It’s been 34,000Km’s since the BigHorns were fitted to the Prado and it’s time to fit something else.

How have they performed for those kilometers? Really quite well.

When first replacing the BFG Mud Terrains, I found the BigHorns a little noisier, but hey, if you want traction, what’s a little extra noise. The sidewalls on the Maxxis were considerably thicker than the BFG and as a result showed up 4 slightly buckled GXL rims.

Once fitted, it seemed that the wheel balance was miles out, but after two different places had a go at balancing it was found to be the rims causing the problem. The sidewalls being thicker had less give in them than the BFG, so the slight vertical wobble on the rims was really felt.

A quick replacement of the rims with RockCrawler fixed the problem completely.

On normal bitumen, apart from being noisier than the BFG the grip was the same, however the Maxxis were quite a bit better on wet bitumen with a good deal of grip. The BFG would ley go early and violently, while the Maxxis would keep hanging on a lot longer and the progressively let go.

Gravel or secondary dirt roads were the same as wet bitumen with the Maxxis hanging on like grim death and then just slowly letting go.

In just about all situations off road the Maxxis outshone the BFG. I put this down to the very large voids between the lugs. These helped in rock climbing and in spitting out the mud keeping a very clean tyre, where the BFG would clog with mud very easily.

All in all a very good tyre. I have travelled 34,000Km’s on these tyres and they still have just under 9mm of tread left from a total of 14.5mm. That equates to only 42% worn which means they could be good for almost 70,000km.

Would I put them on the Prado? You bet!

Here’s my 5 star rating of the BigHorn’s…

Dry Bitumen	★★★☆
Wet Bitumen	★★★☆
Gravel Roads	★★★★
Dry 4×4	★★★★
Mud	★★★☆
Rock	★★★★
Sand	★★★☆

Keep in mind that these ratings are based on my type of driving, that is, no hardcore competition work, simply the type of terrain you are most likely to find in your 4WD adventures.

Keep your eyes open for a long term test of our new Goodyear MTR tyres kindly given to us by Goodyear.

See you out there!

Amongst other items to check are bar mounted electric winches. These components may not be used for extended periods and when they're needed you may find they have seized up. If the winch has been submerged in water it is advisable to strip it and grease it accordingly. A quick operation of it after a crossing may prove it still works, but you may find out when it seizes that you washed all the grease out 6 months ago! A water crossing is something that should not be taken too lightly as it has the potential to do expensive engine and drive-train damage. However, with the right vehicle preparation and post crossing maintenance, you can enjoy some of the most challenging 4WDriving around.