Bf not Rich

Bf not Rich

New Member
Seasonal greetings.
Does anyone know if 235/65r17 Rangers fit straight onto a freelancer 1. Has anyone tried this themselves. My local spot knocks these out at 50 odd quid a corner. Dont fancy shelling out for spacers if I can help it.
 
My 225/60/17 Maxxis Bravo AT tyres have 8mm between the side wall and strut and 15mm between the top of the tread and spring cup. So I would think you'll need spacers to prevent tyre to strut contact.
 
215/60/17 are too small in diameter and look silly.
A good compromise in 17" is 225/60/17 between on road responsiveness and off road ability, which is why I fitted them. However not many manufacturers make an AT in that size. This is why I went with the Maxxis Bravo AT. Although they are quite noisy, grip OK and have lasted well too.

225/65/17 should also fit, so that's another potential size to explore.
 
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Id have to add a NO vote for the Maxxis AT's im afraid.

I had them in 18" on my Jeep Grand Cherokee and as Nodge has said they are quite loud but the worst thing I found was that the grip in the wet and snow / ice was terrible!

ABS used to kick in frequently when braking in the wet and I had 2 sideways excursions on roundabouts with a bit of slushy snow. Totally unpredictable grip and it got to the point where I had absolutely no confidence in them so ended up swapping them for a set of Yokohama Geolandar AT's (G015's) and it was like night and day!
No more ABS kicking in in the wet and in the snow we've had so far this year they've been great with not a single slip or slide. I have confidence in my tyres again :)

In my opinion Maxxis are cheap for a reason!
 
Elv73 said:
In my opinion Maxxis are cheap for a reason!
Click to expand...

Probably true of most tyres isn't it.
I've got the bfg ko2s, pricey but they've been brilliant in the recent snow and not too bad for an AT in the wet. Crap in mud though lol
 
Elv73 said:
Id have to add a NO vote for the Maxxis AT's im afraid.

I had them in 18" on my Jeep Grand Cherokee and as Nodge has said they are quite loud but the worst thing I found was that the grip in the wet and snow / ice was terrible!

ABS used to kick in frequently when braking in the wet and I had 2 sideways excursions on roundabouts with a bit of slushy snow. Totally unpredictable grip and it got to the point where I had absolutely no confidence in them so ended up swapping them for a set of Yokohama Geolandar AT's (G015's) and it was like night and day!
No more ABS kicking in in the wet and in the snow we've had so far this year they've been great with not a single slip or slide. I have confidence in my tyres again :)

In my opinion Maxxis are cheap for a reason!
Click to expand...

On the FL1 my Maxxis are acceptable. Snow they're OK and fine in mud too. I also don't notice much difference between wet and dry roads. They're a bit more slippery when the road is greasy, but so are many others.
Don't forget that the FL1 has a much more advanced suspension system than a Jeep. This maintains the tyre contact patch with the road, which would help out. The FL1 AWD system makes the most of crap tyres too.

Yokohama Geolanders are a better tyre all round imho.

However they're not available in a 17" size that fit the FL1, so the comparison isn't valid. ;)
 
True Nodge the yokos arent available in that size but just using it as an example of how bad I thought the maxxis were compared to a 'decent' tyre.
I notice you said the maxxis were 'acceptable'. Being as the tyres are the only thing keeping you gripping to the road I want mine to be a lot better than 'acceptable' and for me the lack of confidence I had in the maxxis AT's meant they werent even upto acceptable in my eyes.

Not wishing to start an argument about Jeeps and Landys (especially on this forum ;)) as I do really think the FL1 is a great wee truck and the wife loves hers, However..... In no way is the suspension in a FL1 any more advanced than a jeep grand cherokee!?
If your comparing to the old cherokees and wranglers with rear leaf springs then yes you have a valid point but mine is a 2008 with full independent suspension front and rear just the same as the FL.
Also the FL's AWD is no where near as capable as a permenant 4wd system with front and rear limited slip diffs as on the Jeep (quadra drive 2) but even with permenant drive to all 4 wheels it was still crap in the wet and snow on the maxxis but is pretty much unstoppable on a better set of tyres without any of the twitchyness I had with the Maxxis.

Just my personal opinion of course ;)
 
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Bf not Rich said:
Seasonal greetings.
Does anyone know if 235/65r17 Rangers fit straight onto a freelancer 1. Has anyone tried this themselves. My local spot knocks these out at 50 odd quid a corner. Dont fancy shelling out for spacers if I can help it.
Click to expand...
I've done this - infact still have the tyres sitting at the garage from when I got rid of the car.
I had 50mm spacers and 50mm spacers on the strut. Also has to cut and re-weld the seam in the front arch. A lot of work. Freebe looked amazing, but 18 months later the stress blew the ird and it was toast. The drive train just wasn't built to cope with that stress.
You will have much better results with a smaller tyre. Learn from my mistake!
 
Elv73 said:
True Nodge the yokos arent available in that size but just using it as an example of how bad I thought the maxxis were compared to a 'decent' tyre.
I notice you said the maxxis were 'acceptable'. Being as the tyres are the only thing keeping you gripping to the road I want mine to be a lot better than 'acceptable' and for me the lack of confidence I had in the maxxis AT's meant they werent even upto acceptable in my eyes.

Not wishing to start an argument about Jeeps and Landys (especially on this forum ;)) as I do really think the FL1 is a great wee truck and the wife loves hers, However..... In no way is the suspension in a FL1 any more advanced than a jeep grand cherokee!?
If your comparing to the old cherokees and wranglers with rear leaf springs then yes you have a valid point but mine is a 2008 with full independent suspension front and rear.
Also the FL's AWD is no where near as capable as a permenant 4wd system with front and rear limited slip diffs as I have on the Jeep (quadra trac 2) but even with permenant drive to all 4 wheels it was still crap in the wet and snow on the maxxis but is pretty much unstoppable on a better set of tyres without any of the twitchyness I had with the Maxxis.

Just my personal opinion of course ;)
Click to expand...

You are quite right about WK Jeep Grand having independent suspension with Quadra-drive2. It was a petty decent AWD system to be honest. About as good as anything on or off road until the locking front diff was replaced for an open diff later on in the production run. I was thinking more of the WJ Grand which is my favourite Jeep.:eek:
I do agree that the Maxxis Bravo AT are below a premium tyre in regards to ultimate grip. However in a 17" FL1 size, beggars can't be choosers. The driving style just needs to be modified to suit the grip available. I've not actually found them bad, definitely no worse than any other Chinese made tyre.
Having defended the Maxxis, I'm not going to fit a set of 18" Maxxis to my Sport rims. I'm going to fit Pirelli Scorpion STR or Michelin Latitude Cross to those, when funds allow.;)
 
Nodge68 said:
You are quite right about WK Jeep Grand having independent suspension with Quadra-drive2. It was a petty decent AWD system to be honest. About as good as anything on or off road until the locking front diff was replaced for an open diff later on in the production run. I was thinking more of the WJ Grand which is my favourite Jeep.:eek:
I do agree that the Maxxis Bravo AT are below a premium tyre in regards to ultimate grip. However in a 17" FL1 size, beggars can't be choosers. The driving style just needs to be modified to suit the grip available. I've not actually found them bad, definitely no worse than any other Chinese made tyre.
Having defended the Maxxis, I'm not going to fit a set of 18" Maxxis to my Sport rims. I'm going to fit Pirelli Scorpion STR or Michelin Latitude Cross to those, when funds allow.;)
Click to expand...

AWD on a jeep.. Never! :mad: 4WD if you please :p Same as what them there Tratter boys have.

By the way, I like the WJ's well and did look at a few before buying the WK but most where rusty sheds. If I could find a decent one and afford to run it id love one of the 4.7 V8's cos they sound awesome!
 
Elv73 said:
AWD on a jeep.. Never! :mad: 4WD if you please :p Same as what them there Tratter boys have.

By the way, I like the WJ's well and did look at a few before buying the WK but most where rusty sheds. If I could find a decent one and afford to run it id love one of the 4.7 V8's cos they sound awesome!
Click to expand...

Ok the WJ/WKs are 4WD. Better than the Tratter as technically those are only 2WD as there's no cross axle locking, unlike the Jeep.;)
 
Im sure the tratter boys would be pleased to hear you say that :eek:;)

Im ex forces myself so driven many a tratter but prefer a bit of comfort along side off road ability these days! ( I live on a farm where we get a lot of snow in the winter so need something capable or id not be able to get to my house. Just like some of my stupid neighbours who drive 'normal' cars and have to leave them at the end of the hilly farm track and walk to their houses when we get bad snow :D)
 
Bf not Rich said:
Seasonal greetings.
Does anyone know if 235/65r17 Rangers fit straight onto a freelancer 1. Has anyone tried this themselves. My local spot knocks these out at 50 odd quid a corner. Dont fancy shelling out for spacers if I can help it.
Click to expand...

I fitted 215/65/16 Rangers to my Freelander 1. - It was the first thing I done to her and didn't fancy any extra work.
They look decent and in the recent snow here in NI they have been incredible. I've had to tow a few cars out of the verges!
Noise wise they're not too bad, theres defo a noise increase, but it's not deafening.
The trouble I've had with them is one of the tyres wouldn't balance. So at about 65-70 there is a wobble from the back. Not a problem to me as I'm not on the motorway too often but worth knowing.

I think going forward I'm going to get a set of 25mm spacers for them and ideally I'm going to change the rim to a black off road steel wheel. All for aesthetic reasons.

But if you can live with the smaller width I'd recommend them.
 

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Retrospaceman said:
I've done this - infact still have the tyres sitting at the garage from when I got rid of the car.
I had 50mm spacers and 50mm spacers on the strut. Also has to cut and re-weld the seam in the front arch. A lot of work. Freebe looked amazing, but 18 months later the stress blew the ird and it was toast. The drive train just wasn't built to cope with that stress.
You will have much better results with a smaller tyre. Learn from my mistake!
Click to expand...
So would you say that 215/60 17 is a better size to go with. On the tyre size comparison sites they show 215/60 17 as the same height as the OEM 17 inch wheel (235/55 17) with the width being .7 inch narrower.

I can get this size in a malatesta Koala all terrains which looks comparable to an Insa ranger.
 
Bf not Rich said:
So would you say that 215/60 17 is a better size to go with. On the tyre size comparison sites they show 215/60 17 as the same height as the OEM 17 inch wheel (235/55 17) with the width being .7 inch narrower.

I can get this size in a malatesta Koala all terrains which looks comparable to an Insa ranger.
Click to expand...
I think you'll have a better chance - just bear in mind the comparison is slightly different because of the block size on the AT, so you may still need a small wheel spacer, but you should be fine on the strut.
 
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