Hi all, on the theme of off road tyres I would like to put some on my series 3 109, she has stock wheels at the moment 16 inch rims! Any suggestions? Thanks
Honestly, you are probably better off staring a separate thread.
However I'll do my best at an answer.
1. Do you want just tyres, or rims also?
2. What is your intended use for the tyres?
3. The stock Series rims are quite narrow, I forget if they are 5 or 5.5j wide. Technically this limits some choices. If you look at the tyre specs from different companies, none will recommend a 235/85R16 for this narrow a rim. Although it is a size that is often recommended on forums, as it is a standard size for Defenders. However Defenders use latter wider 6.0j rims.
It would be unlikely, but should you be in an accident, and if spotted, could cause an issue insurance wise.
That said, a 7.50 x 16 is perfectly fine for a Series and was standard fitment tyre. The trouble is, many remould 7.50 x 16's are just re-stamped 235/85R16's. So there probably isn't an answer on how legal or correct it is to fit them. A 235/85R16 is a lot wider than a proper 7.50, although they are usually similar height.
4. The next issues on a Series are two fold. With the stock rims being inset a lot, bigger and/or wider tyres will tend to rub on the leaf springs at full lock and will reduce your turning circle. Which is probably already not very good in a LWB. An option is to fit spacers or just rims with a different offset that moves the rims outwards and a wider track. The issue here is, it doesn't take much to end up with the wheels sticking outside the arches. This is very easy if you also go to a wider rim and tyre. In the UK this is illegal, so not advisable. And wheels sticking out of the arches will spray a lot more dirt and mud up the sides of the vehicle, which can be a PITA.
5. Standard Series sizes are IIRC 6.00 x 16, 6.50 x 16, 7.00 x 16 and 7.50 x 16. However all are hard to get these days, although there is still a reasonable choice of 7.50 x 16's (accepting some are actually 235/85's...).
A 205/80R16 is a god metric alternative for the smaller, shorter tyres. Or maybe even a 215/80. But most people tend to want to go for larger tyres.
6. Common tyres sizes for Defenders and Series.
235/85R16 -- standard Defender fitment
7.50 x 16 -- standard fitment
265/75R16 -- standard Defender fitment (later models). Wider than a 235 and similar height
31.10.50R15 -- US standard fitment (I think) for some models
7. Taller tyres will give you more ground clearance and IMO usually look better on a Land Rover. They will also reduce cruising rpm slightly. But might blunt acceleration a little. They can increase the risk of axle or gearbox breakages and often reduce your turning circle.
8. Fatter tyres look cool, but in reality often perform less well off road in the UK. Although it will depend on the terrain in question. And will usually cause more resistance on the road, so can affect mpg, while making the steering heavier. Plus the fact they are more likely to stick out of the arches and cause more rubbing on full lock with even less lock.
You can fit wheel arch spats to cover the wheels if you plan to go this route.
9. Rim width, along with offset and tyre width will have an affect on where the tyre sits and how much it bulges. If you are wanting to keep in the Series profile without wheel arch extensions, then I'd recommend a 6 or 7j rim. Wider is likely to be more difficult to keep it all under the bodywork and retain steering lock. Although you might be able to get away with an 8j rim.
10. Making the track wider, either by new offset rims or wheel spacers will affect the scrub radius and induce more bump steer. It's not overly bad, but know that moving the wheels outwards will solve some issue, but comes with it's own negatives. IMO I would opt for new rims over wheel spacers at this stage.
11. Rims. There are lots of options. The easiest to buy are steel 8 spoke or modular rims, they come in various widths and offsets and either 15 or 16" sizes and different colours.
If you want to keep it more Land Rover looking. You could opt for some Defender standard steel rims, but it wouldn't be much of an upgrade. But would allow legal use of 235/85R16's. And likely a cheap option. 130 or One Ton/1 Ton rims look like Land Rover rims but are deeper dish. Somewhat rare and more money. But quite a nice option to keep it Land Rover looking. Likewise classic Range Rover rostyle can be used. There are also something called Series 2b rims (from a Forward Control Land Rover). They look like the 130 rims, but even deeper dish. But they are very rare and very expensive, so I wouldn't worry about them if it was me.
12. On the subject of rims. Make sure you know the difference between a tubed rim and a tubeless one. It's not really about the tyres, it's about the rims. Older LR rims are mostly tubed. So even if you run modern tyres, you'll still need tubes. Tubeless rims have an extra bulge in the rim beam area (only visible without tyres fitted). This is to retain the tyre bead. Tubed rims don't have it, so the edge of the tyre could slide to the middle of the rim and rapidly deflate. This could happen while driving down the road or cornering, so potentially very dangerous.
13. Less common sizes.
9.00 x 16 -- these are BIG. Land Rover fitted them to the 109 One Ton model. But it also had modified suspension lift to make them fit properly. These will reduce turning circle, but can look very good. But very limited choice and often hugely expensive. They also vary massively in size from make to make.
255/85R16 -- a nice modern tyre size, available in a lot of tread patterns. They are just over 33" tall and normally 1-2"+ taller than a 7.50 x 16 and a tad wider than a 235. They should fit mostly straight on, but might rub at full articulation, as well as the usual steering lock and keeping them under the bodywork issues you may encounter.
33.9.50R15 or 16 -- usually only found on very aggressive off road tyres. But there are some about. However some fall short of the claimed 33" height and are often very wide looking for a 9.50
14. There are of course lots of other options if you want something more extreme. But will likely require more effort on your part. Just consider intended use and affect on gearing and how much power you have.
15. Tread pattern. There really are loads. Don't discount remoulds, there are a lot of very good ones, especially if you want something with a mud terrain pattern, and for off road use. But many can be perfectly acceptable on road too. If you want good wet road performance, combined with snow/ice driving. Then look for tyres with sipes. A mild MT might make a better all around tyre than a lot of AT's. Or if you want to keep it period looking, stick to older tread patterns.
