kerbstone

Member
If you might have tyres with a Load Index of 97 on a 2006 Model Year Freelander (that may include some 2005 registrations too?) then read on, because for the TD4 at least, Land Rover have told me that the specification for Load Index is 101.

If you go onto most tyre suppliers' websites, go to tyre manufacturers' websites, or go to a tyre fitting company with a Freelander then you will probably be offered tyres with a Load Index of 97 (e.g. Pirelli Scorpion 225/55 R17 97H), which is what most tyre manufacturers provide in that size, and what will be returned in a database search. They don't specifically list 2006 model year ones as different.

However, having had some discussion with Land Rover about this, they have confirmed that for the 2006 Model Year Freelander 1 the Gross Vehicle Weight was increased "as a programme change" and the tyre load index is correspondingly higher. In fact my GVW is 2505kg, 425kg [i.e. nearly 1/2 a tonne!] more than the earlier Freelander 1; and the max rear axle load 1460kg, is 340kg more than the earlier Freelander 1. Frustratingly the handbook tells you to replace tyres with the same speed rating and load index as originally fitted but does not actually specify speed rating and load index. And of course, if the vehicle is secondhand there is no way of knowing that the tyres on there are the originals - someone may have fitted 97s on the recommendation of a tyre fitter or tyre manufacturer. In fact a 97 Load Index is just on the limit with a max load of 730kg per tyre (x2 = max rear axle load 1460kg), so that may convince people inadvertently to go with 97s.

Land Rover are adamant that the tyre load rating for this vehicle is 101, not 97.

Mine is a TD4 but the 2.5 petrol is also in the handbook as 2505 kg GVW - the 1.8 petrol doesn't seem to have been changed. If in doubt, look at the label on the nearside B pillar.

So be warned. I pursued this because I did not wish to risk fitting tyres which could potentially invalidate my insurance, i.e. tyres which are rated below manufacturer's specification; neither did I wish to invest £500 or so in a set of 97 rated tyres which then had to be replaced by 101 rated ones.

Parts of the 2006 MY handbook TOPIx - TOPIx seems to be a confusing muddle - in the Tech Spec it lists vehicles with a GVW of 2505kg as "EU4" (Euro emissions compliance) but LR have also confirmed to me that my vehicle (TD4 2.0 with 2505kg GVW) is actually EU3 not EU4!

The local Land Rover main dealer did not know whether the Load Index should be 97 or 101. I have urged LR to do a bulletin to tyre manufacturers and dealers because it is crazy that people may be inadvertently putting tyres below specification onto 2006 MY vehicles (but not surprising, given that LR do not actually make it obvious what the Speed Rating and Load Index should be!).

They should, of course, have put the full tyre spec on a label on each vehicle and in the handbook but that was obviously too simple.

I cannot say whether 97 rated tyres are correct for any other version, either, all I can do is relate is what Land Rover have told me as far as my vehicle is concerned. If in doubt, then check with Land Rover....it took me 2 weeks to get the initial answer out of them.
 
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From what I see... 97 rating = 750kg. 2 x 750 = 1500kg as you have 2 tyres at the front, un 2 at the rear.

For 2006 FL1 - max axle weights are:

1.8 rear max 1120kg - front max 1120kg
v6 rear max 1460kg - front max 1120kg corrected
td4 rear max 1460kg - front max 1120kg corrected

Therefore the worst case would be the v6 as it has the highest top speed at 113mph, so a T rated tyre at 118mph is said to be ok. A 97 tyre at 730kg is on the limit, so 98 at 750kg would be betterer. Hense 98T minimum.

1.8 is max 106mph so S rated tyre at 112mph as R is on 106mph is on the limit. 94 tyre at 670kg is on the limit, so 95 at 690kg is betterer. Hence 95R minimum.

Td4 is max 102mph so R rated tyre at 106mph or higher. A 97 tyre at 730kg is on the limit, so 98 at 750kg would be betterer. Hence 98R minimum.

L series diesel is max 96mph so Q rated tyre at 100mph or higher. Assume as above. Assume weight as above for 1.8. Hence 95R if this is correct.

So 98T general grabber AT2's are suitable for all Freelander 1's, on or off road, of any year, as it covers maximum weight on axle, un top speed. :D Thats if I is correct in me workings...

My original tyres were michelin xpc 98H. 130mph at 750kg on a 2001 v6.

Edit: tyre shop man told me it's best to stick to the rating the manufacturer states the vehicle should have, and not go below this even if the figures look ok.
 
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Thanks Hippo, your logic is correct but the 225/55R17s on mine only seem to be available with a 97 or 101 Load Rating. 97 is 730kg, 101 is 825 kg, 98 is 750kg (but not available in this tyre size).

In your little table, you have got the 2006 front and rear max axle loads transposed - the higher max axle load is the rear one (although the 1.8 petrol is the same at both ends).

In theory 97 Load Index is just OK for the TD4 or V6 (2 x 730kg = 1460kg max rear axle load); 98 is not available without a wheel size change; and 101 (2 x 825kg => 1460kg max rear axle load) is the Land Rover specification for the 2006 MY FL1 (and from an insurance point of view, that's what it has to be, although the tyre people all unwittingly offer 97, which is below the LR spec).

All these Freelander 1s have a similar kerb weight, it's just that they increased max permissible Gross Vehicle Weight and Max Rear Axle Weight for model year 2006 diesels & 2.5 petrol, and the tyre spec for 225/55R17 is 101 as a result, and it just happened to be Michelin 101H..... Speed Rating is not so much of an issue, because other 101s available are in this size are either V or W, which both exceed H.

It's a pain, because that 225/55R17 size is already very limiting, and being restricted in practice to 101 just makes it worse.
 
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Corrected the mistake. Don't think anyone will notice. :)

I've not looked around for tyres other than the 16's, but it's a surprise to find road tyres difficult to get hold of, within spec. It's well known about the difficulties with 17 and 18 for off road use.
 
Corrected the mistake. Don't think anyone will notice. :)

I've not looked around for tyres other than the 16's, but it's a surprise to find road tyres difficult to get hold of, within spec. It's well known about the difficulties with 17 and 18 for off road use.

Ha! Wasn't a criticism BTW...

This 101 specification does mean that in 225/55R17, all the usual 97 Load Index tyres have to be ruled out for the MY 2006 Freelander TD4 or V6 - that means Goodyear Wrangler F1, Hankook Ventus RH06, Pirelli Scorpion STR, ContiCrossContact UHP, General Grabber UHP, Uniroyal Rallye 4x4 Street, Yokohama Geolandar H/T-S shouldn't be used if one wants to comply with the Land Rover spec.

I rang up Bridgestone and they said that although the Dueler H/P Sport in 225/55R17 is only on their website as a 97, there is a 101 version as well.


Including that, after a lot of looking around, I have generated this A List for the 101 rated 225/55R17 mainly road tyres:
  • Michelin Latitude Tour HP
  • Bridgestone Dueler H/P Sport (101)
  • Kuhmo Ecsta SPT KU31
  • Kuhmo Ecsta RV KU32
  • Matador MP85 Hectorra (Matador - Slovakian - are now part of Continental)
  • Yokohama Advan ST V802
  • Falken ZIEW ZE912 (part of Goodyear Dunlop)
  • Fulda Tramp 4x4 H
These others are my B List in 101 but not sure if they are really more for cars rather than 4x4s, and only the Toyo is All Season, although some are recommended for Freelander (possibly just because the tyre manufacturer has that size):
  • Kleber Hydraxer (Summer tyre, part of Michelin)
  • Toyo Open Country H/T (All Season highway tyre)
  • Vredestein Ultrac Cento (summer)
  • Dunlop SP Sport 01 (Summer)
  • Firestone SZ90μ (Summer)
  • Firestone Winterhawk Evo2 (Summer)
  • Semperit Speed-Life (summer tyre, part of Continental)
  • Semperit Speed Grip (winter but claimed good in snow & wet)
And there are some 101 winter tyres in this size:
  • Vredestein Wintrac xtreme (not the Wintrac4 Extreme because it is only 97 rated)
  • Cooper Weathermaster Snow
The Latitude is well known, expensive, and what LR recommend to replace Synchrones (in sets of four):(. Trouble is, a lot of these don't have good reviews or have hardly any at all. Anyone have experience of them, particularly those on my A List? I know that someone said before that the Dueler was ok. The Matador looked interesting because it's probably £115-£125 fitted and presumably Continental wouldn't let them make duff tyres but is it any good?
 
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I'm just wondering what the change was for 06my vehicles? There was nothing added to make them heavier? As far as I can remember they fitted pirelli scorpions and michelin synochromes right up to run out and both of these are 97 rated. I've got 18 inch sports which are 101h rated but i think thats more to do with the lower wall....
 
At the end of the day....if your handbook states 97 rated tyres at any point, then you have it as red should any insurance company query it, you are not a tyre expert and have gone on what it states in the handbook and on the advice of tyre professionals.... i would go with 97s.....
 
At the end of the day....if your handbook states 97 rated tyres at any point, then you have it as red should any insurance company query it, you are not a tyre expert and have gone on what it states in the handbook and on the advice of tyre professionals.... i would go with 97s.....

No, that's the point - neither the car ID labels nor the handbook contain the Load Index. The handbook just says to fit what was originally fitted. If someone has replaced the original 101s with 97s, then you don't know that the originals would have been 101s. And (eventually) Land Rover have confirmed that the original specification is 101. Which is what I will replace mine with, because that is the manufacturer's spec. I stress again - this seems to affect only MY 2006 TD4/V6.
 
I'm just wondering what the change was for 06my vehicles? There was nothing added to make them heavier? As far as I can remember they fitted pirelli scorpions and michelin synochromes right up to run out and both of these are 97 rated. I've got 18 inch sports which are 101h rated but i think thats more to do with the lower wall....

Good question. The kerb weight of the 2006 FL1 is similar to older ones. But coincidentally the Freelander 2 was launched just a year later with the same Gross Vehicle Weight of 2505kg, although its kerb weight was 200kg more than FL1.....

The 17 inch Synchrones on my vehicle are 101 not 97.
 
kerbstone. No problem. Just thought it betterer to update and correct what I wrote. We wouldn't want to confuse land rover when they come on here later this week for advice. :)
 
Postscript. I went to the tyre fitters yesterday, to have some 225/55R17 101H fitted, as per the Land Rover spec which I had eventually extracted from LR. Yes, the largest rolling circumference went on the back, and no, I didn't mix Synchrones with Latitudes.

I asked the guy to look up what his system (Autodata) recommended for my 2006 Model Year Freelander. It returned simply 225/55R17 with neither speed rating nor Load Index. The manual 'bibles' were the same. And the tyre manufacturers propose both 97 and 101 rated tyres for 225/55 R17 and 235/50 R18 (or 98 & 102 for 215/65 R16) for all the facelift Freelander1s, depending on what tyre size they make - there is no differentiation between 2080 Kg & 2505 Kg maximum GVW.

Unsurprisingly, if Land Rover do not disclose that speed rating and Load Index specification are higher on some 2006 MY Freelander 1s than earlier, people will be offered 97 or 98 rated tyres which may be the right size but not the right Load Index in particular, and that could mean that insurance could be unwittingly invalidated. It's no good relying on what is already fitted because someone might have already fitted a lower spec!

The 2006MY handbook indicates that the higher 2505Kg maximum Gross Vehicle Weight (and the higher weight is for Diesel TD4 & Petrol 2.5L versions only) could have had 215/65 R16, 225/55 R17, or 235/50 R18 fitted.

Glasses indicates that the 2006MY actually ran from April 2005 to April 2007, and that the model variants during that time were Adventurer, Freestyle, HSE & Sport.

So that could mean that Diesel TD4 or Petrol 2.5L Adventurer, Freestyle, HSE & Sport with reg 05/55/06/56/07 could be affected by this.

Believe no-one, including me, because this is vehicle- and model-year specific. What is important is the specification.

Sorry for the headache-inducing detail, but this is serious stuff. If in doubt just check the label on the nearside B-pillar, and if it says 2505Kg, call Land Rover with your reg and VIN number, and ask them to confirm the full tyre spec before you commit to replacement tyres.
 
Apologies for bumping this up but I have read through the posts and am not sure where this all ended up!
I have checked my LR handbook (Facelift 2004 TD4) and it has no tyre spec stated (97W or 101W) I have Mich Sync 101's fitted at present.
However, the book does state a max rear axel load of 1120kgs and not 1460kgs as in Hippos original post (Although Hippos figures were for a 2006 model) Front axel load is quoted as 1100kgs against Hippos 1120kgs.
I don't have a tow bar so nothing will ever be added to the rear axel weight.
I have the opportunity to get a reasonably priced set of almost new Cinturaro's but they are 97W. According to my handbook weight figures they should be safe, but I would really appreciate an opinion or three.
 
Fear ye not.

97W will be fine on your FL1 with a rear axle max of 1120Kg

They would also be OK on the later weight quoted in this thread of 1460Kg - right on the max - but perfectly permissable, safe and legal.

If this was really critical LR would have had to issue a warning to all owners via the VOSA.

If I had the later weight on a door-pillar plate / sticker I could still fit 97H if I wished - unless of course there was another plate giving the tyre size with a 101 rating. Nobody seems to have mentioned such a plate though.

I've actually 'over-tyred' mine - upped the load and the speed rating.

All perfectly OK as per tyre manufacturers advice.

Checked with my insurers too - as I also fitted tyres one size bigger, as they don't make the tread pattern I wanted in the original size.

I'm running 235/55 17 101V Conti4X4Contacts in the winter
and 235/55 17W ContiSportContact2s in the summer.

Buy the Cinturato 97Ws and forget about it.

Singvogel. :cool:
 
Apologies for bumping this up but I have read through the posts and am not sure where this all ended up!
I have checked my LR handbook (Facelift 2004 TD4) and it has no tyre spec stated (97W or 101W) I have Mich Sync 101's fitted at present.
However, the book does state a max rear axel load of 1120kgs and not 1460kgs as in Hippos original post (Although Hippos figures were for a 2006 model) Front axel load is quoted as 1100kgs against Hippos 1120kgs.
I don't have a tow bar so nothing will ever be added to the rear axel weight.
I have the opportunity to get a reasonably priced set of almost new Cinturaro's but they are 97W. According to my handbook weight figures they should be safe, but I would really appreciate an opinion or three.

There is a bit of an issue here. The problem is that LR never specified load ratings in the handbooks, and they seem to have fitted whatever load rating was available. This is then made more difficult because the handbook says in backside-covering mode: "For optimum performance and handling ALWAYS replace tyres with the same make and type as those fitted from new at the factory. If these tyres are not available, consult your Dealer/Authorised Repairer for advice on Land Rover approved alternatives." Type could of course be interpreted simply as 'model', i.e. Synchrone or Cinturato or whatever.... rather than load as well.

So that would suggest if the 101s were original fit (now 8 years ago so unlikely unless very low mileage) then you should blindly fit 101s now. But common sense says that 97s are more than ok with the 1120kg axle given their rating of 730kg per tyre, and in my experience tyre dealers will just do a look-up and want to fit 97s to any FL1s. The FL accessories brochure of that era did actually offer alloys with the 97 rated tyre.

Land Rover (Gaydon, not some unknowledgeable dealer) were insistent in my case that 101s should be fitted (but it's the 1460 kg axle) on the basis that 101s were definitely the spec for that. Land Rover dealers couldn't answer me because they didn't know!

I guess it's all about risk, particularly insurance. And you ask an insurer and explained, it's odds-on that they would say 101.


So here's just an opinion:
  • 97s are technically ok for the 1120kg axle
  • Tyre dealers will generally fit 97s anyway
  • You don't know for sure (do you?) that 101s were the original fit
  • Personally, given the above, I would fit 97s if I had a 1120kg axle
  • To be on the safe side, I would suggest that you go on the Pirelli website http://www.pirelli.com/tyre/gb/en/car/genericContent/fitment.html, go through the car selection look-up and print off the recommended tyre specs for 2000-2006 Freelander 1 which you'll find are Scorpion STRs now, all with 96/97/98 load rating. If you ever had a problem, if you have a print-out you can demonstrate that you have not been negligent because you have fitted a tyre with a load rating recommended by Pirelli.
Not trying to be difficult, but is a Cinturato really a good tyre for the Freelander?!
 
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kerbstone: I'm totally in agreement with you - that LR have not made things clear to everyone and have not put stickers re tyre info on the door-pillars as found on most vehicles.

My 2005MY TD4 came with 97H Synchrones in late September 2004 - 2years later due to a puncture I needed a replacement and couldn't find a 97H in the whole of Scotland so had to buy a 101H

I now use only 101s

Can you confirm all the numbers given on your door plate, please?

Mine gives:

Front axle 1110Kg
Rear axle 1120Kg
Gross vehicle 2080Kg
Gross train 4080Kg

S.
 
Can you confirm all the numbers given on your door plate, please?

Mine gives:

Front axle 1110Kg
Rear axle 1120Kg
Gross vehicle 2080Kg
Gross train 4080Kg

S.

Singvogel: Mine was first registered May 2006 and the B pillar plate says:

2505kg (GVW)
4080kg (Gross train)
1100 Kg (Front axle)
1460Kg (Rear Axle)

and when I purchased it 18 months ago the 101H Synchrones had production dates of 0406 & 0606 i.e. week 4 & week 6 of 2006 therefore I am certain that 101s were original fit.
 
Singvogel: Mine was first registered May 2006 and the B pillar plate says:

2505kg (GVW)
4080kg (Gross train)
1100 Kg (Front axle)
1460Kg (Rear Axle)

and when I purchased it 18 months ago the 101H Synchrones had production dates of 0406 & 0606 i.e. week 4 & week 6 of 2006 therefore I am certain that 101s were original fit.

Thanks for that, kerbstone. Very interesting.

It explains why a caravan dealer and I had a difference of opinion about the towing capacity of a Freelander a few years ago.

I actually have a trailer plated at 2000Kg which I can now see that a 2006 Freelander could not tow and stay within the law, but can be towed by a pre-2006 model. Bizarre - why did LR do this? And more importantly without any bringing it to folks attention. Shame on them.

I did consider buying one of the last of the TD4s before the FL2 came in - I was offered a decent discount at the time - glad I didn't go for it.

I have no thoughts now of buying a newer Freelander, and I very rarely load the trailer to maximum - not that that matters of course as its the max possible weight that matters.

I wonder how many folks are towing trailers or caravans 'over the limit'.
Ignorance is no excuse of course.

Thanks for bringing this revised Gross Vehicle Weight to the forum's attention.

S.
 
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Many thanks for going through this again for me. I have the 1110 and 1120 weights on my B pillar sticker and so have committed to purchase the 97W's from my neighbour.

As I said they are reasonably priced (£10 each + a bit of DIY for him) so if they don't feel right I will whip them off and put some new Mich Sync 101H's on, as I have been happy with my current set which have been good for over 30k up to now, although the rears are starting to show signs of cracking around the edges.
 

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