16, 17 from 15"

Hi All
Looking at getting a set of 16" Alloys to replace my 15" Adventurer Alloys with Kumho AT Tyres which are very noisy

Don't do a lot of off-roading, mainly road use towing, odd bit of greenlaning & bad weather

Have heard a lot about the pro's 'n' cons but believe that 16" Alloys with good quality 215/65 R16 road tyres should be quieter and sharper on steering etc...?
Maybe even extra MPG?.............

I realise that Freelander with Road Tyres sort of defeats the object a bit - but am getting ear ache listening to the Road Noise! :

Anyone done this switch and seen clear advantages?
Cheers :beer2:

My winter tyres are much quieter than my General Grabber AT tyres and I think give much better mpg.....

But they are too small and need replacing as they are now down to about 4/5mm.

In many ways, I should have road tyres on, as they would give much better fuel economy than my tyres. The car will work off road with road tyres, surprisingly well.

Worth looking at the Pirelli Scorpion ATR for a moderate AT with good noise and wear and only a modest drop in fuel economy compared to a milder tyre - you can get them slightly oversize at 215/80/15 - no need to modify anything to run them and you get to keep your current wheels. Alternative would be the Pirelli STR, which despite being a more road biased tyre, offers worse economy? Go figure that one!

Conti CrossContact AT also available in 215/80/15 but slightly more aggressive. I went for this as I use mine in the gloopy stuff. ATRs would be my choice if you want to save a few ££ and keep your current wheels.

Hi All
Thanks for the feedback.

Picked up a nice clean set of 4 'Freelander 16" Alloys' from a 2001 so will fit mine no problem.
Big + for me is that 215/65 r16's seem to be cheaper than the 15" AT's?

Even bog standard load rated van tyres can be had for £200 a set (or less + fitting) 195/65 r16's even less again!
Given that we tend to have to change tyres in sets to save the VCU and IRD! makes even more sense

Main thing for me is low noise, crisper handling smoother ride on normal roads
Which is 90% of what I do in mine, along with towing?

Will let you know how I get on!
Cheers All

Funny you mention 'van tyres' - that's what I'm running on my Freelander - GT Radial Max Milers 195R15 - they don't put the 80 in the spec but they are 195/80 R15.

They are a tiny bit more noisy than the previous Goodyear Wrangler road tyres - but negligible. They are though, as you say, real cheep! They run at high PSI - so give decent fuel economy and should last a long time being van tyres. Plus they have quite a chunky tread - look more like ATs than RTs. Overall - I'm happy with them.

Hi GG
Just seemed logical to me as we run what is basically a 4WD Van?
Some off-road, mainly road going with a trailer, top road handling isn't high on my priority list as it is with our Peugeot 407 which is a Motorway eater with superb handling and ride! but useless off-road, doesn't have a tow bar and a boot (Saloon)

So makes sense to me?

They look very much like normal tyres, are designed for higher load ratings and higher mileages?
Interesting to read your commenst about higher PSi and better economy, that would be a bonus, but am getting 36mpg most of the time, since doing the EGR Bypass and New Silicon hoses, who knows maybe even more?
Anything approaching 40mpg would be superb!

Good see that someone else has had positive experiences.
Will feedback when I have been running them for a while?

Cheers

I gots some 15s on steels going soon as I'll be ordering my 16inch mods with new tyres this week

Open to offers ideal winter / off road wheels n tyres
Set of 5....

Pics in my gallery of them..