Nissan Patrol 4x4 (Africa)

Hi

I am Dave and I have been addicted to Patrol's for the last 10 years !

I have owned a 2.8 MQ Patrol (Safari) for 8 years with 33" Good-Year MTR' s but have recently replaced it with a 2006 4.8 GRX. The Safari I new could go anywhere but with the 'Beast' I don't know the limits yet .

Now this is where I get worried because the MTR's I could drive at 1.6 bar all round and the side walls would hardly flex but on the GRX with 265/70/17 BF Goodrich A/T even at 2.5 bar I am worried about sidewall damage .

I am planning a trip to Kaokoland in July and intend to do as much back roads as possible - but I am doing it solo - so I need to be self sufficient and well prepared for the worst.

I have read about the 4 PSI and chalk tests but would love to hear what works for you?

P.S. I am still looking for a second spare - so if anybody has a spare BFG 17" A/T that needs a new home please let me know

Sounds like an AA meeting :-)

I am Dave and I have been addicted to Patrol's for the last 10 years !

Hello Dave

Sjoe, yes, tyre pressure and rocks. Our group lost 1 tyre on our Kaokoland trip - yup side wall, too flat IMHO, but driving with a recent 'expert' he recons that if the tyre can't mold around a rock or if the tyre spins due to poor traction from too hard tyres - much more losses.

In all the years that I've been offroading, I've never lost a tyre so can't really comment.

Hi David, i'm G and I've been sober for two days now...
Ok back to rubber, I have a customer with 17 BF all terrains who wants to sell them.
Let me know if you are interested and i will find out the size!

True



JohnBoyZA : I too believe a tyre should mould over a rock - but only for low speed crawling. I have however lost a BFG A/T with a puncture in the middle of the thread area caused by a stone which makes me wonder if my tyres weren't too hard?
If you haven't lost a tyre you must be doing something right! What pressures are you running?

G-MAN wrote:Hi David, i'm G and I've been sober for two days now...
Ok back to rubber, I have a customer with 17 BF all terrains who wants to sell them.
Let me know if you are interested and i will find out the size!

Yes I am interested. I have 265/70/17's on at the moment - please find out if he is willing to part with 1 or 2 depending on the price.
I am planning to move to 285's later but currently I have about 50% tread left so it will be a waste to move up now.

Baie welkom hier David!

Herrie wrote:Baie welkom hier David!

Dankie Herrie - ek sien jy het self 'n kanniedood Safari

but only for low speed crawling

Ah yes David, good point - should've mentioned that.

Ja well, re. tyre pressures - sjoe Can of worms - tyre type/size/vehicle/speed/weight dependant. Firstly I must clarify I'm more an Overlander - some of you chaps do more extreme stuff. If I only consider the terrain, I follow the following simple guidelines:

Dune sand/beach/riverbed: 0.8 bar (Now I drive in AD a few times a month and the King of the Dunes drives at 0.3-0.4 bar - has bead locks, BUT still 'loses' tyres)
Rock/gravel low range: 1.5 bar
Dirt Road: 2 bar

Kaokoland is on my Top 5 list of places I've visited - enjoy

... I'm more an Overlander - some of you chaps do more extreme stuff. ...

Same here - would rather go around water/mud if possible - possibility of long term damage not worth it.

Dirt Road: 2 bar

2 -> 2.2 bar is what I had in mind for the gravel roads as I will not be towing a trailer and everything will be either in the vehicle or on top.

Quite a few people recommend 1.8 bar but I feel it might be too low with the addisional weight

Kaokoland is on my Top 5 list of places I've visited - enjoy

Went to Epupa falls in 2004 but couldn't fit Kaokoland in due to time constraints - Really looking forward to this trip

Hallo David, welkom tot die forum, dat jy nou so n hardebaard verruil vir n sagtebaard , nie te worry ek wil ook graag n 4.8 hê eendag as ek groot is.

As ek weer vir my dogter in matieland daar in Skelmbos kom kuier sal ek jou opsoek

Het jy al n fototjie van jou nuwe lorrie geplaas

Groete
Jules