Glosterlad
Member
Hi everyone,
First post here so be kind
Have owned my Freelander Sports for 2 1/2 years and in that time have just had one fault. The amber 'engine block symbol appearing at intermittent intervals and.. eventually... had the boost valve replaced. So far so good
Now looking at my first tyre replacements and I really am looking for as much advice as possible.
My tyre size is 235 50 18 101
The front tyres are Continental Contact 4 x 4 M & S. These are the ones that require replacing.
The rears are budget tyres - Fullrun hp199 - and I have to admit to not knowing very much about these. However they still have 5mm of tread. So thats only a loss of 3mm in 2 1/2 years which I found astonishing.
So these are obviously hard tyres but they are certainly very noisy !
Various people have advised that I ditch these rears (safety reasons/noise levels) and replace all 4 with like tyres (I am thinking either Contintental Contacts 4 x 4 or Pirelli Str).
I wouldnt ditch the rears as such as with their remaining tread I can probably sell on
Alternatively.. others have suggested ..put the budgets on the front and put the new on the rear. But I am not sure of any mismatch probs this might produce. I refer to this from another thread....
What is the importance of matched tyres on a Freelander?
Having unmatched tyre sizes on a Freelander 1 creates the same effect as a seized VCU, and can cause catastrophic damage to your drive train in just a few miles. A seized viscous coupling unit will put a strain all the way along the drive train, from the IRD / Transfer Box at the front (and even as far as the gearbox) through the VCU bearings, to the rear differential at the rear. If you continue to drive the Freelander with a seized VCU then you could cause irreparable damage to all these parts.
The crucial thing is to make sure you match tyre manufacturer, type and size on all four wheels of your Freelander (please note that even if you match the tyre type and size then there can be enough of a difference between the sizes from two different manufacturers to cause the VCU to seize the tolerance level is only 5mm). If you really cannot afford to replace all four tyres at once then you may be able to get away with replacing just two from the same axle (i.e. the two rear tyres or the two front tyres never replace just one tyre, and never replace one from the front and one from the rear), but make sure you get the same manufacturer, type and size as the ones that are remaining on the Freelander, and put the newest ones on the rear - but we really would recommend changing all four at the same time
Now I am unsure of what this 5mm tolerance refers to - can anyone shed any light on this ?
My head tells me to change all four ! The cheapest Continental 4 x 4 Contacts are £172 fitted/vat all in - and I really have had to trawl the net.
My wife is saying 'What !? £688 for 4 goddam tyres - are you crazy !? I am still trying to explain the technical/safety reasons to her - but her view is why dump 2 tyres (budget or not) when they still have 5mm of tread left.
Apologies for the length of my first post - but would welcome advise from all quarters here. I should add that my vehicle spends 80% on road 20% off road and I do very little mileage in it.
Of course there are other brands so would welcome opinions on what you would go for or indeed have on your freelander now.
Thanks
John
First post here so be kind
Have owned my Freelander Sports for 2 1/2 years and in that time have just had one fault. The amber 'engine block symbol appearing at intermittent intervals and.. eventually... had the boost valve replaced. So far so good
Now looking at my first tyre replacements and I really am looking for as much advice as possible.
My tyre size is 235 50 18 101
The front tyres are Continental Contact 4 x 4 M & S. These are the ones that require replacing.
The rears are budget tyres - Fullrun hp199 - and I have to admit to not knowing very much about these. However they still have 5mm of tread. So thats only a loss of 3mm in 2 1/2 years which I found astonishing.
So these are obviously hard tyres but they are certainly very noisy !
Various people have advised that I ditch these rears (safety reasons/noise levels) and replace all 4 with like tyres (I am thinking either Contintental Contacts 4 x 4 or Pirelli Str).
I wouldnt ditch the rears as such as with their remaining tread I can probably sell on
Alternatively.. others have suggested ..put the budgets on the front and put the new on the rear. But I am not sure of any mismatch probs this might produce. I refer to this from another thread....
What is the importance of matched tyres on a Freelander?
Having unmatched tyre sizes on a Freelander 1 creates the same effect as a seized VCU, and can cause catastrophic damage to your drive train in just a few miles. A seized viscous coupling unit will put a strain all the way along the drive train, from the IRD / Transfer Box at the front (and even as far as the gearbox) through the VCU bearings, to the rear differential at the rear. If you continue to drive the Freelander with a seized VCU then you could cause irreparable damage to all these parts.
The crucial thing is to make sure you match tyre manufacturer, type and size on all four wheels of your Freelander (please note that even if you match the tyre type and size then there can be enough of a difference between the sizes from two different manufacturers to cause the VCU to seize the tolerance level is only 5mm). If you really cannot afford to replace all four tyres at once then you may be able to get away with replacing just two from the same axle (i.e. the two rear tyres or the two front tyres never replace just one tyre, and never replace one from the front and one from the rear), but make sure you get the same manufacturer, type and size as the ones that are remaining on the Freelander, and put the newest ones on the rear - but we really would recommend changing all four at the same time
Now I am unsure of what this 5mm tolerance refers to - can anyone shed any light on this ?
My head tells me to change all four ! The cheapest Continental 4 x 4 Contacts are £172 fitted/vat all in - and I really have had to trawl the net.
My wife is saying 'What !? £688 for 4 goddam tyres - are you crazy !? I am still trying to explain the technical/safety reasons to her - but her view is why dump 2 tyres (budget or not) when they still have 5mm of tread left.
Apologies for the length of my first post - but would welcome advise from all quarters here. I should add that my vehicle spends 80% on road 20% off road and I do very little mileage in it.
Of course there are other brands so would welcome opinions on what you would go for or indeed have on your freelander now.
Thanks
John