Disco 2 Advice for a newbie on tyres

Hi there,

I've just recently joined and so far all the forum information has been great, so thank you for that.

I have recently bought a Discovery 2 (03 model with facelift) and I would love some advice on selecting tyre sizes.

From pilfering through years worth of forums on this discussion I'm still not entirely certain how to go about it, which is why I've decided to make my own thread!

Now, as of now my Disco 2 is on stock suspension on coils, and I plan on giving it an OME 2 inch lift in the future (when I have the funds!) But I'm quite in need for changing my tyres as they're running out of life. I'd like to perhaps go for rather 235/85r16's, or 245/75r16s. I mostly prefer the skinnier tyres in looks, and I plan to do a lot of overlanding trips in this vehicle.

The question(s) I have, are:

Will the 235/85r16's fit on stock suspension UNTIL I eventually give the disco a 2 inch lift? I wouldn't be doing any off roading until I know I can have the full articulation. (And I'm aware I might have to do the camel-cut on the rear arches, even with the lift)

And I also read I'd need to have 7 inch rims, rather than the standard (I think) 8 inch alloys on my disco as of now. So would I also need to buy new wheels for it?

Thanks a lot

Dan

https://rover.ebay.com/rover/0/0/0?mpre=https://www.ebay.co.uk/ulk/itm/264395141000
These will fit with a set of spigot rings £7 from eBay.

Mine is on 245/75/16 on new standard suspension. Do a bit of laning in it, suspension height hadn’t been an issue yet but I have used the off road height button a few times.

Dan96 said:

And I also read I'd need to have 7 inch rims, rather than the standard (I think) 8 inch alloys on my disco as of now.

Click to expand...

What size tyres have you got on now? LR used both 7" and 8" rims as standard 16" fitment on D2 facelift; 235/70 R16 were fitted to 7" alloys and 255/65 R16 were fitted to 8" alloys.

I have the 255s! As much as I want the 235/85's, I think cheapest option would be the 245s, I just hope they look alright with a 2 inch lift, and not too small

Question is, do you really need the lift? Does it have SLS/ACE?

I don't have ACE, SLS I'm not sure. It used to be air suspension but it had been converted to coils before I bought it.

AdamD1 said:

Question is, do you really need the lift?

Click to expand...

+ 1, Not a fan of unnecessary lifts.

Completely up to you if you want to lift it of course. On the D1 I bolted various guards etc to it because I thought if they sell them I must need them. On the D2 all I’ve done is swapped the tyres onto it, new oem spec suspension and fitted a snorkel which honestly I don’t need, just like to have one in case there’s a lack of talent on my part at some point. I haven’t felt like it needs anything else yet.

Interceptorxj said:

+ 1, Not a fan of unnecessary lifts.

Click to expand...

I doubt my 33x12.5x15 tyres would fit under the arches without my lift

Dan96 said:

Hi there,

I've just recently joined and so far all the forum information has been great, so thank you for that.

I have recently bought a Discovery 2 (03 model with facelift) and I would love some advice on selecting tyre sizes.

From pilfering through years worth of forums on this discussion I'm still not entirely certain how to go about it, which is why I've decided to make my own thread!

Now, as of now my Disco 2 is on stock suspension on coils, and I plan on giving it an OME 2 inch lift in the future (when I have the funds!) But I'm quite in need for changing my tyres as they're running out of life. I'd like to perhaps go for rather 235/85r16's, or 245/75r16s. I mostly prefer the skinnier tyres in looks, and I plan to do a lot of overlanding trips in this vehicle.

The question(s) I have, are:

Will the 235/85r16's fit on stock suspension UNTIL I eventually give the disco a 2 inch lift? I wouldn't be doing any off roading until I know I can have the full articulation. (And I'm aware I might have to do the camel-cut on the rear arches, even with the lift)

And I also read I'd need to have 7 inch rims, rather than the standard (I think) 8 inch alloys on my disco as of now. So would I also need to buy new wheels for it?

Thanks a lot

Dan

Click to expand...

235/85 r16 will fit stock suspension, just need to adjust the lock stops to stop them fouling the radius arms.

Price wise the 235 Vs the 245, TBH there really isn't anything much in it, a Saturday night takeaway at best.

Rim wise the 235 fit an 8" rim fine and you can save some dough on that

You may find some mud terrain tyres are bigger in reality than the same size a/t or road tyre. Dont forget you will be gearing up with a bigger tyre so 1st gear will feel like its got closer to 2nd, and so on. If you tow or have to reverse up a steep drive for example, you may need low range more often. Maybe more of an issue on an auto and a remap would help. Im on 245 70 16 muds and you get an inch extra height measuring by the towbar over worn 255 65 16 road tyres. That combined with the tread pattern will cope with most things offroad. The lift is not really necessary but i get it that you want one, just consider how much nicer it will be on a set of new genuine springs and monroe shocks, standard height with a set of 245 70 16 bfg a/t tyres.

Thanks guys!

245/75 will give you around 10cm smaller circumference than the 235/85 so there will be a difference in speedometer readout between the 2 sizes