Tyre change query

Can anyone help 05 plate freelander had front tyres close to illegal, so replaced it seems however that since replacing front two tyres the car has developed a droning noice, no vibration and no wobble just a noise that seems to come in at around 45mph that makes you want to pop your ears. I have heard that due to perminant 4 wheel drive you should replace all 4 tyres at the same time is this correct??? i put a tread depth gauge on all 4 and the rear two have approx 3mm less tread depth giving a diameter difference of about 6mm, does anyone know if the rolling radious offset is likely to be the cause as it is too easy to convinse myself rather than being objective and at the cost of the tyres it would be good to have some degree of certainty. Many thanks in antisipation.
Steve.

Can't you read your handbook?

There is a high likelyhood that you have buggered your drive train. Dig deep in your pockets, a new IRD isn't cheap.


Oh - don't drive it till you have put the new ones on the back, done a VCU check and looked at your bank balance.

The Mad Hat Man said:

Can't you read your handbook?

There is a high likelyhood that you have buggered your drive train. Dig deep in your pockets, a new IRD isn't cheap.


Oh - don't drive it till you have put the new ones on the back, done a VCU check and looked at your bank balance.

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The book uses poor wording ,eg IDEALLY change all 4 tyres ! i read the book ,theres no mention if you do not, your IRD/VCU/FINALDRIVE will be killed My local LR dealer ,not a clue , the large garage group that sold me the car , not a clue ,they put 2 new tyres on the front ! even on this site , advice was unclear eg new to the rear , and away you go! we poor fl 1 owners are the last to find out, the hard way

You've been on here a year and narf and not bothered to read any threads?

Do the checks!

get the tyres sorted. It worked for me. Largest diameter tyres, which means the newest on the rear, in my case

No it doesn't . It does if everything else is equal. I have had the same size (apparently) tyre from another manufacturer that was 20mm diff in diameter. Measure the circumference on them all.

18 months ago i bought a full set as both front and rear were low, the two i bought a week and a half ago were the same make and size as the previous 4, my mistake was in not knowing to place them on the rear, i have rectified this after reading the replies posted by putting them on the rear and have two more of the same make and size, from the same garage on order and minimizing the use until fitted. The surprising thing is that the garage owner that ordered and fitted the tyres (a tyre depot) off roads 4x4's as a sport with several trophy's on the counter, even he had no knowledge, i know it's not an answer and up to me to know my vehicle but i put my freelander in experienced hands. If there is any damage i have learned the hard way but at least if it only has damage to the VCU a repair kit is available for around the £100 mark assuming it works.

Good luck slovin - hopefully you've got away with it.

The Mad Hat Man is correct (once again!) - even the same? size from the one manufacturer can be mis-matched.

The new Michelin Latitudes 225/55 17 do not match the tyres they are supposed to replace - the Michelin Synchrone 225/55 17.

I still have 2 of the Synchrones left for sale - if anyone needs some.

Repair kit for a VCU?
Is it just a new VCU )


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I am here: http://maps.google.com/maps?ll=52.051241,-0.739435

The Mad Hat Man said:

You've been on here a year and narf and not bothered to read any threads?

Do the checks!

Click to expand...

I had this problem a year ago , after putting 2 new tyres on the rear , it was when i read the bell engineeing site , that the penny finally dropped ,now i am aware of this unique trait of the freelander i will pass this info on to fellow FL1 owners and not take the **** ,because they are unaware .

Just read the same site Bell Engineering, reconditioned VCU £200 exchange

Ian jones said:

I had this problem a year ago , after putting 2 new tyres on the rear , it was when i read the bell engineeing site , that the penny finally dropped ,now i am aware of this unique trait of the freelander i will pass this info on to fellow FL1 owners and not take the **** ,because they are unaware .

Click to expand...

I hope yu have nothing better to do then, coz theres a noob every week that can't be arsed to read for themselves, and then there's the ones that have been on for a year and a half and still haven't read anything, so I reckon a PM from yu to every freelander owner ( max 10 at a time) will only take you 6-9 months.
Good luck .

Not really, a closer read shows what you actually require is the reconditioned units they sell at an exchange basis cost of £200 which still beats some of the other options out there. Bell Engineering are supplier and with a good line of information to read as well. I just typed into google "VCU freelander" to find them. Not sure if any hidden extra's though like paying the extra £75 until they receive your old unit of postage and packing.

Being new to Land Rover ownership myself, I have read with interest about new tyres on the rear first, etc, etc,

Is this just perculiar to Freelanders due to the VCU....or does the same rule apply to all Solihull products? (...and yes I know some are made elsewhere too)

And I, like Ian's comment above, do feel that 'taking the rise' out of some one who makes a mistake, is not necessary to get your point across.

Why is it not a good idea to mix Synchrones with Latitudes?

If you can afford to replace all 5 at the same time I presume then there is no issue?

Thanks in anticipation for all advice given,

Mike.

CB40 said:

Being new to Land Rover ownership myself, I have read with interest about new tyres on the rear first, etc, etc,

Is this just perculiar to Freelanders due to the VCU....or does the same rule apply to all Solihull products? (...and yes I know some are made elsewhere too)

Why is it not a good idea to mix Synchrones with Latitudes?

If you can afford to replace all 5 at the same time I presume then there is no issue?

Thanks in anticipation for all advice given,

Mike.

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It's just gaylanders. and if ya have a read on the problem you'll work out for ya self why stnc's & Lats shun't be mixed..

Hi,

Many people when they come to need a new set of tyres have got an unused spare, so look for a tyre to match it.

The original fitment Michelin Synchrones are no longer available in the UK or Europe although the French factory is exporting them to N America, I believe.

If you want a Michelin 225/55 17 tyre then the tyre you will probably be offered is a Latitude..... but even Michelin now admit that the actual/real dimensions are not the same as the Synchrone although the 2 have the same nominal size.

So pairing a Latitude with a Synchrone is not recommended, as they will rotate at slightly different speeds causing an unnecessary strain on the diff and /or VCU.

This is how it was explained to me - I have not experienced this problem personally - I solved the possible conflict by changing to 235/55 17 Continentals.

Yes there does seem to be a few of know it all's that feel the only way to give advice is to criticize others with less knowledge, i for my part am also dyslexic and reading is hard work, that aside these seemingly better than others will call you an idiot types do usually have the answer it's just a shame about their attitudes to others. My interpretation regarding the tyres (having not found out after the fact) is that it is not just replacing all the tyres but they need to be the same make, design and size as circumference can change between different makes for the same tyre size. But hey there are plenty of members out there can wipe the floor with my knowledge.
Happy surfing to all.

Thanks Guys, I am grateful for the help.

Slovin and Singvogel, thanks for answering my questions fully and helpfully.

I have recently purchased my Freelander, but had been on another forum with my Mercedes where questions were answered in a helpful and 'matter of fact' manner and although could include friendly banter, this Land Rover site is larger and attracts very more 'opinions'. I'm getting used to it slowly...LOL

On the point of 'so many threads asking the same old tired questions', then perhaps the Moderators and Administrators of this site could combine all the 'same questions' into just one thread, just like the Mercedes forum does?

(Probably get a comment or two about that suggestion!!)

Anyway, once again thanks guys.

Mike

TMHM is right ref my statement. The same brand tyre can be totally different as i found out recently.Twas my mistake in putting my previous statement incorrectly.

The issue of tyres isn’t the only problem Freelander 1 owners suffer. Circulation of essential update information to garages and tyre monkeys regarding correct info on repair and parts is often missing. Like the issue of being able to test them on a front wheel roller only bed, which yer can’t if the transmissions as per original spec. Also when trying to get a 75Ah battery for my v6 many independents followed the screen which says something like 60Ah for all FL1 petrol 1.8 and above. The fekin owner manwell in me hand said 75Ah. Even the nob in halfords argued the book was wrong. They both refused to sell me what I wanted. Next place same issue, but he said I could buy what I wanted. He was a tricked disco owner. There’s also the issue of steering geometry set-up. Freelanders have a rear thrust angle which needs to be set central. ATS didn’t even have the spec for ma hippo’s front wheels after a previous garage set them up wrong too. Rear wheels are adjustable. Then there’s the “we’ll do it” garage monkeys who offer to service yer Freelander only to undo the wrong nut on the Jatco auto as they don’t know what they’re doing, and don’t have the common sense to look it up (read as “come on lz”) and do the job proper. And there’s more… I blames the tratter boys. Thems out to get us…

[Breaths]