Gear
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Here at 4X4 Australia we’ve enjoyed a long relationship with Maxxis tyres, fitting them to most of our project vehicles builds over the past five years.
We’ve varied between the RAZR AT811 all terrains and RAZR MT772 muddies, depending on the vehicle and its intended use, and for our build truck we’ve again turned to the dependable mud terrains.
The LandCruiser 70 Series is the ultimate off-road platform in standard trim and we want to exemplify that with the right gear. We want tyres that can conquer the roughest tracks, the sharpest rocks, the sloppiest mud and the slipperiest surfaces, so a mud-terrain tyre with deep, aggressive tread is needed.
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Deep tread depth is not only good for traction when mud driving but also protects the tyre from punctures through the tread face, as the large blocks protect the tyre carcass. Deeper treads also last longer, and the rubber compound that Maxxis has spherically developed for the RAZR tyres is designed to resist chipping and tearing further, prolonging the life of the tyre.
Our past experience with the 772 has also shown it is relatively quiet for such an aggressive tyre, and the driving we have done on this set so far confirms that notion.
The 772 also has plenty of protection in the sidewalls – an area always prone to punctures in the bush – thanks to a three-ply sidewall construction with aggressive shoulder blocks on the sides that both protect the tyre and provide grip when rubbing up against rocks and logs.
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We’ve gone with the RAZR MT772s in a LT295/70R17 size. We chose this size as it’s taller than your average 33 (847mm) without quite being a 35, and the tread is narrower than most of the available 35s. It’s a big tyre without being obviously oversized and we think it will be perfectly suited to this application. Importantly the tyre has a load rating to match the vehicle, and a speed rating that I doubt we’ll ever reach.
We’re looking forward to testing these mud-terrain tyres in the sort of goop they were made for once we hit the tracks.
