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Defender Tyre sizes


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My Defender needs some new boots.

I've pretty much decided on the make - I just need to sort out the size!

My old 90 has 235/85's.

This (from memory) gave me a wheel/tyre height of around 31"

I remember having to adjust the stops as the tyres rubbed the chassis when they were first fitted

For the new truck, i'm looking at some 285/75's

My calculations make this a total wheel/tyre height of around 32/33"

The Defender has a 2" lift fitted. Would the larger diameter tyres be OK to fit or should I go with the 235's?

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Hi Steve:) Just run these through the 'excel' calculator..

diameter for :

285/75 x 16 is 32.83"

255/85 x 16 is 33.07"

265/75 x 16 is 31.65"

235/85 x 16 is 31.73"

BUT - my part worn 265/75 x 16 BFG MT's are bigger than my new 235/85 x 16 BFG AT's. These are aof course unladen diameters and don't take into account the tread depth.

The 255/85 seems a good option...

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Thanks Guys

So, 255/85 seems to be the way to go.

Are there any issues fitting these onto 16" Freestyle alloys?

Also would a 90 with a 2" lift need any further mods or will they just bolt on and work?

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Would it not be worth making a sticky tyre size thread and pooling together all the existing ones? Just a thought...

Excellent idea.

With all the information about wheels, tyres, spacers, long bolts and offset etc etc.

Maybe we could also have some pics of certain wheel/tyre combos so people can see how they look before buying?

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  • 3 weeks later...

Sorry to drag this back up to the top but I've been unable to locate any BFG MT's in 255/85/16

Being new to this - the more I look at the available tyre sizes - the more I get confused!

After chatting to a couple of people and explaining what my intended use will be, I've decided to go with Cooper SST's.

I have to keep my current Freestyle alloys so need to get some tyres to fit them.

I have fitting the tyres covered.

My TD5 1999 Defender has a 2" lift kit fitted to it.

Can I fit 285/75/16's?

If not - what size should i buy?

Any advice is really appreciated as I don't want to end up with a set of tyres I can't fit or use.

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Hmmm, just had an email from them - Nil Stock :unsure:

So, I'd like ot go with a full MT type tyre and quite fancy some Cooper SST's.

Problem is the SST's don't come in 255 profile.

Any recommendations on a suitable size from the Cooper SST range?

TD5 Defender, 2" lift, 30mm spacers on Freestyle alloys

Ideally would like to fill the arches a bit but retain some sort of turning circle if possible ;)

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I had a chat with Silverline - very helpfull but sadly no stock.

It seems that BFG stopped producing MT's in order to start producing the new MT2's

The MT2's were not very well recieved so BFG have had to drag out the old MT moulds and get them back into production.

The end result is that they now have to refill the void and are concentrating on their home market.

It could be as late as October before UK stock levels return to normal.

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Woohoo

Silverlive came good and managed to obtain 2 tyres.

Craddocks also found 2 tyres.

It looks like I've just bought the last 4 remaining 255/85/16 MT's in the UK B)

(Here's hoping they don't both use the same distributor!)

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I just want to thank everyone who offered advice on this thread.

I eventually managed to track down 4 255/85/16's (from 2 suppliers) and had them fitted today.

They look superb and really fill the wheelarch space left by the 2" lift.

post-2111-1217017308_thumb.jpgpost-2111-1217017336_thumb.jpg

And all being well, tomorrow she's gonna get dirty for the first time since I bought her! :lol:

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