Bigger wheels & tyres - arguments for & against.

[Cuppa]

A few comments on the current 4wd Action thread helped to retrieve some thoughts which occurred to me when looking at a few tracks in the local bush.

Basically folk had driven through wet ground on large tyres ?35’s 37’s or whatever & left deep ruts making driving through on ‘standard’ tyres - 31’s 33’s impossible. My thought at the time was “I bet the selfish bastards had fun whilst wrecking it for everyone else” .

What happens when the 37” mob cut a track up to such a depth that even most with that size tyre no longer have sufficient clearance. Ever bigger tyres or the track just becomes inaccessible to all?

Do most folk with the taller tyres go super easy in ’31” country’ leaving it accessible for others, saving their height advantage for when they reach natural terrain which is only driveable with their extra ground clearance? I somehow doubt that many do this. Am I wrong (Hope so).

How do you feel about folk using bigger tyres on public tracks? (Respectful answers please - don’t want to start WW3!)

[lhurley]

The only time I've run out of ground clearance without being able to take a different line, is through bog holes. I run 33s and generally (from my own experience) I have been able to navigate a slightly different route/line.

[Winnie]

Big rocks suck on 33s. In rocky conditions though, 35s or any bigger tyres, won't do more damage than a smaller tyre.
But other than big rocks, the only time I run out of ground clearance is driving through ruts created by bigger tyres. Sometimes there is no way around it but to winch through.

[mudski]

Big rocks suck on 33s. In rocky conditions though, 35s or any bigger tyres, won't do more damage than a smaller tyre.
But other than big rocks, the only time I run out of ground clearance is driving through ruts created by bigger tyres. Sometimes there is no way around it but to winch through.

Yep...
Think of a larger tyre like a bigger foot. You will have more surface contact, aswell as more ground clearance. So if you drive right, you wont be doing any more damage than a 33 or smaller because of the extra grip. Depends on the driver too. Someone spinning their wheels at warp speed will still chew up a track just as much as a larger tyre would. Just not as deep as they can't reach.

[Throbbinhood]

See, I never quite got the argument of the bigger tyres 'chewing' up the tracks. Larger footprint therefore more grip, less right foot, and less damage do the tracks. Rain will chew a track up far deeper and faster than big tyres will - in which case the smaller tyres aren't able to drive the track anyway.

I run 35's, which obviously get me further than a 33' if clearance is an issue. However, if that clearance is an issue for the 33', it makes no difference - they can't drive that part of the track anyway.. So the parts they can drive, I'm actually leaving less of an impact by being able to putt over bits.

If I sit there with my engine on the bopper, it won't matter what tyres I have, I'll still be chewing up the tracks.

FWIW, I did Nash Creek Loop in Bunyip a month or two ago. For those that know the area, there's a nasty section with a steep ledge and a chicken track to the right. The chicken track isn't really a chicken track, there's a high chance of rolling if you get the line wrong. The ledge was too steep to drive in the wet, so went the chicken track and was able to crawl it on 35's. The guys on 33's and 31's were all scrambling for traction, and some needed me to winch them up. They did far more damage on their smaller tyres than I did on mine.

[JoeG]

I drive low speed, low pressures light throttle on 35"s and no wheel spin as my vehicle is 7.2m long so need the bigger tyres for ramp over.
often overtaken by mugs running high pressures high speeds and lots of wheel spin.
It is not the big tyre that does the damage it is wheel spinn on any size tyre
Joe

[morton2478]

I went up from 285's to 315's only to get some more hight in approaching gullys as my 04 troll has a 05 ironman bar which sticks out and is the 1st point of contact when crossing creeks and gullys . Most of the 4wding i do is with groups of mates and we all treat the tracks with respect regardless of tyre size cause if we are not careful we will find that all those tracks to the water falls look outs and rain forest dives we love wont be there any more because some redneck has totally stuffed it up for those of use whole love just going out there and exploring this great country we have .

[the evil twin]

Over here in WA the majority of fire trails that get closed off are due to retards with 35's cutting them up so that anyone with 31's or 33's gets high centred ergo that means the Fireys can't use the trails so they get closed off.

[Clunk]

I'll be sticking with my 33s

[taslucas]

44" boggers should do the trick cuppa

>>>tappin from tassie

[nissannewby]

Portals.... with 31s so can go as far as something with 37s

[jay see]

I've gone from a ifs with 31s to a solid axle with 33s and 35s and have to agree that more damage to the tracks where made with the smaller wheels.

[threedogs]

Only PPL I see that wreck tracks are the idiots that cant drive and think the only way
through an obstacle is with revs. A good driver with 31s will go further than a cowboy
on 35s in most cases. Anyone can do a donut, ruts are there to assist you especially going
downhill, Cant count the amount of times PPl try to steer out of them going down.
Join a club and do a course, it also gets rid of bad habits
Its about being responsible when off road, high country or desert country

[mudnut]

I have witnessed DHs with 8" lifts and massive, chunky tyre, wilfully chew up sections of the railway access track in my area, thus making the area inaccessible to access to emergency vehicles and crews which may have to deal with a derailment.

The drivers mangled an easy section that even a Commodore could have driven through, while a tool in a Yota filmed it while he was driving between the rails!!

[threedogs]

I wouldnt hesitate in reporting these clowns . they give most of us a bad name
but once a cowboy chances are you still are,,, grow up eh

@MN you should get rego ,pics, time etc and send it in, they will confiscate their 4bys

[Throbbinhood]

Only PPL I see that wreck tracks are the idiots that cant drive and think the only way
through an obstacle is with revs. A good driver with 31s will go further than a cowboy
on 35s in most cases.

This isn't a big tyre problem though. A good driver on 35s will go further than a good driver on 31s. A cowboy will rip up the track irrespective of what size tyres he/she has.


I have witnessed DHs with 8" lifts and massive, chunky tyre, wilfully chew up sections of the railway access track in my area, thus making the area inaccessible to access to emergency vehicles and crews which may have to deal with a derailment.

The drivers mangled an easy section that even a Commodore could have driven through, while a tool in a Yota filmed it while he was driving between the rails!!

Once again, not a big tyre problem, just a tool problem.

Tarring anyone with 35's or bigger rubber with the same brush is no different to the environmentalists tarring all off-roaders with the same brush.

[mudnut]

They were bloody lucky no trains came along as there was a twenty foot drop either side of the rail.

[threedogs]

so it seems its nothing to do with tyre size, well it wont now being capped at 33" unless engineered {very diffIcult}
It's more to do with whos driving, well not who but more how you drive, so its back to educating newbie and some oldies