I've a 1994 110 SW on 235/85/16's with Disco 1 alloys. These were on when we bought it last year. It's terrible when driving through puddles on the road and the turning circle is rubbish too, although I know the turning circle is never going to be great. We're thinking of putting narrower tyres/wheels on. Would we need to adjust anything on the steering to do this. For example, would there have been any mods needed for the previous owner to put the current tyre/wheels on, that we would need to reverse if we were reverting back to narrower? We bought the SW to get all 6 of us in, as newer modern cars are not for us. We don't drive off road but still want a tyre that would be good for on and off road. Any suggestions and pitfalls would be appreciated. Many thanks.
300bhp/ton
Well-Known Member
A little confused as you’ve put different info in your title to your opening post. But if you are asking if you can fit standard fitment wheels and tyres. Then the answer would seem fairly obvious.
dag019
Well-Known Member
I would add that it is not necessarily the tyres that are the issue but the wheel offset. I am not familiar with the offset of alloys but I run 265/75/16 tyres on my 110 and have no issue with my turning circle (for a land rover) I have them fitted to these steel wheels which have ET +8mm (link). You would need to remove a wheel to check but they should be a straight swap, may have spacers fitted to fit alloys, but that should only improve the turning circle!
There are steering stops on the swivels that you could try adjusting, you can just wind them in until just before the tyre touches the radius arm, that my give you a little improvement.
I also do not know what you drove previously but when you say the turning circle is rubbish is that compared to other 110's or to a 90/other cars? Also how is it bad driving through puddles, like I say I have had the same size tyres on mine since I bought it 300k miles ago.
There are steering stops on the swivels that you could try adjusting, you can just wind them in until just before the tyre touches the radius arm, that my give you a little improvement.
I also do not know what you drove previously but when you say the turning circle is rubbish is that compared to other 110's or to a 90/other cars? Also how is it bad driving through puddles, like I say I have had the same size tyres on mine since I bought it 300k miles ago.
Dr Strangeglove
Well-Known Member
As Dag says, what is the problem you have driving through puddles? I am far from being an expert but this issue may be something other than your tyres.
As also stated, your turning circle is affected by tyre width but having a better offset wheel will allow you to adjust the steering stops to improve your turning circle. You could also fit wheel spacers, but there are lots of opinions on those so look at some threads about those before deciding.
One thing to note that if you are suffering wheel wobble when going through puddles, increasing your offset may make that worse. It's possibly better to sort that problem first before looking at a wheel/tyre change.
As also stated, your turning circle is affected by tyre width but having a better offset wheel will allow you to adjust the steering stops to improve your turning circle. You could also fit wheel spacers, but there are lots of opinions on those so look at some threads about those before deciding.
One thing to note that if you are suffering wheel wobble when going through puddles, increasing your offset may make that worse. It's possibly better to sort that problem first before looking at a wheel/tyre change.
