MBE_NZ Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 please excuse the totally ignorant question -I have recently acquired an 85 series 3 SWB and have been offered some 35x12.5 tyres fitted on 15 inch 10.5 wide rims and am wondering what I would need to do to the vehicle so they fit OK. the rims are fine - I'm concerned about tyres doing damage to the vehicle - guards, undercarriage etc Q1 - some people mention a "2 inch lift" what exactly is included in "a lift kit" - is that body lift or sping lift or both? alsoQ2 - would a "2 inch lift kit" address any concerns, would 2 inches be enough or would it be unnecessary at all? at this point I'm just wanting to ensure that the vehicle will fit the wheels without doing any damage. I will do doubt look into the offroad capability / articulation etc later tooany advise appreciated Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Josh NZ Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 35" might be too big for the half shafts etc... They might snap under the extra strain. But most lift kits will specify if it's body, suspension or both. Body lift is typically little plastic blocks between the chassis and body, suspension is springs etc. Where in NZ are you mate? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 There was a one-tonne series2 with 9.50x16 tyres. (basically forward control tyres). It sat lot higher than normal at the springs. I don't remember it being spoa. Rover probably went for a heavier spring with more curve. In theory longer bump stops as well? Definitely more than a 2" lift above an 88". I'd pass on them. The mechanics of them won't suit a series unless you have a need to drive soft ground and can stand losing all the axel flex. I'm for going the other way and changing my 7.50x16 for 205x16, heading back toward the 6.00x16 it should have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
missingsid Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Hi, Land Rover (as apposed to Range Rover & Discovery) bodies ad held on with bolts that lie in a horizontal plane, body lift kits with plastic blocks only work on fixings that lie in a vertical plane as they are just spacers and longer bolts so it would be a bit more involved to lift a body. Series suspension lift would be either arched leaf springs (parabolic) or just military type shakles? This a simple view, you need to look at bump stops and shocks as well. None of this answers your main question of will the wheel/tyre combination fit though. Marc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 There isn't really such a thing as a lift for a Series, they don't work that way. There is the military chassis which has an additional set of holes for the springs which lift the vehicle about an inch and a half, and then there are parabolic springs which lift it a bit more too. Trouble is para's flex more than standard, so while the wheel might clear sat on the drive when you fit them, they'll start catching the body very quickly. They'll also catch the springs much much quicker when cornering, so your turning circle will be even worse than normal. If you want a lifted vehicle, buy a defender. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToyRoverlander Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 And you might want to fit power steering as well. Depending on the offset of the rims you might end up with a turning circle bigger than an oil tanker. Series axles are super narrow and the tires hit the springs on full lock when wide tires are fitted all too easily. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Team Idris Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 Ah, ha, shackles do ring a bell. I think the S2 one-tonne had extended dumb iron spring plates. The dumb iron was a different part to normal. It probably had thicker chassis steel. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nigelw Posted October 26, 2014 Share Posted October 26, 2014 First question, do you actually "want & need" to fit the 35" tyres? I was offered a full set of 35" simex copies with rims for my Disco, price was amazing, too good to turn down, but I did, why? I don't need 35" tyres and there would be no gains apart from aesthetics as I would need a super low ratio to make any use of them off road, they are a huge tyre and I think the 32" tyres I have are about as much as I would comfortably put on my truck for fear of over stressing the stock drive train, to go any bigger and to make effective use of such tyres would warrant rather big spends on uprated drive line, just my opinion. If you had a need for such a tyre then you would be fitting it to the wrong base vehicle, that series is 30yrs old and the base mechnicals are much older in design and you couuld be buying more problems than you realize! They were built for 28" tyres, 35 is 1/4 of that again Expect half shafts and diffs to go pop regular if you plan to drive places a set of tyres like that can take you. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ToyRoverlander Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 If you really want to lift it you could also take the spring over axle route Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snagger Posted October 27, 2014 Share Posted October 27, 2014 1-Ton shackles by themselves are a bad idea - they incline the spring and rotate the axle, screwing up the prop and steering geometry unless you also use 1-Ton spring hangers (dumbirons for the front and outriggers for the 109 rear springs - you'd have to fabricate extended mounts for 88" rear spring hangers). Parabolics typically lift the chassis 2-3", but cheap ones sag within months, so buy quality springs. I'm inclined to agree that anything over 9.00 tyres is going to have bad results on the transmission. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted October 28, 2014 Share Posted October 28, 2014 35" tyres will snap series half shafts like twiglets. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pollywog Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I fitted GME parabolics in place of a good set of British Springs multileafs and whilst the ride quality has been transformed there was no discernible lift. The amount of lift seams to vary with each brand. I am running 235/85R16's so approx. 31" - a pretty common size for a Series 3 and with the increased articulation the parabolics give they rub the rear arches when offroad to the point that during the last outing they've put a curve in the arches and cuts in the edge of the tread blocks - time for some extended bump stops and check straps! This is on a Lightweight so less bodywork to catch and I'd dread to think what you'd get from a set of 35" tyres. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejparrott Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I've had the same thing with mine....pretty common occurance now they're so flat! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon White Posted October 29, 2014 Share Posted October 29, 2014 I've cut the top of the wheel arch boxes out in mine and raised them up 3". With 285/75/16 tyres mine still rub. Jon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.