Best tyres for Kimberley Trip?

[Wizard52]

Planning a 5 month trip from May next year to Kimberleys and NT on way back home.

Have Bridgestone 694's on at moment and more than happy with them but as they are well worn (70%) I will have to invest in new tyres for the trip.

Looking for advice from locals or recent visitors to the area on which tyre will be best for the gravel roads up there. Not interested in forging new tracks or anything that extreme but still want to get into some more remote areas. A similar question would probably be -- how long is a piece of string.

Thinking of Bridgestone 697's or BFG KO2's as all rounders.

[threedogs]

Have a look at the P4 I think from Mickey Thomson a great all rounder,Hodge just fitted a set
you can see them in his build thread
Ko'2 would be my 2nd choice, but go with new tyres and a decnt spare
and maybe a spare carcass, just in case you shred one, save heaps
if you had to buy one up there.

[HuskyInAuz]

Wizard,
We did the Tanami, Dampier Peninsula, Gibb and Savannah along with quite a number of tracks into the bush and beach this past Jun->August.
I put on new Toyo AT2's .. Could have left my Toyo HT's on IMHO. Drive to the conditions but I was least impressed with hype over the the Gibb being 'rugged', yes there are some sharp rocky sections but you slow down and not do 100kph+

[TPC]

We did the Kimberleys last year and I have BFG AT's and did not get a puncture.
I did destroy a tyre on the camper, that was a Bridgestone HT.

The road conditions change all the time, the Gibb was good when we went through most of it had recently been graded.
The Tanami was very corrugated, same with the road up Dampier Peninsula but we just reduced our speed to suit.
The worst road was the Kalumburu Rd heading up to Mitchell Falls, that was very rough with lots of sharp rocks but they were in the process of grading it when we left.

I have a preference for the BFG's as I have had a good run with them on a couple of cars but any good quality AT's would be ok.
I have the Bridgestone 697's on my work car and they seem quite good.

[ashmccormick]

Hey Wizard,

I live in the Kimberley and have done a lot of the tracks over the past couple of years. I had a set of Bridgestone Dueller AT's 33" (185/75/16's) that coped very well with the harsh roads. I recently got a full new set of Toyo Country AT's also 33'"s which I am pretty happy with... Also had a set put on my work ute. The work ute had a set of Cooper AT's which got shredded pretty fast so I'm happy with the Toyo performance and they were $100 cheaper each than Coopers too.
Basically any good quality Japanese made AT is ideal for up here, good for the sand and the mud too if you get more adventurous.

Main words of advice:
Take 2 spares (or 1 full spare, plus a spare tyre with tyre iron if you're saving on the weight. Someone will help you out if you cant do it yourself)
Drop pressure to 28psi (ish) on the dirt and corrugations
Put it in 4wd high and keep your speed around 80
Watch out for cattle
Have an awesome time in what I reckon is one of the most unique places I've ever been to! :bigthumbup:

[micknor51]

Did the Gibb RR, up to Mitchell Falls, Dampier Peninsular and Pilbara on Dueler AT 697's and 694's in Jul and Aug Sept this year. Most of the roads were not too bad, exception being Mitchell Falls road which was badly corrugated (the grader had just started on it). Completely shredded one of the 694's going into Charnley River station and found that another part worn 694 was on the way out at Cape Keraudren, Pilbara. Both the 694's were a bit worn at the outset from Newcastle.
New Dueler 265/70 R16 697 was $350 in Derby and $269 in Port Headland. Newcastle price $252
We carried two spares plus at a pinch our camper trailer spare will fit.
We ran at 30 psi all round then dropped to 28 psi after the shredding (my first ever) on gravel roads. It took me an hour to change the shreddy and nothing passed us on the road the whole time.
The Pilbara roads are mostly good gravel roads that are graded regularly due to the amount of mining activity around.
Go and have a good time with good tyres to start the trip.
Michael

[TPC]

Here is what my camper tyre looked like after puncturing it.
62833

[Wizard52]

Priced some tyres yesterday.
Bridgestone 697 $240 each and KO2 $325 each. Both same size- 265/75/16.
I can't justify the extra $85 per tyre so Bridgestone it will be.

[Cuppa]

I reckon you’ll be happy with your choice. I’m running the same in the same size & believe they are a good choice for outback touring. I certainly hope so - I’ve got 9 of the things.

[threedogs]

Make sure which ever tyre you decide on is of LT construction,
I had a great run with BFG all Terrains,
if you can start your trip with fresh tyres all the better
Ditch your HT tyres they will not cut it out bush
HT or LT should be written on the side wall somewhere.
Lower your pressures when you hit the dirt 30psi is a good starting point

[Cuppa]

697’s are LT John.

[Wizard52]

Make sure which ever tyre you decide on is of LT construction,
I had a great run with BFG all Terrains,
if you can start your trip with fresh tyres all the better
Ditch your HT tyres they will not cut it out bush
HT or LT should be written on the side wall somewhere.
Lower your pressures when you hit the dirt 30psi is a good starting point

Yes going with 5 brand new tyres + one older spare just in case even though it takes up valuable space in tray.
Existing 694's have 80,000k on them with at least 30,000k to go so will put them back on when I get back and save the new tyres for next big trip.