Passenger car tires ok or need LT tires?

I'm kinda a newbie at Land Rovers, just bought a 03 Freelander.
Do I need to get Light Truck tires or are passenger car tires ok? I have a truck i use for off-road so this will be mostly a on road vehicle and for my wife to use in the snow. There is not much selection of LT tires in 225/55R17 Can I go up a size or 2 and not kill my fuel mileage? if so what is a good size for the freelander? I was looking at Kumho Ecsta 4X as the look like good tires are 97H rated (which I think is good for the lander correct?) and are not to much $$$ but they are not light truck tires. I would like something more like a all terrain tire but I can't find any in this size and I also don't want to spend to much.
Thanks for any help

Hi 03lander, :welcome2:
Your question is asked many many times on here - explains the lack of replies.
Usually this would get a tirade of burn it or other helpful suggestions.
I also have the dreaded 17" wheels - unfortunately there are relatively few tyres available in the correct ratings for this vehicle in this size.
Do a search on words such as 17" wheels or tyres and check out a few threads - you should get a feel for what is possible and some oppinions on what fits and what don't. :search:
I would suggest that you run your hand around the inside at the top of the front tyres and see how much clearance you have to the springs before considering larger tyres. I have original 225/55/17 Synchrones and there is only about 7mm clearance to the springs on mine.
If you have not done so already download yourself a copy of the RAVE - a very comprehensive software maintenance and vehicle handbook software - its free - search and you will find the links.

Hi, the absolute limit for the 17" wheels is 235/55 17 as you will not clear the struts / spring mountings with anything wider.

I don't understand you when you ask if you can go up a size or 2 without killing your mpg.

Going up a size will improve your mpg a little, but lessen the acceleration a little.

I'm running 235/55 17 Continental 4X4 CrossContacts marked M+S, which I could use all year round, but don't.

A/T tyres are OK for mud, and loose stuff, but would be of no use to me as I want the best grip in snow, ice, and the wet, without fitting dedicated 'snowflake' tyres. Most A/T are designed for Off-road and Tarmac and don't have enough sipes for snow. I tried them - no good for my purposes. I sold them after 3K miles.

I use 'car' tyres in the Summer - Continental ContiSport2 235/55 17s which are super grippy on asphalt - but at less than 7degreesC are rock hard, can't use them all year round.

These are my personal findings - you will find others on here who may strongly disagree. You pays yer money and takes yer choice.

Oh, and WELCOME by the way!

Thanks for the replys!
I searched and found a lot but still had some questions, also I searched for the Rave, I found a lot of talk of it and a lot of links but they are all old and don't work, Does anyone know of a place you can still get the rave for the 03 freelander? Thanks for the info on tire size, the reason I ask about the MPG is I know if you go to large you will make the gearing to high and the motor has to work harder to turn the tires. My other vehicle is a toyota tacoma, it came with 31x10.5R15 tires, I went up to 33x12.5R15 and went from 21 MPG to 17MPG avg. sounds like I should just go with a 225/55r17 or 235/55r17 all season tire.
Thanks again for the replys and the welcome

Unless you really want an AT why not just stick to standard tyres in this size? If you really feel you need an AT buy some 16-inch rims and then buy the AT's to fit them, that way you avoid any issues resulting from fitting incorrectly sized tyres to your vehicle.

My wife's F1 runs on 225/55R17 and she found the Synchrone's ideal, when they came up for replacement earlier this year (after 50K miles) she went for the Hankook RH6 and is equally impressed (the ride is much better, waiting to see what they are like in the snow).
Just do a search on the likes of BlackCircles, TyreShopper etc and then filter for 4x4 tyres.

This seems to be a working link - land rover service factory manual RAVE download land rover resource, service manual, workshop factory manual, download, rave, vehicles including discovery, series, defender, range rover, freelander, LR3, Handbooks, Catalog, Catalogue, Land Rover Inte
Download the files )LARGE) and follow the instructions.
Invaluable resource for FREE.

TD John said:

This seems to be a working link - land rover service factory manual RAVE download land rover resource, service manual, workshop factory manual, download, rave, vehicles including discovery, series, defender, range rover, freelander, LR3, Handbooks, Catalog, Catalogue, Land Rover Inte
Download the files )LARGE) and follow the instructions.
Invaluable resource for FREE.

Click to expand...

This looked good TD John, but it only goes up to 2004 and doesn't seem to have any info for Freelanders at all as far as I can see.

Weight rating is the important part from an insurance company's point of view. As long as what you buy is equal to or over the original spec then you should be ok. There's nothing to suggest that a FL needs a LT or C rated tyre anywhere on Land Rover's own info. Stick with the original tyre size options and have a look. Personally I was happy ours is on 15s as I have a lot of miles under my belt on various 195R15s on my other vehicle

Ain't downloaded from there before - but Rave stopped updates at June 2003 , so covering up to 2004 vehicles sounds like the last issue.
Reading the bit below the list it looks like the set offered includes the FL. Only way to be sure is download? takes 25 mins - report back later :tea:

Hi Singvogel - well the link does download the latest and last RAVE, it is the 2004 version with the latest updates for the NAS FL1 (hadn't found that link before so result) and the New RR and others. Ignore the welcome file and go straight into the rave-lr file and it opens the familiar car-park screen menu.
Had a Google about and found a link back to a past thread - http://www.landyzone.co.uk/lz/f16/microcat-online-land-rover-parts-catalogue-142279-2.html - this one lists several ways to download both the latest all models of FL1 (2003) Raves and the Microcat parts list from various sources.
Green Oval was the prime site R.I.P.

Great! Many thanks for that - I'll try downloading it tomorrow onto a memory stick.

03lander said:

I'm kinda a newbie at Land Rovers, just bought a 03 Freelander.
Do I need to get Light Truck tires or are passenger car tires ok? I have a truck i use for off-road so this will be mostly a on road vehicle and for my wife to use in the snow. There is not much selection of LT tires in 225/55R17 Can I go up a size or 2 and not kill my fuel mileage? if so what is a good size for the freelander? I was looking at Kumho Ecsta 4X as the look like good tires are 97H rated (which I think is good for the lander correct?) and are not to much $$$ but they are not light truck tires. I would like something more like a all terrain tire but I can't find any in this size and I also don't want to spend to much.
Thanks for any help

Click to expand...

I've got Marshal Roadventures for the summer which are more than adequate for the TD4's performance. I have recently put some Sunny SN3830 winter tyres on, which have the M+S marking and the Euro snowflake symbol. They were cheap tyres, and I was warey, but I have to be honest and say, so far so good... the grip in the wet is awesome and they are great in sloppy mud too! I am just waiting for some snow now!!

Right - the snow is on it's way to you now, mate. Ist Class Recorded Delivery!

Have fun - but remember no tyre can defy the laws of Physics.

I've got Marshal Roadventures for the summer which are more than adequate for the TD4's performance.

Don't dismiss the TD4's performance too lightly - I can put up some surprisingly high overall average speeds - not due to super acceleration or fantastic top speed - by using the FL's inherently good cornering abilities if fitted with really good quality 'grippy' tyres.

Loads of speedy sporty types go past me on the long straights, but I always seem to catch 'em up on the twisty bits, which puzzles a few of them.

Wolf in sheeps' clothing the Freelander TD4 is.

True the handling is very good - and the Roadventures don't disappoint in the twisties - but to be fair, unless you are driving a superb handling sports car, you ain't going to be doing much more than 50 or 60 down the roads I use on a daily basis.

In the wet the Sunny tyres are outstanding. I am looking forward to seeing if they are as good as my friend who went to the Alps on them in a Kuga claims they are in snow.

However, you are quite right to point out that if there's no friction (on ice for example) it doesn't matter what you are driving with what rubber - something a lot of 4x4 (Chelsea tractor) drivers forget, thinking that size and 4x4ness makes them invincible.

Thanks for all the replys, I got the Rave and it's great, thanks for pointing me to that. I havn't gotten tires yet but I think I have all the info I need. Thanks again