Series 2 Tyre reccomendation/questions - Chichester area

I think the wheels you have are ANR1534 / 569204 This would be a 6 1/2 rim for a 1 ton but not a FC as these are 8".
Sought after and worth £120 or so each (or more) but a really handy size for tyres so I would hold on the them. They fit with the std studs, if you sell them you'll need Wolfs to get the same tyre options and that means a set of studs too. 7.50s are good, but do look at the 235s as you may get a bargain. There's less of a market for 7.50s so less offers. If you do look at 235s check the OD, you want at least 31.5 to get the rolling radius of a 7.50.
I've been round this whole loop recently as I looked up my tyre date codes (bored, lockdown) and found they were over 20 years old. Given the recent fatal accidents, prosecutions, law changes on old tyres etc and I "self MOT" I brushed off the credit card and took a deep breath. I think the whole lot; new tyres, used HD rims, studs cost around £600 but its been worth it, drives better and feels a lot safer.

rob1miles said:

I think the wheels you have are ANR1534 / 569204 This would be a 6 1/2 rim for a 1 ton but not a FC as these are 8".
Sought after and worth £120 or so each (or more) but a really handy size for tyres so I would hold on the them. They fit with the std studs, if you sell them you'll need Wolfs to get the same tyre options and that means a set of studs too. 7.50s are good, but do look at the 235s as you may get a bargain. There's less of a market for 7.50s so less offers. If you do look at 235s check the OD, you want at least 31.5 to get the rolling radius of a 7.50.
I've been round this whole loop recently as I looked up my tyre date codes (bored, lockdown) and found they were over 20 years old. Given the recent fatal accidents, prosecutions, law changes on old tyres etc and I "self MOT" I brushed off the credit card and took a deep breath. I think the whole lot; new tyres, used HD rims, studs cost around £600 but its been worth it, drives better and feels a lot safer.

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I agree. I would never bother with used tyres or tubes, both on grounds of safety, and economy.

Steel wheels aren't usually a problem but I wire brush and paint the insides, to prevent any rust flakes damaging the tubes,

Turboman said:

I agree. I would never bother with used tyres or tubes, both on grounds of safety, and economy.

Steel wheels aren't usually a problem but I wire brush and paint the insides, to prevent any rust flakes damaging the tubes,

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I agree. I want them changed ASAP. I’ve contacted a local place and I’m talking about what they’ve got going. 7.50s or 235s. I’m not that fussed. I’m not picky.

Trench Rat said:

I agree. I want them changed ASAP. I’ve contacted a local place and I’m talking about what they’ve got going. 7.50s or 235s. I’m not that fussed. I’m not picky.

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They will probably have to order in 7.50s, as they are not common on modern cars. But it is usually next day.
Most places seem to do Avon Rangemasters these days as the default 7.50 option for Series.
They are a good tyre, about 100 quid each, plus the tubes.

Turboman said:

They will probably have to order in 7.50s, as they are not common on modern cars. But it is usually next day.
Most places seem to do Avon Rangemasters these days as the default 7.50 option for Series.
They are a good tyre, about 100 quid each, plus the tubes.

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Sounds cool. I’m seeing 7.50s around £140 a piece online. 235/85 from £100. Worst case can buy online and take with me.

is there a difference that would lead one to be beneficial over the other?

Trench Rat said:

Sounds cool. I’m seeing 7.50s around £140 a piece online. 235/85 from £100. Worst case can buy online and take with me.

is there a difference that would lead one to be beneficial over the other?

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I prefer the 7.50s because they are a "square" tyre, about the same height as they are wide.
Metric sized tyres are always profile tyres, the height is a percentage, 80% in the case of Land Rover type tyres, or down to 35% in the case of low pros, of the width of the tyre.
Which means that if you have the right height, the tyre will be wider than the tyres originally fitted to a Series, and have much more grip, which makes the steering heavier.
I also think a Series looks all wrong with profile tyres, but that is a subjective thing.

Turboman said:

I prefer the 7.50s because they are a "square" tyre, about the same height as they are wide.
Metric sized tyres are always profile tyres, the height is a percentage, 80% in the case of Land Rover type tyres, or down to 35% in the case of low pros, of the width of the tyre.
Which means that if you have the right height, the tyre will be wider than the tyres originally fitted to a Series, and have much more grip, which makes the steering heavier.
I also think a Series looks all wrong with profile tyres, but that is a subjective thing.

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I’ll try go for 7.50s if possible then. Thanks for the info.

Trench Rat said:

I’ll try go for 7.50s if possible then. Thanks for the info.

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No worries. Pleased to be of assistance.

If you go for an LT235 they are squarer as these are truck tyres. They come it at around 31.7" dia and a 7.50 is around 31 (7.5+7.5+16) so they look very similar. Get and AT not road as this gives taller tread. I get the reasons for 7.50s but a modern 235 is better value and a better tyre. Those Yokos in my pic were £105 fitted and balanced at a local kwik fit and they are rated at 3000lb load, mud/snow/all terrrain and 50,000 miles. Look at the pic I posted and you will see they sit the same hight as a 7.50 and are square.

rob1miles said:

If you go for an LT235 they are squarer as these are truck tyres. They come it at around 31.7" dia and a 7.50 is around 31 (7.5+7.5+16) so they look very similar. Get and AT not road as this gives taller tread. I get the reasons for 7.50s but a modern 235 is better value and a better tyre. Those Yokos in my pic were £105 fitted and balanced at a local kwik fit and they are rated at 3000lb load, mud/snow/all terrrain and 50,000 miles. Look at the pic I posted and you will see they sit the same hight as a 7.50 and are square.

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Van tyres are quite good on a big bus like yours, with a heavy engine. But they are heavy on the steering, and stiffer on the sidewalls, hence the high load rating.

On a petrol 88, which is quite small and light, the 7.50s are going to be a nicer drive, although not as nice as the original 6.00x16s.

"big bus, heavy engine" yep that is us But its fine on the move, parking is a challenge but even at walking pace the steering is OK. I do think the stiffer side walls (they are very stiff) has helped the handling and they do make the springs work a bit more, the downside is speed bumps are even worse, if that was possible.

rob1miles said:

"big bus, heavy engine" yep that is us But its fine on the move, parking is a challenge but even at walking pace the steering is OK. I do think the stiffer side walls (they are very stiff) has helped the handling and they do make the springs work a bit more, the downside is speed bumps are even worse, if that was possible.

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You think you have got problems!

My Perkins engined 109 had HD springs all round, fitted by myself, thinking it would be a good idea, which it wasn't.
And I used to run military bar grip tyres, 7.50 R 16, which I could get very cheap.
You could feel every pebble on the road!
I sold the vehicle in 1999, and it is probably still knocking around somewhere.
But the discs in my lower back have never recovered, and never will.

I’ve always motioned to avoid kwikfit fit! So many horror stories

Just because everything was going nice and smoothly, i've found an inconsistency. The tyre garage down the road emailed saying their balancer can only balance wheels with a centre hole diameter or 10cm. Mine is 11.5cm. Otherwise, they have the tyres you suggested Rob! And at a good price of between 90-140 depending on brand/spec.

Also i measured the diameter on the spare, which seems to be a different shaped wheel... has the same tyre as the rest but it just looks different, slightly different shape and i can't read under the paint to confirm anything. Who cares, it's the spare, that can be done later.

Though that made me check all 4 on the car itself, they all read 6.5 L x 16 x 20,6 as we expected, except for the drivers side front wheel. That is hard to make out whether it's 5.5 or 6.5 due to the rust and such, however it looks like it says 5.5 r16x33. Should this matter? Since they're all equipped with the same tyre, i'd imagine they'll all take the 235/85 you suggested.

Yay...

You really need 4 matched rims, not sure about the legalities clearly many newer cars have a space saver spare but I wouldn't be at all happy running around with one wheel narrower and with a different offset.

Citizen Kane said:

You really need 4 matched rims, not sure about the legalities clearly many newer cars have a space saver spare but I wouldn't be at all happy running around with one wheel narrower and with a different offset.

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You're right, but fuck sake i could do without this. I can't tell for sure if it's a 5.5 and not a 6.5 but some numbers are different. those numbers don't mean a whole lot to me though.

i'll try get some pictures tomorrow

I would be looking for a set of Defender take offs. I'm on my 3rd set. Normally pay about £200, most I've paid was £250. For that you get 4 new Michelin 7.50 tyres and a set of rust free tubeless wheels for about the same price as a couple on new budget brand tyres. I guess they might be getting a little thin on the ground now but its worth having a look.

Citizen Kane said:

I would be looking for a set of Defender take offs. I'm on my 3rd set. Normally pay about £200, most I've paid was £250. For that you get 4 new Michelin 7.50 tyres and a set of rust free tubeless wheels for about the same price as a couple on new budget brand tyres. I guess they might be getting a little thin on the ground now but its worth having a look.

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Thanks, i guess that's the plan. Has anybody got any idea what the wheels i've got are worth? Earlier in the thread it was said that they would be enough for new wheels and tyres.

Bummer if you have one 5.5, but it should be obvious as its an inch thinner. Numbers can be confusing as they can denote the same wheel but sold as metric. worth trawling e-bay as a single wheel may be a reasonble price. when I got my Series it had mis-matched wheels and tyres, got a Defender set off e-bay - wheels and decent tyres for £ 95 and got 4 years out of them. Tyres were starting to perish so that's when I went for 6.5J wheels and new tyres.