Defender wheels - what are the biggest tyres I can use?

[MaverickV12]

Hello,

I am just in the process of getting a Defender 110, XS Utility. I have some nice alloy wheels on there at present, but could really do with some modifications quite quickly.



The current tyres are ....



with these alloys.....



What I'd like to do is raise the car either by 1 - 5 inches and then add some nice meaty tyres. I would like to KEEP the present alloys, I'd like some 305 or 315 tyres, but increase the wall ratio as well.

I don't want some monster car wheels, but do want some bigger tyres that fill the arches nicely, give it a more aggressive outlook.

Can anyone advise on tyres sizes and lift heights, or can someone point me in the direction of a website or company that is good (as in recommended)

Thanks in advance ........

[MaverickV12]

I didn't think about axle twist..... If I lifted the suspension, say 4 inches, and added some wheel spacer, could I use bigger tyres then say 305/85/16 (if that size exists) ?

[MaverickV12]

Www oooooooooooo ......... wait a minute, wait a minute ..........

I had no idea it was that complex ..... ..... I thought it was a case of a simple lift, some spacers and Bob's your Uncle, Fanny's your Aunt ...... you have this awesome looking off roader.

When I drove the Defender it did handel like a Donkey, what you're saying is that if I lift it etc, it gets worse ........

I was considering getting some Poly Bushes to make the ON road drive better, not the other way around.

I think I need to look at this completely again, read and read and see where we are going.....

I have 235 tyres now (well I will have), if I just do a simple upgrade of say 295/75/16, I think they would fit on the rims, it might restrict the turning circle slighty, but it will look better and be a mod I can live with.....! Also the rolling circumference is roughly the same ....

Sorry to ask, is there a link anyone can give to look at the tyre sizes that fit the different rim sizes?

Thanks for, "kindly", putting the brakes on my uneducated mod theories.......

Ohh ..... thank you for not taking the pi55 as well, been on another section of Piston Heads and they were just Sarcastic as hell ........

[MaverickV12]

Thanks for the leads guys ..... have been looking on the suggestions given, it seems that without lifting the car at all, everyone seems to run 255 and 265 tyres, there also seems to be a solid core of people that are running 285/75/16 on Boost alloys, (which is what I am getting I think). They said that the only problem is that the turning circle is affected, one guy described it as going from, "Barge", to, "Oil Tanker".

If you can run 285 on the boost alloy why can't you run 295's, its only 5mm each side ...... I understand about the width of the alloy wheel (I forgot are they 7 inch), they say it should be 7.5. If we were looking at low profile tyres where there is no flex in the side wall I can understand the need to limit the tyre width compared to the wheel width. Obvioulsy it can't be too silly, if you ran 385's (if they existed), then you would end up with a set of ballons on your wheels.

Any one know what I can't run 295's on the Boost alloy ?........

[MaverickV12]

Nick1point9 said:

Are you just desperate to make a modification of some sort?

Not so much desperate, its just that I’m into making modifications as to the car that I want. If you looked at my other cars, you can see I love my personalisation, having said that, it does need to be subtle. Hence no painted on flames down the side of the engine bay …….

My main reason for the increase in the wheel’/tyre combo is aesthetics. I look at the car and I see skinny wheels, with nice full wheel arches, the look of the car changes.

I hope I’m not alone in this practice with the Defender ………..

budrover said:

265 x 16 BF Goodridge KM2 mud terrains on wolf steel wheels will fill the arches...may get a little better turning circle as well.

The present Goodyear MTR's will sell for a good price all day long on ebay.

Didn’t think the MTR’s would sell easy ……..

TBH, I have read quite a lot and have taken it on board, I’ll get the car in the coming days / week or so, and get underneath it and see what sized tyres will fit. Off roading (at the moment) is not high on my agenda ……. My primary use of the vehicle is towing a 3.5 tonne trailer.

….. not forgetting it looks the dogs boll……..

[MaverickV12]

mikeh501 said:

keep your 7" wheels and stick either Cooper STT or BFG KM2 @ 265/75/16 and it will look great

Certainly seems the way I'm going at the moment ......

[MaverickV12]

Sarge 4x4 said:

I KNOW A MAN THAT COULD DO YOU A CRACKING DEAL.

....and I maywell take you up on that .... my google map tells me that you are a 252 mile round trip ......

[MaverickV12]

Hello again,

I have been looking at tyres etc and it seems that 285/75/16 will fit nicely on the car and look pretty nice, the rolling circumference is only marginally diffrent (about 3%), off roading is not my priority, towing is important and snow will be important (I can see that there are 285/75/16 snow tyres for the winter as well).

I don't want to lift the vehicle as on road driving will be the priority, my question is, do I need wheel spacers, or will the car take the tyres anyway?

eBay seem to have a million sets of 30mm spacers, they seem massive, but then I'm used to road cars and to put 30mm spacers on a road car would turn the car into a Carlos Fandango car.

Articulation is not a priority, indeed I'm also consider some polybushes that stiffen the suspension for road use, if anyone can point me the way to those, that would also be helpful.

I'm sorry to ask so many questions people, its just its a very steep learning curve with this car ............

Thanks .........

[MaverickV12]

I just put on these 285/75/16 Kuhmo tyres. No spacers, no raisers, clearance seemed ok, they look massive in real life, but the rolling cercumference is only marginally different from that of the original. The tyre calculator tells me that at 30mph my actual speed is only about 31mph, and that is within the tollerance of the inaccurancy of the clock anyway, so if anything it makes the speed on the clock correct.



The above photo shows the difference between the front 285's and the rear 235's



The above is the 285/75/16 Kuhmo and the 235/85/16 Wrangler



In order to put the spare on, we had to take off the wiper, I guess I'll put some spacers on and give me the room I need. Any suggestions are welcome ......



Personally I think they fill the wheel arches nicely, and give a nice aggressive look to the car, interesting to see what they are like on the motorway.....

[MaverickV12]

300bhp/ton said:

They round the outer should very quickly on tarmac far worse than almost any other AT or MT I've seen

That concerns me .... having said that, I have any number of cars where the edge shoulder wears far far far quicker than anything else.

I am beginning to live with the car a bit and if you look at my profile, you will see that this Defender is a radical departure from everything I use, I must admit I can't find the Cruise Control, the Fuel range Computer, the Climate Control etc etc etc, ........

The tyres are nice to look at, and I have only driven them on road and in the dry, they do touch at full lock, but not much, the car drives, "OK", and a, "friend", told me that when he drove my car, it did 91mph, apparently on a, "private road", so obvioulsy no laws were broken. He said the tyre noise was to be heard though.

I do like my road trips and that includes a lot of autobahn driving across the EU, that means that I do need to cruise at 130kmh (81mph) which may be, "do-able", but if this is the case, then for road trips then I think I am looking at some pretty much road tyres to do the mileage in.

The 71's look absolutely bril, but are quite a, "truck of a ride".

[MaverickV12]

Hi People, have been off of the internet for a while. Have run the 285/75 for a few thousand miles now, including some fast Autobahn routes. I was worried that the tread pattern would be a distinct disadvantage and would, “rumble”, I was wrong. (I'll quaify that in a mo)

The tyres are ……wicked…… and boy oh boy do they look the part……

I ran them for a while without spacers, but they hit the front suspension (or something), I added spacers and the problem was not only resolved, but I got back my turning circle (well what turning circle there is on a Defender).

The car is restricted to 93mph and I have done this (Autobahn - where the legal limit does allow) and they performed brilliantly. The car does 93mph, not 94, it will only do 93. It will also hold that speed hour on hour with a full compliment of people and luggage.

Would I recommend the 285/75-16 Muds on the road …… yes defo …… but I must qualify that recommendation. It was great for ME, I like the look of the big tyres, I like to know I can go anywhere at any time. It is, “OK”, it does not rumble …… IMHO

However, if you are used to running road tyres, and are comparing them to this …..then they DO rumble – in comparison.

Lastly about 6000 miles down the road and I can’t see where they are worn – at all – at this rate, they will last the life of the car

Boy oh Boy do they look the part …..

[MaverickV12]

Harry Flashman said:

Bit of a bargain

Does sounds like a bargain, I used the 285's for a few hundred miles with no spacers, but eventually gave in, I am/was running the standard SVX wheels, and the fronts hit on full lock (If Defenders do have full lock) and the back was ok, but had minimal clearance, so if I was ever going to run chains in thick snow, I'd have to put in spacers. So I put the spacers in now, as opposed to waiting for snow

I like the black grill and head light surrounds on your defender, I think it sets the car off nicely, also can you run your bull bars without taking off the front bumper, for the look I want, I'm afraid I'm looking to copy you ... But hey ..... imitation is the greatest form of flattery .....

[MaverickV12]

Sarge 4x4 said:

If you are fitting 30mm spacers and running 285's I hope you like cleaning your Defender

I forgot this ....... yes, Sarge is smack on with this ........ forgot to mention it ..... ooops ....... I do like the pretty patterns down the whole side of the car, its makes beautiful swirl shapes all over the complete side of the car from front to back....... quite arty really .....

Lucky I have a Albanian car washing team about 500 yards from my house, they make a fab job

But you WILL have pretty patterns on the side of your car, I'll try and take a photo next time ...... won't be long ......

[MaverickV12]

This is the clearnace problem that I had .......



This is the rear wheel and I think I'm running a 30mm spacer, and the tyre distance from the Spring/Suspension is about 35mm, hence my keeness to add the spacers. Funny, one side had about 8 - 10 mm, whilst the other side only ran about 5mm (Probably special, "Defender", tolerances )

With these spacers on, I can run chains with no stress at all

[MaverickV12]

...makes my Landie look like it has bicycle tyres on it

[MaverickV12]

Looking good Harry F,

I just got hold of some winters in the same size, also on steel modulars, mine are grey coloured. I have alloy wheels at the moment and I can see that the wheel nuts are different, I am assuming that I need a fresh set of wheel nuts, do they do a locking one as well?

Also is there a centre wheel cover to stop the hub from showing.....

Will these fit? or are there others?

http://www.johncraddockltd.co.uk/wheels-and-tyres/...

[MaverickV12]

I think the 285/75-16 fill the arches perfectly ......

[MaverickV12]

Texpis said:

my 90 with 34x10.5x15

Do you have any issues with articulation/rubbing/turning circle? They do fill the arches well.... makes you wonder why LR don't spec bigger tyres in the first place....?

[MaverickV12]

I'm hopefully off to the Alps shortly and got hold of some nice 285 Winters so that if there is any snow (and there should be) I should be fine. I also bought some chains and a booster ......



But not wanting to be caught out I wanted to try the wheels and tyres before I needed them. So I did, and found that there is not so much a problem but with different wheels there are different offsets. I was not expecting that......

This is what I am currently running, it is the stock alloy with 285/75/16 and with a 30mm spacer on them....



Then I changed the wheel for some plain steel wheels with 285/75/16 (so exactly the same size tyre)



If you look at this picture, the rear wheel is the stock alloy with 30mm spacer and the front is the steel wheel with 30mm spacer....







I decided to measure the inset ....



Then measuered the stock alloy inset.....



I realy did think that the 2 wheels would be the same, but they are clearly not, the inset looks about a full 30mm different, which is a bit of luck really as all I need to do is take the spacers off before I put the steel wheels and tyres on. This will bring the wheel back within the arch and also give us the same clearance when turning.....