19.5" Wheels Wanted

Hi People
Well, the 'new' oka is coming together, serviced and inspected thoroughly, now I need the footwear to suit.
I have 16" Split Rims fitted and am having some difficulty finding suitable tyres for my purpose, so it looks like I need to move to 19.5" rims. Then the search for suitable Mostly Off-road tyres. Ie 60% gravel 30% bitumen 10% sand. I do not want to raise the 'tyre' issue again, but rather looking for what you may have for sale close to my specs above.
I am in SA, west of Broken Hill, so if someone has what I am looking for, please drop me a note.
The move from 10 years with the troopy to an oka is going to be good. More room, more 'interior' comfort when the mozzies and sand flies are hungry. With the 'all weather' back, we can stay out much longer. Many places to visit and some to investigate. While there is a bit of vigour left we hope to make more of our travels.
Regards
Bony

Hi Bony
The split rims seem to give some trouble especially balancing having said that I have splits on my Canter and don't have any problems but to get balanced I need to go to a truck tyre place.
There should be a some out there as a few have changed to alloys to save weight if no response then you may need to get some made and I do recall there is a place in S.A. that can or Vic some one can confirm or see OKA spares in Melb they may have used/new either way.
Martyn (its an OKA thing)

Bony wrote: ... I do not want to raise the 'tyre' issue again...

Sorry hijack the thread Bony/M, but I am perplexed with the 16, 17, 19.5, and 20" wheel/tyre combos and why and when to choose them.

The SiL (Son-in-Law) says stay away from 20", but I see that the 20" and the 19.5" are popular for preventing sticks from worming into the tyre like parasites looking for nitrogen.

Hi Holmz

My limited but researched experience with Okas is... I have found it very difficult to find ANY 16 inch off-road tyres that suit my preference, that is readily available from any dealer I have contacted. On top of this, Some require a change from the present split-rim, which of course requires new 16 inch rims anyway. I am led to believe that Oka moved away from the 16 inch split-rim for a reason, so I am happy to run with this.
It appears 19.5 Tyres are easier to obtain for my requirements. I guess they are more popular hence marketable. And this is the reason for the course I am taking.

My Experience with sticks, and I mean Mulga in burnt out areas I have found the most challenging. They will penetrate any tyre, but like Any driver, sensible driving and luck will help.

I am Not a highway driver, I will take a bush track, country road any day despite it being longer, more fuel, etc. Hence a good True tough tyre. My years of travelling these very roads have not meant spending enormous amounts on so called 'special' tyres. Just plain good reputation tyres have been quite sufficient. The "best" sand tyre, rocky country tyre, bush track tyre... they are there alright, but who is going to change a set of tyres enroute because of a change in country, and as travellers we know that happens often in the bush. Hence, I stick with a plain old good reputation tyre mainly for my purpose. Sorry, did not mean to ramble so much...
Regards
Bony

Check out fitting one piece 16"or 18" rims as especially with the latter there are a good choice of rims and tyres to suit the Oka. Probably ultimately as tough as the 19.5 Michelins but a more flexible tyre which bags better in soft going.

Peter and Sandra
Thanks for the input. My biggest hurdle is availability. I have spent hours on this forum noting tyres others have used, only to find out later that they don't make them anymore. Then that 'pause ' on the phone after mentioning Oka. So I guess knowing where Oka people source their tyres would be helpful.
Best of all, as Mort said above, would be getting some used rims and tyres someone does not use anymore, that are just taking up space in the shed!!
By the way, have enjoyed your posts, info, pictures, travels,etc on this site as have read much. A sincere Thanks!. All to aid me in coming up to speed quickly. A credit to David and others to have this site. Where else do you get this info/support enhanced by people's experiences with a 'new' vehicle??
Bony

Bony, if looking for 19.5 inch rims, be aware that some are only 265 in width. You need the larger 285s (most common and better for heavier vehicles) or possibly 305s.

There are a handful of 285R7019.5 size tyres available, Michelin, Toyo, Hankook, Kumho, Pirelli, and maybe a few others, but you also need a fairly aggressive block pattern for sand, like the Toyo M608z, Hankook DH05, Kumho KRD02 or Michelin XDE2.

They all have their own differing characteristics regarding cost, wear rates, performance off road, chipping potential and sidewall strength (staking resistance). I've used all types (except DH05) over the years with reasonable success.

Michelins can chip badly but are long lasting and expensive, my Kumho's had soft easily slashed sidewalls, and I'm currently using the Toyo which looks like it might have the best combination of cost and strength but opinions and experiences will differ.

David

.Bony the 16" tyre are the preferred size out in station country.

the local Dunlop dealers have 825x16 & 900x16 - 255/100r16 12 /14 ply
these tyres fit split & tubeless rims

Went from 16" splits about 70Kgs to 16" Steels about half that from Paul and Ian fitted Degan 38s and just think its still think Xmas

Thanks 210greg. The tyre looks great, the 265/75R16 with load rating of 123 would be ideal. The reviews also are promising. I guess finding the 16" Steel rims that are suitable for an Oka would be the next issue. I am just not sure on the correct Tyre load limit for my Oka, rated at 4.5ton.
Bony

Bony there is 10 sets of 16" xtra tuff OKA tubeless wheels on OKA's that I have made
& I have mine speck wheels available
there is a post on the forum with pic's

give me a ring 0429 831040
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
Brett

Hey Brett - were you still interested in my rims?

James

yes James, we are working 24/7 with seeding at moment, will be in Perth in 2 weeks & will see you then

cheers Brett

Cheers mate.

Bony I went 315 75 16 on the rims from Paul and Ian in Melb just make sure that the offset is correct or you may have clearance issues.
Greg

210greg wrote: Bony I went 315 75 16 on the rims from Paul and Ian in Melb just make sure that the offset is correct or you may have clearance issues.
Greg

What is the correct offset?

Just about all the tyre manufactures URLs require the complete sizing to find the tyres. One cannot just seem to get to a link of all the sizes in a particular make/model. This makes searching for options in other diameters a bit of mongrel task.

It won't give you manufacturers info but this Exploroz tyre calculator can help with size comparisons and dimensions.

It's an oldie but a goody which Deano first posted in 2011.

David

Hi Bony or should that be Boney ?

For 16" X 8" rims the correct offset is -5mm with the factory Oka setup. Ian Jones in Melbourne has mine spec rated steel rims that are load rated for the Oka. He also has 0 offset rims which may or may not suit depending on front axle/tyre setup, but for 315/75R16's the -5's are the go. Load rated alloys are also available if you look hard enough but for 'somewhere west of Broken Hill' you're probably best to go with the steel rims.
You're correct in that a load rating of 123 just scrapes in as legal and able to carry the Okas weight at recommended pressures. A different story though if running reduced pressures. There's a number of tyres that have been come available over the last couple of years that have a 127 rating and give a bit of 'wriggle room' if giving the tyres a bit of a work out.
19.5 tyres on the other hand are much more expensive with the rims harder to come by but have a load rating of around 143 (from memory) and have limited tread patterns available (which is really irrelevant) but are superior to the 315/75's in the really tough stuff as they are much more robust.
It all depends really on where you intend to go with your Oka. It's also worth noting that 315/75R16's on Ian Jones's rims are considerably lighter than 305/70R 19.5's. Don't even think about 265/70R19.5's as they are a really terrible off road tyre with practically no side wall height to run at reduced pressures, IMO only good for 100psi highway use or for a kids swing.
Whilst you can run 305/70R19.5 drive tyres on the steer the ride is not nearly as comfortable nor tyre life nearly as long should you do so.
Currently we have 305/70R19.5 Bridgestone steer tyres on the front with Michelin XDE's on the rear and it is IMO the best off/on road touring combination we have had, tough, quiet, comfortable and effective but expensive compared to the set of 315/75R16 AT's I have for 'non touring' around town use (better to wear out the 'cheapies' when not touring . We also have a set of Michelin 325/85 R16's XML's (decadent I know to have 3 sets of wheels/tyres) which I bought specifically to show up no1 son and his mates who reckon their Patrols/Cruisers etc are the 'ants pants' .

Deano

Ha ha - Classic!! Bony it is..
Well, I love this informative, descriptive, personal hands on experience from users... in this instance Tyres

Beautiful Post. Ultimately having a couple of sets is near ideal. Thank You for 'adjusting' me on the 265/70 idea and also the correct weighting index on such a tyre under load. I am Not a perfectionist but I like to be covered for the 'most extreme' situation should it present itself.
I had been toying with the idea of slightly different tyres front and rear, as have done it before, but the lonely track is not always so forgiving as her choices are few. I am more inclined to follow this path if it avails. ie woke one night with the troopy on a mean lean in the morn' only to find not one but two deflated tyres on the one side.
My preference is to go 19.5inch - hence the posts heading - I need to buy some. Yes, the true off-road tyre pattern is not as great as the 16inch offers, but for my sort of travel, I feel I am as best covered as can be IMO. Beside the beauty of the Oka is that I can take my motorbike on the rear bumper with me, so the 'need' to push hard into a remote camp is not so pressed as the bike will serve as a 'scout'.
Again Thanks for the given tyre specs as I have researched them just now on the net. Our needs are different for sure, and I appreciate we are all different in this regards.
Thank You again ALL posters, the collective input gives the best results.
bony

Bony asked me about our Toyo experiences and thoughts on tyre load ratings which I thought might be worth sharing.

"The Toyo’s worked fine but I bought them half way through our last trip (the Michelins I had on had become very badly chipped) so I haven’t had any real sand experience yet. I would expect them to perform well but not sure yet how low you can take the pressures. For really deep soft sand we usually go down to 25-30psi, which make tyres bag out well for floatation. For normal off-road rocky/gravel tracks we use 40 psi and 60+ on bitumen. I try and avoid mud.

The Toyo’s look like they have tougher side walls and plenty of tread depth which is good for stake resistance.

Re load ratings I think your fully loaded weight will probably creep up as you add more stuff (tanks etc) so don’t skimp on the rating. Our Oka was 4.48 tonnes at rego but routinely gets up to 6 tonnes when fully loaded for a big trip. (The GVM is only 5.5 tonnes but the excess is mainly fuel and water which diminishes quickly) . Bigger tyre sizes usually have high load ratings and make for a better and safer ride as well, not to mention longer life.

The Toyo M608Z load rating for a 285R70-19.5 tyre is 145/143M, which means 2900kg/wheel at “M" which is the speed rating of 130kph. (The 143 load rating is for dual/tandem wheels). So our absolute maximum tyre load is 11.6 tonnes which sounds a lot, but load is seldom evenly spread and is very dynamic, and you need a safety margin anyway). See here .

Most tyres of our size have the same load/speed rating.

For an Oka I wouldn’t go below the 140/136M rating which is for a 265R70-19.5 Toyo M608Z tyre, for the above reasons.

BTW we have also dallied with retreads when tyres our size became hard or too expensive to get but it was never a good experience. They were cheaper, but are not as wide as the originals, which exposes the sidewalls, hard to balance and often somewhat oval."

David