hi people

Firstly I want to say sorry to the people this thread will annoy, I've been searching for days now and Ive found everything but wot I'm wanting to know, so I'm hoping you kind people will help me out

Right, I'm wanting wheels and tyres for my d1 and i think considering wot we do, and that I want the vehicle as a daily driver, I'm going to get BFG KM2s. I really want 33x10.5 NOT 12.5, which I've seen talked about in different places but I can't find anywhere in England that sells them, so, QUESTION 1 is do any of you know where I might find them please???

I don't really want to put arches on unless I have to, wot I want to do is a 2" lift, 33" tyres but I want to stay with 8" modulars not 10" so maybe 285x75/16 or possibly 255x85/16 but with the offset that sits flush with standard arches, not tucked under like standard offset, so QUESTION 2 is are these the 35mm offset modulars, and can people list all the places they can think of to get them from please.

And QUESTION 3 is, if I get 8" modulars with the offset I've mentioned and put on one of the tyre sizes I've mentioned and use a 2" lift, will I get away with just doing the usual sort of chopping at the rear of the arches like I would do to fit 265x75/16 or will I need to cut right round the arches???

Please help this is doing my head in

Many thanks

Towsey

I might also consider 33x10.5/15 in another tyre if similar to BFG km2

Any help appreciated

Towsey

Take a look at the top of this section under what tyres can I put on my disco.
Click the link and all the info you need is there.

Cheers for that, I've come across it a few times but it doesn't really have the info that I'm looking for

Thanks tho

Towsey

any minus offset with those sized tyres I would assume that flexi arches will be required for the tyres protruding and for room to fit them.

You don't need to lift a Disco, you can just trim the arches.

As for fitment, it really all depends on your intended use. Road driving only is totally different to full steering lock and maximum axle articulation off road.

Yeah I agree, and it will be off-roading, we go to kirton camping weekends and tong quite a bit and we have some good lanes where we go, and for it to replace my last vehicle this discovery is going to have to perform well

This might take a bit of explaining here but where I'm at is I bought the best disco I could find with the intention of keeping it for years as an all rounder. i need something with more than just 265/75s and +2" shockers but at the same time I don't want to go chopping away and cutting the arches right out unless I really need to so if I do need to then I might as well put plastic arches on to keep it looking tidy but then I don't really want them on cos we go places that are prone for pulling them off and if the tyres aren't out to the edge of the arches like how 12.5s sit then they look a bit on the poo side. So there are reasons that I want to go with 8" wheels that sit flush and no plastic arches and 33" tyres but not too wide I just need to know if it will work now

Keep ideas coming thanks

Towsey

Ok, is anyone able to tell me the pros and cons of wide/narrow tyres for on road and off road driving. Wots their characteristics please

Towsey

they go round, and round and round and, depending on friction, enable the vehicle to move easier than without them.

Haha. Ooo your a funny bunch here

Any more comedians about

towsey956 said:

Ok, is anyone able to tell me the pros and cons of wide/narrow tyres for on road and off road driving. Wots their characteristics please

Towsey

Click to expand...

big question,wide tyres aquaplane easier,but handle lower tyre pressure better and soft ground ,a thinner tyre will give good traction on firm ground as there is greater weight per square inch,too skinny or too wide are extremes with small window of usefulness,considering you want a varied performance you want a std tyre like a 235

Cheers for that. How about road manners, I'm under the impression that narrower tyres and not too far spaced out will drive nicer on tarmac which is why I'm thinking of 255 or 285 on 8" modulars rather than 12.5s on 10" modulars.

Wots your thoughts on the first post in this thread please, I know it's against the rules but I just want to be happy with my disco, sure you understand

Thank you

Towsey

And does anyone know about 33x10.5/15s please, especially BFG muds

hi , have you considered 245 75 16 , ive fitted these with a 2 inch lift kit seem ok on and off road

Yeah I know a couple of farmers with 245s on and they like them but to be honest we need more clearance under the diffs, cheers tho

Someone must of tried a 33" tyre thats narrower than 12.5" without plastic arches on a 2" lift I would of thought over the years surely

Thanks

Towsey

towsey956 said:

Ok, is anyone able to tell me the pros and cons of wide/narrow tyres for on road and off road driving. Wots their characteristics please

Towsey

Click to expand...

There is no single perfect tyre. Generally big wide tyres will tend to stay on top better. This can be good on loose surfaces like sand. But can work well hard baked mud and dry rocks.

And even some types of mud.

Big tyres however usually reduce your turning circle, make it less nimble and may reduce mpg on the road. Can make the steering heavier and make it harder to keep the wheels in side the body work.

Narrow tyres tend to cut through the ground better. And on some terrain will work far better than big fat tyres.


So it depends on what look you want to go for and what terrain you tend to drive on the most. There are also size limitations in terms of availability and tread pattern.

I like 7.50's, they are a nice size. But sadly difficult to buy these days. And a lot of them for sale aren't really 7.50's, but 235/85R16's, that have been re-stamped. But the 235 is a lot wider in reality.

However on the flip side, I also have some 11.50" wide tyres too.

towsey956 said:

And does anyone know about 33x10.5/15s please, especially BFG muds

Click to expand...

For serious off road use in the UK, the BFG pattern is out of it's league. For a general off road and on road tyre it is ok however. An ideal true all terrain ability. But that size on a Disco on the road probably won't be very nice.

On a stock Tdi it'll kill the performance BIG time...

And how the wheels sit on the vehicle will depend largely on the rim size and offset you run. You could tuck them in really far, but you'd have no steering lock at all. On standard sort of offsets you'll likely be sticking them out of the arches though, or very close to it.

towsey956 said:

Yeah I know a couple of farmers with 245s on and they like them but to be honest we need more clearance under the diffs, cheers tho

Click to expand...

I'm not saying you are wrong, but why do you think this?

towsey956 said:

Someone must of tried a 33" tyre thats narrower than 12.5" without plastic arches on a 2" lift I would of thought over the years surely

Thanks

Towsey

Click to expand...

I can't help directly with that setup, but I can give you ideas.

This is a set of 31.10.50R15 BFG A/T's, they are on 15x8 rims, although I don't know the offset. They 'just' remain in the arches.

The suspension is stock. I had to remove the front bumper corners as they fouled the tyres as soon as you turned the steering wheel. A 2" lift may reduce this on the level, although I think it would still be an issue. And off road with the suspension compressed the tyre would still be hitting it.

At the rear it would likely have been fine for bumping up and down curbs and even a very mild green lane. But get the suspension properly moving and it would have crumpled the rear of the rear arch. A 'Camel cut' would be required as a minimum. I would not and did not off road it like this.

Road performance with 31" tall tyres is fine with a stock Tdi.



[URL=http://s132.photobucket.com/user/300bhpton/media/My%20Cars/Discovery/DSC_0394Large.jpg.html] [/URL]

This is still with stock suspension, but I have trimmed the arches quite a bit and added wheel spats. I also added some 1" wheel spacers as these allow for plenty of steering lock.








I then fitted some 33.11.50R15 Simex tyres. These are pretty big for 33" and measured nearer to 34" tall. Whereas I suspect a set of 33" BFG's are probably only just over 32" tall in real life. These are on 15x10 rims with a fairly deep offset something around ET12.7 I also have the 1" spacers on, because you'd get no steering lock at all otherwise. This is still stock suspension. Off road they would just rub the wheel arches, so I had to trim the trailing edge of the front arches.





With the wheel spacers on, the Simexes arguably stuck out of the arches, esp at the rear.

I think this is a pic of the same setup minus the wheel spacers. The wheels are just inside the arches.



This is with the wheel spacer fitted (iirc). The arch was damaged off road, just look at how much tyre would stick out of the original bodywork. Even minus spacer and a narrower tyre, it's still be well outside.



Last up, this is the same setup, so stock suspension. No spacers and some tall 235/85R16's, they were almost 32" tall measured. On 7x16 rims I think. These too would easily stick out of the arches if I didn't have the wheel spats. Also not how much the tyre moves up and down, stock arches would get mullered off road with tyres this size IMO.

Cheers 300

Yeah my dad and his mates used to run 7.50s on defenders years ago their good things.

Basically, I'm trying not to jump on the old 33x12.5/15 with 50mm arches band wagon because of road manners, but I will if I really have to, I do like that look. My question about tyre width was more about on road manners really (sorry, I should of written it better) because all the ones I've been in with 12.5s and big offset don't drive very well, basically they pull badly, white line and pot hole like hell are hard to keep in a straight line on back roads, and this is to be a daily driver, which is also why I was going for bfg km2s, like Ya say, an all rounder and just one set of wheels...for now

What I want "if possible" is 33" ground clearance on wheels that sit flush or hang out a few mm and can articulate without having to chop the whole arch out, or needing massive lift, cos a full arch chopped out with no plastic arche over it looks poo, and if I need to put plastic arches on then I want the wheels sat out to the edge of them so they dont look poo and their not as prone to being pulled off because of hanging out like 4 wings, but obviously the usually trimming of the end caps and back corners will need doing but I wanted to hear peoples experiences and see if it's possible before I spend a load of money on wheels and tyres that are no use.

A few of my mates are running 265 special track on a 2" lift and they seem ok so I thought that 265s with the nobbles on the edge of special tracks might mean I can run 285 km2 with no side lugs and get similar clearance or 255x85 maybe.

Sorry if my posts don't make much sense, I know exactly wot I want and why but I'm not good at explaining it on here

Thanks again for relies tho

Towsey

MT's and aggressive MT's will never ride on the road as well. That said, bad handling is down to other things.

Any suspension lift will raise the CoG and affect the roll centre. But worse it will also alter the caster. This is why most lifted ones handle like ****.

Also lifting a vehicle and adding MT's will usually show up worn suspension and steering issues, far more so than if you'd not done anything to it.

Slop in the steering box, bushes, bearings (not just wheel, but the ones in the hubs) will all show up more so.

I'm not against lifting a vehicle, but you really should do it for the right reasons. I trimmed my arches instead of a lift and used if for some fairly serious off road work. It generally rode and drove well on the road too, considering the type of tyres I was running.

Remember a stock Defender is hugely capable off road. The suspension on a Discovery is the same as a Defenders, only the Disco has more body work. The easiest way to match a Defender is to remove the bodywork that restricts is. However it is a bit of a one way option.


If a lift is what you want, then make sure you research fully what options are open to you. There are many ways to lift a vehicle. Some will improve off road performance, but many will actually reduce it's off road ability. If it's just about clearance, then a body lift might suit better than a suspension lift, but then it might not. It's really up to you to research this and decide for yourself.


As for tyres.

A good 7.50 can be just shy of 32" tall, although some can be as short as 29".

BFG claim their 33" tyres are 32.8" tall:
http://www.bfgoodrichtires.com/tire-selector/name/mud-terrain-t-a-km2-tires#techspecs

A 235/85 is a good size and loads of choice available. These usually come in just under 32", a 265/75 is ok too, although fatter and slightly less tall as a rule. Although the BFG link above claims 31.9" for them. Which is unusually tall for a 265/75

A 255/85R16 is a nice size and genuinely just over 33", but this is getting into some serious tyre size. And you will need to trim to make these work. And the affect on gearing will be highly noticeable on the road.


Another thing to remember, not all tyres are equal and the same spec tyre from different makers or even different tread patterns can vary massively in real life and physical size.

Also remember a Discovery originally ran circa 29" tyres... so a 4" increase is MASSIVE...

e.g.

These are all huge compared to a standard Disco tyre. But also note the variation in the same claimed size...