Topic: 4 Banger Expedition

[Tsd]

So.. i'm planning a 2 month trip through most of the south of South America starting in January (while everybody will be watching the Dakar rally here in Chile ):


(the unreadable city on the top is Iguazu)

It's a 7000 mile round trip through the south of Chile, Argentina and Brazil, starting in Santiago, Chile (green arrow).

Well, i´m shopping for equipment and i could use a little help choosing the tires. Through my journey there are going to be thousand of miles of paved roads (wet & dry), gravel roads, muddy roads, snowy roads, desert sand and about every climate mother nature has to offer. I am not planning to go off road or cross country with the jeep, hopefully always on road but on all kinds of roads, good ones and REALLY bad ones, my worst case scenario is having to cross parts of the desert off road. Since it will be summer there will be little mud.
Since i have to cross the Andes i want to keep stock performance so i´m looking for close to stock size tires.

So far i have considered these options:

BFG MT
BFG AT
Goodyear Wrangler MT/R
Goodyear Wrangler AT/S

I have the following questions:

Are the MT's too noisy to make long trips (800 km per day) on paved roads?
How do the MT's perform on wet pavement compared to the AT's?
How do both perform on sand/snow/gravel?

What would be your choice?

Any suggestions will be deeply appreciated 


Thanks in advance 

Tsd

[Jeffy]

I've had 3 of the 4 tires mentioned and the least favorite is the GY AT/S.  To put it bluntly, they are oversize car tires.  If the roads are paved then it won't matter as much but if things get muddy, they will leave you stranded.

BFG's are always good tires and the AT's are true truck tires.  They wear well and are quiet.  The MT's also wear fairly well and are pretty quiet as well.  The only downside to the BFG's is that their sidewalls are on the thin side.  So if you're planning on mud, and tree roots, then you might want something stronger so you're not changing tires in some mud hole.  Goodyear MT/R's are not mud tires.  They do fairly well in mud but they are more for hard packed dirt or rocks.  The sidewalls are very thick which makes them a bit heavy.  They can be a bit noist depending on the road.  Newly paved roads cause them to howl a bit.  Wear, seems to be pretty good.  I have around 40K on mine and there is still around 1/4" tread left.

Here's one huge difference I found between my BFG AT's and the GY MTR's.  In ran my AT's would just plow into any puddles even if it wasn't more then an inch deep.  This would pull the Jeep to that side.  The GY's don't pull at all unless it's a huge puddle and you're at high speeds.

General rule of thumb is for Sand and Snow an AT is a better tire for you to sit ontop and not dig through the soft surface.  For stock size tires, I'd go with 31x10.5R15's and probably something like the BFG AT's or MT's.  Then make sure you have a matching spare and maybe even a string type patch kit.

As aggressive as the MTR's are, I have had no problem doing 500-700 mile legs in one sitting.

[chardrc]

we have a set of 31x10.5 mtr's on our 97 grand Cherokee with 53k on them.. they are really loud now but still have a good amount of tread left and have good grip...  sounds like a fun trip. good luck

[Tsd]

Thanks for the replies guys, i think i will go BFG MT, because if i happen to encounter a lot of mud i will be happy not to have chosen AT´s  .
Now, the size question. I'm still not sure about going 31x10.5, i´m currently on 235/75r15 goodyears which are about 29" height, and i´m pretty happy with the performance. I don´t want to regear the jeep yet, so i was wondering if going 31" would be too much of a difference. My only concern is to be able to reach 75 mph on the highway (slow lane average speed here).

Thanks! 

Tsd

[Mozman68]

I ran that size for almost two years without any problems hitting 75-80 m.p.h.....but there aren't many hills here....I imagine you will be crossing quite a few mountains on your trip.

[chrisfranklin]

A couple of Assault Rifles, a couple of handguns, 2 Satellite phones (1 for backup), 2 GPS (again 1 for backup), all the US Embassy numbers on Speed Dial, body armor -- not he kind for rocky trails either,  cash for bribes,  triple backup for everything else, passport, 50 gallon fuel capacity,  preferably a local contact pre-arranged in each city to lead the way and so it looks like you have friends, water purification gear, plenty of food with a long shelf-life, ridiculous anti-theft security for your Jeep -- wouldn't even know where to begin on that one -- probably battery cut off, fuel line shut off, alarms, recorded message playing at 140db screaming "this vehicle is being stolen" in Spanish, some kind of Satellite based Lo-Jack system  .  Preferably go with a big group of Jeeps similarly equipped

[TrailsLessTaken]

I wish I could take 2 months off from work to go wheeling.  Sounds like it will be an awesome trip.

[Tsd]

Actually January - February is summer vacations here. In my university our vacations start on the first week of December until the first week of March.

chrisfranklin, it's not that terrible on the southest part of America  it's pretty civilized down here. Actually bribes don't work with cops in Chile, i cannot the same about Argentina 

And about the tires, it's not like i want to go 75 mph uphill, but i´m starting to think that i´ll better go with 31" when i have the money to regear to 4.56 - 4.88, and i think i better go through a set of 235/75R15 first 

Thanks for the replies

[Jeffy]

...And about the tires, it's not like i want to go 75 mph uphill, but i´m starting to think that i´ll better go with 31" when i have the money to regear to 4.56 - 4.88, and i think i better go through a set of 235/75R15 first 

Thanks for the replies

Honestly, I doube you'll have any issues with 31's and stock gears.  Hell, I drove for many years on 32's and stock gears.    I'm betting you'll still be able to do 75mph with 31's.  When I drive a stock 2.5L with 31's it felt downright peppy to my 32's.  Regearing for 31's is really a waste unless you really only want to run 31's.  I ran 4.56's with my 32's and it was pretty peppy compared to stock gearing although soon after I screwed it all up by going to 35's.    Regear for 33's if you go that route...

If you're planning on any sort of offroad situation I would go with 31's.  31's have a huge advantage over 235's especially when aired down.  If it's all paved then it won't matter and really you probably done even need to go with aggressive BFG's.

[jfrabat]

Now, the size question. I'm still not sure about going 31x10.5, i´m currently on 235/75r15 goodyears which are about 29" height, and i´m pretty happy with the performance. I don´t want to regear the jeep yet, so i was wondering if going 31" would be too much of a difference. My only concern is to be able to reach 75 mph on the highway (slow lane average speed here).

Mine is a '94 with about 125K miles on it (meaning that the engine probably has lost some of its power), and I run 31's with stock gears (just changed the speedo gear, which I advise!), and it runs fine.  You may have to downshift to 4th on slow hills to keep 70~75mph, and on steeper hills, you will not be able to maintain, but you should not be in huge problems...

A couple of Assault Rifles, a couple of handguns, 2 Satellite phones (1 for backup), 2 GPS (again 1 for backup), all the US Embassy numbers on Speed Dial, body armor -- not he kind for rocky trails either,  cash for bribes,  triple backup for everything else, passport, 50 gallon fuel capacity,  preferably a local contact pre-arranged in each city to lead the way and so it looks like you have friends, water purification gear, plenty of food with a long shelf-life, ridiculous anti-theft security for your Jeep -- wouldn't even know where to begin on that one -- probably battery cut off, fuel line shut off, alarms, recorded message playing at 140db screaming "this vehicle is being stolen" in Spanish, some kind of Satellite based Lo-Jack system  .  Preferably go with a big group of Jeeps similarly equipped

Chris, I think you got the wrong countries in mind...  Maybe in Colombia in the middle of nowhere you need all that, or some of the Guyanas, but not for Chile (which by the way has a standard of living similar to the US), Argentina (which is more like Europe than Latin America) or Brazil.  Trust me on this one, I am there ALL the time!

Actually January - February is summer vacations here. In my university our vacations start on the first week of December until the first week of March.

And about the tires, it's not like i want to go 75 mph uphill, but i´m starting to think that i´ll better go with 31" when i have the money to regear to 4.56 - 4.88, and i think i better go through a set of 235/75R15 first 

I recommend (like Jeffy says) going directly to 4.88 (I am actually doing that; I know it's a bit of overkill for 31", but since I plan to go to 33", might as well invest for what I am working for, not what I currently have).  Keep the 4.10 in the mean time.

By the way, the winter there is a bit screwy this year; Sao Paolo was COLD and Buenos Aires was like summer last week!

[Tsd]

Yesterday I drove a friend's 2004 2.4 wrangler with 31" BFG AT's and it was great! I think i will go with the same setup. Now i have to order the 38 tooth speedo gear.

I'm currently installing auxiliary lighting, a new Warn 8000M winch and the oxygen sensor that haunted me for the last 4 months 


Thank you all again for all the recommendations 

[Jeffy]

Yesterday I drove a friend's 2004 2.4 wrangler with 31" BFG AT's and it was great! I think i will go with the same setup. Now i have to order the 38 tooth speedo gear.

I'm currently installing auxiliary lighting, a new Warn 8000M winch and the oxygen sensor that haunted me for the last 4 months 


Thank you all again for all the recommendations 

Told ya the 31's are fine.   

[chrisfranklin]

chrisfranklin, it's not that terrible on the southest part of America  it's pretty civilized down here. Actually bribes don't work with cops in Chile, i cannot the same about Argentina 

Thanks for the replies

Felipe, TSD,  I agree you fly down to Panama, Brazil, Argentina, Chile, parts of Mexico, Central America you'll probably have a great, peaceful time. 

But I was under the impression that 4x4s from the States have an unusually high resale down in Mexico and Central America (I didn't catch where TSD is starting from to drive in South America). 

Few years back I was under the distinct impression you could make 3x the state-side value of a truck stealing it across the border and selling it.  Needless to say I'd be a little on guard crossing in to Mexico and driving down through Central America to make my way to South America.   Average manufacturing wage in Mexico is apparently only $2.50 an hour and most are very lucky to make that. 

I'm just saying that a nicely equipped Wrangler might look like an injured young Elephant to a Tiger that has been feasting on lizards and monkeys for the last 6 months -- that is, a big "Score" to try to take down for he and family.     

Frankly, though, I'd go in a big group.  I'd know the embassies, hospitals on your route, etc.  Bring GPS and Sat Phones, have cash available.  Get legal code translations, know local lawyers everywhere on your route. I'd rather rely on group numbers than arms in case of trouble.  Working knowledge of Spanish and Portugese wouldn't hurt either. 

What can I tell you I have family that works for the U.S. State Department.  Forgive my seeming "over-blow"

[chrisfranklin]

However, I just looked at TSD's map and it looks like his circuit is entirely in South America so, basically, scratch most of what I just said 

[Tsd]

Well, it's always good to be prepared for anything, last February i got lost in in the central market in Fez, Morocco, could have used those embassy numbers, the GPS and the local contacts