a light sleeping bag.) During the day it was typically 35ºC and more. The hottest section was along the Western Route through Mauritania; it was 45ºC in the shade. Tough going. Continually drinking water is important, and for that, I can't recommend a Camelbak enough.

I'm sure it would have been more comfortable had we not travelled at the height of summer, but it's not impossible.

Enjoy!