The time had arrived to try a new set of tyres.  The Maxxis Bighorn’s served us very well as you can read about in previous blogs, however, Goodyear offered us a set of MTR’s to give a try.

The very first outing we did was Toolangi in Victoria.  We didn’t strike any mud as we are into our eleventh year of drought, but we did come by some very steep climbs, some were simply smooth clay while others had mountains of very loose rock.

In all areas that day the tyres performed flawlessly.  I generally air down from 34lbs to 24lbs and at this pressure they worked really well.  I don’t like to go too low in pressure as it decreases the clearance of the Prado and at 24 I still have something left if I really do get stuck and need to lower to 18.

The MTR’s are a lot quieter on the highway than the Bighorns and even though the sidewalls are just as thick as the Bighorns they seem softer.  This means taking roundabouts and tight country bends just a little slower.

The MTR’s have a 3 ply sidewall construction and their secret is that silica is used.  Now I was recently speaking to a retired top formula 1 mechanic and he was saying how good silica is in a tyre, apparently it gives incredible comfort with extremely good life.

My MTR’s certainly feel very soft when given the old thumb test, particularly when compared to the BIghorns, so I will be very interested in their longevity.

Maximum traction is achieved by block and blade edges in the tread. The working shoulder design provides 300 percent more edge laterally for straightline traction and 240 percent more circumferential edges for side traction than it predecessor, the MT.

The second trip we did was up around the Mt Disappointment area and I was incredibly impressed with the way the tyres gripped up big rock ledges and some really steep climbs.  They feel like they could never break traction.  In fact the only time they did was up one very steep section with a full width rock ledge about a metre high.  I took the wrong line first time and high centred my rear diff, leaving the back wheels spinning.  A quick reverse and a new line had us up and over without one bit of wheel spin.

I have yet to try them in the mud, so stay tuned.

See you out there.