Radial Claw Testimonial

Dear Damian,

I am writing to you to let you know how the Mickey Thompson Radial Claw Tires have handled the last 10 months of use. They are Fantastic! On wet bitumen roads, they hang on better than any other mud tyre that I have used. I have more confidence on wet bitumen than I have ever had with any other mud tyre. The other noticeable thing is the dirt road grip. If you're familiar with driving on dirt roads, you'll know that when you start to slide through a corner, things are about to get messy. I have found that although the Claw still is susceptible to slide, it feels more controlled.

I have the Mickey Thompson Radial Claws fitted to a LandCruiser Ute that is used everyday on my property near Kilcoy. It is also used at Landcruiser Mountain Park as a recovery vehicle. Accessories are limited to the bare necessities that comprise of, Rear ARB Diff-lock, 50mm OME suspension kit, ARB Steel Bull Bar and Winch with a set of Alloy Wheels. Empty or loaded and sometimes even towing a horse float the Mickey Thompson Radial Claw Tires handle all situations very well.

It would also be fair to say that my tyres are pushed to the limit everyday. I have used other leading brands of mud tyres over the last few years and have only received 20,000-25,000Kms from each set. I accept that I do not get very good life from my tyres because of my usage, although, I believe that tyre life is not as important as durability and handling. I have not got a puncture during my last 10 months and I think that's great. This has to be related to the stronger constructed tyre that you guys keep talking about!

I also like the 305/70R16 Size. I have found that the Ute is more stable since the fitment of these tyres. The wider footprint really helps. I run these tyres at 28 psi. As you can imagine, this results in a more comfortable ride and there is no sign of irregular wear.

Brent Perrett and myself have run the Radial Claw at the Booral round of the Extreme Winch challenge in 2003. We normally run the tougher Bias-constructed tyres and we were pleasantly surprised with the outcome. Overall we came fourth that weekend. The tyres were reduced to only 18psi for most of that round and we had a lot of problems with wheels. In fact, we bent all of the steel wheels fitted to the Patrol. We were constantly hammering the wheels back into shape. Surprisingly, we did not damage a single tyre. Mickey Thompson Radials demonstrated their tougher construction by not failing once.

Overall, I couldn't have chosen a better tyre to fit to my vehicle. I have always been sceptical of directional patterns and the claw initially was an unknown. I am very happy to let you know that I will be fitting another set of claws when this set runs out of tread.

Regards,

George Knight