BF Goodrich All-Terrain Tyres
This particular love affair of mine started by accident, well, someone else’s accident really. You see, just over 22 years ago, not long after I’d bought my first Range Rover I was offered a set of almost new 31-10R-15 BF Goodrich All-Terrains wrapped around some retro Wolf-Race alloys that had just come off a written-off Range Rover.
After fitting taller springs to accommodate the extra height of the tyres they stayed on BVU, or Beevoo as she was christened, for the next 5 years. We entered Family Vehicle competitions, we green-laned and we toured the great British Isles. Throughout this time I only lost traction twice, once on an ice covered green-lane and the other time in very deep snow whilst driving up Wrynose Pass when the Difflock chose not to work - but that’s another story.
When BVU rotted away, as old Range Rovers do, I commissioned someone to transform her into a 90 hybrid and obviously kept the tyres. When I eventually sold BVU after around 9 years and over 60k miles later, the tyres, amazingly, still had plenty of meat left on them.
My next 4x4 was a 2nd Generation Toyota Surf, and I suppose it comes as no surprise that within a week I’d bought 5 new BFG AT’s. The Surf, or Smurf as she was christened, again took us all over the UK on holidays, as well as P&P sites and general green-laning. As far as I can remember, during those 6 years of ownership the tyres were only defeated once, and that was purely driver error on my part.
When I began writing for Land Rover World magazine back in January 2010 I bought a 1996 Land Rover Discovery, and due to the nature of the job, I pondered on what tyres to buy next, all-terrain’s or muds. It was a no-brainer, due to the confidence that the 2 previous sets had given me, both on-road and off, the Disco had a new set of BFG All-Terrains.
Much like my previous vehicles, the Discovery took me all over the UK, and in 4 years we’d covered another 60k miles, again covering motorways, off-roading sites and green-lanes. When I sold her earlier on this year there was still a good amount of tread still on for me to take her ‘laning and still be confident of not getting stuck.
How BF Goodrich do it I really don't know, but I’m not surprised they're legendary in off-road circles, and in my opinion, deservedly so. After all these years and almost 200k miles, I’m loathed to try another tyre as they've given me so much confidence, no matter what I'm driving over. The problem is, I now have the same old dilemma as I’m needing a new set of tyres for Deux Smurf. Do I stay safe and opt with what I know, or do I take a risk and try another brand? Decisions, decisions…