225/75/16 too narrow for a Disco 1?

[JeremyT101]

Hey guys,

Just a transplant of a question from another thread about tires. Mine are old (from 03, and 05) and are dry rotted quite a bit. Means, I'm in the market for a new set. Been looking at the GY Territory (basically duratrac for Canadians), Hankook dynapro ATM, and the gold ole BFG A/T KO. I currently don't have a lift on the truck, nor do I plan on having the funds to do so soon. I was thinking that I would replace my tires with the stock size and keep it that height for now, as I'm not really off roading it all that much, and if I do end up starting to go often I'll get a lift, bumper..ect

That being said, only the HK and BFG come in 235/70 which is on the truck. The GY comes in 225/75 which is narrower, but the same height. People tend to speak very highly of the GY DT, and they are on sale for 60$ off a tire at the place near me. (making them 160$ a tire). Just curious if you guys feel that would be too narrow for a fairly top heavy truck, especially if I do end up lifting it before I got new ones. I just read the last Expeditions 7 post where they had 255/85 on their LC's and they said in a heavy cross wind the trucks felt very ungainly. I don't wish to have the same feeling. I know the disco2 came with 255/70 (I think), would even that be better?

My goal with the tires is basically to not murder my fuel mileage needlessly. I am getting a solid 15mpg around town right now, and will maybe even get higher when I finish my tune up. I know the more aggressive tires will hurt it, as will a bigger size, and even a modest 2" lift. That would be fine to have if I was taking it offroad, but here in Southwestern Ontario, there isn't Anywhere to go, or to go with unfortunately. But I may be moving out west to British Columbia next fall, so I want to keep that in mind when I'm buying the tires.

Sorry for the convolution, thoughts? Do i just need to pony up the 750+shipping for the OME lift so i can just jump to like 245/75? Either way, Ill need tires before the snow hits. Thanks guys!

 

[ntan]

I'm running 215/85R16 GY Duratracs on one of my RRCs, and think that's a great size (and narrower than those 225s you're thinking of) and a great tire. You'll need to make sure your steering components are in good order, but shouldn't be as much of an issue with the slightly wider 225. Haven't run them in snow yet, but everyone says they're great, and I've seen LR3s running the Duratracs and they've done very well offroad. I get ~14-16mpg in regular driving with the Duratracs, so not bad for oversized tires.

 

[LtFuzz]

You'll find that for the D1s and RRCs -- as far as looks go -- the narrower the better (IMO). Didn't the CT trucks run a 215 or something?

I'm still on the fence about tall-n-skinnys on a DII.

 

[dcwhybrew]

225/75-16s are just fine for the D1. I had them (GY AT/S = POS) for a couple of years on my 96 D1 until I switched to a 245/70 (not 75) -16 BFG AT KO. You will be able to find the 225/75-16 in an E load range, but the 245/70-16s only go up to a D load range. I liked the 245/70s because they were a bit wider (and 0.5" taller) than the stock 235/70s.

So the short answer is, you'll be just fine. I just didnt like how narrow they were.

 

[Rover_Hokie]

I am running 245/75/16 on my stock suspension D2. I only gained a 1/2" at the diffs over the stock tires I replaced, but it did seem to drive with less control and a little top heavy feeling, so I put some 1" spaces on to push the tires out and give me a little better stance. It feels a lot better now.

 

[ntan]

If this is going on a D2, I haven't seen one with anything narrower than 235 that I've liked. Any skinner and something looks funky.

 

[kferg]

I've run the 225/75 16 on my '95 D1. I actually did not care for them as it made the truck much more sensitive to any grooves in the road. When they needed to be replaced I moved to 245/75 16 which I like a lot more. I have a 2" lift on the truck but you still need to trim just a bit off the rear of the wheel well. The 245's are noticably heavier which took a little to get use to but the truck still handles quite well.

 

[JeremyT101]

Okay thanks guys, given me lots to think about. Although, it seems to be a moot point now as the truck just started to make a horrible metal on metal clanking/clicking sound coming from the rear when it gets warm from driving it. Either the tranny/rear diff sounds like its roasted. Taking it back to the Rover guy tomorrow morning for him to see what he thinks.

 

[REDROVER]

Isnt there a reason why military trucks come with much larger tires? Even army defender's. It may change the looks but larger tire will be much better offroad. +land rovers love to roll. So i would go with wider tires

 

[JeremyT101]

Well, thanks for all the info guys! I'm not planning on replacing the tires until the winter time, as even though they are old, they should hold up for at least the summer. Perhaps by then I will be slightly higher and will go for 245/75 in the territory when they go on sale again. Saw a lifted RRC on the weekend running that size and it looked mint.

 

[iMTB]

I run 215/85 duratracs and love them. My KJ is similar size.

 

[rover4x4]

225/75's are barely acceptable on a lifted classic, 245's ideal IMO. The 225's are rather narrow and your rims will get chewed up if you spend much time in the rocks.

 

[dcwhybrew]

Jeremy, do you want to lift your truck? Or are you considering it just so you can fit an alternative tire size? If I remember correctly you were concerned with the cost of repairs for your truck. If cost is still a concern and you'd rather not lift your truck then go with the 225/75-16 or, my preference, the 245/70-16. Not to be confused with the 245/75-16. As I mentioned earlier, the 245/70 is about 0.5" taller than stock and they are wider. No rubbing issues, so you wont have to hack your fenders.

 

[Antichrist]

225/75/16 are wider than 7.50x16's which I run and which came on D110's and 109's.

 

[JeremyT101]

Jeremy, do you want to lift your truck? Or are you considering it just so you can fit an alternative tire size? If I remember correctly you were concerned with the cost of repairs for your truck. If cost is still a concern and you'd rather not lift your truck then go with the 225/75-16 or, my preference, the 245/70-16. Not to be confused with the 245/75-16. As I mentioned earlier, the 245/70 is about 0.5" taller than stock and they are wider. No rubbing issues, so you wont have to hack your fenders.

DC, as per usual you hit the nail on the head for me. Here is my dilemma. Currently, due to a lack of partners/suitable areas I'm not really taking the Disco offroad, or on my big trip I had planned for at least say a year or so. Sucks, but its SW Ontario, not the US or anything.. and those who know the spots arn't giving them up. Next fall, my plan is to move out west to BC or Alberta where there will indeed be many more people, and much more terrain to take the Disco on. I know that in stock form the Disco, with some decent AT tires could more then likely take me anywhere I want to go, this has been well said by people such as Scott Brady..ect. And this is even with the stock tire size in an AT tread. But this is of course to a point.

I know that a set of tires is obviously going to last me more then a single year of city driving. I also know that the bushings on my rear shocks are roasted, can move the shock around maybe 1/4" each way pulling on it sideways. Had the shocks themselves off a couple months ago, and while they arn't 100% gone, they are certainly tired. I'm assuming the fronts are the same. So I figure if I'm going to change any suspension bits, might as well do it all at one time, and either keep the stock height or lift it.

What I'm getting at, is I don't wish to do things twice. If I get 225/75, 235/70 or even 245/70 now, lets say someone actually does want to go on more then just dirt roads (which is what I want to do) all of those are at or under 30" tall. Maybe I spent too much time on Jeep forum before here, but that is scoffed at for anything other then 'mall crawling' or what have you. Same idea with the suspension. So my current trade offs are between fuel economy, and not spending money twice. I think with gas prices getting even higher I didn't want to put a 2" lift, go to 245/75 and have the truck start to get like 8mpg around town. Didn't seem worth it for 'mall crawling' as it were. hence, my dilemma. Now... if I had a diesel all this would be a moot point! Still gotta finish the tune up on my engine with new plugs, fuel/air filter, maybe some injector cleaner, maybe ill get better then 12 around town grandpa driving it. Anyways, sorry for the essay. that just kind of details my thought process.