Ideas on the closest thing to A/T tires that'd fit? Traveling US by linking sections of Gravel/Fire roads.

[0x171]

Hey all, I've been lurking around here for a long time w/ no account, following modification guides, recommendations, endlessly reading about everything before I purchase and this forum has been an invaluable resource, so thank you all, wouldn't be stage 3 w/o you all!

I'm quitting my job at the EOY and dedicating 2022 to traveling the US and building personal projects. I only have my FiST and a motorcycle, so I'll be garaging the moto and taking my FiST all around the country. This means doing a small build to 'convert' it to a camper, with no seats but the drivers. The intent is driving as far off-tarmac the FiST is capable of taking me and backpacking/bikepacking on a fat bike the rest of the way I want to go.

I'm only using the tarmac for the store trips and linking together trails/dirt roads and the rare long highway trip. I've done a decent amount of this on bike tours and it's by far my favorite way to travel (off the highway, on dirt/gravel trails + more if vehicle can take it, even very slowly).

I don't care too much about tarmac performance, except safe enough braking, high speed stability (highway) and preferably not awful tread wear. If I had to compromise anywhere I guess it'd be in tread wear, if I can get >10k out of a set and they do well off tarmac and aren't going to kill me/be unsafe in hot weather/highway driving, I'd be golden for this adventure. Obviously there's going to be compromises somewhere, but I'm curious to get ideas from you guys.

I've looked into it a bit and I fairly confident I'm going to try suspension lift of ~.75-1" or so, max 1.25" if I could fit awesome tires (wanted to do this since I got the FiST, Bilstein B6 + either stock springs + spacers or maybe non-ST fiesta springs), skid plate and fit the largest tires I think I could, 195/60 r15's, maybe even 185/65s if possible after lifting a bit.

I'd LOVE an All-Terrain tire that'd do well in snow, but I cannot find any that I think could fit on the FiST, so I guess I'm looking at the closest thing to an A/T tire that will fit! I have considered fender rolling but I don't think it'd even make a difference, all the A/T tires seem slightly out of range on what I'd be able to even fit with a decent size roll and 1.5" lift (max I'd want to go).

Anybody else have any better ideas/options that I've overlooked? I can try to plan all of my routes to stay in decent weather, but that's a pipe dream and still need to tackle the off-road/tarmac. Idk what other options there are, so I come to the glorious hivemind in search of truth

TL;DR: I'm looking for 15" tires that can take me as far off the beaten path as the FiST can go (dirt, fire roads, gravel, etc) and not puncture constantly, but still be able to drive on the highway in nearly all weather conditions (temps 10-90deg). Would prefer my tread to last but anything above ~10-15k miles is just a bonus.

The best I've come up with is something like Conti VikingContact 7s/General Arctic 12, XL load rating and would give me the most off-road capability. Maybe I'm overestimating how bad winters would be in warmer, dry weather?
I know I'll get a few comments saying it's not the vehicle for this kind of thing, BUT it's what I have and I'm in no place to be purchasing something else so it's this or nothing, and nothing isn't an option + I want to keep the FiST forever!

 

[M-Sport fan]

I addressed a bunch of this in the other thread, but as far as using any, BFG or otherwise, A/T tires, yes, you are correct that there is nothing made that even comes close to fitting, at least not without doing a MAJOR, full body cutaway like some of the 'zombie apocalypse' Scoobie wagons/CUV Imprezzas seen working/spectating at some of the ARA rallies, sport.

As far as highway wear goes, although I did not depth gauge them, my 195/60-15 Arctic 12s (which I chose specifically because of their stronger side wall, XL load rating, and closest to a gravel tire's tread pattern I've ever seen in a street winter tire) have been used to get to, and transit to stages/drive on them to work the event, on ARA rallies since July of 2018, and they still have plenty of life left on them.

For the NEFR rally, I travel about 500 miles on pavement each way to get there, and then put about 400 miles on them during the rally, and any additional sightseeing while up in that beautiful area.

For STPR, it is about 250 miles each way on pavement, and then about 200 miles to the stages, and on them working the event.

 

[Silfister]

I’m in DFW as well so not much expertise on tires as I keep my stock ones on all year (only have ~15k miles on my little beast), but it looks like you’re in for quite an adventure. About 15 years ago when I was going to college in CA, a buddy and I took six months off and traveled across the U.S. and (almost) back in his really old Triumph Spitfire (I think he inherited it from his grandfather, then rebuilt the engine, etc.). Unlike your plan, we stayed on the main or other paved roads, but basically camped out every night (sleeping bags and plastic tarp). We traveled light as half the trunk was filled with spare parts for the inevitable breakdowns; after all it was a British car, lol.

Anyway, we traversed the country and as I mentioned almost made it back to CA – somebody t-boned us in the middle of the night in Elko, NV; my friend was driving so I was awakened with the screech of tires and metal. Luckily (miraculously), no one was injured, but I left my bud in Elko with his totaled machine and took a bus back to Berkeley.

I’ve subsequently have had the opportunity to travel the world (Europe, Australia, Asia, etc.), but no trip has provided better memories and personal insight than that long ago jaunt in that tiny Spitfire.

 

[Jabbit]

This sounds like a great adventure. I have no particular advice other than drive carefully, take lots of pictures, and share you experience with us!

 

[SteveS]

I did a little searching for truck tires in 185/60R15 as I know in the olden days small trucks ran that size, and even fullsize trucks had 15" wheels.
General makes a Grabber HD in that size. It's a Heavy Duty all-season tire designed for commercial trucks and vans.
Continental has the Vanco Four Season in that size, also a heavy duty tire designed for vans.
There are a couple of others that are light truck tires in that size. None of them has a fully AT tread, but they do have the stronger sidewalls and such, and are fine in snow.

It really depends on what kind of all terrain driving you mean to do. If it's rock crawling, then there doesn't appear to be that kind of tire available. But if it's more like rally gravel stage driving, then a snow tire or one of these truck tires or even just an all season touring tire would probably do just fine.

 

[dhminer]

I’ve driven on my xice 3s in warm weather because I was too lazy to switch wheels. It doesn’t feel unsafe but it’s definitely not responsive in any way and you can feel the soft rubber flexing when you turn. It’s a bit unsettling but probably fine.

Sounds like an awesome trip.

 

[0x171]

I addressed a bunch of this in the other thread, but as far as using any, BFG or otherwise, A/T tires, yes, you are correct that there is nothing made that even comes close to fitting, at least not without doing a MAJOR, full body cutaway like some of the 'zombie apocalypse' Scoobie wagons/CUV Imprezzas seen working/spectating at some of the ARA rallies, sport.

...have been used to get to, and transit to stages/drive on them to work the event, on ARA rallies since July of 2018, and they still have plenty of life left on them.

For the NEFR rally, I travel about 500 miles on pavement each way to get there, and then put about 400 miles on them during the rally, and any additional sightseeing while up in that beautiful area.

For STPR, it is about 250 miles each way on pavement, and then about 200 miles to the stages, and on them working the event.

As much as I'd love the 'apocalypse FiST', I'm not that committed (yet?) w/ this being my daily. I envy those types of cars every time I see them, though!

If you've been using them for that many thousands of miles on gravel and tarmac even at the end of July (I assume at least 80deg), without the impression that safety was of concern, that's wayyyy better than I would have assumed! I did buy the FiST w/ winterforces on during the TX summer but I only drove on them for ~2 weeks and can't remember what they felt like at this point, other than the RE71R's were insane feeling afterwards.

Thank you so much for your input, as I have very little experience w/ anything other than summers. Since I live in TX I'd typically run RE71Rs year round (love those things), which is obviously not going to cut it for this little adventure!

What is your opinion on Winters like your General Arctic 12s or some Conti Viking 7s VS something like the Vredenstein Quatrac? (185/60 or 65s are XL rated, + maybe better in warmer weather?). Not sure how much gravel/off-road performance and puncture protection I lose w/ something like that, though.

Also, I'm running shiddy mk2 focus 5 spoke alloys atm, should I just throw on some steelies for the adventure? Less chance of catastrophic failures/suspension damage? I've heard conflicting things regarding this idea. Some say don't run steelies bc they'll rip your hubs off or something and others say to run them for the crumpling factor, so you don't damage expensive suspension components.

 

[0x171]

I’m in DFW as well so not much expertise on tires as I keep my stock ones on all year (only have ~15k miles on my little beast), but it looks like you’re in for quite an adventure. About 15 years ago when I was going to college in CA, a buddy and I took six months off and traveled across the U.S. and (almost) back in his really old Triumph Spitfire (I think he inherited it from his grandfather, then rebuilt the engine, etc.). Unlike your plan, we stayed on the main or other paved roads, but basically camped out every night (sleeping bags and plastic tarp). We traveled light as half the trunk was filled with spare parts for the inevitable breakdowns; after all it was a British car, lol.

Anyway, we traversed the country and as I mentioned almost made it back to CA – somebody t-boned us in the middle of the night in Elko, NV; my friend was driving so I was awakened with the screech of tires and metal. Luckily (miraculously), no one was injured, but I left my bud in Elko with his totaled machine and took a bus back to Berkeley.

I’ve subsequently have had the opportunity to travel the world (Europe, Australia, Asia, etc.), but no trip has provided better memories and personal insight than that long ago jaunt in that tiny Spitfire.

Oof! I'm relieved to hear that you made it out of that unharmed, that is crazy! Thinking about getting T-boned makes me squirm a little. I've been rear ended at a red light by a truck at ~40mph and that was no fun!

Everybody that I've talked to that has taken time off to go on these types of adventures has said very similar things: They would do it again 100x over, they learned so much and that it was one of the highlights of their life. I've been wanting to do this for years, have done two bike 'tours', but nothing long-term (more than ~6 weeks).
So, it's time to stop putting it off and get back on the road, to create memories, meet new people and have stories like yours in the Spitfire! It's what life is all about!
Thank you for sharing and the encouragement!

 

[0x171]

This sounds like a great adventure. I have no particular advice other than drive carefully, take lots of pictures, and share you experience with us!

I will most definitely do all of the above! You guys here have helped me so much with wrenching on the FiST and general knowledge building, the least I could do is share the fruits of our joint efforts! I need to pick up a decent camera or new phone before I leave (the one in my phone vibrates around, completely unable to focus on anything, probably from dropping it a few good times over the years, lol).
Thank you for your kind words of encouragement!

 

[0x171]

It really depends on what kind of all terrain driving you mean to do. If it's rock crawling, then there doesn't appear to be that kind of tire available. But if it's more like rally gravel stage driving, then a snow tire or one of these truck tires or even just an all season touring tire would probably do just fine.

Good eye on those!
Oh, trust me, if I could rock crawl, I would, but sadly that does not seem to be in the cards. It'd be more along the lines of gravel stages, probably a bit rougher as well, but I'll be going real slow through those parts. The only concern I have about the commercially rated tires is how hard the compound is with the combination of how light the car is, in rainy/snowy conditions. I will look into these more heavily, because I may have some misconceptions floating around my head regarding that.

What is your opinion on Winters like your General Arctic 12s, Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 or some Conti Viking 7s VS something like the Vredenstein Quatrac? (185/60 or 65s are XL rated, + maybe better in warmer weather?). Not sure how much gravel/off-road performance and puncture protection I lose w/ something like that, though.

 

[0x171]

I’ve driven on my xice 3s in warm weather because I was too lazy to switch wheels. It doesn’t feel unsafe but it’s definitely not responsive in any way and you can feel the soft rubber flexing when you turn. It’s a bit unsettling but probably fine.

Sounds like an awesome trip.

Excellent. Not feeling unsafe was the threshold for me. I can deal with different driving characteristics than I'm used to, as long as my braking distance is within a safe margin in the warm/dry, then I'm confident I can adjust to the rest

Do you happen to know what PSI you ran them at? I saw M-Sport fan was running his General Arctic 12s @ 45+ PSI for tarmac only use w/ no excessive center wear, which sounds interesting to me, maybe less squish feeling and a good middle ground?

Thank you for sharing as there's quite literally only a handful of reviews from people that have similar cars that run winters for anything other than snow/ice/winter, so any anecdote from you guys is VERY helpful!

 

[M-Sport fan]

As much as I'd love the 'apocalypse FiST', I'm not that committed (yet?) w/ this being my daily. I envy those types of cars every time I see them, though!

If you've been using them for that many thousands of miles on gravel and tarmac even at the end of July (I assume at least 80deg), without the impression that safety was of concern, that's wayyyy better than I would have assumed! I did buy the FiST w/ winterforces on during the TX summer but I only drove on them for ~2 weeks and can't remember what they felt like at this point, other than the RE71R's were insane feeling afterwards.

Thank you so much for your input, as I have very little experience w/ anything other than summers. Since I live in TX I'd typically run RE71Rs year round (love those things), which is obviously not going to cut it for this little adventure!

What is your opinion on Winters like your General Arctic 12s or some Conti Viking 7s VS something like the Vredenstein Quatrac? (185/60 or 65s are XL rated, + maybe better in warmer weather?). Not sure how much gravel/off-road performance and puncture protection I lose w/ something like that, though.

Also, I'm running shiddy mk2 focus 5 spoke alloys atm, should I just throw on some steelies for the adventure? Less chance of catastrophic failures/suspension damage? I've heard conflicting things regarding this idea. Some say don't run steelies bc they'll rip your hubs off or something and others say to run them for the crumpling factor, so you don't damage expensive suspension components.

Truthfully (again, pumped up, as I have no idea of how 'scrubby/squirmy' they would be at low pressure, at all!), I have NEVER felt 'unsafe' in the least on the Arctic 12s, ever.

In fact, most of the WRXes/STIs working in my stage crews had a hard time keeping up with me on some of the twisty pavement heading out to the gravel stages, despite some of them being on UHP all seasons, or much lower profile, full factory sized, Blizzaks/etc.

Ironically, (or maybe expectedly??), full-on competition gravel rally tires can be quite squirrelly on smooth tarmac, as compared to an even heavily siped/cut/tread blocked street winter tire, more or less so depending on their compound and tread knobbiness/'gravel paddles'.

The Viking 7 is the only other tire I was considering for my uses, and may try them once the Arctic 12s are toast.

The Vredesteins might be able to handle some rough terrain, but I would not trust them to drive over what I must while working these rallies.
That tire is the very ONLY HP all season made in a 215/45-16 size anywhere, and I was considering them for my 16x8 Dekagrams, but decided, between their cost, and 'treadiness', that they would give up too much vs. the not available in that size Neo Gens would (despite the much more desirous size of the Quatracs) in 3 season use.

Steelies will bend, instead of cracking, like the weaker cast alloy wheels will on big hits, but if they bend enough, they will still leak air.

WHY I use a wheel (which sadly is no longer available in our fitment, at all) which has been proven to be able to handle rally competition on the Subaru Rally Team USA Vermont Sportscar rides, the 15x7 Method MR501VT.
Granted, with a big enough hit, they will crack as well, as will even much stronger, much more co$tly pure rally wheels (Braid Acropolis, Speedline 2118, TD Pro Rally, etc.)

 

[SteveS]

Good eye on those!
Oh, trust me, if I could rock crawl, I would, but sadly that does not seem to be in the cards. It'd be more along the lines of gravel stages, probably a bit rougher as well, but I'll be going real slow through those parts. The only concern I have about the commercially rated tires is how hard the compound is with the combination of how light the car is, in rainy/snowy conditions. I will look into these more heavily, because I may have some misconceptions floating around my head regarding that.

What is your opinion on Winters like your General Arctic 12s, Nokian Hakkapeliitta 8 or some Conti Viking 7s VS something like the Vredenstein Quatrac? (185/60 or 65s are XL rated, + maybe better in warmer weather?). Not sure how much gravel/off-road performance and puncture protection I lose w/ something like that, though.

I live in Missouri, which means the summer tires generally have to be off the car from mid-November to March, due to the temperatures. We do get snow, but usually only from January to February, and not all the time. So we drive plenty on the Yokohama iceGuards we got. They aren't bad on dry pavement, but they obviously don't have anywhere near the grip the summer tires do. The size also means turn-in response isn't as sharp. But we have to travel some windy two lane to visit my mother in south Missouri at least once a month, and you can still carry extralegal speeds through the twisties and feel safe.

 

[0x171]

and you can still carry extralegal speeds through the twisties and feel safe.

I prefer the term 'supralegal' But in all seriousness, that's what I like to hear! I think you guys have convinced me it's not a huge of a deal as I initially thought, as long as I'm aware of the downsides and don't drive like an idiot I'm sure I'll be a-okay!

This is why I love this place. I read quite literally ALL of the reviews on tirerack for the 5-6 tires I 'settled' on/matched my criteria (400+ reviews) and maybe 3-4 even mention use in anything but snow/winter conditions and two of those are minivan owners w/ 'easy-going' driving style, lol.

Thank you for sharing your experiences w/ me!

 

[0x171]

Truthfully (again, pumped up, as I have no idea of how 'scrubby/squirmy' they would be at low pressure, at all!), I have NEVER felt 'unsafe' in the least on the Arctic 12s, ever.

In fact, most of the WRXes/STIs working in my stage crews had a hard time keeping up with me on some of the twisty pavement heading out to the gravel stages, despite some of them being on UHP all seasons, or much lower profile, full factory sized, Blizzaks/etc.

Even having fun in the twisties!? I think I'm sold on the idea of Winter tires for my use, I noticed that the Quatracs were ~4lbs lighter than the Arctic 12s. It has to be substantially thinner in a lot of places/the 'treadiness' as you mentioned. I think you're right, they wouldn't stand a chance doing what I'm planning.

I know this is the wheels/tires sub-forum but to save a new post over @ suspension: For raising ~.5-1", would your recommendation be the B6s + stock spring + spacer? I'm on stock suspension w/ 60k on em, so I'm planning on replacing nearly all of it. I'm trying to keep the budget low-ish, but I started adding all of the parts together and it's coming out to be close to decent coilover prices. BUT I see zero coilovers intended for raising the FiST at all.

Do you happen to know if there are any options intended for other models/base Fiesta that would fit but be longer/higher? I saw a few threads from people mentioning they MIGHT use base Fiesta damper/springs, but didn't see any follow-up on if that actually raised/how much. I also know nothing about spring rates/what I should be looking for, so I need to do more research on that front.

As of now I'm looking at:
Suspension: B6 + spacers (what size spacers?) + stock springs (or Swift springs if I can maintain the lift)
Wheels: Steelies for now unless I can find a good deal
Tires: General Arctic 12s / Conti Viking 7s, not sure how to choose between these, but leaning towards the Arctic 12s because of your good experience on them for essentially the same type of driving I'm planning.

I watched a few videos on rally tires a while back from Team Oneil where they casually pinch the tires w/ pliers... SUPER PLIABLE. I was SO surprised at how soft the majority of them were. I mean, it makes sense over gravel stages, but is like 2-3x softer than what I imagined they'd be like. My first reaction was "Damn, I thought my 200tws were SOFT".

 

[M-Sport fan]

The factory ride height (and maybe slightly above) capable Fortune Auto 500/510 coil overs looked promising, but I had doubts about their ultimate strength for/over the rough stuff, which was affirmed by their techs telling me that for my uses, they cannot suggest them, as they were built with only street and open track/autocross duties in mind.

That soft compound (even for the 'hard' compound labeled ones) used in summer real gravel rally tires is WHY they are useless in winter/snow/ice conditions.

They will freeze/crystallize into harder than hockey pucks, just like a 200 or lower tread wear pure summer MAX performance sticky will.
There ARE specialized WINTER rally tires made for cold, snow/ice conditions, but they are like motorcycle front tire width or narrower, most are heavily studded, and ARE actually dangerous on dry tarmac. (Think; circular saw blades, LOL)

It is also why I cannot use gravel rally tires for summer rally working, since they are soooo soft and 'tready' that they would be mostly slicks by the time I drove the many highway miles up to any rallies, in order to use them down the actual stages, even if I only had them on the car immediately before, and to/on, and back from those events.

 

[ECS_off]

OP, I hope you have a thread going to share your adventures with the forum. I mostly lurk but had to log in just to make that request.

This thread also comes at a good time for me. I'm looking at tires that I can use in winter but also throw on for gravel roads. We have a lot of mtb trailheads here that are several miles deep on forest roads, plus the Olympus and Oregon Trail rallies every year. Thank you all for sharing your experiences, especially M-Sport fan.

 

[Old Mike Emerson]

Hey all, I've been lurking around here for a long time w/ no account, following modification guides, recommendations, endlessly reading about everything before I purchase and this forum has been an invaluable resource, so thank you all, wouldn't be stage 3 w/o you all!

I'm quitting my job at the EOY and dedicating 2022 to traveling the US and building personal projects. I only have my FiST and a motorcycle, so I'll be garaging the moto and taking my FiST all around the country. This means doing a small build to 'convert' it to a camper, with no seats but the drivers. The intent is driving as far off-tarmac the FiST is capable of taking me and backpacking/bikepacking on a fat bike the rest of the way I want to go.

I'm only using the tarmac for the store trips and linking together trails/dirt roads and the rare long highway trip. I've done a decent amount of this on bike tours and it's by far my favorite way to travel (off the highway, on dirt/gravel trails + more if vehicle can take it, even very slowly).

I don't care too much about tarmac performance, except safe enough braking, high speed stability (highway) and preferably not awful tread wear. If I had to compromise anywhere I guess it'd be in tread wear, if I can get >10k out of a set and they do well off tarmac and aren't going to kill me/be unsafe in hot weather/highway driving, I'd be golden for this adventure. Obviously there's going to be compromises somewhere, but I'm curious to get ideas from you guys.

I've looked into it a bit and I fairly confident I'm going to try suspension lift of ~.75-1" or so, max 1.25" if I could fit awesome tires (wanted to do this since I got the FiST, Bilstein B6 + either stock springs + spacers or maybe non-ST fiesta springs), skid plate and fit the largest tires I think I could, 195/60 r15's, maybe even 185/65s if possible after lifting a bit.

I'd LOVE an All-Terrain tire that'd do well in snow, but I cannot find any that I think could fit on the FiST, so I guess I'm looking at the closest thing to an A/T tire that will fit! I have considered fender rolling but I don't think it'd even make a difference, all the A/T tires seem slightly out of range on what I'd be able to even fit with a decent size roll and 1.5" lift (max I'd want to go).

Anybody else have any better ideas/options that I've overlooked? I can try to plan all of my routes to stay in decent weather, but that's a pipe dream and still need to tackle the off-road/tarmac. Idk what other options there are, so I come to the glorious hivemind in search of truth

TL;DR: I'm looking for 15" tires that can take me as far off the beaten path as the FiST can go (dirt, fire roads, gravel, etc) and not puncture constantly, but still be able to drive on the highway in nearly all weather conditions (temps 10-90deg). Would prefer my tread to last but anything above ~10-15k miles is just a bonus.

The best I've come up with is something like Conti VikingContact 7s/General Arctic 12, XL load rating and would give me the most off-road capability. Maybe I'm overestimating how bad winters would be in warmer, dry weather?
I know I'll get a few comments saying it's not the vehicle for this kind of thing, BUT it's what I have and I'm in no place to be purchasing something else so it's this or nothing, and nothing isn't an option + I want to keep the FiST forever!

Just wanted to throw this out there, if you're still doing the trip and end up close to Akron, Ohio and need any mechanical help I have a full garage of tools. If in need contact me.