Alloy wheel advice please?

[LadyLandyLover]

Hi, I use my Defender TD5 for towing a horse trailer but also use it as my main transport. I don't want to trim it up to be flashy, but I would like to replace the steel wheels for some tidier alloy wheels, preferably black ones and not the very expensive ones. I seem to be very limited on which ones I can get, but I quite like the Offender ones.

Can you tell me if alloys are safe for towing a heavy loaded horse trailer?

Also I have been reading on here about using wider tyre sizes on the narrower rims. I have Kumho 225 75R 16 on now, are they ok?

I think I should be getting 16 x 7" alloys, am I correct?

Thanks for any advice, and on sources of alloys also.

[Guest]

The big thing with alloy wheels is that they need to be load rated for the vehicle/axel you are using them for, whilst it is true that Discovery/RRC wheels will fit on defender hubs they are not rated for them and therefore dangrous.

You have intimated that Tyres need to fit the wheels, again although some tyres "Will fit" bigger/smaller rims you need to check with the tyres/wheels maker and stick to what they recomend, or if you did have an accident you could be left in a lot of hot water, even if it had nothing to do with the wheels.

I am to teach you to suck eggs, but I don't think tyres are something that people should just "stick them on and see" tyres and wheels should be matched and great care should be taken to make sure they fit correctly and are safe.

Jason.

[BogMonster]

It depends on whether it is a Defender 90 or a Defender 110

A 90 is fine on any of the genuine LR alloys and in fact most aftermarket ones are rated for both - the rating being based on the max axle weight and the problem being the 110's max axle weight at GVW.

I'd assume from your tyre size you probably have a 90 rather than a 110 as 225/75R16 would look a bit silly on a 110.

Towing doesn't really come into it with wheel ratings as the noseweight (downforce on the tow hitch) is max of only about 150kg anyway. You would need 7x16 alloys as you suggest, which covers most of the commonly available types.

[LadyLandyLover]

~Thanks for the advice,much appreciated

It depends on whether it is a Defender 90 or a Defender 110

A 90 is fine on any of the genuine LR alloys and in fact most aftermarket ones are rated for both - the rating being based on the max axle weight and the problem being the 110's max axle weight at GVW.

I'd assume from your tyre size you probably have a 90 rather than a 110 as 225/75R16 would look a bit silly on a 110.

Towing doesn't really come into it with wheel ratings as the noseweight (downforce on the tow hitch) is max of only about 150kg anyway. You would need 7x16 alloys as you suggest, which covers most of the commonly available types.

[bpman]

If you are looking at Offender alloys, also consider ZU's, they come in all colours including satin black.

[SteveG]

Buy a set of five LR Boost alloys with 235/85 16 General Grabber tyres on off ebay. Lots of people take these off fairly new Defender with hardly any miles on tyres.

Usually you can pick up a complete set with nearly new tyres for £500-£550.

As for the black, there's a Viz top tip for that - "don't wash them and after a few months the brake dust will blacken them for you!" ;)

Steve