New mud terrains

[SHAVED_GORILLA]

As the title says I will be buying some new muds for my new disco in the very near future.

It is a 300tdi and will have a 2" spring lift but I am keep ing the standard 7j alloys and wont be fitting wheel spacers.

I know that 265/75x 16's wil fit comfortable on the rims but is it possible to have a driveable vehicle with this size on? Otherwise I will be fitting trusty 235/85x16's.

I will be fettling the bodywork whatever I do i am more concerned about the stearing!!!

TIA Andy

[Damon]

Andy

I fitted 265/70 macho's (not 75's) on my v8 disco, and noticed quite a drop in performance. I think it is more to do with messing up the final gearing and thus the change points in the auto box being wrong, if that makes sense. Either way, if I had known it would make that much difference I wouldn't have put them on. Also....... the steering lock is greatly reduced on the standard wheels. My vac ignition advance is knackered at the moment, so it is a bit sluggish (megajolt on the way to sort that), but even so I struggle to maintain 70-75 on any incline on the motorway.

235/85's will have 5% or so less contact area, and thus rolling resistance, but will also hav greater diameter.

When I next change tyres I have decided on 235/85's in a less aggressive tread pattern on replacement wheels with a greater offset to keep a reasonable turning circle.

Hope that helps

Damon

[SHAVED_GORILLA]

Thankyou for your reply Damon.

What I am particularly interested in is whether it is possible form a practical point of view to fit 265's to standard 7j alloys, without spacers, and not comprimise the turning circle to much.

I am sure i will end up with 235's but would just like to make sure that they are the most practical size before I spend my hard earned cash.

Andy

[q-rover]

265/75 and 235/85 are the same diameter to within a few mm.

The difference is in the widthe which can create clearance problems.

I would go for the 235/85.

[SHAVED_GORILLA]

Thanks g-rover,

I take it by clearance problems you mean radius arm and turning circle.

They are my main concerns everything else can be handled with my trusty angle grinder.

Andy

[freeagent]

what about 245/75 R16...?

a good compromise, doesn't upset your gearing quite so much and won't need so much bodywork chopping away....

[unclebill1]

Thanks g-rover,

I take it by clearance problems you mean radius arm and turning circle.

They are my main concerns everything else can be handled with my trusty angle grinder.

Andy

Hi Andy, I was running 235x85x16 MTs on alloys on my Disco for quite a few years, 2" lift kit, they used to just rub on full lock, no trimming of bodywork was needed, now running 255x85 MTs but that needed major wheel march trimming and reversed rims, kept full lock and no problems, but obviousely not possible if you want to keep your alloys, wheel spacers, I've only heard bad tales of so I didn't want to go that route.

Bill

[JimAttrill]

Here is a terrific tyre size calculator:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html

It shows, for example that 205/80x16s and 235/70x16s are exactly the same circumference.

[SHAVED_GORILLA]

Thanks for the replies.

It is diff clearance height I want to achieve, although this is my daily driver I also want to minimise the compromise.

I am sure I will be getting a set of 235/85's when the time comes just didn't want to buy them and find out the next day I could have had 265's.

I would go for 255/85's but that does mean new rims and nothing the way of budget options either. Maybe when I have the money it may be a consideration.

Andy

[ironarm]

Thanks for the replies.

It is diff clearance height I want to achieve, although this is my daily driver I also want to minimise the compromise.

I am sure I will be getting a set of 235/85's when the time comes just didn't want to buy them and find out the next day I could have had 265's.

I would go for 255/85's but that does mean new rims and nothing the way of budget options either. Maybe when I have the money it may be a consideration.

Andy

i have the special track insa turbo's with a 2'' lift (235/85/r16) and on full lock they do 'click' the radius arms. only a half a lock off and they are fine, so not too much but it does turn like an oil tanker but (from a friend with 265 grizzleys) not as bad as some. and yes i have had to angle grind the rear arches as it does catch when offraoading. also the special tracks' sound awsome above 30mph but not to everyones taste... i must add that mine is not a daily driver so i would like the noise as it normally means im on the way to have some fun!!

[SHAVED_GORILLA]

What I cant work out is this......

if 235/70's came as standard fitment then 265's will only be 30mm wider? Therefore only 15mm wider on the inside of the rim?

A few years ago I had Range Rover and for a while had 265/75x16's on rostyle rims and didn't seem to have any problems with steering at all they did catch the radius arms slightly but the turning circle seemed fine.

I have found a supplier selling 265/75x16 Maxxis Buckshots for such a reasonable price it would be rude not to go with them.

Andy

[thebiglad]

What I cant work out is this......

if 235/70's came as standard fitment then 265's will only be 30mm wider? Therefore only 15mm wider on the inside of the rim?

A few years ago I had Range Rover and for a while had 265/75x16's on rostyle rims and didn't seem to have any problems with steering at all they did catch the radius arms slightly but the turning circle seemed fine.

I have found a supplier selling 265/75x16 Maxxis Buckshots for such a reasonable price it would be rude not to go with them.

Andy

Hi Andy, I think you might have the wrong end of the stick, the figures 235 & 265 refer in mm to the distance from bead to bead, so not just the width. The other figure for example 75 reperesents the sidewall & is actually a percentage, so if its a 235/75 the 75 would be the 75% of 235 which is.........................................

If you go to this site, you can play about with this and see the effects:

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalcold.html

[SHAVED_GORILLA]

Thanks biglad I did actually know about the width from bead to bead and the profile percentage height.

The outside and height of the tyre are not the concern I can cope with that. My main concern is how much fowling a 265 will cause compared to a 235 when fitted on my et33 rims. Therefore the profile/height is not of importance.

Thanks for the useful link though have had a good look, very interesting

Andy

[Orange]

Andy,

265s will drastically reduce the turning circle - You will get fed up with it very quickly.

When you think about it, the tyre may only be 30mm wider on each face, but you've got 2 inner faces to worry about on each axle, so you lose 60mm worth of lock, which is quite significant.

235s will reduce it ever-so slightly, but gives a good compromise.

My RR with 235/85R16s on was a happy compromise.

HTH

Adrian

[SHAVED_GORILLA]

Thanks everyone for your replies.

I wanted to make sure that what I buy was right from the begining.

I will go for 235's and sticjk at that unless I come across some larger offset wheels at some stage.

All this tyre talk is a nice diversion after welding the boot floor !!!

Andy

[Damon]

I couldn't help replying to this one again.........

I have fitted 265/70's to my disco, and noticed a massive increase in turning circle over 235/70's. This hasn't inconvenienced me much off road, but it does irritate me in car parks etc.

The additional 15/30mm width may seem tiny, but it is also leveraged and exacerbated by the increased radius of the tyre. Try standing in your shed holding a 6foot broomstick directly in front of you and rotating your body, then try it with a 8foot pole, try it with a slightly thicker pole if you like for realism(!). You will not get close to the same rotation before you hit the walls.

Please excuse the slightly dim mode of explanation, but that was the best way I could marshal my thoughts. If I was clever like most of the bods on here I would have drawn a pretty picture.

Damon