Tough as nails tyres for WA

The station just bought me a new set of MRF Super Lugs for my prospecting ute. :Y:





These are Bias 16 ply 7.50R 16 tube tyres and we run them on all our vehicles here for their near indestructibility.
With radials I've done 5 tyres in a single day, but with these I'm hard pressed to get one puncture every 5 or 6 weeks.

The muster crew put me onto the tyres they use, Westlake CL856. Very similar tread pattern and just as tough but half the price.
These bloke drive in a lot of the same stuff I do but usually at twice the speed and I think I counted 3 punctures in the whole time they were here.

Highly recommended :Y:

Beauty I'll check out retailers and see what prices are like. This could be a sticky thread for tyre's :Y: Mods. When it comes to remote adventures tyres are at the top of the list along with the usual stuff. Any tyre that's nearly indestructible shouldn't be overlooked imo. Thanks for sharing the info MT.

MRF is a massively large company with a good reputation

Madras rubber factory

20 years ago they were the only sponsors of cricketers Sachin Tendulkar & Steve Waugh ....!

I didnt know you could get their rubber here ..!

Wow, that is some depth of tread on those babies!
It says Tube Type Highway Service on the sidewall.... guess they mean DIRT highway :Y:
That bull catcher in the last picture is a beast... what are the mechanicals from? Reminds me of my time in the Territory back in the 70s rounding up wild scrub bulls for the Darwin abattoir. We used Toyota FJ40s with all the protection bars, etc....that was the toughest gig Ive ever done..

Hi Oz...very hard to tell what it originally started life as. It's a hybrid of numerous different Toyota models but HJ75 seems to be the main provider.
The bloke who built it does some of the most excellent bar work I've ever seen on bull catching gear. Going to get him to armour a quad for me :Y:

Westlake CL856 tires Are made in the Philippines .. We use similar looking tires on our two farm trucks ..
Who is thier local distributer ?

madtuna said:

Hi Oz...very hard to tell what it originally started life as. It's a hybrid of numerous different Toyota models but HJ75 seems to be the main provider.
The bloke who built it does some of the most excellent bar work I've ever seen on bull catching gear. Going to get him to armour a quad for me :Y:

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Hope you wont be chasing down bulls on it haha.... more for personal protection while scrub bashing and rock climbing I hope !

nucopia said:

Westlake CL856 tires Are made in the Philippines .. We use similar looking tires on our two farm trucks ..
Who is thier local distributer ?

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Not sure mate, the musterers are NT based and get them from Darwin

Love the bull chaser. It looks like it has put some big boys down over the years

Question, with that type of tyre and the inhospitable terrain , would you use split rims so flats can be fixed without the tyre workshop.

Hi mate, yep splitties on the Toyotas and I have a set of splitties coming for the Perentie too.
With practice it takes under 15 minutes from start to finish with a split rim and even quicker if you just chuck a new tube in and fix the punctured one later at camp.

shakergt said:

Love the bull chaser. It looks like it has put some big boys down over the years

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was thinking the same

as tough as the blokes driving it too i think.

thanks for sharing madtuna

it all helps

madtuna said:

nucopia said:

Westlake CL856 tires Are made in the Philippines .. We use similar looking tires on our two farm trucks ..
Who is thier local distributer ?

Click to expand...

Not sure mate, the musterers are NT based and get them from Darwin

Click to expand...

thats not nathan and his crew from darwin is it tuna?

Gday

I went back to using split rims some years back now due to always having to fix the tubeless tyres all the time, more particularly side wall damage, tried all sorts of brands and types, and have found that the narrow tyres are best for what we do, as long as you take your time picking your way through the scrub (unlike the mustering blokes who go flat out over everything) then they are reasonably trouble free, only thing is you have to learn to change them yourself in the bush, easy enough with practice, lots of people are scared of them due to the split ring flying off and biting people, safety precautions need to be taken when fitting them, and you can get the proper gear to do them.

I have tried the MRF as Madtuna suggests, they are an awesome tyre, and if I were based in the bush I would have them on all the time, the Westlakes look pretty much identical, might have to look into them as well, the only issue I found with the MRF lug tyres was the noise, couldn't drown the road noise out with the radio they were that loud, could have heard me leaving Perth from Kal, anyway as most of the mileage I do to get prospecting is on the road so I have for the past 6 seasons been using the Dunlop Road Gripper F 7.50x16 LT tyres, they are only an eight ply tyre but are known as a 50/50 tyre, for half road and half bush use, a very tough tyre and wear reasonably well, they are quiet on the road and have never had any issues with them in the bush, but of course you still have to take your time and watch where you are going.

Best thing about the road grippers is they can be picked up really cheap as they are standard on the new land cruisers and most people get rid of them when they fit fatties, they are a good option price wise, I will usually get 2 seasons from a set, if you are a seasonal prospector then they are a good option but if you spend most of your time in the bush as Madtuna suggested then going to the MRF or Westlakes 16 ply tyres would definatley be the way to go.

cheers

stayyerAU

I think this was posted a while back somewhere, but is still a good read
http://www.beadelltours.com.au/tyre_construction.html

Not all 16ply are equal

Recently the station (thought) they got a good deal on some 16ply Chinese tyres 'JKC' branded. Where they come from isn't a concern, what we care about is their ability to handle the crap country they're driven on.



My 4 new MRF's I fitted back in 2018 have clocked up well over 25000 klms with one puncture. Not far off the same amount of tread they sported when new.



Below is an MRF going on 10 years old next to once of the new JKC. How many klms? your guess is as good as mine!



The last time the above MRF had a puncture would have been over 2 years ago. I only removed it to fit the new JKC's

Here's a brand new JKC next to a 5 year old MRF. Not much difference in tread depth between the 2.



Below, left to right...10 year old MRF, 2018 MRF, 5 year old MRF, brand new JKC.



The JKC's are CRAP!!! 3 punctures in the first 2 days. 6 punctures in 2 weeks. :N:
I still quite confidently drive all over this station in the bald 10 year old MRF's knowing that even if it did puncture and I had no spare or way to repair it in the field, I could still limp back home on it providing I took care to let it cool between driving stints.
I say confidently because I've done it before. That tyre was repaired and is still going strong today.
All punctures in the JKC's nearly peeled themselves off the rims and there was no way you could limp more than 100 yards without destroying the tyres.

Greetings to all. And how much does one MRF wheel cost?New.

Well I know what I'm interested in if I ever do a long stint in WA :Y: that is a great write up Tuna :clap: :clap: erfect: thanks for taking the time :beer:

Who ever the MRF dealer is you better hit'em up for a spotters fee

Greetings to all. And how much does one MRF wheel cost?New.

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I just did some googling and can't find a price on line sorry. So without ringing a dealer I have no idea as they were given to me.

They would be comparable, if not a bit cheaper than most normal 4x4 tyres for Landcruiser etc..