The Pirelli Scorpion MTR: I’ve had them on the truck for a few weeks now. Read my previous post here. How do I like them? When I first got them, the shop inflated them to 31 psi. After doing the chalk test to see the footprint I inflated them to 35 psi and I have been driving at that pressure for about a week or 10 days. I might have to do another chalk test and maybe increase the pressure a bit more still, but 35 or 36 psi look about right. So, on the highway these tires are a little noisier than the stock tires, but not that much for an all-terrain/mud tire. They make as much wind noise as the roof-rack on the top of the cab, not more.
And comfort hasn’t deteriorated. They feel smooth enough both on and off highway. Steering, breaking, and acceleration feel about the same as before. The only significant difference is fuel consumption. That has gone up. Again not by very much. For now with limited mileage on them it looks like I went from 11.9 km/l down to about 11.2 km/l. I’ll keep an eye on that and report later. So for city and highway driving I like the tires. How are they off-road?
Heading to a new trail out of town we stopped by a sand dune to take some photos of the truck with the new tires. Off course I couldn’t resist climbing the dune. At highway pressure it was a piece of cake. The tires never dug in the sand and the truck made it up no problem.
The trail we drove is narrow, through the desert. It is dry and rocky for most part. The tires give the truck an added sense of confidence in the sense that somehow it feels more sure-footed. Even off-road and at highway pressure they provide quite a comfortable ride. Being a bit taller than stock they increase the ground clearance by close to 2 cm, and make the bumps and dips seem a bit smaller. Between the small amount of suspension lift (4 cm in front and 3 cm rear) and the Pirellis, the Ranger feels like a more capable 4×4 than stock. The final test came when we had to cross a stream that didn’t look very deep, but when I went in to retrieve the camera I had water up to my knees. Here too the tires felt like they grabbed well even in water. So far I am impressed with the Pirellis. I think they are a definite improvement over the stock tires. Watch the video review below.
Sin Rumbo 