Series 3 Series 3 Wheels & Tyres

Newbie from Swansea question, I have a 1978 Series 3 Long wheelbase 2.2 petrol landy, as you can probably tell I'm new to Landy ownership, it's very heavy on fuel and steering, it is running on 235/70 R16 wheels and off road tyres at the moment, however steering is very heavy, could you recommend narrower wheels and tyres to make steering lighter, I will be mainly using it for road use and on some farms on the weekends. Thanks

Radial are worse the X plys for heavy steering...
I use 205x16...still on the heavy side...but only at low speed.

You want 7.50/16s on a LWB.

It's also worth checking that;

- some halfwit hasn't over adjusted the sterring box in a vain attempt to remove play [cost = zero]
- that there's oil in the steering box, steering relay, and steering swivels [cost = negligible]
- that the steering swivels have the right preload [cost = negligible]

before shelling out on new tyres (assuming the existing tyres are in good condition)

You will find the steering at low speeds to be very heavy when fitted with radials like those you have. Change to 750x16s even 750Rx16s (which are radials but with stiff sidewalls).
Do heed Mr Tall above though: jack up both front wheels and check that something isn't stiff before you shell out.
I speak from experience: I fitted some radials to my S3 109 just as an experiment; the steering became horrendously heavy so I swapped back to 750s... much better.

Agreed re all the ckecks, do those first, no point it changeing tyres unitl you are sure it is working as intended.;the steering relay is well worth topping up. If you jack it up the steering should be light. Bear in mind it has no power assistence so you have to work a bit but with the exception of parking, tee junstions and (worst) min- roundabouts its should be OK.

MACH1STI said:

Newbie from Swansea question, I have a 1978 Series 3 Long wheelbase 2.2 petrol landy, as you can probably tell I'm new to Landy ownership, it's very heavy on fuel and steering, it is running on 235/70 R16 wheels and off road tyres at the moment, however steering is very heavy, could you recommend narrower wheels and tyres to make steering lighter, I will be mainly using it for road use and on some farms on the weekends. Thanks

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What is your definition of heavy on fuel? And have you driven any other Series Land Rovers to give comparison for the steering?

A 235 is still pretty narrow for tyres for these. And I struggle to believe changing them will make much difference.

300bhp/ton said:

What is your definition of heavy on fuel? And have you driven any other Series Land Rovers to give comparison for the steering?

A 235 is still pretty narrow for tyres for these. And I struggle to believe changing them will make much difference.

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The difference between 235s and 7.50s is more than a little noticeable though it's all a bit relative if your not used to driving 2t with no PAS.

I would say the steering on a Series is:
too light at speed (50-60)
about right around town (20-40)
heavy at slow speed and junctions (2-10)
Impossible when stopped
So its the same as every non-power assisted vehicle. I used to drive an XK 140 - 2Tons, no power steering, steering set up for speed, 130 mph, drum brakes and no servo. In their day they were considered a great car to drive, but the road test got 120lb brake pedal force on the emergency stop and I regulary felt the seat bending, roundbabouts would take both hands on one side of the steering wheel. And it did 16 mph no matter how it was driven. I find the Series quite easy to drive compared to a lot of 1950 design vehicles, the clutch is especially good.

Tall Ratbag said:

It's also worth checking that;

- some halfwit hasn't over adjusted the sterring box in a vain attempt to remove play [cost = zero]
- that there's oil in the steering box, steering relay, and steering swivels [cost = negligible]
- that the steering swivels have the right preload [cost = negligible]

before shelling out on new tyres (assuming the existing tyres are in good condition)

Click to expand...

MACH1STI said:

Newbie from Swansea question, I have a 1978 Series 3 Long wheelbase 2.2 petrol landy, as you can probably tell I'm new to Landy ownership, it's very heavy on fuel and steering, it is running on 235/70 R16 wheels and off road tyres at the moment, however steering is very heavy, could you recommend narrower wheels and tyres to make steering lighter, I will be mainly using it for road use and on some farms on the weekends. Thanks

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Thanks Tall Ratbag and everyone else for replies, I have just forked out for all the steering to be checked out, had reconditioned Steering box fitted and all new steering joints changed, I should have made myself clearer on my first post ever on this site, the chunky off road tyres on my landy I don't think are helping me, when trying to turn in tight spots its like taking a 90 point turn to park, great once on the field but on tarmac like glue, so was thinking of fitting Road tyres to help me out, or is it worth forking out for power steering to be fitted.

MACH1STI said:

Thanks Tall Ratbag and everyone else for replies, I have just forked out for all the steering to be checked out, had reconditioned Steering box fitted and all new steering joints changed, I should have made myself clearer on my first post ever on this site, the chunky off road tyres on my landy I don't think are helping me, when trying to turn in tight spots its like taking a 90 point turn to park, great once on the field but on tarmac like glue, so was thinking of fitting Road tyres to help me out, or is it worth forking out for power steering to be fitted.

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As said before. Have you driven any other Land Rovers before as a comparison?

I’ve run biggish off road tyres (7.50 and 235’s) on my 88 and smaller road tyres. The parking steering effort was largely unchanged. Certainly not night and day.

As for fitting PAS. Only you can say if it’s worth it or not. There are also loads of different ways to convert to PAS.

I did fit PAS myself. But it was to improve off road performance rather than on road. And was part of other more major upgrades (build thread in my sig).

When I got my Landy, it was on 235/85 R16 broad wheels. The car looked like a German Shepherd puppy with huge paws and was a nightmare to steer. Nowadays, my S3 sports Micheline Latitude Cross on new tubeless OE wheels. Great for spring-to-autumn use up here, and on-road, if you don't want to climb mountains. My (highly personal) view is that wheels and tyres are not supposed to be some cheap cr*p anyway, it is a matter of safety. Oh, and it has been tested on farms as well, so I can strongly recommend this solution.