Don't laugh at me too much ...

This site contains affiliate links for which LandyZone may be compensated if you make a purchase.
M

Moleshome

Member
Posts
57
Location
Bercheham
... It's my very first post.

As of a week and a half ago I'm the proud father of a 54 plate Freelander Sport.

Where I live, just outside Wokingham, I'm lucky enough to have quite a few green lanes and fords so I decided to do a bit of greenlaning today.

Now I'm not a complete newcomer to Land Rovers, about 15 years ago I used to go laning with a mate who had an ex-army lightweight and I've played around on Salisbury Plain when I've been working with the Army. But this things got 235/50/18 wheels and I've no idea how much, if any, grip they're going to give me. I drove one lane and it got a bit slippy slidey when I was nearing the end so having made it to the end unscathed I decided that since I was on my own with no way of pulling myself out if I got stuck that discretion was the better part of valour and called it a day.

Am I being a complete wuss? What can a Freelander Sport cope with on the low profile tyres?

Another lane I took a look at had a ford, it was only about a foot deep but the bottom was a soft sandy gravel, is that going to cause any excitement or will the Sport just go through as if it wasn't there?

I'd considered getting a second hand set of 215/65/16s but are they needed or are the tyres I've got perfectly capable?
 
I take the point on not going alone where things could get nasty but the lanes I was looking at were, for the most part, driveable by car.

I was under the impression that Freelanders were quite capable off tarmac, how bad does it have to get before I need to take someone else to tow me out?
 
Moleshome said:
I take the point on not going alone where things could get nasty but the lanes I was looking at were, for the most part, driveable by car.

I was under the impression that Freelanders were quite capable off tarmac, how bad does it have to get before I need to take someone else to tow me out?
Click to expand...
It dont need to be 'bad' to get stuck... u get stuck out on ur own and ur fooked
 
Hiya, Within the first week of owning my 2004 td4 sport I put a set of 4 steelies on with goodyear tyres which I bought on ebay for £30. My alloys are now wrapped up all snug in the garage. The wide tyres on the alloys tend to spin on top of the mud and soon get knocked off the rim and deflate on rocks cos they are so low profile, don't absorb impacts very well also. The alloys are very expensive to replace and don't get on well with winter road salt. There were a set of steelies and tyres on ebay this weekend for less than a round of drinks, you'll need to get different wheel nuts which cost pennies.

Only downside is they look crap compared to the alloys but I got a real nice set that only needed a wipe over and a coat of "steel wheel" paint. Alloys will come out again next summer but as they only take 15 mins to swap I can change back if going off road.

Paul
 
Last edited:
Thanks for the advice Paul, that's sort of what I was expecting.

Harleydee said:
There were a set of steelies and tyres on ebay this weekend for less than a round of drinks, you'll need to get different wheel nuts which cost pennies.
Click to expand...

What wheels did you go for? The Freelander wheels I've seen on fleabay were all alloys with 215/65R16 tyres but they all seem to be around the £150-£200 mark. The cheaper ones are all either older alloys that supposedly foul the newer calliper or 15" wheels which I presume would also foul the calliper.
 
Last edited:
18" wheels require low profile tyres - they are really for snazzy road use by bling wearing pimps and crack wholesalers

To go off the tarmac pavement (or even up a curb)
you really need a tyre with a good high sidewall to give plenty of flex and shock/deformation absorption

For the best range of AT or MT tyres you need to go to 16"
or - down to 15" (but a more limited range of tyres)

It's my set of 5 x 16" wheels that are on Evilbay at the moment for £200
- they originally cost me over £300 with reasonable tyres on in a bidding war
So, it's a reasonable price for a full set of the wheels that everybody (used to) want :rolleyes:
 
Mark2 said:
It's my set of 5 x 16" wheels that are on Evilbay at the moment for £200
- they originally cost me over £300 with reasonable tyres on in a bidding war
So, it's a reasonable price for a full set of the wheels that everybody (used to) want :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Yeah, I saw them on here the other day and them saw them on Ebay today. I had hoped to pick up a set of steel wheels for a lot less though and, no disrespect, but a set that were a lot closer to me failed to go for £135 and if I buy yours for £200 I still need to buy two new tyres as well.
 
Moleshome said:
Yeah, I saw them on here the other day and them saw them on Ebay today. I had hoped to pick up a set of steel wheels for a lot less though and, no disrespect, but a set that were a lot closer to me failed to go for £135 and if I buy yours for £200 I still need to buy two new tyres as well.
Click to expand...

No offence taken mate,

The narrower tyre on a 15" rim - whether steel or alloy is better for more severe off road and specially on snow
you get more bite down, rather than sit on, if you see what I mean
 
So if I go to 15" wheels (and there's a set on Ebay at the moment going for less than a couple of pints) do I need to buy post 2001 or anything to avoid fouling the caliper?
 
Moleshome said:
So if I go to 15" wheels (and there's a set on Ebay at the moment going for less than a couple of pints) do I need to buy post 2001 or anything to avoid fouling the caliper?
Click to expand...

Any age steel wheels will be ok I think it's only the old alloys that will cause problems. I've fitted pre 2001 steelies to my 2004 TD4 Sport no probs.

Paul
 
The general tyre AT2 is a very good value AT tyre, more to the point it has lots of sizes avalible, (15, 16, 18 ect.) very good tyre from experience, its slightly less off-roady brother is standard on defenders from factory (TD5 at least). They last well too if your trackings ok. A decent set of tyres can be a good investment.
 
Last edited:
Moleshome said:
Apologies if I'm being dense here Paul but do you mean that's what you've got on yours at the moment or that you've got a set for sale?
Click to expand...

Hi, no probs, No not for sale, you asked me what wheels did I go for, that's what I got. Keep an eye on ebay they are always cropping up.

You can see they dont look as good as the alloys but you get used to them and there loads more fun. Note, I have got rid of the awful Sport badges on the doors and had side protectors fitted. I now have a more classier Range Rover sport badge on the rear door !

Paul
 

Attachments

  • fl2.jpg
    fl2.jpg
    26.3 KB · Views: 117
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

M
FOR SALE 2004 FREELANDER SPORT 3 DOOR AUTOMATIC
Replies
0
Views
689
mudinuri
M
Lex Myster
Freelander 2 (LR2) Why is a breather hose so much money?
Replies
5
Views
319
Lex Myster
Lex Myster
M
Crankcase breather assembly question
Replies
6
Views
498
MGT
M
N
Freelander 2 (LR2) Drumming noise when steering right
Replies
8
Views
437
Nathon91
N
N
Phone issue in Freelander 2
Replies
9
Views
935
Bearhound
B
Back
Top