I have a Freelander 1 (Facelift).

Currently it is running Marshal Roadventure tyres, but these were fitted when I bought the car, and I haven't had it long.

The wheel size is 17" and the tyres fitted are 225/55/17s.

Do I have to stick with this size or can I increase the width and depth of the tyre? For example could I fit 235/65s to it?

The reason I ask, is that the recommended AT tyres (particularly the ones that are allegedly good in snow do not come in that size!!

Thank you in anticipation

JDD

You would be far better off getting a cheap set of steel 15" rims and stick a set of AT tyres on.

IMO, anyway.

There are load of useful threads on here regards wheel and tyre combinations - check them out.

I am have 17" wheels and run 235,55 17 Continentals. They have what I consider to be the safe minimum clearance between the tyre and the front strut/coil spring. They are less than 2% different in diameter from what you have now and they are fine - no rubbing or scuffing on high speed cornering or full suspension travel.

If you go to 235/65 17s you will have almost no clearance between the tyre and strut - plus your speedo will be well out.

Bugsy's reply is a good idea if you want 2 sets of wheels cheap with AT tyres.

I bought 3 extra 17" wheels quite cheaply on eBay (there's no shortage of them) and have myself a set of off-road /winter tyres and a set of more car type tread tyres for long-distance motorway use in Europe.

There's nowt wrong with roadventures to be honest. Got me everywhere I needed to go in the snow last year. For the money I reckon they're spot on - so much so we stuck a set on the FL when we bought it.

Reassuring... thanks!

(To be fair, I find them pretty grippy on the road, and not bad in slippy mud either... it's just the snow that I am concerned about, as it's all very well having a vehicle that's capable of getting me to work, but if the tyres are ****, then it ain't gonna help!!!)

JDD.

For winter if you can, get some cheap wheels of Ebay (i did) in 16 inch or 15 inch size.
17 inch is quite rare, and 18's would cost a fortune.

Snow/ice tyres are best in the snow. (Not M&S tyres that come standard), but actual dedicated snow tyres. They're also surprisingly good in the rain too, due to the deep tread depth.

AT tyres can't match them as the rubber in snow/ice tyres performs best under 7c and stays nice and soft enabling the tread to grip better and disperse water/frozen slush/. (AT tyres tend to be rock hard for use off road so they don't tear to shreds).

I know you can get a good compromise for AT tyres that do work in snow, but the ultimate snow tyres will just be that, branded with the Snowflake symbol. The downside is you have to change them in the summer (unless the car is barely used) so you'd need to mount them on spare set of rims.

Another downside of snow tyres is they are extremely expensive for a top make and very hard to get in the UK as they're mostly used in Europe in the Alps etc.

Try here if you're interested.

tyres online @ mytyres.co.uk: tyre dealer for cheap passenger, summer, winter tyres



Reviews on dedicated snow tyres are on this American site:
Tire Rack - Your performance experts for tires and wheels

And also on youtube if you search for the brand name and model.

We bought new winter tyres. Just make sure you read the test! Important is the German testing as I found the UK one has similar test results for every Tyre while the German one shoes differences in each area eg braking on wet surface, dry surface, Tyre wear, road noise ... which can give you some guidance. You left it quiet late for winter tyres as the prices go up now. The tyres we bought in October are already up 20 pounds a Tyre. Go my tyres, they had plenty in 225/55/17. We will put our winter tyres on soon, but it is still too mild to put them on yet hehehe