geoffbeaumont Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 The time has come to stick some new rubber on the Discovery, especially as I found a nail in one of the tyres when I swopped the wheels over on Friday... I have a set of 7.50x16 Rangemasters which do an acceptable job for laning, so I don't need anything much in the way of rough-terrain performance from the everyday tyres. I was toying with the idea of running just one set of good oversize all-terrains, but the 7.50s stuff the performance and fuel economy too much, so I'm sticking with two sets. So...I'm after a set of 205R16 road biased tyres. They need to be good in the wet and in snow. Ideally they should be able to cope with driving round damp grassy fields with a trailer on the back. I've had a dig around on the forum but most of tyre advice is for things that can dig their way through bottomless mud and lift the truck over rocks the size of houses... I've got Goodyear Wrangler ATs on there at the moment - they're fine, but relatively pricey. I was thinking something like Michelin Synchrones might do the job, or even one of the more budget brands if the performance is okay. General seem to get a decent press on here, Kuhmo look like they might have one or two suitable offerings. Anyone have any useful experience/advice to offer? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pinny Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 hello i have a set of camac terra tyres 205/16 been on about a year done approx 14000 miles the fronts are probably half worn i paid 55 a piece for these seem ok on the road and off road ive had no probs with these and there as cheep as remoulds chris Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 Kimho KL78's are a pretty good budget road tyre. They are "sort of an all terrain" but "not as all terrain as a BFG" if that makes sense Available as both 205R16 and 235/70R16 both OEM sizes, the latter suits a Discovery better IMHO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matt Neale Posted November 19, 2007 Share Posted November 19, 2007 Kimho KL78's are a pretty good budget road tyre. They are "sort of an all terrain" but "not as all terrain as a BFG" if that makes sense Available as both 205R16 and 235/70R16 both OEM sizes, the latter suits a Discovery better IMHO Have to agree with Stephen here about the size - go for the 235/70 - you won't reget it. As for a budget road tyre, shop around and see if you can track down a set of BFG Long Trail in that size. I put a set on our last 200Tdi Disco for about £40 - £45 a corner - bearing in mind that was for NEW BF Goodrich tyres....! Fantastic road biased tyre - sold the truck about 10,000 miles later and the tyres looked like new. Matt Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted November 19, 2007 Author Share Posted November 19, 2007 Available as both 205R16 and 235/70R16 both OEM sizes, the latter suits a Discovery better IMHO I presume I'd need different rims for 235/70R16, though? Or are standard Freestyles within the width range for both sizes? What is better about the 235/70R16s? Grip? Handling? Or just looks? Does the wider tyre have any impact on fuel consumption? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RRX Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 For road use BFG would get my vote, have seen them last well over 40k miles and still have enough grip to get around off road Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alex park Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 i have continental contitrac 235 x 70's on standard disco freestyle rims on my 98 v8 disco. £60 each and excellent on road use. I cover probably 14k a year motorway miles. and they still have great tread on them after 2 yrs. low road noise etc. this is the blurb " Original Equipment (OE) All-Season tires are the prevalent tire choice for vehicles sold in the United States. Developed for use on new cars and light trucks, these tires provide a versatile blend of ride quality, noise comfort, treadwear, handling and year-round traction, even in light snow. While Original Equipment All-Season tires are often repurchased as direct replacements for pairs and sets of worn out Original Equipment tires, they can also be used on other vehicles in axle pairs or sets of four if they match the needed tire size, load range and speed rating specifications, as well as the anticipated driving conditions." Alex Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 The disco has BFG AT's on it which I can't really fault It is my everyday car and I sometimes work along way from home a four hours a day in my car is not uncommon for 18 months at a time I fitted a road General Grabber which I was not impressed with in fact I replaced them with still half tread as from new they were lethal in the wet on tarmac. My truck probably spends 10% max off road but I still went for the AT a it looks nice its very high quality and they will do 50-80,000 miles before they wear out IME but their far from cheap but there the only thing between you and the road or to put it another way, stopping and not stopping Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 I presume I'd need different rims for 235/70R16, though? Or are standard Freestyles within the width range for both sizes?What is better about the 235/70R16s? Grip? Handling? Or just looks? Does the wider tyre have any impact on fuel consumption? All the factory S1 Discovery rims are 7Jx16 whether steel or alloy - either tyre size will fit on 7" rims. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FridgeFreezer Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 I run Colway AT's which are a copy of BFG AT's and I have been impressed with them, they'd probably do well enough at laning too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 I run Colway AT's which are a copy of BFG AT's and I have been impressed with them, they'd probably do well enough at laning too. A mate of mine (my old co-driver) has a set of them and he is very happy with them He only paid about £45 each or somthing like that.... Best be quick colway went bust so they will not be arund for long Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BogMonster Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 I don't know what the Kumhos cost in UK but we sell the 205s for just over £50 here (including the freight from UK) and that is for a brand new tyre so I should think they would be competitive to buy in UK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted November 20, 2007 Author Share Posted November 20, 2007 I don't know what the Kumhos cost in UK but we sell the 205s for just over £50 here (including the freight from UK) and that is for a brand new tyre so I should think they would be competitive to buy in UK. Just about worth importing them from the Falklands then - cheapest I can get them round here (fitted) is about £80 each. None of the remoulds/budget tyres I can get fitted easily round here are cheap enough to be worth it, so I've ordered a set of BFG ATs at £100 a corner. Full set of five. Ouch Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted November 20, 2007 Share Posted November 20, 2007 Just about worth importing them from the Falklands then - cheapest I can get them round here (fitted) is about £80 each.None of the remoulds/budget tyres I can get fitted easily round here are cheap enough to be worth it, so I've ordered a set of BFG ATs at £100 a corner. Full set of five. Ouch What size did you go for as 205 is tiny you can go for 225 with no real gearing affect and they fill the arches a little better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted November 20, 2007 Author Share Posted November 20, 2007 I went for 235/70R16 - I know bigger looks better, but these tyres will be used almost exclusively on road so gearing is much more important than ground clearance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jules Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 That should look nice and give you a little bit more grip aswell Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheRecklessEngineer Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 Geoff...any chance you could post up some piccies when they are fitted? I'm about due for a new set of tyres too... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lrfarmer Posted November 21, 2007 Share Posted November 21, 2007 I've just got a set of tyres on my new disco there only 50/50 on off road tyres but the 235/70R16 are only £38+vat each http://www.paddockspares.com/sp/category/W...__Mountain.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbeaumont Posted November 22, 2007 Author Share Posted November 22, 2007 That should look nice and give you a little bit more grip aswell They don't look as good as the bigger tyres, but they're a lot nicer to drive on... Hard to say how much better than the 205/16 Goodyears they are as the old tyres were well past their best. Geoff...any chance you could post up some piccies when they are fitted? I'm about due for a new set of tyres too... They're on already, apart from the spare - I'll get piccies as soon as I get near the truck in daylight, but you can probably spot a Discovery shod with them in the flesh anyway. I've just got a set of tyres on my new disco there only 50/50 on off road tyres but the 235/70R16 are only £38+vat each http://www.paddockspares.com/sp/category/W...__Mountain.html But by the time you've put VAT and fitting/valves/balancing on top of that, are you saving enough to be worth it? IIRC from the receipt the BFGs are about £75 each before that lot goes on the bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DiscoClax Posted November 24, 2007 Share Posted November 24, 2007 When I got my bus it had BFG ATs in 225/75R16 fitted all round (incl spare). Then I fitted Goodyear AT/Rs in 245/70R16 as my on-road set as the BFGs were past their prime and slippery, esp on wet bitumen. A bit later I got a set of Kumho KL71s in 31x10.5R15 for off-roading. I've never re-fitted the "road" tyres as the Kumho's do absolutely everything better (except the gearing change which is an undesirable compromise on highway). Mind you I really disliked the GY AT/Rs in this application. The 205s are way too small (width). The 225/75s are much better but still a bit small IMHO. I went with the 245s to get max width at similar diameter, but I think the 235/70s would have been a better fit in hindsight (and they're factory-sized, so insurance/rego hassles). Can't beat more tyre diameter off-road, but it does dull the highway performance somewhat. Some old pics of when I had the GY 245/70s fitted, but still with BFG 225/75 spare (which is probably the last time I washed it)... And a couple of it in it's current guise with the 31" KL71s Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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