Best Off- Road Tires

[Simon D]

Hi Guys, 

Till this moment i am using my HT goodyear tires, but i think i have reached to a level that i need to give my car engine a little bit of support and grip. so, i am planning to change my tires to Geolander A/T tires but i have the following questions in my mind:

1. should i go with G015 or G012 as both of them are A/T tires ?

2. my current car rims are 18 inch, should i invest in smaller rims( 15" or 16") or 18 is ok. 

3. i already have 3inch lift kit , if i decide to keep the 18inch rims should i go to higher tires (265/65/R18) or is it not recommended ( my current tire size is 265/60R 18 ) . 

 

thanks in advance  

[Frederic]

2 minutes ago, Simon Dawood said:

Hi Guys, 

Till this moment i am using my HT goodyear tires, but i think i have reached to a level that i need to give my car engine a little bit of support and grip. so, i am planning to change my tires to Geolander A/T tires but i have the following questions in my mind:

1. should i go with G015 or G012 as both of them are A/T tires ?

2. my current car rims are 18 inch, should i invest in smaller rims( 15" or 16") or 18 is ok. 

3. i already have 3inch lift kit , if i decide to keep the 18inch rims should i go to higher tires (265/65/R18) or is it not recommended ( my current tire size is 265/60R 18 ) . 

 

thanks in advance  

1. The G012 is obsolete from what i've seen. The G015 is now the usual model. Both are A/T tyres.

2. On your Pajero 3.8, you will not be able to go below 17inch due to the front disc brakes. Cheapest option is to keep the original rims and get 18inch Yokohamas, better option is to swap the rims for 17inch (mitsubishi or aftermarket) and go for Yokohama with bigger sidewall as it will have less chance of pop-outs. 

3. If you have already a lift kit, yes it would make sense to go for the 265/65/18 as it has more sidewall. That model of Yokohama might be bit more difficult to find.

You can do simulations on https://tiresize.com/comparison/

 

 

 

[Rob S]

Hey Simon,

I wrote post on prado here. Some links that might be helpful as you explore different tyre sizes, wheels and and wheel offsets.

my initial thoughts are switching to 17s will give you better options on tyre choice and higher sidewalls.

Switching to 17 off-road rim will likely give you a wider stance with 0 offset rims. Quick check on 2015 pajero is et46. So zero offset rims would move each wheel outwards by 46mm

 

[Gregory]

@Simon Dawood I also have a Pajero LWB 2011. 

I changed to Yoko AT GO15's (from HT's) last year, and am extremely happy with them - 265/60 R18's. Should have done it sooner. Great even onroad, with a minimum of road noise, and only then, after 110km p/hr. Manufactured in Thailand, Japanese ones not available anymore in the market from what I understood. 

I don't have any lift on my Pajero, so some type of limit there.  Will defer to @Frederic 's advice and comments. Some in the group have asked me if I've had any issues with the 18inches - none so far. After 34 drives, only one pop-out. I don't ever go lower than 12PSI though. 

As @Frederic has mentioned, supply was an issue (with the 18inch) Yokos when I bought them, although did manage to find them at the Yokohama showroom/agency (others had one or two; I was looking for five including the spare) in Al Khabaisi, behind the car showrooms (close to DXB airport). They had literally been manufactured 2 months before my purchase. 

Hope this helps... 

[Simon D]

On 2/15/2022 at 7:30 PM, Rob S said:

Hey Simon,

I wrote post on prado here. Some links that might be helpful as you explore different tyre sizes, wheels and and wheel offsets.

my initial thoughts are switching to 17s will give you better options on tyre choice and higher sidewalls.

Switching to 17 off-road rim will likely give you a wider stance with 0 offset rims. Quick check on 2015 pajero is et46. So zero offset rims would move each wheel outwards by 46mm

 

@Rob S thanks for sharing your experiance with me. But i have a question how did you adjust the speedometer? As going with larger tierd will affect the speedometer and i think the AT shifting?

Did you face any issue from tgat point? 

 

thanks.

[Simon D]

7 hours ago, Gregory said:

@Simon Dawood I also have a Pajero LWB 2011. 

I changed to Yoko AT GO15's (from HT's) last year, and am extremely happy with them - 265/60 R18's. Should have done it sooner. Great even onroad, with a minimum of road noise, and only then, after 110km p/hr. Manufactured in Thailand, Japanese ones not available anymore in the market from what I understood. 

I don't have any lift on my Pajero, so some type of limit there.  Will defer to @Frederic 's advice and comments. Some in the group have asked me if I've had any issues with the 18inches - none so far. After 34 drives, only one pop-out. I don't ever go lower than 12PSI though. 

As @Frederic has mentioned, supply was an issue (with the 18inch) Yokos when I bought them, although did manage to find them at the Yokohama showroom/agency (others had one or two; I was looking for five including the spare) in Al Khabaisi, behind the car showrooms (close to DXB airport). They had literally been manufactured 2 months before my purchase. 

Hope this helps... 

Hi @Gregory thanks for the information. as per what i have been told that G015 is made in Malaysia and G012 is made in japan.

Honestly i have been driving with my current H/T Tiers at pressure 12.5 and 13.5 and i only had one popout ( totaly my personal mistake) 

So i think worst case scenario i will go with my my original rims .

 

Thanks

[Simon D]

On 2/15/2022 at 3:24 PM, Frederic said:

1. The G012 is obsolete from what i've seen. The G015 is now the usual model. Both are A/T tyres.

2. On your Pajero 3.8, you will not be able to go below 17inch due to the front disc brakes. Cheapest option is to keep the original rims and get 18inch Yokohamas, better option is to swap the rims for 17inch (mitsubishi or aftermarket) and go for Yokohama with bigger sidewall as it will have less chance of pop-outs. 

3. If you have already a lift kit, yes it would make sense to go for the 265/65/18 as it has more sidewall. That model of Yokohama might be bit more difficult to find.

You can do simulations on https://tiresize.com/comparison/

 

 

 

@Fredericthanks for your advice, honestly i would prefer to go with the 3rd option but i am concerned about the speedometer error and the gear shifting issue ( if you would know someone who can recalibrate them you will help me alot)

 

Thanks

[Rob S]

26 minutes ago, Simon Dawood said:

@Rob S thanks for sharing your experiance with me. But i have a question how did you adjust the speedometer? As going with larger tierd will affect the speedometer and i think the AT shifting?

Did you face any issue from tgat point? 

 

thanks.

Not sure what the circumference difference was, but My Speedo is now reading the same speed as my gps rather than 5-10% below it  

can’t say I have noticed any change in auto gear shifting, but also assume this is based more off throttle position, gear number and revs rather than road speed.

 

Edited February 16, 2022 by Rob S

[Simon D]

Hi , 

I would like to share my experience of the decision i have taken in this regards so others might have the benefit without scratching their heads over and over thinking about the way to go at least the Pajero Owners . 

so in my case , as i already have a 3" lift kit i have decided to go with the bigger tires than my original ones so i have installed on my car the Geolander G015 265/65 R18 and following are my observations :

1.  Noise : in regards to the noise , i couldn't feel much of noise increase compared to my H/T  (10/10)

2.  Drive experience sand : much better Grip and traction on sand my engine in much happier ( 10/10)

3. Drive experience on the road: I have felt a better control ( marginal ) on the road with my old tires especially on the curves, but i think this should because of the higher tires wall , but I got used to it after a few drives  ( 9/10)

4. Speedometer error: as per my calculations there is around 3.5% error margin in the readings of the dashboard  so if your speedometer is showing 100Km/h  you are actually driving 103.4Km/h and if your speedometer is showing 160 Km/h you are actually driving at actual speed of 165.5 Km/h . I tested this equation on my way to LIWA ( around 300KM trip ) and i didn't get any speeding tickets till now ( fingers crossed i will not get any 😂🤣) (6/10 )

5. Tires Rubbing: i have experienced some rubbing caused by the mud flaps when going down a very steep incline and i solved it by simply removing them 😆, i might trim them later on ( 9/10 )

 

6. The looks and appearance: My car looks much aggressive and better looking ( 10/10)

I would rate my total experience 9/10 

One  important advice, please make sure to do the correct wheel alignment for your car after you install the bigger tires .

cheers,