XtremeMarineInc Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 I am going to powdercoat the wheels on my 78-79 SIII 109 5 door SW. When I took the old tires (7.50 x 16), all wheels had tubes on them. I am replacing them with Yokohama 235/85/16 Geolandar A/T II tyres. Can I mount the new tyres with new valve stems, and be safe from leaks on the series wheels, without tubes??? Another problem is I have a mix of wheels on this vehicle. All are 16"'s, but I have 5, 5.5, and 6 inch widths. What wheel was supposed to come on this truck. I don't want the 5" obviously, but the 5.5 or the 6 will fit the 235's. I need to source a full set of 5 wheels in the proper width, before sandblasting, and powdercoating. Thanks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Standard LWB wheels are 5.5" wide (I think... would wait for confirmation tho..) series rims however are not air tight so will need tubes. hth Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvio Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 A series III 109" should have come out of Solihull with 5,5" wheels; these wheels, though they might be airtight, are NOT designd to be fitted tubeless, but they require tubes: the rim lacks a specific groove, required to retain the tyre. Many of course will say that they have been running tubeless for twenty years without any problem, and this can be perfectly true, but the fact is that those wheels are not designed as tubeless. I don't know, for instance, if the MOT officer would accept this, or could refuse his approval. Can you solve the problem by simply fitting a tube? Yes and no: fitting a tube is obviously OK for the wheel, but quite often modern tyres are designed as tubeless and do no accept well a tube inside: they may have ribs on the inner surface, and these ribs tend to wear the tube. An exception to this are Michelin 4x4 tyres: they are tubeless, but are also stamped with "may be used with tube". By the way, later defenders (from 2005 or so to present days) use the same wheels as in Series (5,5") but in a tubeless version: so if you really want to go tubeless, you might search for a set of these newer wheels. Last remark: ideally, a 5,5" wheel is a bit too narrow for a 235 tyre: a 6" or 6,5" wheel should be preferred. PS: seen only now that you are in Florida... not easy at all to find new defender wheels, sorry... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XtremeMarineInc Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 Thanks for the quick replies. I have been thinking this over. Since statesside, as stated, my options seem to be much more limited. What could my options be? I am thinking either RRC or Disco I steel wheels? Nato wheels? Wolf wheels? Would any of these fit correctly with the SIII LWB, especially the 11" brakes? Sizes? Offset problems? I am thinking probably 6" would be my best option? Thoughts???... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 IMHO you'd be best off just bolting on a set of 7x16" aftermarket 8 spokes. Easily available in the states, work fine tubeless, and will have a little more offset than the standard landrover rims so you will be able to get a bit more steering lock. hey also bring the tyres out more or less level with the bodywork (rather than set in like they are as standard) which improves the looks. Disco steelies will fit and are tubeless, but the stock offset is pants. An 88" would have had 5" rims, a 109 5.5" rims and IIRC the 6" rims are off of a 130 or something like that. No factory alloys will fit a series, and 99% of aftermarket ones wont fit either. You either need to find some late defender rims, or go with 8 spokes. As an aside I've run tubeless type tyres with tubes in them for years without problems. I've found running tubeless allows mud and sticks etc to get inbetween the tyre and the rim and causes constant air leaks. It gets tedious pumping your tyres up every day! With tubes in my tyres dont go down from one year to the next. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
silvio Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 Difficult to say; wolf wheels would fit, and they are not so dissimilar from original look; for the same sylistic reason I would not go for modern looking wheel (disco or RR), but this is of course a matter of personal choice. Of course, it might depend also on your budget (and on the freight costs to cross the Atlantico Ocean...): but you might have a look here (or in the many other shops), to begin with: http://www.paddockspares.com/sp/category/W...eel_Wheels.html Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XtremeMarineInc Posted May 7, 2008 Author Share Posted May 7, 2008 Jon; great advice. And as this truck won't be an off-roader, I won't be airing down a lot, if at all. But 8 spokes for Rovers, are very hard to source over here. I'd be better off looking for the late model Defender wheels, or Wolf wheels I think. Thanks for the info on the DI steelies. As I have seen photos of them on a SIII 88", and they do look rather tucked in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted May 7, 2008 Share Posted May 7, 2008 The offset on disco rims is startling! it looks like the whole rim is inside the mounting face. they do look good in gloss black. but not so good if you want to go around sharp bends. 7 inch, though. G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XtremeMarineInc Posted May 8, 2008 Author Share Posted May 8, 2008 I have found a set of 5 at Atlantic British. They are made by Dunlop, and are "said" to be for tubeless tyres. 16x5.5, at a good price. It seems that though the Wolf wheels will fit, there is an issue with the mounting depth over the length of Series studs, which make them hard to fit securely. So I've ordered the Dunlops. Hopefully, this will be a painless solution. Thanks for all advise and replies. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazzar Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 Both Discovery steel rims and series rims have the Dunlop symbol stamped on them - perhaps Dunlop are the OEM supplier to Land rover? G. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JBorges Posted May 8, 2008 Share Posted May 8, 2008 One time I see a series with a tubeless flat tire on a river!! Imagine the tire full with water! Please uses tubes... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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