New adventure on Falken tires

British adventurer Ben Coombs, during his Mini6000 expedition, drove a classic Mini with custom modifications from Montevideo, Uruguay, across the central plains of Argentina to Ojos del Salado, the highest volcano in the world, located in the Chilean Atacama Desert, after which he climbed to an altitude of almost 6,000 meters, and all this time the vehicle was equipped with Falken FK07 tires, specially designed for vintage Mini models.

Prior to this, Coombs had traveled across both Americas in a TVR Chimaera and crossed Africa in a Porsche 944, and during this new trip, he had to cope with a sharp drop in temperature to -20°C and piercing winds, and all this time the 600-kilogram Mini was loaded with 200 kg of additional equipment, including three spare Falken tires, which ultimately proved unnecessary for the traveler.

"I wanted to use tires from a reputable brand, and in the end, I chose Falken," Coombs said. "Perhaps surprisingly, we didn't want tires with an aggressive tread pattern, as they can get stuck and lose traction, so we opted for anti-skid boards for sand and a winch for sections where the layer of sand and ash became deeper."

According to Falken, since tire sizes are constantly increasing, the company continues to produce small-diameter tires, such as 12 and 13 inches, which are in demand in this segment. At the same time, the tires "combine excellent wear resistance with high traction and are suitable both for a trip to a car club meeting in the park and for climbing a volcano."

Some of the newest breeds on the slopes of Ojos del Salado are only 30,000 years old, and the last time lava flows are believed to have flowed down them was around 11-12,000 years ago, and Coombs noted that he was impressed by how "the elastic sidewalls of the tires handled driving on the youngest and most jagged rocks." "Sometimes we lowered the pressure to increase traction, but we didn't have a single puncture," he said. "Regardless of the conditions and even on rough, rutted sections, the tires were the one thing we didn't worry about."

Despite the daily maintenance required at high altitude, the Mini's engine still refused to start just 100 meters from the goal, after which Coombs descended down the rocky slope and emerged onto a flat surface, where the car "came back to life," and the no less challenging 2,400 km return journey through Patagonia began.

Upon returning the Mini, along with the still unused spare tires, to the UK, Coombs has already begun planning his next expedition. "I would definitely choose Falken for my next adventure," he said.