Any advice on wheels and tyres

I am thinking I remove the tyres, paint the wheels and get new tyres. There was the spare on the bonnet. I am thinking I would leave the bracket on the bonnet but not put the spare tyre there. One of the tyres is a thinner one, which I would use as spare and mount in the back.
I think the vehicle is mainly going to be used on the road, with an occasional trip in a grassy field
Any advice on paint?
Any advice on tyres (I am on a bit of a budget..)

LWB, right? 7.50 x16 or 235/85 R 16. On a 5.5 rim.

Tyres are a bun fight. I prefer quality brands, bad experience with cheap stuff. So I go with Avon range masters.

But ensure the rims are the right width for the tyre. Ensure they are tube type tyres.

Media blast the rims , epoxy zinc phosphate, epoxy mastic, then 2k top.

Or, wire brush, etch prime rattle can, zinc rich, rattle can, and top coat with off white rattle can.

Leaving the spare on the bonnet is best for fuel economy, diverting the wind around the screen like they do saves a couple of MPG

To be legal/mot-worthy, all tyres need to be the same size and rating, that includes the spare

kermit_rr said:

To be legal/mot-worthy, all tyres need to be the same size and rating, that includes the spare

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not sure if thats true any more , lots of cars come with space saver spares, think if its a smaller size the speed has to be kept down , most are marked with yellow stickers stating 50mph/80kph

CohPC said:

not sure if thats true any more , lots of cars come with space saver spares, think if its a smaller size the speed has to be kept down , most are marked with yellow stickers stating 50mph/80kph

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Space savers are different, not just a regular tyre that's skinny, they have a different rating and as you say marked up as temporary.
I'd be surprised if you could get a space saver that would fit a land rover.
The marking is not optional. ie. you can't have a skinny tyre and write 'space saver' on it

kermit_rr said:

Space savers are different, not just a regular tyre that's skinny, they have a different rating and as you say marked up as temporary.
I'd be surprised if you could get a space saver that would fit a land rover.
The marking is not optional. ie. you can't have a skinny tyre and write 'space saver' on it

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space saver would look silly on the bonnet as well, easy solution for the mot is dont take the spare with it

CohPC said:

space saver would look silly on the bonnet as well, easy solution for the mot is dont take the spare with it

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Exactly it. Flat spare won't (shouldn't) pass MOT, no spare will pass just fine

sprie said:

Any advice on paint?

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I have repainted many sets of wheels in recent years as I have rebuilt the land rovers and the tractor and the process I follow has been the same with all of them and does not cost much money but is time consuming.

Strip the wheel down yourself: Use a bottle/farm jack to break the bead (lots of videos on youtube), use tyre levers to remove the tyre
Wire wheel on an angle grinder for the whole wheel, beads, inside front and back as near back to bare metal as you can get.
Two coats of red oxide primer (I use this: LINK)
Two/three coats of synthetic machine/tractor enamel in a top colour of your choice

I first did this on the 110 wheels about 10 years ago (200k miles) and repainted them as part of my recent rebuild not because they needed it or were rusting but because I had repainted everything else and they had dulled with age.

sprie said:

Any advice on tyres (I am on a bit of a budget..)

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Tyres are a minefield but I would sya to get 7.50's ideally or modern equivelant if you cant of 235/85 as the size. I currently have access to some part worn michelin xzl's in 7.50 size if you would consider second hand. I would recommend them as a very good tyre (I have them on the series and my td5) but they are probably out of budget to get new if you are limited on funds. They are also tubed/tubeless so can be used with both setups.

sprie said:

I am thinking I remove the tyres, paint the wheels and get new tyres. There was the spare on the bonnet. I am thinking I would leave the bracket on the bonnet but not put the spare tyre there. One of the tyres is a thinner one, which I would use as spare and mount in the back.
I think the vehicle is mainly going to be used on the road, with an occasional trip in a grassy field
Any advice on paint?
Any advice on tyres (I am on a bit of a budget..)

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Many thanks to everyone who has replied. That gives me a good steer. I will stick to a full size spare, and can decide later whether it goes back on the bonnet or elsewhere. I have a local mechanic who I reckon will take off the old tyres for a few quid. I will research tyres/costs.

Those look like deestone extra traction, I have a set of them in garden and a set of the rangemasters on landy
the deestones very tough tyre good for off road, slides on wet and dry roads, noisy on road, the rangemasters good quiet ride but hard to buy now.

I got wheels shot blasted and primed with the red oxide and painted in syththetic enamel , rust came through the all within a few months.

recently cup brushed and used galv spray paint and rust spots coming through within a week, next step try again but use some rust converter, on the plus side your wheels look good compared to mine

have You driven with the deestones , cheap option just to keep them.

steve2286w said:

Those look like deestone extra traction, I have a set of them in garden and a set of the rangemasters on landy
the deestones very tough tyre good for off road, slides on wet and dry roads, noisy on road, the rangemasters good quiet ride but hard to buy now.

I got wheels shot blasted and primed with the red oxide and painted in syththetic enamel , rust came through the all within a few months.

recently cup brushed and used galv spray paint and rust spots coming through within a week, nest step try agpain but use some rust converter, on the plus side your wheels look good compared to mine

have You driven with the deestones , cheap option just to keep them.

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That's useful feedback. I will add rust converter to my task list,but I note that I might well see some signs of rust later.
I did wonder about retaining the existing tyres (as 2 of them have almost all original tread) but I don't want to do that if they are too old to be safe - but I haven't worked out which numbers tell you date of manufacture.

'very' old tyres go rock hard and lose any sense of grip, where newer tyres tend to crack/perish.
Think old school rubber eraser that just tears a hole in the page

You used to be able to get tyre softener, it was used to make tyres more grippy on track. Might be an option.

I don't rate the deestones/security tyres, I've seen a few with manufacturing defects. If getting second hand be sure to inspect thoroughly inside and out. Phosphoric acid for the rust conversion.

Not bought new tyres for my car or landrover for many many years.

And dont by part worns from back street type dealers.....you have no idea of were the tyre has come from.

I but tyres for my Landrover on ebay....used....lots of people "upgrade" and sell on there old but perfect types.


Learn how to change your own tyre on the rims.....

As for car tyre....I get those from my local car breaker....you choose your tyre....usually on a rim inflated so you can check for bulges ect.

If you dont know how to examine a tyre stick to buying new ones.

Use whatever size spare you like....its only to get you home.....dont put it on the bonnet....puts big strains on everything....hurts your back lifting the bonnet......and if it drop while you have your head under it....it will harm you.

Mine is fixed on the spare carrier on the front bulkhead.

nickjaxe said:

If you dont know how to examine a tyre stick to buying new ones.

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i dont have an xray machine to check for internal damage

nickjaxe said:

Use whatever size spare you like....its only to get you home

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you can't do that in UK. 2 different sized tyres on the same axle isn't legal

seems MOT no longer includes the state of the spare wheel
it used to need to be roadworthy, inflated and the right type for the car

you still need to have the right type/size in use, or a space saver, though if a space saver is on at MOT time then you'll fail

Paint them in rust red. Saves much dickin about.

steve2286w said:

I got wheels shot blasted and primed with the red oxide and painted in syththetic enamel , rust came through the all within a few months.

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I would question the paint quality or the level of rust removal from blasting. From my expiriance with my wheels and various bits of farm machinery a good red oxide followed by enamel should be good even when kept outside for about 10 years before rust begins to show through again.