Hi Tony,
I have just placed a set of 191/2's on my NPS. The ride is better, the cabin noise is quieter. I would wait if possible
Hang in there if you can as Dave said . Just had a very interesting talk to to one of the Fraser mechanics today. Their 2 buses and 5 Landcruisers each do about 100k's of gravel / dirt ,100 k's of sand and 100k's of tar each day (my rough estimate). He looks after 2 FG's . A 649 on XZL's and an 84 on Toyo's. Both with identical bodies and therefore weight. So it's a good way to compare tyres. I was stunned when he told me has had only one flat in six months with the Toyo's but the drivers are sick of getting punctures in the 649. They average about one a week. Not only that but often they will not realize in time and shred the tyre so mileage doesn't even seem relevant. Most of them aren't seeing a normal and full life. They even leave one stashed up on the island in case they get a second puncture.
To clear this up a bit, the gravel forestry roads they travel are covered in a very sharp gravel which is what does the damage. In the past they were getting punctures virtually every day on at least one of the Landcruisers (once they got 2 together) so they always travelled in convoy. The sharp stones would get stuck between the blocks and just get driven into the tread ply until they punctured the tube or otherwise end up tearing a tread block right off. Quality tyres too.
Same story with the XZL's > not tearing blocks off, you'd never do that I don't think but puncturing the treadply. So I'm not saying the tyres aren't any good. I'm just trying to explain how extreme the conditions are when the trucks are exposed to this day after day after.....shackle rubbers every 2 weeks, springs every 25,000k's, exhaust every 6 months if you're lucky, etc.etc. Get the picture? Hey, some guys go right across Oz with them and not get a puncture but as a comparison of 2 types of tyres in the same extreme and testing conditions it's a fair test, isn't it?
I should add that due to the very dry conditions up in the sand on Fraser over the last 6 to 10 months, the operators are saying the conditions are the worst they have ever experienced. Same with the gravel. Very dry and loose.
The Toyo's on the 84 he brought to us today had 48k on them so they would be the oldest set we've seen on an FG. Unfortunately they had not been rotated regularly and the rears were very distinguishable from the front. Too late to rotate now and they were chipped from being continuously on the drive axle when in 2wd on the gravel. We'll see what they're like in another 20,000k's. The fronts still look fine (blocks rounded off , more from the sand me thinks, but lots of tread epth) which is a shame as had they been rotated in time and regularly, I'm sure the combined mileage would have been better than what we now expect. I took a pic of the worst tyre (below) . It's never had a wheel alignment either looks to need a toe in adjustment. Slack....
The bottom line from the mechanic (and part time driver) was that all though they get bogged a little more (and he stressed only a little) in the 84, it's still much better than changing flats and forking out $800 bucks for a new tyre far more often than he'd like. His words not mine.
I really wasn't sure how they were going to fare up till this point so today's conversation was reassuring to say the least.