What Tyres work in Namibia dunes

[ricster]

I need to pick some brain cells for some opinions.

At present I have Bridgestone Duellers A/T on the Iron Maiden. I want to go to Namibia to see that damn ship stuck in the desert somewhere in the middle of nowhere.... still got to do my research, but it looks cool... well hot .... very hot...

What tyres will work the best for my 4.2 td Patrol. I know petrol motors rule the dunes, but the Maiden doesn't have one of those.... so with just short of 3 tons in weight, and a turbo 4.2 diesel and with 16" rims, would some 33" or 285's M/T be a better option, or use the A/T type tyres?

I really don't want to have any real problems while I'm there ( planning to go in December)

[Peter Connan]

Hi Cedrick
Wish I could join you, but I will have to win the lotto first. I just want to check: you do know that that is a concession area, and you can only get in by using a registered guide, hey?

When it comes to level sand, flotation is king. Therefore, in theory at least, the largest tires you can fit on the smallest rims possible (the smaller the rim, the higher the sidewall and thus the more the footprint expands when you lower the pressures). Also, at least in theory, you want relatively smooth tread patterns with round corners. The old General RVT180N was brilliant for this, but you don't get them anymore. I think the Duellers you have on are the closest to that that is available now. a friend of mine has very good results in the sand with old Michellin road tyres.

However when it comes to going up the dunes, a lot of guys use mud-terrains, but I have been told that to succesfully use them you need lots of power. I have no experience with using muddies on sand, but I think the KM2 and the Yokohamas should do well, as the tread is across the tire. the guys in the US who do drag racing up sandy hills use paddle tires, so that is probably the ideal, but you can't use them on the road.

[ricster]

But would the muddies work with the diesel's higher torque but lower power (low rev range), unlike the petrols high power (high rev range) ?

A mate of mine is of the opinion that there is so much torque on the 4.2 that going up a dune you need speed, and when the speed starts running out due to weight aswell as being diesel, the torque going down to the wheels with muddies on, will just start shoveling the sand out, digging you in. I've never driven on Nam sand.... done a bit of driving in the mocambique sand, but not with muddies, only the Duellers on the Maiden and Goodyears on my SANI. I never had any problems there.... but I'm sure the Nam sand is VERY dry and soft, unlike Moz where the sand is soft but slightly less dry (humidity).


BTW ... yes we will have to go in with a reg. guide

[Hermi]

Hi Cedric
I dont know whats on your 16" rims currently(tyre size),but there is nothing wrong with the duellers on sand.Keep your duellers if you like them.Peter already awsered that.THe guys will tell you to deflate to 0.08 bar,but you can go lower.

When i was there a 2.8 colt diesel was with us and the guy batlled, but there is always the chicken run to take.

Watch out for the LAND ROVER graveyard.There you need speed(you will get it)and speed and its longgggggg with a gradient.

Go and enjoy.
Hermi

[ricster]

I've got 265's on at present, but was thinking of getting a set of 15" rims and a set of muddies.... similar to Christo's "Chuck Norris"...

Hmmmm.... I just want to climb the dunes with the rest of the group.... (going to put a stick of dynamite in the Maidens .... umm.... exhaust pipe.... that should give me some speed... )

[Herrie]

Those Duelers will be fine!

[G-MAN]

All tyres will work, depends on the pressure and the driver!

[Tinus lotz]

Hi Cedric
i agree with peter your tires will be fine, i had a lot of good sand dune driving this desember in moz my trol has 285/16 bf a/t on but found that when the dunes are very warm like 2pm in the afternoon i took the pressure to 0.6 bar and the 4.8 performed well.(only my trol and a 60 series cruiser was able to get up the dune in the afternoon when the sand was very hot,but the other cars in the camp was a disco 3 with painted on tires,a 130 deffender puma and a hummer .)
The problem is you need to get there ,and to drive 1000km with some paddle tipe tire on the tar is not going to work . The trick is to keep the weight in the trol as low as possible ,and keep your momentum .
I had a 4 x 4 trailer behind me and that really slows a person down . The new m/t bfs looks better and will be high on the list for my next set .
As i am a electrical contractor all my bakkies has a set of b/fs a/t on and i am getting 150000km per set.
if you need some i get them from auto wiel and we really get good prices

[Russ Kellermann]

Bridgstone duellers are great in sand as they are not an agressive tyre, furthermore, the 265 will work well as its not too wide. In sand, you want tall thin tyres to deflate, not wide tyres. The tall thin tyre gives you a longer footprint when deflated with minimal drag as the width of the tyre is not pushing a wall of sand in front of it. A wide tyre of the same hight would give you the same long footprint but push a wall of sand across its width as you drive = not good. The 265 will suck less power from the TD42 Turbo motor , and you'll need as much power as you can get from it in the dunes, although alot can be said for good driving and using your brains, its not all about the vehicle,tyres and motor. Stick with the Duellers in my opinion.

Enjoy it!

[Peter Connan]

Hi Guys
Cedrick the guys who beleive in mudies in sand say it is something like the prop on an aerie. The sand you are displacing is what maintains your forward momentum, that is why it is dependent on having lots of power and momentum.

Russ I cannot agree 100% with what you are saying. I agree with using tall tires. In all off-road situations I know of except steep side-slopes, tall tires are an advantage, but unfortunately the opposite is true on the road. But certainly if you want to put bigger wheels on go for height first. Unfortunately it is difficult to find tires that are taller that are not also wider. But the largest Cedrick would be able to fit is around 35" and I probably would not recommend going bigger than 33" due to the reduction in torque and particularly braking efficiency. The idea with using bigger wheels on sand is to reduce the ground pressure, and thus how far the car sinks into the sand. This is dependent on footprint, which is dependent on the diameter, the width and the rim size (the smaller the rim, the larger the footprint becomes when you lower the tire pressures). The larger the footprint is, the less the car sinks in and thus the lower the wall of sand is that the car needs to push around.

The most effective car I have ever driven in sand was a little pipe car I built using a beetle floor, Combi gearbox and Nissan 1400 engine. It had bugger all power, but it only weighed about 750kg and it had 245/75/15 tires on on standard beetle rims. That thing just drifted over the sand, and it could drive in clay where you would sink down to your ankles.