What are raiders using when raiding Africa and why?
Tubeless or tubes fitted

On our 4x4, we had the "usual suspect" Vredestein Snow+ 155s.

Easy to get, not hideously overpriced, nice balance between off-road and snow. They're not ideal tread for sand, but you're a bit limited in what you can get in easily-2cv-fittable tyres.

(I've driven Bob's 4x4 on 195 MudTerrain tyres - and, egad, it was awful. Four wheel drift on a gentle-ish bend at 40mph... No steering lock, either.)

Ideed they are good all round on/off road tyres and seem to go on forever. I think my rears are still the ones I did 16000 miles around OZ and they kinda worked in Morvan.

However, for raiding on a 2WD I'd go 135 M+S or 145 maybe. They would have more give on corrugated roads and are probably less destructive to the suspension.

Definitely with tubes.. then repairs are easier

but their great in mud

Firstone f650 145s
cause they had a good sidewall the Mex ones are crap compared to the old Italian made ones
Mich too vulnerable to sidewall dammage
Mich did do a "WRC" tyre which was/is popular with the hard core but you need 14" rims..and ami super steering arms

Ran them tubless as the friction between tube and carcas when running at very low pressure causes blowouts, Thorn dammage can be sorted with the "Tip Top" plug kit. tubes need to be carried but to be honest cant see any point in using them unless the rim has been dammaged

Sean

In Australia Nankang 135/15 were a popular tyre for raiding. Available and cheap. I always use tubeless in the first instance, only adding a tube if the sidewall gets a cut, or the rim gets bent and a good air seal is no longer possible. Due to the friction between a tubless tyre and tube, I replace the tyre as soon as possible, and certainly before driving on sealed roads. The Nankang tubeless tyres have a ribbed pattern on the inside which increases the friction with a tube.

Daffy Duck

My expierience is that diving without tubes - specially with low presure- causes much les flat tyres, than driving with tubes and the saved un-suspended weight can be used for a wider tyre that allows driving with lower presure and/or providing better protection to the rims.
It is not difficlt to repair a dammaged tyre, and if using tyres wider than 145 at the 2cv rim you can easyly get the tyre back on the, rim just using af hand/foot pump- and for out- back repairs, you dont have to panic about sand and small rocks getting left between the tyre and the tube, witch will lead to another flat tyre.
A damaged 2cv rim can often be corrected well enough to keep air tight to the tyre, - just by using a hammer.
Off course i will bring tubes for all whells but keeping them as a back- up

Herr Hildebrandt.
Finally you arrived. I was worried for a while but not anymore. You have raided North Africa before, yes. When and on what tyres?

IIRC the Ausie boys tested various tyres and found that wider than a certain size they became worse due to the tyre seeming to push up a wall of sand in front?....Daffy??

Sean

I have been in NY visiting Gert Bue Larsen and came back and got a lot off ekstra work.
Well its 21 years since I have raided Sahara. At that time I was there two times for 5 month and once agian for 6 weeks Theese trips included serius off piste driving. This means driving without any tracks from other cars and doing this for several days. I am not saying this I wise to do, but i did it any way.
I have been running a garrage called 2cv Clinikken since 1984. The last two yaers I have worked ful time as a teacher. During my work at 2Cv Clinikken I have helped preparing other cars for raiding.
Living at the country side with 2- 6 horses I am very often working off road in mud and snow with my 2cv. If I dont really have to go off road I just find a nice little track to drive. I have on several occasions been driving at military test tracks.
During holydays in Norway, Sweden, Finland,Germany, France, Spain and Potugal I have never wastet any possibillity to find and use the smallest roads or tracks.
The first time i Sahara I used 155 x15 Michelin XM+s 89 with tubes and I had lots of flat tyres, second time was with same kind of tyres but no tubes and less problems
This could be an coinsidense but during my last 600.000 km in 2cv with heavy use and often runing low pressure I have been convinsed, that tubeless is the future even off road. At least when using big tyres.