Fitted bigger tyres, dramatic ride improvement.

Hi guys,

Went from standard size tyres on 18" alloys to 245/75r16 KM2's this week, and the difference is massive. I haven't lifted it (though may do by 1" down the line) and the ride comfort as noticably better - all the nasty knocks, shocks and jolts on the **** roads round here have been smoothed outa great deal, and it's now much closer to how my Hippo rides. So 32" tyres = good idea.

Oh and for anyone wondering, the spare wheel wouldn't fit on at this size KM2 so we inverted it and it fits fine, but I can't see **** out the back now .

So I'm very peased, can't wait to get it down some lanes when the clutch and flywheel are done

Will.

the improvement comes from the 16" wheels more that from the tyres believe me...you would have felt an even greater improvement with standard tyres on 16" wheels as with the bigger tyres you loose some of the power and torque...i felt the same when i went from 255/55/18" to to 255/65/16" (both standard)...i though somebody changed my car, handled much better in curves, lost some of the vibrations and felt more stable off road... i presume that cos there's more air in the tyres

sierrafery said:

the improvement comes from the 16" wheels more that from the tyres believe me...you would have felt an even greater improvement with standard tyres on 16" wheels as with the bigger tyres you loose some of the power and torque...i felt the same when i went from 255/55/18" to to 255/65/16" (both standard)...i though somebody changed my car, handled much better in curves, lost some of the vibrations and felt more stable off road... i presume that cos there's more air in the tyres

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Oh yes it's definitely the different wheels that did it. It still drives nicely thanks to the remap and the steering doesn't really feel any different. It's a little noisier but once the revs climb over 2000 you don't hear it. Still a quiet ride even with the knobbly tyres .

Bigger sidewalls = more flex and absorption Less sidewall = more control/precision (good for sports/race cars on smooth roads.

However, I like the look of the stock 18" with 255/55 Toyo Open County tyres on my D2 until such time as I can afford a more aggressive off road set of tyres on 16" wheels.

When we bought our D2 it came on RR Sport wheels, 19", but the ride was awful.

Swapped them for standard 8J 16" rims with 255/65R16 tyres and problem sorted.

Sold the RR wheels for enough to pay for the 16" rims and tyres

We ran Pirelli Scorpion tyres to start with, but the wear rate was very high, we then went onto Nexen Roadian A/T M+S tyres and they have been excellent. 18 months for the Pirellis, 2+ years so far on the Nexens and still lots of tread left. We bought a reserve set in case these were going to be high wear rate as well, but so far they've stayed in the stores.

Peter

i have 20.000Km with Dunlop Grandtrek AT3 255/65/16 M+S and they are still brilliant ...i ride 90% of time on road so that's why i chose these...they behave decently in mud though