What wheels !

traven said:

Can anybody help? I have a series three with standard 7.5 16 tyres. I want to get some after market steel wheels and all terrain tyres. Does anybody know what are the largest wheels and tyres I can sensibly fit without any modifications and what wheels will fit my series from different land rover models? Also, should I be fitting 15” rims with larger diameter tyres or staying with 16” rims. I’ve been looking on eBay and getting very confused on what will and will not fit. Any help would be appreciated! Thanks

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Why you want to go largest.:welcome2:

I had 235/85 16's Grabbers AT2's on wolf rims on my 109, handled like a dream in all weathers.

i have got the same 235 85 16s on disco steel rims all good got piccys of them on car if you want to see them

I've got some tired steel modulars but seems like it's cheaper to buy new than shot blast and powercoat/repaint (at £32.50 with 4x4tyres.co.uk!)

750's are about the biggest tyre diameter wise you can comfortably fit on a series without other mods.
Factory fitted 900's to the 1-ton, but to do so they fitted a lower ratio x-fer box to get the gearing back to something sensible, and put extended spring hangers on the chassis and shackles on the springs to give some room in the arches for articulation.
They also fitted a lower ratio steering box to stop teh steering being excerssively heavy....
But they couldn't do much about the lack of steering lock.... so it had an even worse turning circle than the standard LWB!

Modern 'equivilient' of a 750 is a 235/85R16, and thats was/is the standard sizing for a 110. Its the same rolling diameter give or take a 1/4" or so as a 750 and about 2" wider, so it has the tread width of a 900, near enough.

And, the best wheelks for them, to my mind are a set of wide off-set steelies, like eight spokes or mods. Asthetically, I prefer the look of mods.

Wide off-set pushes wheel tyre center-line about 1 1/" out, giving a bit more room for steering lock, and articulation, and increased track width is good for stability, but does increase the scrub radius on the steering so they can be a bit heavier to steer.

Check out the Wheel-Deals at Craddocks, they are usually pretty keen and a good reference for comparison.

For a Specific tyre, while you are there, look at the Avon Ranger All Terrain. Its a brand new carcas tyre from a reputed BRITISH maker, with reputation for lasting well, a true All Terrain All-Round 50/50 tread (many modern AT's are actually only 70/30 biased) and at an INCREDIBLE price, they are about £50 a corner, cheaper than many remoulds! Might not be the one you go for, but again, use it as your reference.

And, if you are getting confudled and frustrated, I think that the Ranger on Mods, Wheel-Deal from Crads, is a pretty safe bet, for price and performance. check out the alternatives, becouse you can turn up some bargains and there are 'better' packages out there, if you know what they are worth, but wrestling with the options, Rangers are such good VFM and such 'reasonable' all round capability, I doubt many would be dissapointed with them.

traven said:

Thanks for all your replies, it’s all getting clearer! I’ve seen some Marshall Powerguard 33 x 1250 x 15 on steel wheels. I expect I would have to fit spacers to get full lock. Would you have any idea what size spacers I would need and if I would have to alter the suspension height for articulation?

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OK, what have you got to fit them to and why do you think that tyres more than TWICE the width the factory fitted are a good idea?

The wheels they are fitted to should probably have a wider offset and give about an extra inch of track width, and to that you can add a set of 30mm spacers for about £130.......

BUT..... you dont NEED tyres that big, and in fact, chances are they wont work as well as something a bit more 'sensible'.

Double the width and you halve the ground pressure, so the tyres wont hav ethe 'bite' to dig in and actually grip anything in the slimy stuff.

Talk to the trailer and challenge boys, they reckon on 750's, 235/85's or 265/75's at the very most!

If you want them just for the look, then fair enough, steering lock and atriculation aren't important; but of you want something thats actually useful off road, then take the advice of the compers, dont go bigger than 235's.

and if you are a newbie, stick to a tame, AT pattern, in a concervative size, you'll probably get further on them, and they'll tech you to drive for traction, rather than relying on a tyre to find you grip, and getting you further into trouble before you realise it.

Fitting wide wheels to a series , is a bit counter productive to say the least , greater rolling resistance, and there isnt a lot of spare power to start with, the 900x16 had a lower ratio steering box due extra loading . With wider tyres allow a budget for power steering , unless you have arms like Schwarzenegger . With 900x16 you also need to fit extended spring hangers , brake hoses , check straps and shocks . The 900x16 also had uprated brakes .
235/85 r 16 are about the optimum . JMHO&E

tacr2man said:

Fitting wide wheels to a series , is a bit counter productive to say the least , greater rolling resistance, and there isnt a lot of spare power to start with, the 900x16 had a lower ratio steering box due extra loading . With wider tyres allow a budget for power steering , unless you have arms like Schwarzenegger . With 900x16 you also need to fit extended spring hangers , brake hoses , check straps and shocks . The 900x16 also had uprated brakes .
235/85 r 16 are about the optimum . JMHO&E

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No you don't.

"No you dont"
Pity you werenot about 50 yrs or so ago , it would have saved Land Rover a lot of money in extra parts for vehicles fitted with 900x16 tyres

tacr2man said:

With wider tyres allow a budget for power steering , unless you have arms like Schwarzenegger

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Have to disagree, my NAD 90 had no power steering when I replaced the stock tires (750's) with 265's, and the steering became alot lighter. I guess the lighter loading of the wide tyres more than makes up for the slightly greater surface resistance..

Booger said:

Have to disagree, my NAD 90 had no power steering when I replaced the stock tires (750's) with 265's, and the steering became alot lighter. I guess the lighter loading of the wide tyres more than makes up for the slightly greater surface resistance..

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More likely going from an imperial sized cross-ply to a metric sized radial... or the tread patern, or the wheels, or the bludy tyre pressure...... there's quite a few vaiables in there, and on a 90, you have a completely different steering arrangement with different linkage ratio's; you dont have a relay in teh front x-member to start with, as well as different axle geometry, as to begin with its 4" wider, and runs a different akerman angle, toe settings and scrub radius.....

And a 265 is a 10 1/2" tyre, about the equivilent in width to an old 900, 9" tyre but not quite as big on diameter, hence effecting the geomtery as much.

Suggestion here was fitting a 12" tyre, TWICE the width of the standard fitment, 25% wider than a 900, 20% wider than a 265, and on a wide offset wheel with spacers.......

Probably a good reason the tyres are on e-bay......

I suspect that they are noisy, increase the mpg, lower speed, reduce steering lock, foul bits of body work, make what steering it has rather heavy as well as 'curiouse' when the thing flops into corners and shakes its head, they probably dont work that well in the mud, and make tarmac driving, particularly in the wet rather blumin scary!

But only a suspicion.... sure there are some people out there that would actually LIKE all that!

tacr2man said:

"No you dont"
Pity you werenot about 50 yrs or so ago , it would have saved Land Rover a lot of money in extra parts for vehicles fitted with 900x16 tyres

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Prehaps he knows you don't need to fit all that stuff because he has 9.00's his series 3 with out them?.......

Mseries3 said:

Prehaps he knows you don't need to fit all that stuff because he has 9.00's his series 3 with out them?.......

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Correct.

I'm saying nothing I had a similar argument last week with somone saying he needed a lift because he wanted to fit 265x75x16. After much testing I can confirm that if you make sure nothing rubs anywhere on FULL articulation and lock i.e limit it by means of bump stops and the like then there is no need for a lift or and indeed the rest of the stuff required to make the lift compatable like brake hoses, breathers, axle straps etc.

But changing somthing like to 900's for instance will not cure everything. It will mean a compromise elsewhere do not expect it to be the end of mods to make you happy with the vehicle. TBH most people have 750 R16 on their Lr and learn how to drive it realy well by means of trials and driving comps (not P&P for so many reasons). This will help when green laning you will know what you can and can't do before you get near it. You can only "cheat" so much before driving technique will get you stuck. Once you have the tecnique then you will get onto stuff that will nedd bigger tyres lockers etc. Many trial drivers will drive their standard series on 750's far beyond most other modified LR's and will not usually drive somthing they know will get their vehicle stuck. I suggest joining a local LR club and get Trialling driving a bog standard series against modified defender drivers and beating them would be most rewarding! My old 90 na used to beat V8 RR's and hybrids most ****ed off faces ive been out of it for a while now but I still have some trophys first in classes and a couple of second overall

Jai,
Agreed, start small, learn what it can and can't do, then go big if you want. When are we fitting 12.00x16's then?

Spyderman,

Not exhausted the 900's yet we havent tried tyre chains when we do I think I will be satisfied with the performance especially going on the previous performance of all 4 weels chained up with rudmatics on my 235's. They Were Awsome!!!

I was not answering what can you get away with ,but what you should do to get to spec that LR thought was required . eg you can leave your 88 10" brakes , but the extra radius of the 900 will reduce the braking performance .

Have always thought 900,s on an 88 looks the business , and more than any other single mod increase your offroad capability.

If you are talking 1200x 16 why not go the full roadless conversion route

Mine's a late 88" so it's got dual braking system with 11" drums on the front.