Freelander 1 Tyres for Freelander 1 ? (mainly ROAD use) ?

Joe_H · Mar 8, 2016

Hi all,
Please can you advise on a good quality tyre ( I need 4) for the freelander 1)
I live in Portugal (A brit - but over here) .. Ok,
SO - preferable requirements - good - very good in fact - quality of tyre.

Usage - 95% ON ROAD .... 5% OFF road.,. HOWEVER - the OFF ROAD is probably never mud plugging.
It is almost always gravel / stones / mountain passes etc.

I would really appreciate a tyre set that can comfortably do this, AND remain quiet at cruising speeds.
Budget ? around £400
Cheers n Beers to all

Joe

digby · Mar 8, 2016

grabbers
or if you want a big 5 name then take your pick - they will all give excellent results

hd3 · Mar 8, 2016

It is almost always gravel / stones / mountain passes etc.

http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/michelin-latitude-tour-hp

" The “Terrain-Proof” compound is derived from earth mover tyre technology where abrasion with stones and gravel accelerates wear.
The “Terrain-Proof” compound enables both on and off-road driving and resists wear in difficult driving conditions, in particular:
• in multi-purpose use, e.g. stone/gravel tracks.
• with heavily laden vehicles, e.g. towing a horsebox.
• in hard road driving (hard braking, acceleration or cornering). "

Budget ? around £400

here in the uk .. the 'latitudes' are a bit more ..
no idea about prices on the continent ..

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

noise levels are on the page .. tyre size dependent
i find them fairly quiet .. in comparison to the ' pirelli scorpion str ' i had on previously
they are also wearing better ..
mine have done 40,000 miles ..
( edit .. think i were wrong on the tread depth quote ..
( just saw a note-to-self .. i'd figured it out to: " aprox. 1mm tread wear per 11,000 miles "

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

i'll be fitting same again when these wear out
i.e. if michelin still be making them

here's a LZ thread regarding tyres :
https://www.landyzone.co.uk/land-rover/what-tyres-do-you-have-on-your-freelander.182778/

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Joe_H · Mar 9, 2016

Thanks for the info ! - the 'tours' look exactly what I would like - unfortunately - They do not appear to be available in 15".
Mine are 195 / 80 / 15.

freelance · Mar 9, 2016

The latitude cross are available in 15", I had them on mine

GrumpyGel · Mar 9, 2016

I wonder if 195/80R15 are an unpopular size? The Goodyear distributor over here brings in Wrangler, but not the 195/18R15s.

I was a bit ****ed to find this out. I had visions of buying 4 from another 'premium' brand just to have a puncture a fortnight later and find I couldn't get just 1. So I decided it was time to buy on price. I didn't go for the cheapest Chinese ones I could find - but ended up with GT Radial Maxmilers. They're fine (great) on the road - but they are pumped to 40PSI, so as soon as I leave the tarmac its a very bumpy/uncomfortable ride.

My Landy · Mar 10, 2016

GrumpyGel said:
I wonder if 195/80R15 are an unpopular size? The Goodyear distributor over here brings in Wrangler, but not the 195/18R15s.

I was a bit ****ed to find this out. I had visions of buying 4 from another 'premium' brand just to have a puncture a fortnight later and find I couldn't get just 1. So I decided it was time to buy on price. I didn't go for the cheapest Chinese ones I could find - but ended up with GT Radial Maxmilers. They're fine (great) on the road - but they are pumped to 40PSI, so as soon as I leave the tarmac its a very bumpy/uncomfortable ride.

40 PSI? I thought all Freelander Tyres were all 32 PSI as recommended by the manufacturer? Interesting though as I buy tyres from an online company had them fitted at a local garage and was surprised upon my first tyre pressure check a week or so later and they were up at 40 PSI?? I did wonder why the mechanic at the time mentioned saying that one of my tyres was low when he fitted x2.
Can you shed any light on what they should be?
Many Thanks

freelance · Mar 10, 2016

32-38 psi

GrumpyGel · Mar 10, 2016

My Landy said:
40 PSI? I thought all Freelander Tyres were all 32 PSI as recommended by the manufacturer? Interesting though as I buy tyres from an online company had them fitted at a local garage and was surprised upon my first tyre pressure check a week or so later and they were up at 40 PSI?? I did wonder why the mechanic at the time mentioned saying that one of my tyres was low when he fitted x2.
Can you shed any light on what they should be?
Many Thanks

As you say the correct tyre pressure is as recommended by the (tyre) manufacturer determined by the spec they are manufactured/built to. GT Radial recommend 40PSI for MaxMilers. They are more of a "commercial" tyre than a road car tyre.

Nodge68 · Mar 11, 2016

Tyre pressure is a very individual thing. The perfect pressure is governed by tyre make,size and style as well as the loaded condition of the car. The manufacturer's specifications can be "tweeked" to provide the best compromise between comfort, life and grip.

Joe_H · Mar 11, 2016

Hi Guys, great info !... I really appreciate it.
I think the Michelin 'Cross' would be great if we had a 'winter' over here. but we only get a bit more rain and temps down to about 7 to 9C at the lowest.
Not really suited to that.. if we had snow / ice occasionally - it would be great. The 'tour' seems - on the surface - ideal - but.... not available in my size.

At the moment am looking at the "Goodyear Wrangler' HP All weather as a (seemingly ??) good compromise .. good price, good make etc ? (http://www.camskill.co.uk/m26b0s243...Eff_:_F_Wet_Grip:_C_NoiseClass:_1_Noise:_68dB) (Same tyre- just a different site)

Any down side to this for my use ?

I can get a full set of four fitted for less than 400 Euro ..

Would be interested in your opinions on this breed ;-)

Regards
Joe

Joe_H · Mar 11, 2016

GrumpyGel said:
I wonder if 195/80R15 are an unpopular size? The Goodyear distributor over here brings in Wrangler, but not the 195/18R15s.

I was a bit ****ed to find this out. I had visions of buying 4 from another 'premium' brand just to have a puncture a fortnight later and find I couldn't get just 1. So I decided it was time to buy on price. I didn't go for the cheapest Chinese ones I could find - but ended up with GT Radial Maxmilers. They're fine (great) on the road - but they are pumped to 40PSI, so as soon as I leave the tarmac its a very bumpy/uncomfortable ride.

HI Grumpy Gel my friend.
As you probably noticed by my last post, I can get these here no worries at all (195/80/15) - within 48 hours!). I dont think they are anything special 'off road' however, for the time I would ACTUALLY be 'off road', they may be a good compromise.

It seems you were attracted to them at one time (until you found a lack of supply) - what are your overall thoughts for my usage ?

Cheers n Beers
Joe

Nodge68 · Mar 11, 2016

Joe_H said:
Hi Guys, great info !... I really appreciate it.
I think the Michelin 'Cross' would be great if we had a 'winter' over here. but we only get a bit more rain and temps down to about 7 to 9C at the lowest.
Not really suited to that.. if we had snow / ice occasionally - it would be great. The 'tour' seems - on the surface - ideal - but.... not available in my size.

At the moment am looking at the "Goodyear Wrangler' HP All weather as a (seemingly ??) good compromise .. good price, good make etc ? (http://www.camskill.co.uk/m26b0s243p104997/Goodyear_Tyres_SUV_4x4_Goodyear_Wrangler_HP_All_Weather_-_195_80_R15_96H_TL_Fuel_Eff_:_F_Wet_Grip:_C_NoiseClass:_1_Noise:_68dB) (Same tyre- just a different site)

Any down side to this for my use ?

I can get a full set of four fitted for less than 400 Euro ..

Would be interested in your opinions on this breed ;-)

Regards
Joe

They were one of the factory fitted tyres. I liked them as a good alrounder. They do need rotation to keep them quiet and they only lasted about 20K miles on the front. Yokohama AT/S are also good, if a little more noisy. They grip better than the Goodyear in the wet and last almost twice as long. They would be my preference of the 2.

Joe_H · Mar 11, 2016

Hi Nodge,
in dry conditions ( as we have here in Portugal 99 % of the time) I think I need a more tailored tyre)
Noise is a very important factor (ON THE ROAD !) for me,, I do not care about off road noise!)

Again, being in Portugal, the ['wet' ] is fairly rare... it is the mountain tracks (dry) that are important - and that is only 5% or realistically LESS 'off road' use'

Nodge68 · Mar 11, 2016

What's the damage risk like on the mountain roads? I found the Yokohama AT/S very good at shrugging off damage. The Goodyear did suffer nicks and cuts but otherwise were OK. I found both the Wrangler HP and AT/S both similarly noisy/ quiet depending on your point of view.

GrumpyGel · Mar 11, 2016

As Nodge says, I believe mine had had Wrangler HPs on from from new. I found them to be a good tyre. I never had any problems on road and I didn't notice any noise problems.

My driving was probably similar to yours - mainly road around town but with regular long distance trips - no motorways here though, even SH1 is a UK A road at best - probably more a B road. But grips and comfort was fine including loaded up with boat, family and all our camping gear.

They are Highway Tyres so are not going to be the best off road - however I found the Freelander on Wrangler HTs had better traction on the beach than the D1 it relaced that had AT tyres. Lots of gravel roads here and I'd take it down the river bed and tracks no problem.

I'd agree wear wasn't fantastic. I've been told 'cheap' tyres are better for wear than 'premium' tyres. They tend to use harder compounds that don't give as good performance, but last longer. I'm sort of finding that with these 'commercial' GT Radials, they aren't as comfortable but do appear to be lasting a lot longer.

Having said the Wranglers are a good tyre, I should add 1 word of caution. We had visitors over a few years ago and went off touring in the car - mainly day trips out of Chch. So basically going off and enjoying ourselves was the frame of mind. I noticed the car wasn't feeling "quite right" but sort of put it to the back of my mind to sort out in a few days. I'm sure the slight odd feel to the car was the rear drivers side Wrangler down on air as the day after I first noticed it my IRD imploded and that tyre was looking a bit sorry for itself. I'm sure this was totally my fault (stupidity) and any tyre can lose some air - but it is an experience I had with my Wranglers.

Joe_H · Mar 12, 2016

Again, many thanks to all who responded.
There is a huge difference in price here between the Goodyear Wrangler and Michelin cross - nearly 200 Euro for 4 (fitted / balanced etc)
It would appear I am 'sort of' limited (due to supply and price) to The Wrangler, Hankook (which are noisy) and many many cheapo brands.
The 'off road' is more gravel than rocks, however, yes, there are some tracks - especially in the mountains from Portugal to Spain that contain a sharp shale type material.
In truth, we have a Fiat Panda (NOT! 4x4) and we have been in some real dodgy areas that only the ground clearance held us up - prett amazing on continental skinny eco tyres... So, am really tempted by the Goodyear...
Will do a tour of tyre dealers and price up other brands like the Yoko's mentioned as well. I DO like the idea of the 'latitude cross' but possibly not the best compromise... the latitude 'tour' I would go for no worries, but - as said, not available in 15"....

It would be super if one could try them first lol - however, that is asking too much .

Thanks guys.. will report back !!

Joe

redwood · Mar 12, 2016

I have general grabbers gt, not designed for mud wallowing but like you only needed on gravel tracks, they cost me trade £50.54 each

Joe_H · Mar 25, 2016

Hi, Update to this -

I finally decided on the Goodyear Wranglers (195/.80R/15)
4 fitted, balanced and full laser tracking included for 380 Euro. Which is actually pretty damn good for Portugal

My spare is still an original Michelin 4x4 in unused condition. It makes me wonder what happens if I have to change a wheel... ?
I will check the rolling radius of the two types - possibly I need to consider changing the spare to a wrangler as well ?
It would appear the best spare is the same as the other 4 fitted with about half wear

Nodge68 · Mar 25, 2016

I'll have the same issue and I'm not about to take off an unused but old Michelin tyre.
As long as you have the largest tyre combination on the back, you'll be fine until you get the matching tyre repaired or replaced.

Freelander 1 Tyres for Freelander 1 ? (mainly ROAD use) ?

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