unusual off road question

unusual off road question

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shimmey69

Original Poster:

1,525 posts

179 months

Tuesday 9th February 2010
quotequote all
now the unusual question is what is the SMALLEST wheel and trye combination i can fit on a defender i know i know most people want to know if they can fit 100inch tyres to a suzuki but i currently run 265/70R16 and she is about 4 inches too big to fit in the garage!!! so wanting to try and get down small enough to get her in!!! any ideas??

Rum Runner

2,338 posts

218 months

Tuesday 9th February 2010
quotequote all
compressor with airline ?.
With quick release tyre valves

Edited by Rum Runner on Tuesday 9th February 12:36

West4x4

672 posts

173 months

Tuesday 9th February 2010
quotequote all
205/80s would fit look tiny but fit they are standard size with poverty spec steel wheens wont dorp it 4 inches tho maybe 2 at the most

Kermit power

28,679 posts

214 months

Tuesday 9th February 2010
quotequote all
West4x4 said:
205/80s would fit look tiny but fit they are standard size with poverty spec steel wheens wont dorp it 4 inches tho maybe 2 at the most
Not even that!

A 265/70 R16 has a sidewall height of 185.5mm, or 7.3 inches. To that you need to add 8 inches for the radius of the wheel itself, giving a height of 15.3 inches.

You could get 15" wheels for the Series III which might fit a Defender - although you'd have to check they'd clear the brakes on the Defender - but that would only reduce the height of the roof by 1/2 an inch, so to get it down by 4 inches, you're still looking at dropping the height of the sidewall by 4 inches, or 101.5mm.

So, you need a tyre with a sidewall height of 84mm. The smallest 4x4 tyre I'm aware of on 15" rims is a 185/65, and even that's a sidewall height of 120mm.

Even a 135/70 R15 car tyre would have a sidewall height of 95mm, and that would look utterly ludicrous on a Defender, to say nothing of making the thing undriveable. For one thing, you'd get - relatively speaking for a Defender - stunning acceleration, but you'd be hitting the limiter at around 12mph in 5th!

The answer would seem to be to get a shorter vehicle. Or a taller garage. Or settle for parking on the drive.

PhillipM

6,524 posts

190 months

Tuesday 9th February 2010
quotequote all
Get the chop saw out and make it a convertible.

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

191 months

Wednesday 10th February 2010
quotequote all
shimmey69 said:
now the unusual question is what is the SMALLEST wheel and trye combination i can fit on a defender i know i know most people want to know if they can fit 100inch tyres to a suzuki but i currently run 265/70R16 and she is about 4 inches too big to fit in the garage!!! so wanting to try and get down small enough to get her in!!! any ideas??
I think its a "tall" order tbh tongue out

There are -2" suspension kits for road use. And some smaller tyres, probably a 205 will certainly make it lower.

Swapping over to a full tilt or truck cab might help too.

But wouldn't it be easier to have some trenches dug in the garage for the wheeels to sit in or something similar?

Kermit power

28,679 posts

214 months

Wednesday 10th February 2010
quotequote all
300bhp/ton said:
shimmey69 said:
now the unusual question is what is the SMALLEST wheel and trye combination i can fit on a defender i know i know most people want to know if they can fit 100inch tyres to a suzuki but i currently run 265/70R16 and she is about 4 inches too big to fit in the garage!!! so wanting to try and get down small enough to get her in!!! any ideas??
I think its a "tall" order tbh tongue out

There are -2" suspension kits for road use. And some smaller tyres, probably a 205 will certainly make it lower.

Swapping over to a full tilt or truck cab might help too.

But wouldn't it be easier to have some trenches dug in the garage for the wheeels to sit in or something similar?
Alternatively, he could stop referring to it as "she", and watch it's ego shrink by the required 4 inches.

shimmey69

Original Poster:

1,525 posts

179 months

Wednesday 10th February 2010
quotequote all
thanks for all the advise i should of said that it will only be for driving her into and out the garage, when i need her in there to do a complete axle swaps etc, so it nice and warm and dry!!! they will not be used on the road. i have thougt about getting just some steel rims with no tyres which will drop her by enough, but was wanting some ideas to try and stop the steel cutting up my tarmac drive!!

BigS

866 posts

174 months

Thursday 11th February 2010
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Fill the back with bricks before driving it in wink

normalbloke

7,462 posts

220 months

Thursday 11th February 2010
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Make some wooden transport wheels.I have seen this done on Unimogs to fit into a standard shiping container.