Bridgestone Dueler A/T 697

[petemacsydney]

totally off normal gun topics, but anyone running these tyres? Bridgestone Dueler A/T 697?
curious as to your thoughts?
cheers p

[ItsMe]

Been running them on my Amarok for 35,000kms.
I'm pretty hard on tyres and these have served me well.
I'll get another set in 5-10k kms.
Good road manners and quieter than BFGs.

[thebear]

Cannot help you with the A/T 697, I did run 604V in 11R x 15 for nearly 30 years but they stopped making in 11R, so I went to Dick Cepek in 12R x 33 x15. Never had any problems with the Bridgestones, only ever damaged one in the bush.

[bigfellascott]

I put a new set on to replace the last set which I got just over 60k which isn't bad considering how I drive and the lack of rotations and wheel alignments (ie none)

Picked them up for $200 a corner 245/70/16, anyway I found them to be good tires for the majority of their life, got a little slippery in the arse end in the wet when standing on it off the line type thing by the time they were at the wear limit markers but generally well behave 99% of the time, quite, 8 plys so fairly sturdy (you can get a 10 ply one apparently) I used these recently to tow a trailer fully loaded as well as the ute, we crossed some muddy boggy crossings and never had any issues at all some of them I could cross in 2wd even though they were slippery the floor was firm so no real dramas there.

I don't do fully on 4wding anymore, just paddocks and a few mild tracks here and there, never had a puncture with them at all and they didn't seem to really show any signs of chipping despite the shale roads we have out our way and the way I drive on em it's a wonder I didn't get any punctures but none in the 3yrs I was running around on them, hopefully this set will be as good if not better (will try and rotate and keep the wheel alignments up.

This set were actually cheaper this time around than last time, I think they were $230 fitted last time so that was a nice surprise getting something cheaper than the last time.

[scotty87]

Alot of our 4x4 ranger and colorado fleet run dueler 697s are a great tyre on this type of vehicle which see alot of on road use, they don't get torn up by the forest trails either, obviously there are better choices out there for clearing mud if that's your thing.

Run them at 40psi front 40-46psi rear and rotate every 10,000k and you should get good life out of them, at least 40,000km

[petemacsydney]

Been running them on my Amarok for 35,000kms.
I'm pretty hard on tyres and these have served me well.
I'll get another set in 5-10k kms.
Good road manners and quieter than BFGs.

nice, thx mate, sounds good.
how does the tarmac noise compare with standard road tyres?
i have a Suzuki Grand Vitara which is not the best noise insulated 4wd, so was a little worried the noise might be an issue?
cheers
p

[petemacsydney]

thx all for the feedback!

[308cool]

I know this is a little off-topic, but since there are a few 4'wders here I'll ask. Would a diesel captiva (4x4), be able to handle many rougher tracks in NSW SF or would I want to just stick to SF's that are ok for 2wd's?

[bigfellascott]

I know this is a little off-topic, but since there are a few 4'wders here I'll ask. Would a diesel captiva (4x4), be able to handle many rougher tracks in NSW SF or would I want to just stick to SF's that are ok for 2wd's?

Hard to say mate, never been in a captiva, one way to find anything out and that's get out there and try. I'd probably stay our of the full on 4wd stuff but I'm sure it will handle most SF tracks (just come back for a drive in now as a matter of fact) only used 4wd once and that was up a clay hill I had to reverse out of. other than that I managed the rest of the clay tracks in 2wd fine.

One could easily get lost in state forests I know that much, I generally spin the wheels at intersections so I know which road I came out off, makes finding your way back out a little easier and less confusing.

[bigfellascott]

Been running them on my Amarok for 35,000kms.
I'm pretty hard on tyres and these have served me well.
I'll get another set in 5-10k kms.
Good road manners and quieter than BFGs.

nice, thx mate, sounds good.
how does the tarmac noise compare with standard road tyres?
i have a Suzuki Grand Vitara which is not the best noise insulated 4wd, so was a little worried the noise might be an issue?
cheers
p

They are quite when new and will get a little noisier as they near the end of their life (which is normal as far as I've noticed) They are great on the road, grip very well again until at the end of their service life, then I find then tend to want to spin off the mark in the wet, in the dry they seem to be still fine (BT-50 Ute) so lightish in the arse end, in a landcruiser etc I'd imagine they would be fine. If I get another 60K out of em I'll be happy.

[petemacsydney]

thx big fella!

[bigfellascott]

Your welcome Pete they go great in the snow too by the way.

[petemacsydney]

perfect excuse to take the wife and kids on a snow trip!
hhhmmm, i wonder if hunting is allowed at dead horse gap?.. lol

[petemacsydney]

put on a full set of 697's last week and took them out over the weekend. did some mild beach/sand 4wd'ing. compared to the last A/T's i had (Khumo) they were great. they perform great on the road as well (real sticky!). very happy with my new 697's. Next stop... mud!

[bigfellascott]

put on a full set of 697's last week and took them out over the weekend. did some mild beach/sand 4wd'ing. compared to the last A/T's i had (Khumo) they were great. they perform great on the road as well (real sticky!). very happy with my new 697's. Next stop... mud!

I put mine through some sticky muddy situations the other day and they did great, this is the 2nd set for me and I can't see anything else I'd swap them too for the types of use I use them for, they seem to work fine for me and at $200 per corner fitted and balanced I'm happy.

[petemacsydney]

200 is a gr8 price. i paid 239 a corner - but no complaints though, so far they seem well worth the extra $

[bigfellascott]

200 is a gr8 price. i paid 239 a corner - but no complaints though, so far they seem well worth the extra $

I could of got them for $190 a corner but I like dealing with these fella's so didn't bother trying to get them to price match. These were 245/70/16 from memory. All I know is I needed new dance shoes ASAP as I was pretty much past the wear indicators all round. I got just over 60k out of the last lot with no balancing or rotating/alignment etc so happy with that, may have got more out of them if I did all that I guess but I reckon by the time you add in the cost of getting that done every 5k it would work out more cost effective to not worry about it

[petemacsydney]

nice one
i got mine from Jax tyres and they give me free re-balance and rotate every 3 or 6 months, so i think i'll take advantage of that.
hadn't used Jax before but they seemed pretty good. 60k is awesome!

[OODAH]

Just to throw a spanner in the works, another great tyre if your looking for something a little bit more aggressive is the BFgoodrich all-terrain t/a KO2. Had them fitted last week after lots of research and already clocked up over 1000km in all conditions including highway, shale rock and the wet. They performed excellently for a beefy A/T and are whisper quite, also bagged out well when letting the pressures down.