Tyres on standard 16” wheels

Hi all. Not long had my freelander 1 facelift while out in the dirt on the weekend I have ruined two Yokohama geolandars a/t. I have a chance of getting some mint 235/70/16 tyres will these go on my standard 16 inch wheels or are they not wide enough? Also smashed my sump somehow, definitely need more clearance, so lift kits- what’s the best set up for these? I have searched for these queries but can’t find what I’m after. Thanks in advance

In the top right of the screen is a search box - bung in 235/70R16 - if you scan the threads returned it will probably give you an answer. My guess is that you will need spacers but you may get away without a lift. You should also Google a tyre size calculator and work out what the overall diameter of those tyres would be compared to the ones you have. It may put your speedo out which will fail a MOT.

There has been quite a bit of discussion about lifts. 50mm lifts are 'common' - however these require a lot more cutting of the chassis than a 40mm lift. So it makes sense to go for a maximum of 40mm - especially if you've put on larger diameter tyres as well.

Don't forget as well that larger diameter tyres will reduce your torque which won't help offroad ability.

Should add that I'm not the worlds expert on these things - just saying what I've learned/read on here!

How did you ruin 2 GeolanderATs?. I've driven miles and miles on some pretty extreme off road tracks and never had a single Geolander failure.
Off road is all about plotting your route and diving according to the conditions. Simply charging at full speed will cause damage, no matter what tyres or what hight lift you have.
235/70/16 won't generally fit under a standard FL1 unless you have a lift and spacers, they will fit the wheels, just.

225/70/16 will fit without a problem though.

Hi Craig, welcome to the LZ forum!

I have Geolanders on mine - loving their all-round performance, and have driven them over green lanes without problem. I guess you must have found some serious rocks? Might explain the sump damage too?

I suspect that 235 wide tyres are not going to fit without spacing out the rims (as GG and Nodge has already pointed out). Also, I'd be looking to replace all four tyres if changing brand/size, as you'll want to keep the same rolling diameter on all four wheels to avoid putting stress on the all wheel drive transmission.

I agree with you: one of the limitations of the Freelander is the ground clearance. 40 or 50mm lift kits are available (try Muddy Mods). Be aware that the 50mm lift kit requires some serious chassis modification to clear the steering arms on droop.

Also, consider fitting (or making yourself) an up-graded, heavier duty engine/transmission undertray. The standard one is plastic in a pretty decent alloy perimeter frame. I managed to rip the plastic insert off, but have now replaced this with sheet alloy. I haven't really heavily tested it out yet, but light green lane driving has not revealed any problems with it so far