Manx Club

This topic has been eluded to in other threads, but I wanted to give it it's own...and get some ideas of what people have had good luck with. I'm getting a set of four new tires for my Tourista. The rims I have on it, are of the vintage of the Vehicle (White Steel) The rears are wider than the fronts, but not extreemly so. I will drive it mostly on the road, but it will see some dirt. It's not lowered or any such thing, and thus Low Profile type tires are not the sort I'm looking for. What sorts of tires have any of you guys chosen, and been happy with for this application? As Buggys are light, is there a thought on softer rubber compunds for Highway use that would wear out in hevier vehicles? Not shockingly, with no doors, heater or wipers, it won't see much cold weather...might this effect the choices? I got some Wranglers when I bought my Liberty, and they were absolute crap. I had some Firestones like the ones that were recalled, on my Scout, and they were fantastic... Any sugestions, or ideas?

It really sounds like you should use highway tread tires, front and back. On the street, they'll wear, drive, handle and brake better than off highway tires. If you're not planning on taking it on any serious mud, desert or rock surface, off road trips, the highway tires will be fine.

I prefer Passenger rated tires instead of Light Truck rated. They ride much better and a light weight vehicle like a buggy does just fine with them. My experience with Goodyear tires was the same as yours. They were terrible. The buggy would slide sideways on sand covered granite, leading to some dangerous situations! I'm not even talking about Baja style racing, just simple off-camber situations where I was trying to crawl up a hill. I almost ended up sliding into a rut on more than one occasion. I also had tread separation after only a couple of years. The tires were generally unsafe. I got rid of the Goodyears and went with Bridgestone Dueler AT tires all the way around. They are MUCH better than the Goodyears! They are quiet on the street and handle well. They hook up great off road and don't slide at all on the same granite boulders I had problems with the Goodyears on. Bridgestone and Firestone are the same company, so it's not surprising you had a similar experience with the Firestones on your Scout. If I were to put another set of tires on the buggy at this time, I would go with the Bridgestone Dueler ATs again. I originally had Pirelli Scorpion AT tires on the back and Scorpion AS tires up front. The AS tires are no longer made, but I think there is a comparable model available. They worked well, but the AT tires were difficult to balance (LOTS of weights required to get them close!). I can't comment on the ride the AT tires gave, as they were LT rated, not P rated, but they did hook up well in the dirt and I had no problems with those infamous boulders. Finally, air pressure is probably as important as the tires themselves. I run 15 PSI all the way around in all situations. This gives me the best compromise from highway to rock crawling and everything in between. This 'higher' pressure also helps save the rims from rocks, and gives me the option to air down if I become mired in deep sand (hasn't happened yet, but there's always a first time!). Running pressures higher than that would severely affect ride quality and traction. My tire sizes are P205/75R15 up front and P235/75R15 out back.

Thanks gents...yeah, I think I am leaning to the road tires as you both sugested. Thanks for the info. Paul

Hey Gents, I am definatly going to be getting the road tires, thanks for the info and stories.