Joe22 wrote:

I’d love a set of M/T tyres (because they look badass) but the reality is I do far more road & motorway miles than off road. So my question is.. how bad/noisy are they, compared to ATs?

Heh Joe,

I asked about the following tyre on another post.

Cooper Discoverer Rugged Trek

Released by Cooper a year ago, it's designed to sit between an AT and MT, i.e. road biased (AT) with chunkier looks (MT). What's more, it has whisper technology to overcome the larger tread pattern and keep them quiet on tarmac, and siping for a full 3PMSF rating for winter use. And they've even got two different side-wall patterns so you can decide just how chunky/aggressive you want to go.

Excellent reviews and ratings across the board, professionals and consumers alike. Perfect tyre?

No idea whether they're available in the UK, or indeed the EU yet (ever?), but perhaps worth a call if you think the look is badass enough for you?



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Click image to enlarge Monsieur Le Grenadier

I've not been everywhere, but it's on my list.....

2011 Puma 110DC - Corris Grey

Julie wrote:

Yeah, but I'm on narrow 7.5 R 16 tyres...

I'd be very interested to see a pic of your Defender on 7.5R16 KM3s to get an impressions of the overall proportions. Any chance you would be willing to post a pic?

I've run BFG KMs on my Disco2 and Defender for 23 years now (and something like 550k miles in total) without any issues, that includes the original KM, the KM2, and the KM3. My impression is that the compound has become softer with each generation which has shortened the life expectancy but generally improved the road manners without detriment to the off-road performance. My original set of KMs lasted 100,000 miles (admittedly they were well-worn at the end but still fully legal and usable on-road, not so great off-road, but I just wanted to see if 100k miles on one set of tyres was possible). The KM3s seems to be good for 60k miles before the tread is worn to the point that off-road performance is compromised.

I've never (yet) had adhesion issues on tarmac, wet or dry, and only once locked a wheel under braking on the road. I've never had issues with the tyres hardening, but possibly I wear them out before they are old enough to deteriorate.

That being said I would like to see what a Defender with 7.5R16 KM3s looks like.

Julie wrote:

Lovely isn't it ?
Photo taken in December 2024 in Morocco (Oasis Tata)

Memories.

blackwolf wrote:

I've never (yet) had adhesion issues on tarmac, wet or dry, and only once locked a wheel under braking on the road. I've never had issues with the tyres hardening, but possibly I wear them out before they are old enough to deteriorate.

That being said I would like to see what a Defender with 7.5R16 KM3s looks like.

My Trac Edges went hard, although that was many years ago. They weren't that old in real terms either. Very very skittish in the wet and would easily lock the wheels or slide.

My brother also has some original AT's which are the same and despite loads of tread are rubbish off road, likely because of being hard. His newer KO2's are a transformational different.

The KM3's have also been fine and the KM2s.

The KM3s are in 255/85, but here are the KM2's in 7.50 x 16 (pickup in the middle)



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These are 7.50 x 16 Yokohama X-MT's, truly awesome off road tyres for UK terrain.


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And these are some 7.00 x 16 remoulds. Really narrow being 7.00 sized and as a remould are very similar height to the proper 7.50's. I use these for trialing, although I've also green laned on them. They ride and handle way better than you'd think on road, but on a nice refined vehicle you'd certainly notice them over milder MTs. I had them fitted to a Tdi power Series III 88, so not what you'd called refined anyway!



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