Tyres......They are round and black !!!!
This can be a mine field when you ask advice regarding tyres because there are so many different variables that can be bought up. Such as budget, car size and weight, tyre purpose, value for money, tyre size, brands or even what your mate told you in the pub. Over the past 20 years of off-roading and touring I have been lucky and unlucky in my tyre selection. I say unlucky because some haven't worn to well and just haven't lasted. I have had mud tyres, serious off-road aggressive types, all terrains and of course the standard on road tyres when you get when you purchase a new 4wd. It's hard too because you want to keep up with your mates or even go further on the tracks, but on the other hand you want good on road performance and wear.
My current tyres are Dick Cepek 285/75/16.
"Why these tyres ?.."........ Well; I am finding that I am doing less and less hard off roading now, just enjoy going away camping and some light 4wding. These tyres are of a all terrain type 4 lug pattern. I have found they have been fantastic on the beach where I normally lower the pressures down around 20 psi, on road they are very quiet ( my last set of tyres were mud tyres so a bit difference from them), on desert tracks ranging from bull dust, sandy sections and corrugations they have performed exceptionally well around the 26-28 psi mark and I have tackled some harder tracks here on the coast with success in dry weather. Because of the 4 lug closed pattern, I have found in the mud that they tend to clog up with mud, but saying that they do clean themselves ( get the mud out from the tread ) well. I haven't done a lot of serious mud driving ( my pet hate ) but the limited tracks I have done the tyres have performed well so far when I run them at 16 psi. This may sound a tad low but with the stepped down shoulders that come down the side of the tyre ( sharp side biters ) they work well at that pressure with my car. Probably the only downfall I have had with these tyres have been on wet rocks- seems like they just can’t dry out or grip quickly enough. But honestly that's only a small issue that I can contend with. On dry rocky tracks they grip well with the pattern design. I would class the tread pattern in between as all terrain and a mud tyre.
I am very impressed with the Cepek’s so far, with several desert trips, a lot of highway driving, towing a heavy camper trailer and some bush adventures they are performing well. These tyres are claimed to be a combination of 60% road plus sand and 40% dirt plus mud so I reckon they are a great outback tourer tyre. Speaking of outback driving I have noticed that the design of the tyres seem to keep minimal flicking of stones onto the car and even mud seems to spray back down and not out onto the side of the car. Keeping the car a bit cleaner and fewer stone chips on the paint.
"Would I buy these tyres again ?... 100% for sure. I like the deep tread, where I hope to get a good 60,000km out of the Cepek’s ( keep in mind my car weighs in at around 2.5 tonne ). They do look like an aggressive all terrain which are good for aesthetics and with the square shoulders that the Cepek’s have, all 4 tyres are wearing even. I have given mine a caning over the past 2 years and they just keep on performing as good as the first day I got them. Looking at the tread depth today and I can honestly say that I will get another two years out of this set ( as I tap on wood !!)
Made in the USA the tread is made up of 1 ply nylon, 2 ply steel and 2 ply polyester and the sidewall is made up of 2 ply polyester giving these strength in the tread when it is on the ground where you need it as well as wrapping and strength in the sidewall when you need to lower the pressures. This combination provides a chip and puncture resistant tyre that is designed to give you a smooth ride.
I heard some one say once that you soon forget about the price when durability, reliability and performance are the only factors that you talk about. At the time of purchase I paid in vicinity of $355 per tyre fitted to my 4wd, and haven't regretted it to this day.
For a great all round All Terrain tyre I definatly recommend the Dick Cepek FCII tyres.
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