In the October issue of Leisure Wheels, Hannes Grobler battled it out between 15 of the most popular all terrain tyres available in South Africa. We travelled from Gerotek near Pretoria to the Mountain View 4×4 trail in the Kalahari, near the Witsand nature Reserve. We also carted 60 wheels and all-terrain tyres all over the show to find out which is the best all-rounder in the game.
The Driver
Hannes Grobler began rallying in 1977 and filling his trophy case with both amateur and national rally championship trophies. Anyone who was around in the late 1980s will remember “Skyzilla,” his 500 horsepower, 4-wheel drive Nissan Skyline. His efficiency and attention to detail made him the perfect driver for this test – our VBOX measurements showed Hannes driving laps within less than .1 of a second of each other.
The Tests
Sand driving
Wet track and brake test
Dry track and brake test
Gravel track and brake test
The results
15th – Mickey Thompson Baja STZ – Overall average 85.59%
14th – BFGoodrich All Terrain T/A KO – Overall average 87.14%
13th – Velocity Raptor – Overall average 88.21%
12th – Dunlop Grandtrek AT3 – Overall average 90.33%
11th – Maxxis 700 Bravo A/T – Overall average 90.47%
10th – Cooper Discoverer A/T3 – Overall average 90.57%
9th – Yokohama Geolander A/T-S – Overall average 91.41%
8th – Kumho Road Venture A/T – Overall average 91.46%
7th – Pirelli Scorpion ATR – Overall average 91.66% – BEST Dry Handling
6th – Hankook Dynapro AT-M RF10 – Overall average 92.70%
5th – Bridgestone Dueler 694 AT – Overall average 92.76%
4th – Goodyear Wrangler AT/SA – Overall average 93.27 – BEST Sand Handling
3rd – Apollo A/T – Overall average 94.49% = BEST Dry Braking
2nd – Continental CrossContact AT – Overall average 95.64% – BEST Gravel Handling
1st – General Grabber AT – Overall average 96.95%
BEST Wet Handling at 00:59.80 – 100%
BEST Wet Braking (60-0 km/h) in 16.66m – 100%
BEST Gravel Braking (60-0 km/h) in 21.86m – 100%