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12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 6:08 am
by AustHaflinger
There is plenty of discussion about road legal offroad 12" tyres for our Haffies.

Here is two of them

http://thehaflinger.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=766

http://thehaflinger.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=3290

Much of the discussion, like the two threads above has ended up talking about ATV/UTV tyres some of which are DOT approved in some countries but not in Australia.

I have investigated this tyre issue for while and today I contacted AUSTRACO in Australia who is the major supplier of ATV/UTV tyres in Aust and they confirm that there no ATV/UTV tyres cleared for onroad use here. They also question whether DOT tyres from the US are suitable for any onroad use as they supply heavy duty (hi load/hi speed) ATV/UTV tyres for our desert racing ATV/UTVs and they have many failures due to overheating of the sidewalls - in fact many racers are switching from 14" ATV/UTV tyres to 14" 4wd tyres which are more strongly constructed.

So - I want 12" tyres to go on my standard rims so that I can drive on the road to get to where I want to 4wd, so whatever is fitted must be a road cleared tyre in Aust. (yes I know there are 13" and 14" options but for off-road I would prefer the 12" rims.

So seeing that UTV/ATV tyres are not an option, the Semperats are no longer available (and I cannot find any other road legal offroad 12" tyres) this brings me back to the Mayolas. PS - The old Yokohama Super Diggers are no longer available.

How are the Mayolas as a tyre and where is the best place to buy - I see some on ebay at the moment for 105Euros but would like alternatives.

Thanks

Garry

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 7:38 am
by heinkeljb
The Mayolas would appear to have huge blocks of tread, as you say, ideal for offroad use when new. The issue I see with them is that they have no snipes. So would probably not work so well on wet tarmac conditions. Obviously you can cut your own snipes in the thread blocks following the same pattern that exists on the Semprats.
I know Haflinger Technik sell them, but I assume they get them from Europe so they probably have a bit of a markup on them.
The ones on Ebay obviously are ones from the European Haflinger suppliers. Unless you can find the wholesaler / manufacturer and persuade them to sell to you direct, I think you are stuck with Ebay or the Haflinger spares suppliers.

John

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 11:19 am
by AustHaflinger
Yes thanks John - as you have indicated the tyres do not have the greatest tread pattern. Unfortunately it is highly illegal to re-groove road tyres here in Aust so what I get I will be stuck with.

Cheers

Garry

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2015 2:13 pm
by heinkeljb
How will any one know? Other than non-straight cuts? Authorities on the ground will no know what was original and what is not! A bit of road use, offroad use on rocky ground and the surface will be a bit cut up and any snipes you have made will look like they were supposed to be there.

The Mayolas make much more road noise than your current road tyres and they will wander far more - just make sure you have a little steering wheel play as possible as you will constantly be correcting the steering otherwise.

John

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 11:29 am
by pureredcordial
Hi Gary,

I've ordered a set of 145R12 Yokohama Y828 Super Digger II's direct from Japan (via ebay). If all goes well they should be here within 2 weeks. Keep you posted.

Imagey828 by pureredcordial, on Flickr

--matt

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 2:59 pm
by heinkeljb
I wonder if you can get those in a 155 or 165 /80 /12 profile?

I have a set of 12 inch rims with OLD WORN Semprit tyres on them, When I ran them the Haflinger would wander across the road far more than the 155/80/13 Mud and Snow tyres I currently have on Lurch.

John

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 4:20 pm
by Techmogogy
They were posted before here : http://www.thehaflinger.com/viewtopic.php?f=22&t=2956
Says they were discontinued a few years back but I am not sure

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 9:14 pm
by pureredcordial
I've asked the seller if these are still current in Japan or NOS. Let you know.
But they come up in Japanese site google results (just add site:.jp at the end of the search)

This is what appears to be Yokohama current product listing for them
http://yokohamatire.jp/yrc/japan/tire/b ... elist.html

It has the sizes....only 145r12 in two different ply ratings

cheers

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Wed Jan 27, 2016 11:21 pm
by AustHaflinger
Hi Matt - I tried all the local tyre dealers (including the Yokohama dealer) with no luck.

I cannot find an ebay link for the tyres but Amazon Japan has them for 12,800 yen = about $155AUD - I guess shipping would be around $50 a tyre.

Garry

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 3:27 am
by pureredcordial
edit : here's some more from that seller. That price includes delivery to Australia
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/NEW-4x-145R- ... O#shpCntId

Posts world wide. I just got a shipping update that mine have been collected and are now sitting in a post office in Yokkaichi.

I'll post photos when they arrive.

--matt

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Fri Jan 29, 2016 10:23 am
by AustHaflinger
Thanks Matt - that is a good price.

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 7:15 am
by pureredcordial
Talk about quick delivery... 5 days from Japan

I measure the tread depth at around 10mm. I won't have them mounted for a while. Here are a couple of photos

ImageDSC_0282 by pureredcordial, on Flickr

ImageDSC_0281 by pureredcordial, on Flickr

It's still not quite clear to me whether the seller is getting these new from Yokohama or has a supply of no longer in production ones. Either way they say they have more stock of these and are still listing them on Ebay Australia at least. Best to check directly re freight / currencies if you're located elsewhere. Seller details http://www.ebay.com.au/usr/powerwebaush ... 7675.l2559

cheers

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 8:14 am
by kerry460
G,,day .
tyres do have a date on them telling when they were made .

they look good as an all purpose tyre

kerry

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 9:58 am
by AustHaflinger
That is really quick delivery.

This is how to check their manufacture date

"The date your tyres were made will be on the sidewall in the form of four numbers usually preceded by the letters DOT. These numbers represent the week number and year, so 3410 will be week 34, 2010."

Garry

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 12:49 pm
by pureredcordial
hmmmm. The only molded numbers that aren't the tyre size or tyre model are

67068 -05

and

YYY0216

There's a white stamped number 526

Also a very tiny QR Code sticker with two codes...E2989 and 612L9

Edit - also found a very small molded E2989.......perhaps 1989.....smell like new :)

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 1:49 pm
by jhon
I had a set of these Yokohamas fitted to a Land Rover back in the mid 80's - when I went to replace them I was told then that they had been discontinued. Maybe that was only in the larger sizes (31x10.5x15).

I remember them being a good tyre, both on and off-road.

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Mon Feb 01, 2016 3:28 pm
by pureredcordial
Turns out it's the YYY0216 number. So they were made the 2nd week of 2016. They certainly reek of new-ness :)
http://www.yokohamatire.ph/news-and-fea ... ire-s-age/

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Tue Feb 02, 2016 2:54 pm
by cascade.king
I was told by US importers that the Super Digger II was discontinued, and all available stock in the US is a few years old. Also, tire importation to the US is near impossible due to DOT restrictions.

Vendors here still have 145R12 stock of these tires, so if you have a good experience with them, I may just pull the trigger and order a set "locally." They are available here for $75-$90 each plus shipping..

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Thu Feb 04, 2016 4:34 am
by Czechsix
There's one guy I keep seeing when I do the tire searches, and he specializes in the little Japanese Daihatsu trucks, along with others. He advertises some of the 12" tires, including the Yokohama and the Dunlops. http://best-used-tractors.com/ktruck_wheels_tires.html is the page URL - dunno if that's one of the guys you're thinking of, Mike, but the price for the tire isn't bad at all. If the stock is only a few years old they should still be fine to use.

Sigh. Maybe I should get a backup set of tires too. Feh.

Re: 12" Road Legal Tyres (Again) - What are the Mayolas Like

Posted: Thu Feb 11, 2016 11:23 am
by pureredcordial
Hi Gary,

I just picked up a set of secondhand retread rally tyres 185/70r13 on fiat rims. Whether you like the tread pattern or not, the very edge of the retread is marked Retread No Speed Rating

ImageDSC_0341 by pureredcordial, on Flickr

but there is an ebay seller with new rally retreads in r13 which are speed rated
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/175-70R13-Re ... 2121363013

cheers
Matt