LR4: anyone fitting 255/70/18?

[Dr LC8]

I noticed that BFG does the A/T KO in this size. Will they fit (on compomotive wheels) using the standard setting? I know for sure that 265/65/18 fits while if you fit 275/65/18 you need lifting rods and new alignment.

275/65/18 and 255/70/18 have identical hight (32 inches) and rolling circumference. One is 20 mm narrower. Does it make difference?

I am interested in higher sidewall without any increase in width.

Thanks

Nic

 

[DiscoDavis]

stock width is 255 so no width is not an issue. Height should be OK, it may rub on frame horns which should be clipped anyway, the factory mounted them with a great deal of variance in placement so some are OK some protrude more.

 

[krick3tt]

Just had 265/65/18 mounted on new steel rims from Terafirma (through Atlantic British) to replace the 255/55/19 tires on stock LR3 (2007) rims. Looks quite different and rides nice, no appreciable road noise and nothing is rubbing. Ride height is OK but now have to put it in access height to get into the garage.

 

[Jwestpro]

I noticed that BFG does the A/T KO in this size. Will they fit (on compomotive wheels) using the standard setting? I know for sure that 265/65/18 fits while if you fit 275/65/18 you need lifting rods and new alignment.

275/65/18 and 255/70/18 have identical hight (32 inches) and rolling circumference. One is 20 mm narrower. Does it make difference?

I am interested in higher sidewall without any increase in width.

Thanks

Nic

A. Width makes a big difference I how this vehicle swings the wheel during turning. The compo wheels are not helping the problem either because they have a wider offset which is also like using a wider tire.

B. NO, lift cheater rods are NOT needed nor would they actually remedy any of the issues. Do not be fooled and do not spread false info. It's also a terrible idea to drive at 70-80+ with the vehicle inappropriately raised 2-2.5" above where it was engineered to be safe for handling high speed situations. Riding high full time via shortened rods is not that same as steel sprung vehicles being actually lifted.

C. That BFG size is not an LT E load rating and therefor not appropriate at all for an LR3 carrying more than just people on regular roads or gravel roads. It is not a good choice for harsh trails or especially under a modified vehicle with extra weight. This isn't just the load number but also the sidewall strength which is important off-road but also for lateral stability at highway speed which becomes even more important as the proportion of sidewall to width grows taller.

Just get the 265/65-18 and don't use the stupid rods. Or, put in the effort modifying a few things to allow 275-65-18 also without rods. For example, I've been running 275/65-18 with zero rubbing at full drop while also using 25-30mm spacers. This would be worse than compo wheels offset issues. I've also put this through extensive off-road articulation. 32" is actually the ideal large size but 31.5" is the best worry free size.

 

[Dr LC8]

Thanks Jwestpro.

Interesting points.

In actual fact I am fairly against changing rolling diameter on LR4 for several reasons. It is a sophisticated car which is suppose to work at best as it has been designed.
The point is that even buying 18' wheels (compomotive and mudtech4x4) and fitting 255/60/18 you are still using suboptimal off road tyres. This is is because the sidewalls are quite short and won't allow to deflate them as you would like to do. This is particularly true in sand. Also, on long stretches on pists they are quite uncomfortable compared to other tyres with higher sidewalls. This problem is less for the LR3 where you can fit 17' wheels.

265/65 is a good tyre for off road but not if you are planning to use it on sand where you want a narrow tall tyre. Also if you use you car as well for long transfer on road a wider tyre has higher rolling resistance using more fuel and it is more noisy.

My curiosity for the 255/70/18 purely for sand and trail driving. Would have fitted them only for an expedition off road.

I agree on the lifting rods. I am not keen on have such permanent mod. The beauty of the LR3/4 is that you have a low planted car at high speed and a high car off road.
In truthI use some adjustable lifting rods. They have a neutral setting (OEM length) and a just less than 2' lift. They have to be adjusted manually. When I go off roading I set them up. As soon as I am off the trail I set them back. Basically when set them on higher (for off road) the car ride as it is on off road mode. If you lift it further it goes in extended mode. This way you extend it very rarely but you don't have the pain to lift it up and down.

Ciao

Nicola

 

[Victory_Overland]

Wider and aired down is much better in sand for ballooning the footprint and staying on top.

Skinny and tall for mud and snow.........that's just my opinion but I have lots of sand and mud driving here in Hawaii. Sorry, no snow but I grew up in the Midwest and stayed at Holiday Inn once...hahaha

Seriously, I am going tall and skinny with more sidewall on a 17" wheel mod on my LR3. I can air down to minimum PSI to get optimal float on the sand and not so much for the mud to cut through but keep them soft enough for the rock areas.

IMO, tall and skinny is the best "all around" overland option! I don't mean super skinny tires, but anything more than what should be on a 7-8" wheel and I think you lose more of the LR capability than what you gain for a tire. Plus if you need rock crawling wide tires on your LR, you probably should be there.

Find a picture with an original Camel RR/LR anything vehicle on big and fat rubber and I'll buy you beer for a year!

Rover on my friend, Rover on! :smiley_drive:

 

[DiscoDavis]

People forget the Camel size was 205 85 r16, which by today's expo standards would be called dinky.

I'd like to see someone use 255 70 on a D3, wish I tried that size on mine. IMO long live the pizza cutters

 

[Victory_Overland]

People forget the Camel size was 205 85 r16, which by today's expo standards would be called dinky.

I'd like to see someone use 255 70 on a D3, wish I tried that size on mine. IMO long live the pizza cutters

Amen brother! I'm doing my best to get there on the 17" wheels but nobody is less than a 265 for E rated. Although Jamar might have some other options overseas but they are tube tires only last time I checked. I am sure there are some other brands out there I have not looked at but I am trying to stay away from anything without known history like BFG, GY, and Cooper so I am limiting myself but okay with that.

JWestPro has the skinnies for his studded snow tire and I would live to see picts of those! Hint Hint JWestPro we need some picts of those skinnies!

We've been chatting on tire sizes and he has almost all sizes covered and that helped me stick to the at or about 32" and skinny as possible in E-Rated.

Absolutely man, long live the pizza cutters! Love em and want them!

Wait for it!..........
https://youtu.be/bUZi-Ftcs9Y

Rover on my friend, Rover on! :smiley_drive:

 

[Jwestpro]

Hey guys. E load are totally available in skinny! What are you missing??!! Thought I showed you the 255/80-17 I test fitted last week in BFG KM2. I wanted to feel right about them but just could t do it... argh. My LR3 weighs too much I think is the reason I couldn't get it through my head that the narrow tire wouldn't end up feeling too wallowing on the highway. Keep in mind that's just a 7" tread unweighted! 275/70 and 285/70 measures about 9" ! and they're on 18x8 rather than 17x7 so that all contributes to more lateral stability. Don't you agree?

Please keep in mind also my LR3 can be over 8000 lbs on trips, not sure how I could get it under 7000 but I do sense the weight when the roof is cleared off removing the rack, tent, awnings, & associated awning walls. It's probably about 200 lbs. this week the rear kaymar is also off so it feels like a sport ute

So I'm trying the BFG KM2 in what looks like a more 'appropriate' size/width of 285/70-18 on factory 18x8 with no spacers. These are wide but they actually tuck better than I expected into the fender liner.


Now you two have me second guessing the decision :/

If this were for my 2004 disco 2, I wouldn't hesitate to stick with 255/85-16 but check this out, even that one the tread is 7.4" !

My Nokian is the studded E load LT2 in 245/75-17 but it's narrowness is perfect for the purpose and is less likely to be going as far or as fast as the summer KM2, but maybe that was my problem. The Nokian is only 7" wide and seemed just fine, though it's a lot shorter.

 

[Jwestpro]

18 is front, 17 rear (v6 wheel)

Note front view and in line-up, the BFG AT KO2 is 275/65-18

 

[Jwestpro]

Well that's annoying! Guess the photo interface doesn't recognize orriebtation

 

[Jwestpro]

Nokian LT2 E load range 245/75-17

 

[Victory_Overland]

Hey guys. E load are totally available in skinny! What are you missing??!! Thought I showed you the 255/80-17 I test fitted last week in BFG KM2. I

As far as KO2 AT Tires, I think BFG has every tire size covered almost so click on the website and you can get 100% factory specs on the tire as it comes off BFG's line. Of course a few miles and air pressure change all and I see BFG runs everything at 50psi......lol

As far as KM2 Muddies. NO issues on the width for me that you have with the 255/80/17R, its the 33.3" diameter that concerns me. I'm not sure I want that tall as I think I would have to do a lot of trimming and have some wheel tuck issues correct?

That is my main reason for wanting to stay around a 32" diameter. I would have to go with a bit wider tire to get E-rated because the next size down I think was the 245 you mentioned which is almost a stock diameter and gains me about .5" sidewall with the 17" wheel mod.

On a lighter note, I see you have 17" wheels, I must have missed that a long time ago. I think I remember you saying you had to clearance the rotors correct? Or did you do the V6 kit?

I put this BFG chart down for my logic process. I kept 16"-20" wheels because that covers all Landies for anyone watching this thread looking for BFG KM2 specs for their rig. Of note, the KO2 per the website are not much different, mostly tread depth so some diameters can vary between the two. Again, this is the MUD TIRE chart only.

My highlights are LR3 with 17" wheels (7" or 8" wide).
Choice #1 is in GREEN and Choice #2 is in YELLOW.
The ONLY reason I have not decided on Choice #2 is due to the 33.3" diameter. I want to stay between 2-3" of SUSPENSION lift as to maintain appropriate drive line angles (Coil or Air remains to be seen).

If JWestPro is saying I won't have to trim the hell out of my frame to get 33.3" wheels on it, I would be there in a heartbeat......lol Otherwise, the almost 32" Choice #1 I think is my likely option.

 

[Jwestpro]

I thought you had already done the "frame horn" removal if yours had those?

With that and the rear hvac lines mod, 32" fits fine. For 33"the frame isn't the issue, it's more about the tire offset and width which can run on certain parts of the fender liner.

The 285/70-18 do touch the actual main frame at full turning lock but only just as it reaches the maximum turning arc anyway, so I don't see it as much of a problem wheras on my d2, the BFG at KO 265/75-16 on factory alloy rubs enough on the radius arm so as to appreciably reduce turning capacity. - for example.

 

[Jwestpro]

That 265/70-17 though would be so easy to just plug-n-play with no worries.