Tire Recommendations for Rough Roads

[Ken Lyons]

I'm going to be driving our '99 Forester on an old CCC road near the
Shenandoah National Park in Virginia, perhaps once a month. Some the the
hills are fairly steep and eroded, exposing some pretty sharp rocks and
there are some muddy ruts 6-8 inches deep. There is the possibility of snow
and ice in the winter, but I may just bag it if it comes to that.

We currently have the OEM Bridgestone Dueler H/T, which handled the first
trip in semi-dry weather OK. [BTW, I am amazed at what this automatic
transmission Forester can do]. At 32,000 miles the H/Ts are getting a little
long in the tooth and I'm looking for an improved replacement. It appears
the Bridgestone Dueler H/L is a better tire, while offering a compromise
between rough road and highway use. I do not want a soft sidewall, smooth
highway cruiser that is just going to get cut up when I smack a few sharp
rocks. The Toyo Proxes T1-S are being reserved for my Miata. Searches in
this newsgroup and NASIOC haven't really given me any guidance. It seems
many of us never leave the pavement.

I want sidewalls that handle the rocks and treads that handle the mud and
wouldn't mind the quietest highway ride I can get while doing that. What is
out there?

 

[Gerard]

Hi Ken,

I've heard that Pirelli make a good off road tyre for the Forester, I think
it's called Scorpion SC or something similar. I have friends with a
Forrester here in Australia who have them and torture it off road regularly
without any probs. They're not bad on the beach either although a little on
the noisy side on the freeway.

Sounds like a fun drive you've got there - with serious mud a set of chains
sometimes comes in handy for a little extra traction when it gets really
mushy.

Gerard...

 

[S]

Hi Ken!

I want sidewalls that handle the rocks and treads that handle the mud and
wouldn't mind the quietest highway ride I can get while doing that. What is
out there?

I've done some mild offroading with my WRX wagon. The Michelin Arctic
Alpins I was using seemed to work well on typical Rocky Mountain
backcountry trails; rocky, loose gravel, relatively dry, steep
sections. They are not suitable for mud; they pack up and become
useless way too easily, and are slow to clean out. My usual offroad
car is a beat-up old GL wagon. I have used the Nokian Hakkapilitta
(sp?) tires on it, with very good results. As the Hakkis have become
popular, and hence more expensive, I have been using a no-name
mud-n-sno tire sourced from the guys at Peerless Tyre. We found one in
a 185/80/13 size that has the advantage of providing a bit more ride
height, but it doesn't work as well as the Hakkis on loose surfaces.
Basically, you want a somewhat taller, narrower tire than would be the
optimum choice for pavement, with an open block tread pattern. You
will probably find that a "real" mud and snow tire from most any
manufacturer that will work reasonably well, or you might look into a
dedicated gravel rally tire such as one of the Michelin offerings
(pricy) or perhaps the Kumho rally tire, which I am told works very
well. A tire that fits this description will tend to be pretty squirmy
(that a word d'ya suppose?), and loud on pavement, but anything less
will compromise offroad performance, particularly on soft or muddy
ground. Tradeoffs. Sigh.

ByeBye! S.

Steve Jernigan KG0MB
Laboratory Manager
Microelectronics Research
University of Colorado
(719) 262-3101

 

[Ken Lyons]

I've heard that Pirelli make a good off road tyre for the Forester, I think
it's called Scorpion SC or something similar

Thanks Gerard. I haven't looked at Pirellis since my used '63 Mini-Cooper
came with a set. The Scorpion ST looks pretty agressive for an on/off road
tire, but unfortunately looks to be available only in 16 inch in the U.S. My
'99 is on 15 inch wheels and I don't plan on changing that. The STR appears
to be the only one in the on/off road group that is available in the
205/70-15 size I need. I'll have to stop by the local Sears/NTB store and
see if they have it.