Off Road / Green Lane Tyre Choices..

Hi,

Hopefully this isn't the usual "what's the largest tyres I can fit" thread - I've searched and it seems the common answer is 265x75x16s, if you use modular/aftermarket rims...

So - with that tyre size in mind, what pattern/brand would you recommend for a S3 SWB, with parabolics and LWB shackles, for mainly weekend/fun use off road (green laning + pay and play), with driving to/from as well, so they need to be road legal. Looking on the websites and in the magazines there's a million different tread patterns from the relatively normal to the downright extreme, so I'm not sure what's good and what's not!

Currently it's got Kingpin Mud Tracker tyres on at the moment - but only 205R16s so it's easy to get beached in larger ruts...

Thanks

Jon

I've got Michelin XL 9.00 x 16 (255/100R16) on mine, a bit of trimming of wings required but fantastic off-road.

Insa Turbo Special Tracks or Fedima's would be my other choice.

If you want a go anywhere tyre get some insa special tracks but they're not the best on the road.
I've just put a set of insa traction tracks on my disco and I'm well impressed with them,they're not as agressive as a full blown mud tyre but are chunkier than an allterrain. Really good on rocks and good in mud plus not too noisey on the road.They're a copy of the old Bfg trac edge so should last a while too



I got them from paddocks £320 delivered for 4 (tyres only)

Thanks for the replies..

I really don't want to start chopping arches etc if possible (yet! ;-))

Just how bad are something like special tracks on the road? Noise isn't an issue - at 50mph it's impossible to hear anything over rattles and engine noise - tyre noise will be drowned right out ;-)

Looks like my brake master cylinder has started packing up (random pedal to floor moments) so Tyres may have to wait a bit :-(

Jon,
I'd look to the slave cylinder first.

=jon= said:

Thanks for the replies..

I really don't want to start chopping arches etc if possible (yet! ;-))

Just how bad are something like special tracks on the road? Noise isn't an issue - at 50mph it's impossible to hear anything over rattles and engine noise - tyre noise will be drowned right out ;-)

Looks like my brake master cylinder has started packing up (random pedal to floor moments) so Tyres may have to wait a bit :-(

Click to expand...

I put special tracks on my series and find them ok,very noisey and you can feel the knobbles but they're an offroad tyre so it's to be expected. One thing to bear in mind is that 265's are tall tyres so if you have swb rims or disco steelys fitted the front tyres will rub on the chassis on full lock,to get round this you can fit lwb rims if you want to keep the original series look or fit modular rims like I did.



either way you shouldn't need to cut the arches cos you have para's and long shackles which give more clearance

Spyderman said:

Jon,
I'd look to the slave cylinder first.

Click to expand...

Wheel cylinders were changed when I got it, so they should be ok (although they did come out of the dreaded blue boxes)... Randomly the pedal won't feel right, then occasionally it'll drop to the floor, give it a pump and the pedal comes back..

V8jon said:

I put special tracks on my series and find them ok,very noisey and you can feel the knobbles but they're an offroad tyre so it's to be expected. One thing to bear in mind is that 265's are tall tyres so if you have swb rims or disco steelys fitted the front tyres will rub on the chassis on full lock,to get round this you can fit lwb rims if you want to keep the original series look or fit modular rims like I did.

Click to expand...

Cheers. I can live with that I'll probably get some modulars when I get them - will look better than tatty White 5 spokes!

One other thing - how does it affect the gearing? It's already pretty low geared as it is, it's now got a 2.5 defender petrol engine in it so goes pretty well.. Do you think with the larger tyres I could get away with range rover diffs off roading, or will they be too tall?

Cheers

Jon

Jon,
I'd avoid Britpart wheel cylinders, they're a false economy, go for Lucas or GKN.
I had the same issues with my brakes, had to replace Slave & Master Cylinder. Needed Eezibleed to get it right though.

I've got a 2.5 N/A in mine, gearing is just about OK off-road, although I use 2nd gear now when I previously would have used 3rd. It's also a bit fast down hill in 1st sometimes. RR diffs would be way too fast.

I am very happy with insa traction tracks (265)

Bit of an update to this - changed the master cylinder and all is well with the brakes again. Although it turned out that someone had previously fitted a Cortina master cylinder complete with different size and thread unions, so no end of faffing about sourcing the right unions to make new pipes up ensued

Back to tyres - with a low powered 2.5 petrol is it going to struggle with 265 tyres, or would 235s be a better bet?

would probably be a bit better with 235/85 tyres as there is less tread on the floor at any one time but if you have power concerns then you may want to look at a less agressive pattern aswell.

my disco lost around 5mpg running muds compared to road tyres

=jon= said:

Bit of an update to this - changed the master cylinder and all is well with the brakes again. Although it turned out that someone had previously fitted a Cortina master cylinder complete with different size and thread unions, so no end of faffing about sourcing the right unions to make new pipes up ensued

Back to tyres - with a low powered 2.5 petrol is it going to struggle with 265 tyres, or would 235s be a better bet?

Click to expand...

I'd go 235's or 7.50's tbh. I think it'll drive better and suit it more.

I'd also not go for Special Tracks, they aren't really a road tyre at all and are known as ditch diggers and axle breakers. Basically they tear up the ground a lot, which on some lanes isn't such a good thing. They are also far more likely to break stuff and Series axles, diffs and gearboxes hardly need any help in this arena.

I'd probably go for some Insa Sahara/Fedima/Amazon Macho pattern tyres. Likely to match the Special Tracks 98+% of the time but ride 10x better on the road.

As for RR diffs.

I'd probably wait and see if you bust one of the stock ones. Standard Series are 4.7 or 4.75:1 and RR are 3.54:1

It sounds quite a lot but has less of an affect that I'd have thought when I looked into it.

In short if you swap in some RR ones you'll have lower cruising rpms, but it might struggle to pull top gear on hills it used to be fine on.

Off road tick over first will now not be quite as slow. The bigger tyres you are looking at will amplify this affect.

Cheers for the info. I did wonder if it would put a lot of strain on the rest of the drivetrain...

Typically, I missed a set of Insa Traction Tracks in the right size (235) - set of five brand new ones went for £260

=jon= said:

Cheers for the info. I did wonder if it would put a lot of strain on the rest of the drivetrain...

Typically, I missed a set of Insa Traction Tracks in the right size (235) - set of five brand new ones went for £260

Click to expand...

It really depends how you drive and the type of terrain. Some people could get away with running Special Tracks and never break a thing. Others only 5 mins.... :doh:

But they are big heavy tyres though and I wonder how much they'd bog down a 2.5 n/a, esp if in sand, water or deep mud.

On the flip side, as a non daily driven Landy I would probably want something a bit more aggressive looking than the Traction Tracks.

check these out
land rover defender 4x4 Deestone extra traction | eBay UK

=jon= said:

Cheers for the info. I did wonder if it would put a lot of strain on the rest of the drivetrain...

Typically, I missed a set of Insa Traction Tracks in the right size (235) - set of five brand new ones went for £260

Click to expand...

I wouldn't advise putting rangie diffs in unless you've got a tdi or a V8 in, it'll be too high geared.
Special tracks are the daddy of offroad tyres in my opinion but be prepared to replace diffs and halfshafts(I used to carry spare shafts with me) but I wouldn't want to have them on my daily drive as they aren't designed for long runs on Tarmac.
Traction tracks or a good all terrain are the best option if your doing an equal amount of on/offroad,you'll be surprised how much grip you get from an all terrain tyre plus they are better on road and last longer.265/75/16 and 235/85/16 are roughly the same diameter, the 265's are wider that's all.