Running on series steel wheels and Michelin XZL

Hi all,
I know that the wheel & tyre thing has been done to death by now, so I'm almost embarresed to be asking these Qs, but having scoured threads and stickies for answers I'm still unsure.

I've just got a set of series steel wheels with 7.50-16 michelin XZLs on, from what I've read so far, they should be good to bolt straight on, and replace the standard alloys. However I do have a few questions which I havn't found the answer to:

-Do I need new wheel nuts, or not?
-This thread states that I will need to jack the wheel up into the arch to see if rubbing occurs, and therefore whether I need to make the camel cut. But to save me doing all of that, does anybody know offhand if 7.50-16 XZLs on steel rims need a camel cut? (I'm assuming so, since the camels had 7.00-16 wheels and they had the cut).
-What are good tyre pressures to run these at for normal road use?

- most likely, even if alloy nuts work they will look ****

- again most likely, 7.5 is similar in height to 238/85 so around 32". Doesn't take much to jack the disco up and find out though.

- same as you run now

From what I've found the disco alloy wheel nuts should be okay, as the spare was originally a steel wheel, and therefore the alloy nuts had a beveled edge which is whats needed for steels. I'm working on getting some steel wheel nuts from a breakers so I should be sorted anyway.

My tyre pressures at the moment are about 32 on the front and 36 on the back which is probably a little high for the mish-mash of ATs I've got on there at the mo. Been looking into it a bit more, and by the look of it, most people seem to run michelin xzls at about 40 psi.
I was planning on running them at similar pressures to military defenders, which are IIRC have them 28 front, and 42 back. Not sure why there's such a difference between front and back though?

Steel wheel nuts ARE different, alloys locate on the central hole, the wheel nuts just clamp the wheel, same as the Disco 2.

Steel wheels locate by the bevelled nut face and the dished section in each stud position on the wheel.

Short answer: don't use alloy nuts on steel wheels.

Note that there are TWO types of alloy nuts, some with a bevelled face, same as the steel wheel nut, these would be OK to use, the other type has just a nominal bevel and is NOT suitable. I'd guess that the bevelled alloy wheel nuts are LR originals, as ReadySalted mentions above.



Good one on the left, not good one on the right.

Peter

Cheers for that listerdiesel. Mine are definitely the ones on the left, with the longer bevel. I don't intend on using them anyway since from what I gather they will look pretty awful, so I'm working on getting some steel nuts.

LAND ROVER SERIES 2 2a STEEL WHEEL NUTS 576103 X 20 | eBay

Use the standard 27mm wheel brace.

Peter

Got some wheel nuts ordered. Cheers for that link btw.

Still unsure about the tyre pressures though. I think XZLs can go up to about 70psi.

As a side note, they don't seem to be as popular with the hardcore off road boys as they were a few years ago. I think they're favored much more as an expedition tyre since they're supposed to very tough and hard wearing.

On my last disco I had 2 BFG Muds, and 2 BFG A/Ts and although they were probably 65-70% worn, I wasn't greatly impressed by them in the mud at all. The xzls on the military landys I drive however, seem to go absolutely anywhere, but the general opinion on 4x4 forums is quite the opposite, so I'm none the wiser.

listerdiesel said:

Steel wheel nuts ARE different, alloys locate on the central hole, the wheel nuts just clamp the wheel, same as the Disco 2.

Steel wheels locate by the bevelled nut face and the dished section in each stud position on the wheel.

Short answer: don't use alloy nuts on steel wheels.

Note that there are TWO types of alloy nuts, some with a bevelled face, same as the steel wheel nut, these would be OK to use, the other type has just a nominal bevel and is NOT suitable. I'd guess that the bevelled alloy wheel nuts are LR originals, as ReadySalted mentions above.

Good one on the left, not good one on the right.

Peter

Click to expand...

LR supplied the type on the left for vehicles fitted with alloys so that the spare steelie could be fitted without the need to carry an extra set of nuts!

It's definitely the nuts on the left that my disco has.

I began swapping the wheels over tonight, and did the spare, and one other, until I ran into a problem trying to under a nut.

Looking at the first wheel I changed though, which is a back one, it's definitely going to be getting the camel cut tomorrow, otherwise I could see the arch digging in every time I mounted a kerb etc. I also think the disco could do with a bit more height since these wheels fill the arch so much more. I would like to give her some heavy duty shocks, but not sure if that's a big job, and whether I'd have to get new dampers aswel?

On the whole though I'm pleased, and as long as I can get my wheel nut drama sorted in the morning, and then get the camel cut done, it's off on some easy lanes to see how the tyres compare.

ReadySalted said:

Got some wheel nuts ordered. Cheers for that link btw.

Still unsure about the tyre pressures though. I think XZLs can go up to about 70psi.

As a side note, they don't seem to be as popular with the hardcore off road boys as they were a few years ago. I think they're favored much more as an expedition tyre since they're supposed to very tough and hard wearing.

On my last disco I had 2 BFG Muds, and 2 BFG A/Ts and although they were probably 65-70% worn, I wasn't greatly impressed by them in the mud at all. The xzls on the military landys I drive however, seem to go absolutely anywhere, but the general opinion on 4x4 forums is quite the opposite, so I'm none the wiser.

Click to expand...

they're a great tyre off road, run mine at 34psi and they wear even.

On the zxl tyres I run mine about 32psi rear and 28psi front on a 90 defender soft top

The rears I top up to 38psi if on a heavy load. If off roading I drop them to 28psi. The fronts I leave alone.

In my (limited) experience I find the zxl's pretty good off road, cut through mud good, plenty of grip and quite tough on rocky stuff. Stiff sidewall so they don't squirm about, wide treads shed mud easy so they don't become slicks quite so fast on clay/wet grass iyswim. My previous experience of tyres was AT's on Nissan patrols and defenders through work.

The zxl's are a bit rough on the road though and a bit slippy if pushed in the wet, much nicer than g90's though which I didn't like

have to agree with wet performance on road.

Yeh I've read that they can be a bit dicey in the wet.

Quick suspension question (I'm loathed to start a new thread, since I've started about 5 threads in the past week and beginning to feel like a troll)...

With these wheels and tyres on the disco seems to be a tad low. I'd like it to be higher anyway, but not particularly interested in lifting it at all. My mates compare being in the disco to like being on a ship the way it sags and rolls all the time.

I figured that to simply restore it's original height, heavy duty coils would be a good idea.

I found some here: SPECIAL OFFER Discovery Mk 1 Heavy Duty Coil Springs - SET of 4 2 x Front 2 x Rear

And while the price seems very good, I'm concerned that no mention of manufacturer screams either britpart, or more than likely an even cheaper and nastier make.

Also I dunno if I'd need new shocks if I'm fitting new springs?

If it was me, and I was fitting new springs to change ride quality, I would fit matched shocks aswell.

I have HD springs front and rear and it is quite a hard ride.

Zxl's in the wet. I have found them fine for straight line braking, I haven't aquaplaned in them but cornering is a bit dodge - it's fine just slow down a touch. Having said that I have had them slip only a couple times when being 'enthusiastic' and only when lightly loaded and normally exacerbated by a manhole or white line. They are quite predictable i.e you can feel them go.

The smaller/narrower the tyre the higher pressure you'll need

I max out my 13.5" tyres at 25psi, set a 7.5" to 25psi and it would be noticeably saggy

They're excellent tyres as they cut and dig, hopefully you have grip underneath though else you might be better wider BUT they should sneak right into the disco arches being so narrow and thus are unlikely to need a trim...

I've finished putting the wheels on this morning, and I'm between fitting my steering guard and spots which have been in hiding since I took them off my last disco.

Initial impressions of these wheels on the disco is that it looks, erm agricultural. It certainly seems higher up, not so much when driving, but certainly when stood in front of the vehicle, the bonnet is noticeably higher up on me. It also makes it a tad more comfortable underneath especially when I'm resting my head on the steering arms while fitting the steering guard brackets.

I've yet to do the camel cut, which I'm going to hold off doing just yet, to see how I get on if I go laning tomorrow. I'll take her out on some easy lanes, and if there's alot of rubbing then I will give the cut. In the lane with a junior hacksaw and a file if I have to lol.

I'm not sure what it'll be like to drive yet, so I'll nip out later to give try her out, and to sort out the tyre pressures. Looking forward to seeing how different it feels.

:nopics:

When I put 7.50x16 on 5.5j wheels to move mine about the shop it was, urm, agricultural!

I took her for a spin this evening just to sort the air pressures out, and did the fronts at 28psi, and the back ones at 42psi. I then drove for about 5 miles down some country lanes and drove through every muddy puddle/ gateway I could find. It's hard to tell without taking them properly off road, but they seemed to hold much better than my last wheels with 2/3rds worn all terrains on. Pulling off in first is definitely a little slower, and my acceleration seems to have suffered slightly. I also felt like I had to drive harder for example; I can normally get away with 4th gear anywhere from about 28mph upwards. With these wheels on, going 30 in 4th gear was only really possible on flat or downhill. Infact oddly I went down a short but relatively steep hill which I would normally take in 3rd gear, with a bit of braking, however, with these wheels I was in 30 with my feet off the pedals going at a steady 28mph and the engine didn't seem to be laboring.

The whole drive seemed very slightly unusual, but the handling and braking etc. doesn't seem to have been effected too much. Ride height doesn't feel too different. Feels maybe a tad higher up. But all in all I'm happy, and I think they look good.

I'll take them over some greenlanes tomorrow afternoon and post some pics.

Check you haven't pushed your speedo reading out too far.

Peter